I’m not the Sizzle Pie enthusiast in our house. Well, maybe I am: My husband eats a lot of it, but not exactly by design. He spends a lot of time in the neighborhood of the East Burnside location for work, and so “I just grabbed some Sizzle Pie” is a common household phrase around our house that lets me know I’m welcome to house any leftovers in the fridge for dinner/not cook. He gets burned out on Sizzle Pie, but I like it fine. In my world, pizza comes in three grades:
- Below standard. Eat only when no other option is available — most frozen and “take-and-bake” pizzas, a few places around town that I won’t mention.
- Up to par. A wide range of by-the-slice joints, from chains to local haunts. Pretty good pizza is pizza, and therefore delicious. I might have favorites within this range, but rarely say no to a slice.
- Really good pizza. This is pizza that you go out of your way for, your Apizza Scholls, Ken’s, or Dove Vivis.
Sizzle Pie is up to par.
A coupla vegan slices
For my gluten-free and dairy-free friends, this place is pretty darn good. I’ve never tried the gluten-free (sorry, science), but I’ve heard good things. As for vegans, the dairy-free, and lovers of vegetarian proteins: Rejoice. Follow Your Heart OR Daiya cheese can go on top of that pie (or no cheese at all). Then, with the toppings: Soy curls, hatch chile soy curls, vegan pepperoni, seitan Italian sausage, seitan Chorizo, shredded Buffalo jackfruit, not-a-ricotta, and tofu cheese. That’s in addition to the veggies, etc. Dang. Not only that, but you can grab (a rotating selection of) specialty vegan slices from the case.
You can get a whole pie (gluten-free available as whole pies only) delivered until 3am… if you live in the delivery zone, which now reaches to 205. That’s still not my neighborhood, but I GET IT, EAST PORTLAND IS FAR. Or, pick up a pie to go like the Vegan Angel of Doom: “Daiya mozzarella “cheese,” fresh jalapeños, pineapple, shaved almonds and fresh cilantro” or the Hawkwind: “spinach, feta, dried cranberries and shaved almonds in an olive oil base.”
Yeah, I’d eat that.
If you’re in the area, you can drop by for a slice. And a salad if you like, with vegan ranch available. What a country.
Use your time in line to people-watch and peruse your selections: At the East Burnside location at least, you’ll see three choices for meaty slices, three vegetarian, and three vegan. Can’t decide, or not sure if you should get one slice or two? You can get half a slice. Why doesn’t everyone do this?
Have you been to Sizzle Pie? What was your favorite slice?