If you haven’t yet been to 00 + Co, get there pronto! [that’s zero zero + Co., despite what our typeface would have you believe]
“00+Co, a new plant-based pizza concept from Matthew Kenney, opened its
doors in New York City’s East Village in February 2016. Serving small plates,
organic pizza prepared in a wood burning oven, vegan ice cream and
organic wines, 00 + Co showcases Matthew Kenney’s delicious, beautiful,
vibrant, and nutritious cuisine in one of New York’s favorite
neighborhoods.”
I’m not into wine, but I’m all about pizza [Ed. note: whuuuuut?? but….wine is life, Abby Bean!]. The items considered “not pizza” (is it just me or could that be a really long list?) are also pretty darn appealing. We’ll get to the issue of dessert in a minute. More importantly, all things cheesy:
We started with the cheese plate–THE CHEESE PLATE! Truffled cashew, smoked cheddar, and almond ricotta served with oregano flatbread and pickles. Two vegans and a vegetarian spent the whole beginning of our 00 experience marveling over the stunning presentation of the decadently creamy cheeses and striking accoutrements.
We each chose one pizza with the intention of sharing all three (pro-tip: it helps if you go with lightweights who can’t finish a whole pie themselves). Just such a pal chose the tomato basil, cashew mozzarella. This was a good, simple choice to start with, but it didn’t blow me away. The crust was just the way I like it: not too thick and not too thin, but
I didn’t think there was enough sauce or cheese. My tablemates did not necessarily agree, but since I’m a vegansaur, my opinion is automatically more important.
Another pal chose the tomato, farro-fennel sausage, cashew mozzarella. We all know that the reigning vegan sausage pie is In Ricotta Da Vegan from Paulie Gee’s, so this had a lot to live up to. While it was certainly yummy, PG still reigns supreme. I just wasn’t into the texture of the sausage, which I can most adequately describe using the adjective lumpy. The fresh herbs did this pie a lot of good, but I was still waiting to be wowed.
Finally, I chose the best pie of the night: truffled celeriac, maitake mushroom, parsley pesto. WOW. This was just the type of rich and flavorful pie I was hoping for. The toppings were in perfect proportion to the dough/crust and I easily could have devoured the whole thing without sharing. An absolute standout, do not miss this amazing green and shroomy pie. While there’s still quite a bit of the 00 menu to get through, I don’t think I could visit without ordering this one…and the illustrious cheese plate.
As for dessert, we skipped it. I know you’re thinking that’s utter blasphemy, but hear me out. For starters, we spied the vanilla bean cheesecake at another table and I’m pretty
sure I could have fit the whole thing in my mouth at once even though I was
hella full. Considering I’d just eaten about 2+ whole pies, it didn’t seem that the appropriate way to end the meal was to consume a $10 mini-cheesecake in one bite. As for the “vegan ice cream” option touted on their website, it was sorbet. Sorbet! Talk about blasphemy. Sorbet isn’t ice cream, my friends–not by a long shot. Also, it was pear. Come on! Trying to pass off pear sorbet as ice cream is the reason people don’t think they can go vegan. Let us not forget the decadent flavors we’ve grown accustomed to and increase the game up in there, 00; I know you can do it.
