The night I first ate GF last August 2013, we ordered a special pizza from Patxi’s Pizza Campbell. I had searched online for local GF pizza places and it had high marks, plus it was close by. Upon his bringing it home, I told my husband the pizza was not correct; they had used real cheese, not soy cheese. I couldn’t eat it.
I called the restaurant, spoke to the woman I ordered the pizza from, she said they would deliver the corrected pizza to us. I confirmed it would take 20 minutes for cooking and then some added delivery time, figuring dinner was coming in no more than 40 minutes, we waited.
Pizza arrived 1-1/2 hours later, close to 9pm! It was one of the worst pizzas I’ve ever had, as well as one of the most expensive 14″ 3 topping thin crusts at $36!
That was a bad first day of being GF and I was afraid for the future of my eating. I love pizza, so going gluten-free put a damper on eating really delicious, covered-with-cheese & meat, thick & chewy crust meals with my husband & son. When they ordered a pizza, I made something else. And with Patxi’s, I’m holding a grudge…we have not, and will not, return.
Since that first horrible experience, I will usually use Udi’s GF Pizza Crusts and put veggies and soy cheese on it when hubby & son order pizza. That’s the quick and easy pizza, and the GF crusts take up little room in my freezer.
More recently, I have found 2 great places that have good GF pizza. One is Top This! Pizza in Los Gatos, an assembly line pizza service that is reasonably priced and occasionally has coupon offers on Groupon. For $10, you get a GF crust to top with your favorite pizza toppings. My husband actually preferred the GF crust to the regular crust they offer. And the Warm Caramel Apple Pie GF crust pizza we took home was incredible! (I am not sure whether the caramel topping was GF.)
And last week, I enjoyed a “real” pizza at BJ’s Brewhouse. Except for the cheese (they do not have soy), I was taken back to childhood with a meaty 10″ pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and olive ($9.50 for GF crust, $1 per topping). The waitress said she’d add a single item to the pizza, no extra charge because I didn’t have cheese on it, however she charged me anyway (my bad for not noticing before I got home), so the total was $13.50 for this delicious meal, and worth more to me than that. It gave me faith that I can locate great GF food even at places that wouldn’t seem to be GF friendly.
My tasty Udi’s.
BJ’s Brewhouse pizza.
Adventures in the Gluten-Free Zone 
6/15/14- Top This! Pizza is opening another location in San Jose CA. Prices will soon be going up from $8 to $9 for regular crust, it will still be $2 more for GF crust. We have gone back there too many times to remember, it’s that good. If you use a FiveStars loyalty card, you receive a free pizza after 10 pizzas. I received my freebie this past week.
I should also add that since getting braces, I have to eat softer food. The GF crust is firmer, so I ask for extra sauce to soften it and cut it up and eat it with a fork so the pieces are smaller and easier to chew. Smaller bites helps you to savor the flavor. 🙂 I also regularly order the “Miss Yovette’s Pepper Pot” specialty pizza (“Our Own Zesty Red Sauce, 3-Cheese Blend, Italian Sausage, Banana Pepper, Roasted Red Pepper, Red Onion”). I tell them to hold the onions and cheese, add olives and extra banana peppers. Heavenly! And I usually have half a pizza to enjoy another day.