Los Angeles Favorites

I am pleased to announce that all my old favorites in Los Angeles were as good, if not better, than I remembered them, so here's a quick rundown of what to eat should you find yourself in SoCal.

The All Hail Kale salad at The Veggie Grill is ridiculous.  Seriously.  So good.  You will love it and your body will love you for eating it.  I got mine with the blackened "chicken" but you could get tempeh.  Or nothing, you purist.  Kale is amazing and this is my favorite way to eat it "down south".

My favorite veggie burger on the planet, you ask?   The "I am Magical" at Cafe Gratitude.  Cashew mustard sauce....  yes!  Why is this not on the menu at CG up here???    Sigh.

Oh and the desserts there, like this chocolate mousse pie, also rule.

Sunday brunch at Real Food Daily is a MUST because you can order the "Big Ole Waffle", above, which is light and airy and perfectly sweet.  I get mine without the regular dusting of powdered sugar because it totally doesn't need it.  RFD also gives you your savory fix:

I made my own tofu scramble, choosing spinach and tempeh bacon crumbles from their long list of options.  Amazing.  And that mysterious sauce on top is something awesome I never figured out.  Just eat it and be happy.  No questions asked.

Dinner at Real Food Daily is also pretty great, although for me the large menu can be a tad overwhelming.  The burger with the works, however, is ALWAYS a good choice.  You are a fool to choose any other side besides the potato salad.  It rocks.

Lastly, RFD's dessert options are pretty great too.  Of the gluten-free chocolate chip cookie, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate pudding that our table shared, the pudding was the overwhelming favorite.  Creamy, rich, and fun on the tongue, y'all!

So there you have it. Another L.A. trip in the books.  Next up, a fantastical SF discovery you have to see to believe.  :)   Have a great weekend, everyone.

New (To Me) L.A. Eats

I have a few restaurants in Los Angeles that I absolutely love, and I definitely hit them up on my recent trip.  But I also went to four new places this go around, and while there was a definite miss, the hits were hard hitting, proving yet again that L.A. knows its vegan stuff.

On our first night, we went to the fancy pants Penthouse at The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica.  We were meeting up with friends who had picked the place based on the killer view and delicious eats.  Well, the view was all fogged in (damn marine layer), but the food did not disappoint - from my special amuse bouche (above), which came as everyone else got cheesy popovers, to this smokey yet bright artichoke plate entree:

That cauliflower underneath and a pine nut gremolata on top.  So flavorful!  There was also some wonderfully chewy veggie flatbread and a mixed green salad on par with the best.  Just goes to show that a call ahead to an omnivorous restaurant is always worth it.

On another day I met a friend from Riverside halfway between where I was in Santa Monica and his place.  Turns out Rowland Heights is a great in between spot, as it is home to numerous all-veg Chinese restaurants, including our choice, Happy Family.  The mushroom chicken, above, was addictively good, and the Buddha's Delight veggie plate, below, made us feel like we were maybe eating something remotely good for us.  Hooray!

Back in omnivore land, we tried True Food Kitchen in Santa Monica one night.  I absolutely loved my pizza:

The caramelized onions were the perfect sweet counterpart to the roasted kale, and the whole thing came together in a beautifully tasty way.  I loved TFK for its well-marked menu (vegan, veg, and gluten-free items abound) as well as their decent beer and wine list.  I look forward to going back one day.

The disappointment of the trip was definitely Seed.  I had heard good things and was really looking forward to trying it, but our experience was no good.  My salad (the "chop chop") was decent enough...

... but the facts that everything comes in disposable containers, and that there's no bathroom in a place charging so much for their food, both really rubbed me the wrong way.  With so much amazing vegan food just down the street in Santa Monica, I will never again make the trip to Venice just for lunch.

Next up, I return to some old faves for some new eats.  L.A. food is SO GOOD!

Two Words: Bake. Sale. Now Go!

I knew it had been a while since I posted anything here, but I had no idea it'd been almost a month. Forgive me. Life is busy (in a good way) and don't forget I'm perpetually active over at Vegan Favorites. In any case, I am off to LA tomorrow, which means plenty of good eats for me to report, but it also means that I can't attend this awesome event this weekend:

You guys, I LOVE the SF Vegan Bake Sale and I'm so bummed to miss it. It's even at the VegNews headquarters which makes it doubly awesome. I implore you to go and eat enough for you and me (and all your friends). You will be happier, and so will the House Rabbit Society, whom the bake sale supports. Bunnies need your money and you need sweet treats, so eat up. If I come back to SF and find out there were any leftovers from this thing, I am going to be supremely disappointed in you all!

Northern Bites

A quick nod to two vegan-friendly establishments north of the Golden Gate. The first one has been written up before (though I just now see that I spelled its name wrong throughout the post), but is worth another mention for their quality food and location. Seriously, if you haven't tried Guaymas, you really should.

Sit outside on a nice day, and enjoy fresh guacamole and salsas and... this salad perhaps. Full of crisp lettuce, veggies, and avocado, it also comes with a creamy (sans cream of course) cilantro dressing that is super yummy. Plus, it's served in a tortilla bowl. Anything served in deep fried dough is a winner in my book. :) Speaking of dough....

That was my arugula topped marinara pie at Pizzeria Tra Vigne in St. Helena. It is, quite simply, perfect post-wine tasting fare. Their dough, sauce, and all non-cooked veggie toppings are vegan. The sauteed veggies, like the mushrooms and onions, however, are done in butter. Trust me, that still leaves you PLENTY of topping options.

Hope you all have a lovely week. My friend and writing partner, Shelley, is arriving tomorrow from Boston, so stay tuned for some of our delicious eats!

The Source

Why it took me almost a year since The Source opened to finally grab a meal there is beyond me, but that is exactly what happened. Throughout that year, I continually heard great things about the all-veg eatery, so when I took my parents last week, I had high expectations. Expectations that were FAR exceeded. Let's see some food, shall we?

First up was this artichoke and spinach fondue appetizer. Holy crap. I hadn't had artichoke and spinach dip in more than 15 years I'd guess, but this reminded me of a warm and even tastier version. There was just a hint of truffle oil, and the soft pita for dipping was divine. What a way to start the meal.

I had the Living Platter, which combines a few of their raw salads, a hemp seed tabouleh, some raw crackers with tasty sauce, and savory marinated mushrooms. My favorite part was definitely the Caesar salad, which I will order as a started on my next visit for sure. All in all a very solid raw food meal.

For dessert? A chocolate peanut butter snowball. Mmmmmm..... Not into chocolate and peanut butter? After you get the professional help you obviously need, try a "Twinkee":

Light and fluffy and sugary and so damn good.

I also tried delicious bites of my table mates' cashew cheese pizza, and Peking "Quack" spring rolls. Both were so good, and the best part of The Source is that the menu is so damn big you could go many, many (MANY) times and try something new each visit. That's my plan, and I hope to see you there!

PS - My only complaint about The Source is that it's not all vegan. Every menu item can be made vegan, and delectably so, so why not just take the plunge and commit, Source???

All My SF Favorites

My parents are safe and sound back home in NJ now, after yet another wonderful visit to the Bay Area. We saw the sites, enjoyed some quality time together and, of course, had some

delicious eats. I'll write about the new-to-us food (and boy was it incredible), but I thought I'd put up a quick post about all the old favorites we visited during the week. These are the mid-range restaurants that deliver consistently tasty meals, visit after visit. First up was Cha-Ya:

The seaweed salad is just the tip of the iceberg at this all-vegan sushi joint. No frills. Just fantastically fresh and flavorful food.

Of course, we also had to head over the Bay Bridge for the cashew cheese pizza at Gather. It's slightly spicy and spiked with salty olives. Plus it has the best crispy yet chewy crust you ever could imagine.

In my neighborhood lives a great go-to meal, the farmer's market salad (sans cheese) with mini veggie burgers at Roam. The side of sweet potato fries is optional, but highly recommended.

And lastly, my mom's favorite meal in all of SF: The veggie dog and tater tots from Underdog. A classic done so well.

These are just a few of the reasons I love living in SF. Stay tuned for some of the over-the-top edibles from their visit soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Vegan Cheese at Delarosa

Last night I was out in my 'hood and we decided to brave the long wait at delarosa and get some cheese-less pizzas. I am a HUGE fan of their sister restaurant, Beretta, as you know, and while I was disappointed that delarosa didn't adopt Beretta's inclusion of vegan cheese, I was always still happy to eat there because the sauce and crust are so damn good, the veggies are always cooked to perfection, and the olive oil they use is high quality stuff. So imagine how happy I was when I got my menu last night and saw that delarosa now has vegan cheese! Hooray!

Even though it's the worst picture in the world from my terrible phone camera, my funghi pizza was delicious as all get out.... and I mean, artisan vegan pizza in my neighborhood, you guys. I'm happy.

Speaking of things that make me happy, my parents arrive for a visit tomorrow, and you know what that means. I'm breaking out the fat pants for a vegan tour of the Bay Area like no other. Old faves, new spots, they're all on the radar. Stay tuned for some local eats that'll blow your mind. Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!