Cheezy Pizza Colton (San Bernardino, CA, USA) goes 100% VEGAN!
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Pesto Mediterranean Pizza from Cheezy Pizza Colton...100% Vegan and 100% Delicious!
Family-owned, formerly non-vegetarian restaurant, Cheezy Pizza Colton (Colton, San Bernardino County, CA, USA) is now 100% VEGAN! Owners Jeremy and Minda were planning on slowly phasing out animal products and transitioning over to full vegan. But after only a couple of weeks, they decided to give away all their animal-based ingredients and took the leap! As a non-vegetarian restaurant, Cheezy Pizza Colton already had a huge fan base who would drive from all over the Inland Empire and beyond for their pizza. After taking one bite, it was easy to see why. The homemade pesto sauce on our Pesto Mediterranean Pizza was amazing! And an abundance of veggies (including fresh tomatoes and basil chiffonade that were thoughtfully added after baking) and high quality Daiya vegan mozarella made this pie beautiful as well as delicious. But the real clincher for me was the crust. You will never mistake THIS crust for your average pizza-chain crust. This one was delightfully chewy-crispy, not too doughy and not too thin. I totally understand how they built such a loyal following among pizza connoisseurs.
We also decided to try a couple of other dishes they are known for. First up were their legendary Jalapeno Poppers with house-made Ranch Dipping Sauce. They were expertly deep fried to a beautiful deep golden-brown, without excess grease or oil. They did have a bit of a spicy kick (all you heat-seeking foodies will love these), but owner Jeremy said they were thinking of adding another version with mushrooms or other veggies to help temper the jalapeno heat and accommodate more delicate palates (like mine!). The Ranch Dipping Sauce was wonderfully rich and creamy. Oh yeah, and these were huge, so plan accordingly...one order consists of four poppers, but each one was WAY bigger than your average jalapeno!
We also ordered their Fettuccine Alfredo, with their house-made Alfredo sauce. You can choose up to four different veggies from over a dozen choices for this dish. We picked broccoli, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and bell peppers. This was a very generously sized serving, and very rich! It was topped with a bit of Daiya vegan mozzarella that was melted right before it was brought to our table.
They also had a variety of vegan desserts in the refrigerated case, but we opted for a Glazed Mocha Doughnut that was the special dessert of the day. Unfortunately, we ate it before we remembered to take a picture of it (yeah, we really need to work on that!). We did get a picture of the dessert menu that was posted on the wall, though!
Also want to mention that there was an awesome group of vegans there from the Riverside Chapter of Direct Action Everywhere, who were also celebrating Cheezy Pizza's vegan metamorphosis. It was so nice meeting and chatting with fellow animal-loving vegans. :)
Cheezy Pizza Colton (rumor has it that they will soon have a new name!) will hold their Vegan Grand (Re-) Opening on Sunday, April 26, 2015 from 2pm to 6pm, where they are planning to debut some new (non-pizza) menu items they are working on. Be sure to follow them on Facebook or Instagram to stay on top of the details.
Cheezy Pizza Colton is located at 299 W. Olive Street, Colton, CA, USA, phone 909-370-2644. They are currently open Sunday 11am to 8pm, Mon 4pm to 9pm, Tues thru Thurs 10am to 9pm, and on Fri from 10am until one hour before sundown and Sat one hour after sundown until 10pm.
If we lived closer to Colton, we'd be regulars for sure. As it is, we'll be visiting whenever we're out there. All you Inland Empire folks, I hope you know how lucky you are!
Thanks for reading. Peace and love to all who live.
Susan
Cheezy Pizza Colton's current menu...soon to be greatly expanded!
Pesto Mediterranean Pizza from 100% Vegan Restaurant Cheezy Pizza Colton