We got an intriguing offer from the PR department of the venerable “quirky” NYC-based pizza chain Two Boots. Two Boots has long been one of the best places to get a vegan slice, with their veggie-laden “Earth Mother” and more recently the “V for Vegan“, all tarted up with Daiya. They have lots and lots of non-vegan food, too, but Two Boots’s interest in serving more and more vegan food is highly commendable.
So, about that intriguing offer: they want to launch a brand-new vegan pie for World Vegan Day (November 1). And they’re offering a selection of vegan bloggers a chance to design said pie. If they pick ours, they’ll name it after us! I am not above doing a bit of PR for Two Boots if it means a good chance of being able to walk in and order a slice of the SuperVegan pie, with our logo on the label and all. And hey, even if we don’t win, more vegan pizza is a win for everyone.
My first thought was to make a vegan “meat-lover’s” pie, loading on as many greasy pink mock meats as Two Boots’s thick crust can support. I was going to name it “The Patrick Kwan“. But Two Boots doesn’t stock any mock meats and they told me they weren’t going to start just for this. (You might send them friendly e-mail suggestion, though.)
What was the best pie we could make with Two Boots’s available toppings? And what would make it distinctive enough from the “Earth Mother” and “V for Vegan”? The “Earth Mother” is basically a ginourmous pile of mild vegetables, and “V” is Daiya, artichokes, shitakes, red onions, basil and red pepper pesto. We’ve eaten plenty of both. But we can do even better.
One thing’s for sure, this SuperVegan pizza pie’s gotta be decadent. No vegan health-pie here. So we’re using the Daiya, loading on the fatty toppings, and skipping the whole-grain crust. And it can’t be too spicy. I can enjoy jalapeños all over a pizza, but too many people I care about wouldn’t go near such a thing.
Here’s the final proposal:
Vidalia Onion, Artichoke Hearts, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Garlic, Daiya, and Tomato Sauce, on regular white crust, with basil-pesto “S”s and “V”s scattered all over. You know you want to eat that right up. I sure do. I even have the conceptual diagram to prove it:
(Note to Two Boots; if the pesto-decorations are too labor-intesive, we’ll understand if you need to simplify a bit.)
