May 3 Grassway Organics

Finally! My 2019 Pizza Farm Season has started. The season opener was a lead I followed off my Instagram feed. Grassway Organics in East Troy, Wisconsin posted about their First Night of the Season, mentioning that they’d be featuring a Gluten Free option! I immediately contacted some of my GF friends to share the good news and to see if they were free on Friday night. We made plans to leave work a little early and hit the road to East Troy, one of the relatively close Pizza Farms to the Chicago area where I now live.

One special thing about my Pizza Farm Season Opener is that I went with one Gluten Free friend and one Vegan friend! Two of the biggest obstacles for potential Pizza Farm goers is that pizza farm pizzas are often very gluten and dairy centric. When I go off on my Pizza Farm explanation and declaration of love, I sometimes get a response from folks who essentially say, “Sounds kind of cool, but I am gluten free,” or “I might like it, but I am vegan.” More and more I have seen Pizza Farms able to add gluten free options to their menu. And as far as vegans, there has always been the option to leave the cheese off. I mean, I love cheese, but when you are working with the freshest and most delicious produce around, you can easily find combinations that taste good without cheese. So now all you Gluten Free and vegan pizza lovers can add Grassway Organics to your list of places to try!

I introduced two friends, one from Sugar Beet Food Co-op and one from The Dill Pickle Co-op, and we started our hour and a half trek through Friday Chicago traffic out to the country, keeping ourselves busy with conversation and La Croix. Upon arrival I found a nice little corner and set up my portable Pizza Farm eating station including a fold up table, camp chairs, a pizza table cloth, pizza plates, and of course, all of my pizza clothes. Several of the other people in attendance looked over with slight amusement and appreciation at our dedication to the theme.

With that out of the way, we went over to say hi to Pizza Farmers, Megan and Chaz, and get our first round of drinks. We perused the menu and discussed which options would be best vegan. Chaz shared that he originally got into farming because he was vegan, so he had some ideas and support for our vegan and gluten free choices. He was even able to cook our Gluten Free crusts, made by Chambers Creek Kitchen, in a separate oven.

Our pizzas were delicious and loaded with fresh organic peas, mushrooms, green onions, and sauce as well as one with some of the organic sausage. We enjoyed two rounds of pizza outside as the sun set and the temperature dropped. Our layers of pizza clothes and the heat from the camp fire going helped to keep us warm. The live music added a nice background and before it got completely dark we fittingly saw a rainbow stretch over the farm.

All in all, it was a delicious and fun evening. But by the end, I had to cave. I was happy to share this experience with my gluten free and vegan friends, but my love of cheesey floury pizza is too strong. Just before we left and after I had already eaten a full dinner of gf vegan pizza, I couldn’t stop myself from ordering one of the full size flour crust spring pizzas loaded with organic mozzarella direct from Grassway Organics, nettles, ramps, and Grassway Organics own sausage on top. I am happy for my friends that they can still enjoy the Pizza Farm experience, but I can’t lie – the classic flour crust and the delicious cheesey cheese was far and away my favorite! And sure, one pizza is a lot for just one person, even a Pizza Farm enthusiast like me, but it was exciting to take the leftovers to work and share some of the goodness with my Co-op co-workers.