Pizza Pizza!

Yesterday, a childhood friend of mine (who is allergic to dairy) suggested we try out this vegan/gluten-free/dairy-free pizza place in the city. I’m always game, and I had wanted to check it out with one of my vegan friends for some time now. So we hopped on the F train and went to Pala Pizza on the Lower East Side. It was delicious!

To start, we ordered an antipasti of Lamb Skewers and then got a GF/Dairy Free pizza to share (PLENTY of food for two!) I believe the conversation with the waiter went something like this:

Waiter: So, you want the lamb skewers from the regular menu, and a romano pizza on a gluten free crust from the vegan menu?
Us: Um….yes.
Waiter:….Ok.
Us: (holding back laughter and proclaiming emphatically) We can both eat meat!!! But not gluten…or dairy…
Waiter: (still confused) Sure…

15 minutes later, we were sitting outside in the sun feasting on roasted lamb sausage and veggies (zuchini, peppers & onions) and a romana pizza which had gluten free crust made of tapiocha flour, garbanzo, among a few other things. The toppings for the pizza were tomato sauce, mushrooms, parsley and daiya cheese (to which my friend nervously responded: “Well, here goes nothing!”). It was actually pretty good! The crust was perfect and tasted like real bread (to all you GFers out there, is it just as much a surprise every time GF bread tastes real? It always is for me!) The cheese was definitely new to me, but was gooey and cooked perfectly. This pizza could have definitely passed for a regular brick-oven slice.

After we finished we made a little trip over to Babycakes for some sweet treats and finally to Chinatown to pick up some groceries. Add the sushi, shrimp and panna cotta I had with dinner and it was a fine day of GF eating! Happy Cooking!