(614 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia.)
Growing up, I absolutely adored pizza and my parents would order it often and rent a DVD. As a family, we would all have a slice and spend quality time together. Pizza for me is as idyllic as a food can get, the sweet acidity of tomatoes, the stretchy saltiness of the cheese and of course, the thick and doughy pizza crust. My favorite topping was pepperoni as a child and as I got older it became black olives. But more than one thing changed for me as I got older, it became glaringly clear that I was lactose intolerant.
One of my go-to comfort foods now has the strong potential to cause me acute discomfort. As a solution, I generally order pizza with just red sauce and black olives. I do enjoy it that way, but sometimes I daydream about it the “old fashioned” way I had it as a child. When I heard about Blackbird, a vegan pizza spot in Northern Liberties, I was intrigued. Blackbird Pizzeria is owned by Mark Mebus, who just opened another vegan pizza spot in Rittenhouse Square.
The inside is somewhat cramped, with stool seating available for customers waiting for their pies to be done. I also noticed a large post-it by the cash register warning patrons not to get “handsy” with the pizza. I wondered if anyone had ever fondled a slice before? If so, was that a common enough occurence to warrant a sign?
I ordered three slices. And I kept my hands to myself. The slices took a surprisingly short amount of time to cook and I decided to sample two varieties, the Haymaker and the Funghi. The Haymaker comes with seitan sausage, red onions, garlic butter, tomato sauce, violife mozzarella and fresh oregano. The Funghi has mushrooms, fresh thyme, truffle oil, garlic butter and violife mozzarella.
Violife cheese is of the vegan variety and also boasts to be soy and gluten free and coconut oil based.
The slices themselves were reasonably sized and looked like traditional Philly slices. I tried the Haymaker first and what surprised me was the level of spice. Admittedly, I am a lightweight and sometimes when I find a food to be spicy, my friends find it to be palatable. I do think that the Haymaker legitimately packed some heat and I found myself sipping water between bites. The sauce that was used had a light smoky flavor and reminded me heavily of barbecue sauce. After the slice, my lips were tingling and my tongue felt warm, but my stomach was happy. While I can eat seitan sausage, I found the taste to be a bit salty and anticlimactic, so I probably would not get this specific slice again, or at least not with the vegan sausage.
My favorite of the two, was the Funghi. This slice really proves that less is more, it was more minimalist and less schizophrenic than the Haymaker. While it didn’t have a tofu or seitan meat substitute, the mushrooms were really the star of the dish and were augmented by the taste of garlic and butter in a really delicious way. I love the taste of mushrooms and I have had mushrooms in many high-end Philadelphia restaurants. For me, a good mushroom retains its earthy flavor while not being overcooked. Additionally, it has a pleasing texture, whether that be juicy or crisp. The assorted mushrooms on the Funghi slice were tender and pleasantly seasoned and there was a generous amount of them. I also liked that fungus was used two different ways in the Funghi slice with the mushrooms as a topping and also the inclusion of truffle oil. Overall, the Funghi slice was the highlight of my trip and I definitely plan to return to try it again.
Overall, a great experience and I would give the place 4.25/5 stars. They definitely lost a half star for their location, which is not particularly accessible to me and the seitan sausage which was just okay. And a quarter of a star because of the oversight with the spice rating for the Haymaker. I would say that this is an essential pizza shop in Philadelphia for anyone who has lactose sensitivity or is living a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
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