After much anticipation, New Ethic Pizzeria & Café opened
the doors to its own shop on September 4. I am always excited when a new
pizzeria opens, because I am of the mind that there is no such thing as too
much pizza. But it doesn’t hurt to have a unique feature, which New Ethic has:
its owner believes it is the first and only all-vegan pizzeria in the state,
north of New York City. When I learned that fact, I was more excited for its
opening day, checking and refreshing its Instagram and web page a few times a
day. I am not vegan myself, but it never hurts to eat exclusively plant-based
cuisine on a regular basis. Besides, vegetables and fruits are delicious.
Owner Matt Nersinger started out his venture last year as a periodic
pop-up at 2 Ton Tony’s in Irondequoit. I always missed the pop-up dates, so I
could only enjoy the photos of his creations online. But now he’s got a spot on
Titus Avenue, a neighbor to the pizzeria that hosted him throughout the year,
and the building that houses New Ethic is much cheerier for it.
You might
think that a vegan pizzeria is just latching onto a dietary fad for personal
gain, but Nersinger himself a vegan. And though this
is a business, he is running it in line with his personal beliefs. He says he
wants to provide folks with a plant-based dining opportunity, for sake of
healthy living, the planet, and safety of animals. Some fast food chains have
started offering “vegan” items, but in some cases their vegan patties are fried
on the same grill as their beef patties, the dollops of mayonnaise they put on
their sandwiches are still egg-based, and you can still get the burger with
cheese. In truth, all they really did was swap out one protein for another and
kept moving. It would be a whopper of a tale to claim that they really care
about the ethic of veganism.
Nersinger checked every detail of what came into his shop
to ensure there would be no cross-contamination, even in the production of his
ingredients. He uses locally-grown vegetables as much as he can. The beverage
refrigerator is stocked with sustainably sourced Just Water and Galvanina teas and beverages. The Coca-Cola products are
all sugar cane-based instead of the more common high-fructose corn syrup. Even
the ice cream for his milkshakes is vegan, and by the looks of the people
enjoying them in the shop, they are just as boys-to-yard-bringing as a regular
milkshake.
New Ethic
also offers vegan wings, with a sugar cane “bone” in the center. Though I
didn’t sample them, they look delicious. For anyone who is into wings, one of
the most satisfying parts of a wing feast is rending the meat from the bones
and tossing aside the cleaned-off bone into a bowl. Perhaps it is the inner
Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk in me. If I wanted boneless wings, I would
just get chicken nuggets. That New Ethic went out of their way to provide that
protein-rending experience in their vegan wings shows a commitment to customer
satisfaction that is hard to top.
If you like
a little kick in your pie, the 10-inch “A Fire Inside” ($10.99) is a decent
choice. Its base is a spicy Firestorm Sauce, banana peppers, jalapeños, and hot
cherry peppers. This is not for the faint of spice. Every bite was bursting
with the flavor from the hearty sauce and peppers. They do have 11 milder
choices if hot and spicy is not your thing. Additionally, you can create your
own pizza (small $9.99, large $16.99) in any combination of toppings ($0.99
each for small, $1.59 each for large). New Ethic Pizzeria & Café promises
to satisfy with its extensive menu of vegan selections. It is truly vegan fare
for everyone.
Since I
visited on New Ethic’s first day of business, I expected them to be busy and
for a line to be snaking through the shop. But there was a small line, and
though kitchen was a blur of motion, the folks waiting for their orders were
sitting patiently and calmly. There were no grumbles of delays in orders, just
the staff working as hard as they could and customers enjoying the space while
they waited.
Periodically,
manager Tony Proietti would come out to update folks
on the progress of their orders, and boast about the ingredients or the
delicious vegan milkshakes. He was apologetic about the wait time, but I do not
think anyone was surprised that a packed restaurant on its first day open was
slammed with so many food orders. I ordered pizza for take-away, but when I
received it, it smelled so good I had to try it right then.
Throughout
the minty-green-painted restaurant, there are placards and signs that declare
the space welcomes all immigrants, religions, abilities, genders, orientations,
races and ethnicities, ages, and languages. They are very nice signs, and I
appreciate the sentiment, but I am often skeptical of businesses that post
things like this, as they sometimes are more performative than true.
But it looks
like words are actions at New Ethic. I entered the restaurant, and it was full with folks of all ages, genders, sexes, races, and ethnicities. People were talking and laughing across separate tables, and a big
group that I thought were there together were actually strangers making new
acquaintances and friends.
This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2019.
