Blackbird Pizzeria

How does one decide which slice of pizza to order when none of the pizzas are off limits? The freshest one out of the oven, of course.

Straight out of the oven, a hot, fresh pie topped with perfectly toasted artichoke hearts, soft and sweet caramelized onions, just enough crumbles of peppery seitan sausage, and Daiya cheese (the non-soy vegan cheese voted most popular in school by those who like melty and creamy personalities), slid into the counter display case next to a plain vegan cheese pizza and a vegan pepperoni pizza. Hot or not, the vegan artichoke pizza had my name on it.I should stop using vegan as a descriptor, because at Blackbird Pizzeria, the recently opened and much anticipated pizza and sandwich shop, everything is vegan. Into the same space on 6th Street formerly occupied by Gianna's Grille, the loved/hated vegan and non-vegan pizzeria (everyone loved Gianna's until they fessed up to knowingly serving vegans non-vegan cheese), Blackbird has landed and taken the same genre of food (vegan pizza and sandwiches), waved a magic wand, and made vegan pizza and sandwiches a hundred times better.

I'm sure Blackbird's chef and co-owner, Mark Meebus, previously a chef at Philly's haute vegan restaurant, Horizons, helped foster the sense of pride in food that is clearly evident at Blackbird, along with partner Ryan Moylan.
I'm going to add Blackbird's pizza to the list of new Philly pizza darlings which includes Stella and Zavino. The dough at Blackbird is a bit different, though, and, dare I say, I think I like Blackbird's better.

Blackbird's always crispy and never saggy crust offers a little something for all types of crust lovers — thick, medium, and thin. Thin in the middle, gradually growing thicker toward the outside, and then a huge lip that is crispy on the outside, but soft and warm on the inside. Some may say that huge pizza lip is a waste, but get a hot pie straight out of the oven and I think you'll be a big-lip convert. All you vegans who suffered through the dog food-like vegan cheesesteaks at Gianna's, come to Blackbird and see how a vegan cheesesteak should be done. Seitan at Blackbird is supplied by Upton's Naturals in Chicago, and their thinly sliced "Philly style" seitan is browned on a griddle along with green peppers, onions, and mushrooms fill a crusty, long roll, the heat melting the mild Daiya cheese into a proper goo that seeps throughout. One of the best cheesesteaks I've ever eaten, and comes about as close to the real thing as you'd want.

Zing! And, just like that, Blackbird waved it's magic wand and elevated the casual cuisine of vegan pizza and cheesesteaks.

Sandwiches will set you back about $8. A plain cheese pizza slice is $3, and a whole plain cheese pizza is $15. Pizza toppings are extra, and include goodies such as seitan pepperoni, seitan sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, fennel, artichokes, caramelized onions, avocado, jalapeno, black olives, and garlic. A bbq portobello sandwich, fries, and sweets from Vegan Treats are also on the current menu, which should see a few new items in the near future.

While the business gets going full force, it's cash only and hours are limited to Tuesday-Sunday from 3pm-10pm. Delivery has yet to be rolled out, but when it does Blackbird and their pizzas will be on auto-dial.


Blackbird Pizzeria
507 S. 6th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-625-6660

Veggie Cheesesteak

Stopped by GreenFest again this year. Last year the festival featuring eco-friendly businesses and organizations was along South St., but this year the festival was just off of South St. on 2nd St., capitalizing on the already heavy Headhouse Farmer's Market traffic.

Again, Cosmic Caterering was the only food booth at the festival (Los Taquitos de Puebla were there, but they don't count because they're a market fixture). Los Taquitos is a bet you can't lose, but I decided to gamble on Cosmic Caterering's veggie cheesesteak, seeing as how I'm currently on a veggie cheesesteak roll. No, I'm not on a bun! I've just had a few cheesesteaks recently.
I was offered cheese and ketchup or honey mustard on my sandwich. I blurted out yes to cheese and ketchup. They asked? Must be how you do it.

I was told by my partner that the veggie meat amongst the onions and mushrooms was Vegadelphia meat, a locally made meat substitute that shows up at lesser sandwich shops. I believe this was my first encounter with Vegadelphia meat, and I did not like it at all. The small seitan chips are kind of squidgy and kind of gross. I could not finish my sandwich. Since I was noshing directly outside of a Wawa, I got a Shorti to replace the nastiness. Yay, Wawa!

I'm torn between awarding Cosmic Catering or Gianna's Grille with the worst veggie cheesesteak award. Seeing as how I managed to eat the sandwich from Gianna's, Cosmic Caterers gets the award. Cosmic Catering, you seem like nice people, but just say no to Vegadelphia!

Home Slice

Thursday evening I stopped by the grand opening of Home Slice, the new pizza jawn in Liberties Walk run by the same women who own A Full Plate Cafe. Hmm...I wonder if the A Full Plate staff will be making crank pizza delivery calls to their friends across the way?

The grand opening featured a live band, a fashion show, a drag show, and, of course, free slices of pizza!

Home Slice offers white and whole wheat pizza crust, and also traditional and vegan cheese. Score for the vegans!I'm most excited about the crazy, creative pizza creations like the Thai pizza I sampled on Thursday with coconut curry sauce, peanuts, broccoli, sweet peppers, and cheese. Yum! You gotta check in daily to see what craziness gets cooked up, since these pies aren't on the regular menu and change daily.

Cheesesteaks will also be on the menu -- regular, vegetarian, and vegan! I heard a mention of vegan Cheez Whiz. Score two for the vegans!I sampled the vegetarian cheesesteak, and it was delish with truly melded flavors throughout the mushroom studded tofu sandwich.

Home Slice is brand spankin' new, and is still tweaking their pizzas and menu to everyone's liking. Be sure to give them feedback so they can craft a most awesome menu. And if you love one of their crazy pizza creations, tell them; it might make it on to the regular menu.I wish Home Slice the best, and if the speed in which the pizza and cheesesteaks disappeared Thursday night is any indicator of the success to come -- six-foot cheesesteak gone in two minutes! -- they will do well.

Home Slice
1030 N. American St., Philadelphia, PA, 19123
215-627-2726

The Abbaye

Somehow, my adventures on the veggie cheesesteak trail (see sidebar) got lost in the woods for the past seven months. But I recently laced up my wedge sandals and trekked up to The Abbaye in Northern Liberties to check out their gastropub grub, which just so happened to include a cheesesteak.
The Abbaye's seitan chees steak sandwich is filled with not-too-chewy, just-perfect, cubed seitan made in house, along with garlic aioli and Gruyere. The seitan was great, the garlic aioli was not garlicky, and the filling to bread ratio was way off. I ended up pushing the filling to one end of the sandwich and not eating the other half of the roll. I don't understand not filling a roll up. Fill 'er up and put some garlic in the sauce, and The Abbaye's cheesesteak sandwich would be my favorite cheesesteak as of yet.

I'm not a fry person (I prefer to save those calories for other things), but as far as skinny fries go, I had no complaints with The Abbaye's fries. They weren't nubbins, weren't floppy, weren't overly greasy. I ate a few, and called it good.
My partner ordered the seitan bbq plate, again, with seitan made in-house. I loved The Abbaye's bbq sauce - tart, tangy, slightly spicy, and not too sweet. The bbq sauce is like the best of tomato, mustard, and vinegar bbq sauces all in one.

The coleslaw is another story. See all those red specks in the slaw? How about all the pepper seeds? Click to enlarge if you must.

This was the spiciest, hottest coleslaw I've ever eaten. I like hot food, but coleslaw is not supposed to light a fire in your mouth; it's a cooling food. Underneath the hot pepper was what seemed like a pure vinegar base. The coleslaw went uneaten, except for the forkfuls we kept eating in pure disbelief that someone made coleslaw so spicy. I'm sure some will love this spicy rendition, but it should come with a warning.

The seitan bbq plate came with fries, and a few spears of asparagus that seemed like an afterthought, but we should all eat more asparagus.

On my next visit, here's what I would love: a half-sandwich filled -- filled -- with their awesome cheesesteak seitan, and another half-sandwich filled with their tangy bbq seitan. Oh, and a few asparagus spears on the side.

The Abbaye
637 N. 3rd. St., Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-627-6711

Vegetarian Philly Cheesesteak

The last (and only) time I ate at Gianna’s Grille, the punk dive serving meat, vegetarian, and vegan sandwiches and pizzas in the South Street area of Philadelphia, was before I started this blog. Gianna’s Grille was, in fact, my first foray into veggie Philly cheesesteaks. Gianna’s Grill kept popping up in recommendations and searches for vegetarian cheesessteaks, so I took off work one rainy day and drove into Philly with much anticipation to have my first cheesesteak.

Anticipation quickly turned into disgust. The G.G. Special (veggie steak and cheese sandwich) smelled like dog food. I’ve never been back – until a few days ago.

I was told the soy chicken was the way to go. I’m already bastardizing the cheesesteak by subbing soy for meat, so why not bastardize the sandwich further with soy chicken. I ordered the Freebird (veggie chicken and cheese sandwich) with soy cheese and onions. (Order correctly, as the menu and many hand written signs instruct, or else your vegetarian/vegan punk ass ain’t getting’ a refund, yo.)

The Freebird is filled – filled! – with similar soy nuggets as those in the G.G. special, but, thankfully, not seasoned with au de dog food. The soy cheese (specify vegan soy cheese if you’re vegan) acts like a gooey combining agent that keeps all the soy nuggets inside the roll.

Unlike the G.G. Special, I found the Freebird edible. I don’t know if I’d eat it again, though, as the flavor was one dimensional and the sandwich was grossly large – just as I imagine the real thing to be. This sandwich would be great if you were drunk and starving late at night after the bars let out. Gianna’s isn’t open that late, so I don’t see this happening.

Gianna's Grille, 507 S. 6th St., Philadelphia, PA, 19147
Phone: 215-829-4448
Tues.-Thurs, 12PM-8PM; Fri.-Sun., 12PM-9Pm; Mon., closed

Vegetarian Philly Cheesesteak

Here I go with another sampling of Philly’s contribution to the sandwich world – the cheesesteak. I do it meatless, though, ‘cause I swing like that.

All of the veggie Cheesesteaks I’ve eaten have either been made with tvp or seitan. I’ve never had or even thought of making a Cheesesteak with portobello mushrooms, but why not? They have a meaty and hearty texture, and are commonly substituted for ground beef burgers.

The veggie cheese cteak at Washington Street Ale House, an American pub-food restaurant in Wilmington, Delaware, uses portobello mushrooms along with Swiss cheese, and sautéed onions, and peppers. The smoky, char-grilled mushrooms and veggies make an excellent sandwich, although I’m sure it tastes nothing like a real cheesesteak (thank god). I was quite pleased with the mushroom version of the cheesesteak. I ended up dipping my sandwich in the ketchup I dumped on my plate for the accompanying fries, because all sandwiches need a sauce or a spread. Are you listening to me, great sandwich-maker in the sky?

Wahington Street Ale House, 1206 Washington St., Wilmington, DE 19801
Phone (302)658-2537
11am-1pm daily; Sunday brunch 10am-3pm

Govinda's - Philly Cheesesteak

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Govinda’s on South Street in Philly. Govinda's is a puzzling mish-mash of vegetarian Indian dining upstairs (Govinda’s Vegetarian) and a vegetarian sub shop downstairs (Govinda’s Gourmet To Go.) I was completely confused the other day when I walked into Govinda’s for a sandwich and found the lower sandwich shop gone, but the upper Indian restaurant still open. I walked out disappointed, hopped in the car, pulled around the corner, and, to my delight, found that the sandwich shop had relocated a few doors down at the corner of South and Broad streets. I’m not sure when the relocation happened, but better signage - or any signage - at the original location of Govinda’s would be a smart idea.

The new Govinda’s Gourmet To Go has a long counter with sandwich fixings behind the glass partition, an open grill on the back wall, and a small glass case filled with vegan desserts. Adjacent to the counter are a handful of two-top tables and a beverage refrigerator. Govinda’s looks like your basic, no-frills sandwich shop with the exception of a small, more formal dining room at the end of the building.

Taking my sandwich to go, I hung around to watch the sandwich being made. The sandwiches at Govinda’s are delicious, but my one gripe is skimpy fillings. In the past, I would scrape the innards of my sandwich from one half of the hoagie roll and put it on the other half to create a better filling to bread ratio. I had no filling to bread ratio gripe this time. The sandwich constructor hollowed out the hoagie rolls and filled the sandwich liberally.

I’m still not convinced that the Philly Cheesesteak is a great sandwich, but, in the spirit of assimilation, I keep trying them. I’m pleased with Govinda’s vegetarian Cheesesteak, but the house gravy that is ladled on the soy meat and peppers while on the grill has a mysterious flavor. The flavor is reminiscent of Chinese Five-Spice, but I’m not sure. The sauce is tasty, but I don’t think it would be considered a traditional Cheesesteak sauce.

The chicken salad sub with soy meat, celery, and soy mayonnaise is my favorite, so I ordered one of these, too. Again, props for substantial fillings. They must have been out of celery that night, as I was disappointed to see bell peppers instead. The peppers provided the necessary crunch, but, in my opinion, it’s not chicken salad without celery.

I’m so happy that Govinda’s sandwich division didn’t disappear. Now that I know exactly where you are, I’ll be back for the yummy, fat sandwiches. Stock up on celery, though. Thanks.

Govinda’s Gourmet To Go, 1400 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19146
Phone 215-985-9303
Mon-Thur: 11:30am-11pm; Fri-Sat: 11:30am-Midnight; Sun: 11:30am-10pm

Vegetarian Philly Cheesesteak

I’ve never actually eaten a real Philly Cheesesteak in Philly or elsewhere, since I don’t eat meat. Who makes the best one in Philly is an arguement that won't die no matter how much we don't give a crap.

All I know is that the sandwich consists of thinly sliced beef, onions, and Cheez Whiz® on an Italian roll. Common additions are mushrooms, sweet peppers, and ketchup. Cheese substitutions include provolone and American cheese.

I had my first vegetarian Cheesesteak almost two years ago at Gianna’s Grill, a punk meat/vegetarian/vegan sandwich shop in Philadelphia. I went on a whim one day when rain made it impossible to work. I was pumped and ready for Philadelphia’s namesake sandwich.

What a let down. The sandwich was browned TVP topped with vegan cheese on an Italian roll. The TVP smelled of dog food, like TVP does when it is not seasoned. I had to order a cup of BBQ sauce to make the sandwich edible.

Since then, I’ve been on a little mission to discover the vegetarian Philly Cheesesteak. This mission is not my waking and sleeping passion, but I try to order one when I’m in the right place and in the right frame of mind. I also have a veggie hot dog mission.

I had the idea of ordering a cheesesteak from many places in one day, and tasting them side by side. I nixed that idea when I thought it out a little farther. 1) It would take me half a day to go to six or more places to order a sandwich. 2) It would be expensive. 3) The sandwiches would get cold. 4) How in the hell would I eat all of them.

Soooo…I’ll just evaluate them at they come to me.

I’ve tried the above mention Gianna’s Grille. I’ve also tried the Cheesesteak at Sabrina’s and Govinda’s. Both of these were not bad, but no socks were blown off. I would review them more accurately, but my memory is weak. I’ll need to go back.

I recently tried the Cheesesteak at Copabanana’s, a somewhat Mardi Gras/Tropical themed American food restaurant on South Street. I would liken the restaurant to a burger bar at the beach. Not where I typically would go, but it was filling a need at the time.

I asked the waiter if the vegetarian Cheesesteak was good, and he shrugged, “It is what it is.”

He summed up my belief on Cheesesteaks. They are not some awesome, to-die-for sandwich, but just a mound of schlocky, greasy beef on a roll. It’s a crappy sandwich that satisfies your taste for meat and grease and fills the hole in your stomach. It is what it is.

I asked my meat-eating friend across the table what makes a Cheesesteak good, since he informed me that he has had a good one. He said that the good one’s have cheese in every bite. The cheese is layered or melts down into the beef so that each bite has integrated flavors.

Perhaps this is why Cheez Whiz® is the authentic cheese of the Philly Cheesesteak. Cheez Whiz® melts and oozes throughout the mound of beef. All of my Cheesesteaks have had cheese that melts and sits on the top since I opt out on Cheez Whiz.

Copabanana's Cheesesteak had a melted cheese shell on the top of a mound of seasoned soy. I had to order onions and mushrooms extra. The mushrooms were canned. I strangely love canned mushrooms, so this was a plus. The sandwich was not exciting, but filled the hole in my stomach. Next time I'm trying it with nasty Cheez Whiz® to be more authentic.

So, the mission continues half-heartedly.

Why half-heartedly?

Because it is what it is. A crappy sandwich.