Sunday, October 9, 2016

Blaze Pizza

Earlier today, we had lunch at Blaza Pizza in Gold River, California on our way home from Lake Tahoe.  I have wanted to try their pizza since reading my friend Sarah's review on her blog Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free at WDW.  Shortly after we moved to California, a Blaze Pizza opened in Disney Springs, and I have heard from Sarah and others that they do a great job with special diets.


All the employees I spoke to at Blaze Pizza were incredibly friendly and willing to help.  I was told that they change their gloves, and press gluten free pizza dough on a dedicated pizza press.  When I expressed concern about cross contamination of their toppings as employees stick their gloves in them after touching gluten-filled dough, they were happy to get fresh toppings from the back or under the counter for me.  I did not have to worry about flour in the air, because they do not toss any of their pizzas, and I did not see them dusting their regular dough either.


The paper underneath my pizza, which had my name on it and said gluten free, stayed with it the whole time it was topped and cooked.  My  pizza was baked on a pan instead of putting it directly in the oven like the gluten-filled pizzas, and from what I could see, it was cooked off to the side away from the rest of the pizzas.  When my pizza was done, it was cut with color coded, dedicated tools.  I did have to remind the gentleman that cut my pizza to change his gloves, which he was happy to do, and he topped my pizza with arugula from a fresh container.


I decided to order one of the signature pizzas, but you can build your own pizza and pick your toppings.  The only topping with gluten is their meatballs.  The Green Stripe signature pizza I chose is topped with grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, chopped garlic and mozzarella, and when it comes out of the oven, it is finished with a pesto drizzle and arugula.  The only thing I added was a sprinkle of sea salt, but I wish I had asked for some Parmesan and feta too.  Overall, I thought my pizza was great.  I was impressed with the crust, which was thin and crispy, and I enjoyed the toppings on the Green Stripe.  My husband tried a piece of my pizza, and said the gluten free crust was just as good as the gluten-filled pizza crust my daughters were eating.

My whole family loved their meals, so I am sure we will be stopping at the Blaze Pizza in Gold River for lunch the next time we take a trip to Lake Tahoe.  I rarely eat pizza out anywhere besides Disney World or California Pizza Kitchen, because of cross contamination concerns, so it is nice to have another option when we are traveling.  There was a $3 charge for my gluten free pizza crust, but the pizza was a decent size and still pretty affordable compared to most pizza restaurants.

You can read more about Blaze Pizza, and view their store locator on their website here.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Alexis - just last week I had GF Blaze pizza at Disney Springs. My experience was pretty much similar to yours, except I was not upcharged for GF crust - it was the same price as my husband's regular crust. The GF pizza was just OK, in my opinion. The toppings looked and were delicious, the crust was nicely cooked on the top, was raw looking on the bottom. I spoke with the manager about the lack of browning on the bottom and she indicated that it was cooked on a "special plastic" liner to keep it "safe" and that they were trying to find a way to improve the crust on the bottom, but it was just not possible with their current method. I do have a Blaze pizza close to me here in NJ that I haven't yet visited. I will try it out and see if they are any better. For my taste though, I won't be ordering at Blaze in Disney Springs until they improve the taste of the bottom of the crust. How was the bottom of yours?

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    1. Hi Chris, the bottom of my pizza was cooked perfectly. It definitely took longer to cook than my daughters' gluten-filled pizzas. I wonder if the lack up an upcharge is because of Disney policies.

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    2. Well, that is good to know that a perfectly cooked bottom crust is possible! The pizza is a good value, and my husband really enjoyed his - he said Via Napoli is his Disney gold standard, but that Blaze is a nice choice for price and quality. That is a possible reason for the upcharge, though. I know that the Deluxe Burger did not upcharge for a GF bun, like many other burger places. Though, the bun at DeLuxe left much to be desired - I think i will go for a lettuce wrap on that next time.

      We're in the NYC/NJ area where there are PLENTY of options for GF pizza - we have a pizzeria nearby that is certified to be authenitcally Neopolitan (Via Napoli is certified by the same association) and they do the BEST GF pizza. There are many Neopolitan certified pizzerias in California, maybe one is near you and does GF pizza - http://americas.pizzanapoletana.org/members.php?a=California

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    3. I will check that out. Thank you! D-Luxe Burger is Disney owned and operated, so upcharges are not allowed. I love their lettuce wraps. The buns there are definitely not worth eating. I wish all Disney restaurants used Deanna's gluten free buns. They are the best. D-Luxe uses Local Oven brand.

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  2. Oh this intrigued me to want to see if there was a Blaze near me and there are 2 in Michigan. One will be just 20 minutes from my house. I'm looking forward to trying it.

    Christy Pudyk
    (Pack Your Pixie Dust on the web.)

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