Recently, the Sacramento Bee's restaurant critic published a review of Pieology, a pizza restaurant that opened in midtown late last year. While I didn't read the whole review, I did check the sidebar to see if the restaurant was vegetarian-friendly. When I saw the answer was "yes" and that Pieology offered vegan mozzarella, I decided to go check it out.
First, though, I sent a tweet to the Pieology headquarters (it's a national chain) to ask whether its pizza crust is vegan. The tweet I got back indicated that their gluten-free crust is vegan. I checked the allergen information on their website and didn't see any reason why their other crusts wouldn't be vegan as well, so I tweeted again to ask about that. Unfortunately, they haven't gotten back to me yet to explain what ingredient or ingredients make their other crusts non-vegan.
My friend Davida and I headed to Pieology a couple days later. We both ordered the gluten-free crust. I chose the olive oil drizzle for my sauce, and Davida ordered the red sauce. We both asked for Daiya vegan cheese, and then chose our toppings: mushrooms, black olives, banana peppers, artichokes, and pineapple for me; Kalamata olives, bell peppers, banana peppers, and artichokes for Davida.
The pizzas are prepared for the oven right in front of you. If you ask, the person preparing your pizza will change their plastic gloves to help prevent getting whatever other ingredients they've been working with on your pizza. The pizza comes out of the oven in a matter of minutes, so this is a pretty quick lunch option for those of you who work in the downtown or midtown area. The gluten-free crust was a little sweet for my taste, but the pizza was fine otherwise.
Pieology's Sacramento location is at 1020 16th Street, and their phone number is 916-447-1695. Their website address is http://www.pieology.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pieology-Pizzeria-Sacramento/735844629803188. They are open Monday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
6 comments:
Thanks for coming by to see us! Be sure to join us on Twitter @pieology for more deliciousness!
It was my pleasure, Pieology Pizzeria! One thing, though -- I was informed that your gluten-free crust is vegan. Does that mean your other crusts are not vegan? I didn't see any allergens listed on your website to explain why they wouldn't be vegan too.
That would be helpful to know if the other crusts are vegan. Any more info?
Pieology never responded to my question about their other crusts. I just checked their website again to see if there's any new information, and I see they now have milk listed as an allergen in their regular crust. The only allergens listed for their wheat crust are wheat and soy, so I still don't know why that crust isn't considered vegan.
I was told by employees that the white crust contains whey, the wheat crust has honey, and that the red sauce is made with chicken broth. One employee told me the pesto was vegan, but the website says it contains milk. One branch had a 'vegan red sauce' stashed behind the counter. Why offer vegan daiya cheese, but make it so difficult to actually order a vegan pizza, oh Pieology?
Thanks for the information about the pie crusts -- that explains why the only vegan one is the gluten-free crust. The nutritional information on the website shows that the red sauce contains no fat, so I don't see how they can be making it with chicken broth. Maybe the chef at the Pieology you visited isn't following the company's recipe. It's a good thing you asked!
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