Pizza Wednesday: PW Pizza
Posted on Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 at 11:39 am
Well, here she is, the last option for non-DIY vegan pizza in St. Louis (as far as I know/for the time being!), PW Pizza.
PW opened just a few months ago in the first floor of the Centennial Malt House on Chouteau, also home to Moulin, Malt House Cellar, Vin de Set and Grand Petite Market. Named for the first initials of its creators, PW offers up gourmet pies, salads, soups and desserts, plus a grand selection of craft beer and wine.
The idea is that ingredients here are fresh, seasonal and (as much as possible) local. Of particular interest to you and I, in addition to the pizza basics, PW also has options for veggie, vegan and gluten-free diners. Woot!
This is where Andy and I had dinner on my birthday last month (yeah, I’m that serious about pizza you guys) and it was mmm, mmm good! The ingredients do indeed taste super fresh and the selection of toppings is so large that it made it fairly difficult to choose – good problem to have. I believe I eventually settled on caramelized onions, artichoke hearts and wild mushrooms. Like Whole Foods and Pi, the vegan cheese option at PW is Daiya.
As far as the crust here, I’m torn. Negative: it’s thin. Positive: it is still fairly soft and chewy. Overall, the taste is good though, and that’s what really matters. The original crust at PW is vegan but the gluten-free is not. Unfortunately, the Honey Wheat crust is a no-go for obvious reasons, which I was bummed about (I sort of despise eating refined grains, they feel like a waste of calories).
I actually can’t recall if PW allows half and half splits, but it doesn’t really matter because the pizzas here only come in one size (12′) and it’s too small to share (for us anyway!). Unfortunately, that means you’ll spend a little more than you might expect for pizza, but on an occasional basis, it’s acceptable.
Overall, I really enjoyed PW and I’m sure we’ll be stopping in from time to time. Always great to have yet another option for vegan pizza in St. Louis!
Thank you so much for taking the time to publish recipes and
information for vegans. I have discovered various dishes and
venues on my own, but it’s always fun and enlightening to get
another vegan’s perspective!
My pleasure, Elisa!
Thanks for taking the time to leave such a kind comment
When I called PW they looked at the ingredients for me of their normal crust and their gluten free crust and neither were vegan! I told them it was weird to sell vegan cheese and not even have a vegan crust, that they might want to find a vegan one! But I don’t know if they actually did find a vegan one, or if the peeps you talked to just thought it was vegan.
I know that Sweet Art told me their GF stuff was vegan and it wasn’t. And I even heard that their vegan burger was put on a non vegan bun, which is weird because it’s so easy to get vegan normal bread! I think the owners of Sweet Art are not vegan and not very clues in to paying any attention to products they use so they can’t answer questions easily, also, they ignored repeated requests about ingredients.
I hope PW did finally find a vegan crust! But I find often that people just assume certain stuff is vegan, and for lots of people it is fine because they aren’t reading ingredients. And it probably depends on your path. While my folks wouldn’t question minute uses of egg or casein, I don’t want to touch the stuff!! Especially since I have read The China Study and other books about the dangersof Prions, which lurk in all that stuff!! But if it has casein, or whey,its not vegan. Which is fine if people want to eat it, but I do wish that when people advertise vegan this or vegan that, that they actually look at the ingredients! Also, the cornmeal crust at PI is not vegan, but if you call ahead of time, they can prepare a vegan one for you.
Did they actually tell you what was in the ingredients list that made them not vegan?
I was SO upset when I read your comment. Though in retrospect it was really stupid of me, I didn’t ask if the original crust was vegan, I just assumed it was because most white-flour pizza crusts naturally are and they offer a vegan cheese option. Like you said, why on earth would you do that if you don’t have a vegan crust?! Anyway, yesterday morning, I emailed PW to ask what the deal was and I heard back from one of their managers that afternoon. She tells me that their gluten-free crust indeed isn’t vegan, but that both the original and wheat crust are. She said she doesn’t know why any staff member would tell you otherwise, because that is information they should all be well aware of.
On one hand, I’m inclined to believe that the original crust is vegan, but I don’t quite understand how the “honey” wheat crust could be? I’ve yet to get a response to that question, so now I’m a little concerned that maybe they don’t actually know what would qualify as “vegan?” Then again, honey is one of those things that a lot of people don’t actually realize isn’t vegan – and it’s even debatable among vegan themselves – so, I don’t know if it’s fair to question their general understanding of the concept based on that. The fact that she declined to provide ingredients lists for my review is another cause for concern as well. I guess until I can get a satisfyingly definitive answer, this place is on probation.
Thanks for calling my attention to it. I’ll keep you posted!
Maybe they changed it!! But when I called the girl thought it was and I asked if they could check the ingredients. I can’t remember what was in the “original” crust, but it was something like milk, eggs, or whey or casein I think. It wasn’t honey! But I was really nice on the phone & explained it was strange to have vegan cheese and not a vegan crust and that people would be confused and they might want to think about changing it. I was calling to see if my hubby could at least eat the vegan pizza (I don’t do gluten) and was a little bummed when I found out it wasn’t vegan. But maybe they did change it or maybe they don’t want to be “outed” even if it was totally unintentional. I found that with Sweet Art I wasn’t pissed that they told me wrong (and it was one of the owners that told me wrong) but I did get annoyed that I kept asking through emails and they never, ever answered. Then I heard they are “changing” their menu and the gluten free stuff wasn’t there. So I think that by asking it’s good because we are increasing their awareness and possibly making some changes because some people (Quarry Girl) could really do damage to places that advertise vegan burgers and don’t tell ya the bread isn’t!! Also, it’s important for people with dairy allergies. I am strict (for me) on the vegan thing, so these things matter. It’s great they are having vegan cheese and hopefully some dairy eaters will try it. It isn’t so bad on the heart, even if it is processed. But yeah, it’s kind of a bummer!! And if places make a mistake, it’s nice if they just clarify so we do trust them!! I haven’t checked back with Sweet Art in awhile and I want to love that place. But their avoidance of the whole issue turned me off a bit. I just think people who aren’t vegan don’t even know what ingredients (like stuff that is added to baked goods) isn’t vegan! I know it took me awhile to “get” it and it would be nice if places reached out to the vegan community to inquire about it. They couldn’t get away with secrecy or not disclosing something about something being “Kosher” or not!! Love reading about new vegan stuff here!! Even though I don’t eat most of it anymore (I just get weirder as I age!!), it’s SO great to see that some normal places are actually using the word vegan on the menu. One decade has made a WORLD of difference!!
I did confirm with PW that their gluten-free and wheat crusts are NOT vegan, but that the original crust is.
Thanks again for bringing this to my attention!
Additional thanks to Pamela at PW for being so responsive and accommodating. Much appreciated!