Pizza Luce
Profile
$$ - average
American, Italian (Southern), Pizza
Serious pizza and sandwiches
Pizza Luce has great food and a lively atmosphere, and some of the very best pizza in the cities. They're also one of the few pizza places to cater to vegans: pizza options include "rinotta cheese" and two kinds of mock duck, as well as a wide range of vegetable toppings from sundried tomatoes to corn. Menu also includes vegan appetizers and sandwiches. Desserts change daily, and often include vegan cake! They now offer brunch at this location on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few vegan options.
Open late, free delivery to Downtown and surrounding areas.
Added by jello on Mar 11 03 (updated Apr 30)
Reviews
tried the weekend brunch recently. was pretty tasty. nice to have more vegan breakfast options. for vegans they have tofu scramble, a portobello florentine, biscuits and gravy and i think a breakfast burrito? would be nice to have a sweet option too, but still anything more is nice.
I had the "Rustler" pizza and REALLY enjoyed it--one of my favorite pizzas so far. It had mock duck (what is this city's fascination w/ mock duck?), BBQ sauce, banana peppers, caramelized onions, pineapple, and vegan mozz cheese. Absolutely delicious.
They only had one vegan dessert (some peanut butter oat bar w/ chocolate), and from what the guy said, it seems like that's all they usually carry, which is disappointing.
This location of Pizza Luce has been the most consistent for me. The spicy mock duck is always juicy and spicy and flavorful. The rinotta is tasty, but suffers the same fate as other locations: sometimes it is spread on thick and evenly, other times there just isn't enough.
The soy cheese is pretty great, too. Again, a little hit and miss as far as getting it to melt just right, but this is a difficult task anyway.
Overall, this location beats out the others in my opinion. The atmosphere wins, hands down. Uptown feels too much like an unwelcoming cafeteria (get in and get out) and Seward's design just seems "off" to me. Saint Paul has the 2nd best atmosphere.
Most of the Luce's I've been to have rated about the same. They have a decent array of vegan options, and it's consistently pretty good.
I have fun every time that I go here. Pizza and beer... who can ask for anything more? Service is prompt and attentive without being pukey and cheerful. The place has attitude, and I like it! It's lively and relaxing at the same time. I feel almost enlightened when I eat there.
I tried their soy cheese for the first time, and I prefer it to the animal-based dairy cheeses, because the soy cheese is lighter. I recommend it! I haven't tried their rinotta yet, so I can't comment on that... that will be my next adventure and next visit. The other toppings and the crisp crust make a perfect match.
I like their pizza so much that I haven't ventured into the many other offerings. I haven't had a good enough excuse to do otherwise.
Update: Since the original review, I've tried their vegan spaghetti & "meatballs" and I like it-- tangy tomato sauce. Some people might find the "meatballs" on the dry side (but I'd prefer dry to soggy or greasy).
Also, the rinotta vegan cheese tastes good. It's a second to Galactic Pizza's version, but it holds its own. I'd order it again anytime.
This place is fantastic! The wide variety of vegan choices is amazing--just looking at the menu makes me happy. The vegan cake I had here was the best I have ever had, and that's saying a lot considering my addiction to vegan desserts. The atmosphere is relaxed and pleasant, with a great soundtrack most of the time. It's also nice to have a place where picky omnivorous friends will eat, too.
I love Pizza Luce, the food is similar at each of it's minneapolis locations, but the downtown Pizza Luce has had this wierd tendancy to be out of the topping I want or deliver a pizza with different (yet still vegan) toppings than what I ordered.
Any place I can find something to eat as a Veggie, wins points in my book. Pizza Luce has several menu items I can eat. One complaint about Pizza Luce Downtown -- twice now when I've ordered the VEGAN muffletta sandwich, they give it to me with egg in it! ARGH! I still love them though...
what can you really say when it's pizza luce? not only do they make the best pizza anywhere in the twin cities -- it's not even close -- pretty much everything else they make, from hoagies to pasta to salads to desserts, just excels. they do pay close attention to the vegan diet, and come up with some delicious and creative results -- the spicy mock sausage hoagie, for example. just a few of the many, many vegetarian items i'd recommend are: garlic mashed potato pizza; chickless dijon hoagie; focaccia katerina; spinach salad; carrot cake. or, create your own pizza from the selection of 52 toppings. my current favorite is broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, fire roasted corn, and smoked gouda cheese. on top of all this, it's a fun place to go and hang out downtown, before or after a show, or simply for its own sake. viva luce!
I love Pizza Luce! Just thinking about the Rustler pizza (with soy cheese, of course) makes my mouth water. I think they only have one vegan dessert, a peanut butter bar with chocolate on top, but it's awesome. I love that they put symbols marking what is vegan or can be made vegan. I will never get sick of this place.