Too many people seem to assume that living gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, etc. means only eating lettuce and carrots and drinking green smoothies. Places like Blaze Pizza discredit this misconception.
Even while living my mainly gluten-free and dairy-free lifestyle, on this week’s outing, I was able to get a pizza to satisfy my cravings — totally customizable, from crust to seasonings.
This is how Blaze works: you work with a server to fully customize your own personal pizza, which they then cook and slice and serve right in front of you.
One of the most exciting parts of it is the variety of toppings — including allergen-free ones. There were three gluten-free pizza crust options: gluten-free dough ( also vegan), cauliflower crust, and keto (with added protein). For my own, I chose the classic gluten-free dough. The crust held together well without any crumbling or dryness. It was crispy — with nice blackening around the edges — pretty much indistinguishable from a regular thin crust.
For my sauce, I went with the classic red, which was quite acidic, but overall nice as far as fast food pizza goes. I was pleasantly surprised by the vegan selection. And it wasn’t bad at all. Blaze’s vegan cheese was a little bit gooey for sure, but that’s rather common with vegan mozzarellas, so I was still happy.
I opted for a two-topping pizza, and my first pick was the spicy vegan chorizo, which I’ve never seen before. This chorizo may have been my favorite part of the whole pizza. It was hot and well-spiced, and it had a believable crumbled-meat texture. The spice level from the chorizo was just right: enough to build up, but not overpower. The chorizo heat was perfectly balanced by my second topping choice, the squash.
Another nice, unexpected touch was the seasonings. After the toppings go on your pizza, you can choose to have some oregano and/or sea salt sprinkled on top, free of charge. I got both seasonings on my pizza and was very pleased in the end.
As usual, I brought along a friend. Shagun went with original dough, classic red sauce, mozzarella cheese, black olives, and jalapeños, plus the sea salt and oregano. She reported the red sauce was a bit overpowering, but she found her creation tasty and flavorful. And she, too, was a fan of the uber-thin, crispy crust.
As far as fast food goes, Blaze is definitely not just a step, but a full staircase above the rest. It isn’t quite gourmet pizza, but it has great value and selection. I was not only pleasantly surprised by the ample allergen-free offerings, but also by their quality. And pizza that cooks right in front of you in only four minutes? How could I say no to that?
