An Evolving Meal At Evo Kitchen

As a former "cheeseaholic", I often find myself craving pizza. It's always funny when non-vegans tell me that they could never become vegan because they like pizza too much. I LOVE pizza. In fact, I like pizza even more as a vegan than I did as non-vegan. I've found that daiya is the perfect substitute to real cheese, as it replicates the texture very well and absorbs the flavors of the pizza.

 

One of my favorite pizzerias in Los Angeles was Pizza Fusion, which sadly closed its doors fairly recently. I was excited to learn that the Pizza Fusion in West Hollywood became Evo Kitchen, which has the same menu as Pizza Fusion, but even more vegan options. When Evo Kitchen had a deal on Living Social recently for $12 for $24 worth of food, I snatched one up. A couple weekends ago, I finally got the chance to use it

I began the meal with the Raw Veggies and Fig Tapenade ($7).

 

This was delicious. The veggies were so crisp and fresh tasting. The bell peppers were very juicy and carrots and celery sticks were very crunchy. The fig tapenade was my favorite dip. It was very succulent, yet had a subtle bitterness. The hummus dip was also very good, although it was not as creamy and oily as hummus typically is. It had a wonderful chickpea flavor, with notes of tahini. 

Next, I created my own pizza. I had the personal size pizza with vegan chicken, avocado, and sundried tomatoes with daiya cheese ($12).

This pizza was delicious. The crust was thin and crispy and coated in a generous layer of sweet marinara sauce. The veggie chicken was very savory and slightly chewy, while the avocado had a rich flavor. The sundried tomato added a lovely bitterness and saltiness to the pizza. The daiya cheese was perfectly melted and complimented the toppings very well.

Lastly, I had a vegan brownie ($5).

The brownie was delicious. It was very moist and airy and had a rich, chocolate taste. It was very decadent, yet was not too sweet. The powdered sugar took it over the top. I regret not getting the brownie a la mode with some coconut sorbet, as this would have made the brownie even better.

I enjoyed the meal very much, but found the service to be lacking. The restaurant is fairly small, yet I still was ignored. It took quite a while before someone came to take my order and then once it was placed, my food took a long time to be brought out.  It is also very annoying that they only validate for 1 hour and then the parking garage rates jump up quickly. Nevertheless, the food was very flavorful. With the Living Social voucher the price was quite reasonable. The meal only cost me about $16 total, which was a good deal considering all of the food I ordered.