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Dining: In Search of Great Vegan Pizza

Pizza
Photography by Christopher Smith
Photography by Christopher Smith

Blaze Pizza

HEIDI KYSER: Everything is good except the Daiya cheese, which kinda ruins everything else.

CHRIS SMITH: Being able to choose your own ingredients is good. I got onions, green peppers, spinach, and tofu popcorn, which detract from the weird Daiya flavor.

HK: I wanna say it’s good … for vegan pizza. I’d prefer if it stood on its own, as just good pizza, period.

Sponsor Message

CS: Yeah, I’d say it’s a good go-to vegan option — satisfying, but not crave-worthy.

10060 W. Sahara Ave., blazepizza.com 

 

Pizza Company

HK: So cool they do an all-vegan pizza, garlic knots, and ranch special for $19.99.

CS: The house-made ranch and cheese show that the chef really cares about vegan customers.

Sponsor Message

HK: This mushroom, olive, pepper, and Beyond Sausage pizza tastes as good as any thin-crust pizza.

CS: I’d definitely come back here.

2275 E. Sunset Road #2, 702-363-9300

Pop Up Pizza

HK: The pan-style crust gives the whole thing a nice smoky flavor.

CS: Daiya cheese again, unfortunately.

Sponsor Message

HK: It works a little better for me here, though, because of the crust.

CS: The standard vegan option has a lot of veggies — artichoke, mushrooms, red peppers, spinach … Maybe too much for some people?

HK: Maybe, but they can customize it with any toppings. Just takes a little longer.

In the Plaza Hotel & Casino, 702-978-7873

 

Good Pie

CS: (Trying the upside-down, with caramelized onions and meatballs, which was the vegan selection of the day) Oh my God, this sauce reminds me of my favorite mom-and-pop pizzeria in Beverly (Massachusetts).

HK: Too sweet for me — probably the onions. The meatballs are delicious, though.

CS: I love the grandma-style crust.

HK: I usually love it, but this one is too … crusty?

CS: At least the cheese doesn’t stick to your teeth!

725 Las Vegas Blvd. S. #140, 702-844-2700

 

Naked City Pizza at PT’s

HK: (Trying the Green Italian) This is good.

CS: (Trying the Bee’s Knees) Told you.

HK: Okay, so if they use Daiya cheese too, why does it taste so much better?

CS: Probably the oil brushed on the crust and the fact that it’s cooked in such a hot oven.

HK: I love how much thought went into combining interesting flavors, like the shaved fennel and radish with mushrooms on the Bee’s Knees. Brilliant. (Note: The Bee’s Knees is currently off the menu.)

CS: Too bad they don’t have vegan options in all their locations.

HK: Maybe not. If they had one in my neighborhood, I’d eat there all the time. I do not need that much pizza.

10940 S. Eastern Ave., 702-0915-7519

Desert Companion welcomed Heidi Kyser as staff writer in January 2014. In 2018, she was promoted to senior writer and producer, working for both DC and KNPR's State of Nevada. She produced KNPR’s first podcast, the Edward R. Murrow Regional Award-winning Native Nevada, in 2020. The following year, she returned her focus full-time to Desert Companion, becoming Deputy Editor, which meant she was next in line to take over when longtime editor Andrew Kiraly left in July 2022. In 2024, Interim CEO Favian Perez promoted Heidi to managing editor, charged with integrating the Desert Companion and State of Nevada newsroom operations.
As a 1999 graduate of Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA, Christopher Smith set out to make his mark in the designer world. Shortly after his arrival in Las Vegas, he started working for a small design studio, where is quickly ascended in the local design community. Wanting to branch out and see where else his designer eye could be used, he found his way to Greenspun Media Group where he started work on the Las Vegas Weekly and Las Vegas Life. Within his first 2 years he was promoted to Art Director of Las Vegas Life, where he received several awards for his work in this magazine.