"Odie O’Connor started his vegan pizza empire making wood-fired pizzas at his Southeast Hawthorne food truck Baby Blue. After shutting down the truck at the beginning of the pandemic, O’Connor bought a blue steel pan and started experimenting with Detroit pizza. Fortuitously, a spot became available in the Zipper, where O’Connor opened Boxcar Pizza with vegan square pies that often sell out. Creating the distinctive crust of cheese around the sides proved difficult with lower fat vegan cheese, but after playing around with the dough, O’Connor achieved a vegan version of the Detroit classic. The Bianca, with Good Planet mozzarella and Boxcar’s own spicy, fennel-packed Italian sauce and tofu-based ricotta, certainly tastes vegan — the coconut flavor of the mozzarella gives away its plant-based origins — but still, the sweetness of the coconut and heat of the tomato sauce adds an interesting interplay of flavors." - Rachel Pinsky
