Did you know that today was Vegan Pizza Day? YES! The day to eat that yummy gift to the world from Italy, veganized! Of course, we, The Food Duo, celebrated by not eating pizza! WHAT?!?!?! No pizza?!?! That’s right! NO PIZZA FOR US!

You may be asking “Why on Earth would you not eat pizza TODAY?” When you’ve grown up around pizza, everyday can be vegan pizza day (Plus, we had pizza on Wednesday). So, instead, we’ve decided to share with you our Top 5 spots in NYC for vegan pizza!

How does that sound? Time to make some plans to visit our city and maybe get a pizza food crawl going. Here we go…

#1 - Pala Pizza, Manhattan, NYC

Reason: Porri e salsiccia (Leeks & Sausage) and more…

We love…no…LURVE…Pala Pizza! It’s our #1 spot. Down in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, we’ve yet to find a pizza that can top what Pala makes. The combination of leeks with sausage, sundried tomatoes, pink peppercorns and hot pepper gives the right amount of kick to complement the creaminess of melted Daiya mozzarella.

#2 - 3 Brothers Pizza Cafe, Farmingdale, Long Island, NY

Reason: The Works

The cruelty-free “Meat Lover’s Pizza” is here, thanks to vegan chef, Jay Astafa! Seitan meatballs, seitan sausage and soy pepperoni, oh my! Along with onions, mushrooms and green peppers, they’re kicking it old school, vegan-style! Totally worth the ride out east to share a pie with friends!

#3 - Two Boots, Multiple Locations, NYC (and beyond)

Reason: V for Vegan

Two Boots is legendary! Rumor has it that Guy Fawkes has been drooling over this pizza for centuries! Seriously, he’s the face of this menu item. With Daiya mozzarella, artichokes, onions, shitake mushrooms and 2 kinds of pesto, this pizza, ordered by the slice or the pie, bursts with flavor that would have certainly made the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 a success.

#4 - Paulie Gee’s, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC

Reason: In Ricotta da Vegan

One way to gauge a good slice of pizza is how long it holds up after a long bus/train ride home. Artie ate this COLD because he couldn’t be bothered to wait for the oven warm up or to use the microwave. Made with fresh tomatoes, homemade vegan sausage and cashew ricotta, we’ll just say that we both ended up humming a little Iron Butterfly…”In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”

#5 - Peacefood Cafe, Manhattan, NYC

Reason: Roasted Potato Pizza

This “carb-y” oddity somehow works. Why? We don’t know. We really like it. The potatoes with sautéed mushrooms, arugula, oil cured black olives and pesto is super tasty and actually is light on the tummy!

Take note: Artie isn’t a mushroom fan, but the pizzas we’ve noted here he loves! No need to hold the mushrooms for him here.

You may be wondering why we’ve cut our list to 5. Well, being in a family in the pizza business, we tend to make our own. We play around with different kinds of doughs, sauces and toppings.

Check out a 2011 post featuring one of our fave pizzas, Brussels sprouts & caramelized onions

BTW, this is our 500th blog post! WOW!