Vegan Cheese Pizza in Memphis!

One year ago, I'd have laughed in your face if you'd told me, in 2011, I'd be able to score vegan cheese pizza in Memphis. If you'd told me I'd be able to find said vegan cheese pizza in not one, but FOUR restaurants, I'm sure I'd have laughed so hard, I'd pee myself.

But here we are in 2011, and you'd have been right. First, there was Mellow Mushroom in Germantown, a cutesy chain joint that added Daiya to their menu last fall. It's about a 45-minute drive from my house, so I don't get there often enough. But the Mega-Veggie with Daiya is well worth the drive:

Then came the Hi-Tone Cafe, a Midtown rock club/hipster hangout that serves pizza, sandwiches, and a delicious veg-friendly brunch. They added Daiya for pizzas and calzones this past winter. The Veggie Pizza with Vegan Cheese is to-die-for, but sometimes they're out of Daiya. So call ahead to be sure it's in stock:

Around the same time the Hi-Tone began offering vegan cheese, the Trolley Stop Market added Daiya to its locally-famous pies. I've still not tried the vegan pizza from their regular menu, but this Thai Pizza with Peanut Sauce and Daiya was offered on special one Vegan Night Monday a few months ago:

They serve vegan specials every Monday, fyi. I tried ordering the vegan pizza from the regular pizza menu a few weeks ago, but they had a party dining in and pizza orders were backed up. So I ordered their Spinny Shroom Sandwich with Daiya instead (spinach, mushroom, tomato, and mozzarella).

And Imagine Vegan Cafe's super-loaded Pizza with the Works makes four! Memphis' only all-vegan cafe opened in April, and I'm working my way down their massive menu. I can't order the same thing twice until I've tried everything. Tonight, my friend Greg and I split this yummy pizza loaded with Follow Your Heart mozzarella, vegan sausage, vegan chicken, vegan pepperoni, peppers, onion, pineapple, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and spinach:

You can choose less toppings, but we went "The Works"-style with every topping they had. The crust was soft and flavorful, and my slice was so heavy, I had to eat it with a fork! I love that Imagine uses Follow Your Heart for something a little different. I love both Daiya and FYH, and it's nice to have a choice.

So if you live in Memphis or you're visiting here and craving a pizza, you know where to go. You can find more info, like addresses and phone numbers for these places, in my Memphis Vegan Dining Guide.