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veggie grill: still edible when i’m nauseous!
6April 15th, 2008LA restaurants, veggie grill
so…this sunday i went on a wild drinking binge until i felt so ill i wanted snuff it. and by “wild drinking binge” i mean, literally 2 beers. yeah, the ipa at this deathtrap otherwise known as the red car brewery makes me sick every time i go, and i always attribute my pain to some poor undeserving factor. well, never again. you heard it here: the red car brewery ipa is fucking toxic. don’t drink it. if a serious lush like me wants to crawl into bed with a sick sack after just two pints, it has no business being behind the counter.
luckily for me, on the way home from my sunday bender, i passed the veggie grill and decided to give it a try…in spite of my ailment.
and boy, was i grateful! while i may not place the exact same order again, i will definitely return to the veggie grill.
i knew the minute i walked and saw the exact eames chairs i have in my dining room while blondie played in the background, that i was in a friendly place.
ordering was easy. a big menu board hung in the entrance of the restaurant, so there was plenty of time to stand and decide before walking up to the counter and receiving a number.
we started with the baja fiesta salad:
chopped romaine, papaya, avocado, roasted corn salsa, quinoa, cucumber, cilantro with a ginger-papaya vinaigrette. $8.95now, this salad was delicious, and i’m sure many diners would give it an “a+”. however, in my book, it automatically topped out with a “b” when it came sprinkled with un-advertised bell peppers! gross, i fucking hate bell peppers. fortunately i was able to pick them out and enjoy the salad, despite the completely overbearing papaya flavor. all things considered, this dish leveled out at a “b-“. points were deducted for the bell peppers and papaya, although i definitely appreciated the greasy tortilla crisps littered throughout. next time, i think i’ll try a salad option that’s a little less exotic and fusiony.
next up, the “don’t be a chicken” sandwich:
grilled chillin’ chickin’, lettuce, tomato, red onion, chipotle ranch. $8.50yum, this was pretty flawless. the vegetables were fresh and crisp, the dressing was cool and creamy, and the fake chicken was thick and flavorful. a+!!!
and to top it off, it came with the most amazing side dish. there was a choice of sweetheart fries, steamin’ kale, or spring mix salad for an extra charge. i opted for the kale because it sounded healthy and interesting, and it ended up being the highlight of the meal.
this leafy cabbage relative was delightful, and the ginger-miso dressing was a perfect compliment. i’m looking forward to eating it again, and from what i read, it’s pretty healthy too.
overall, the veggie grill was a fab find. hopefully next time i return i will be sober enough to sample their organic beers, and well enough to indulge in some of their more tasty fried offerings.
Tags: drunk, fake chicken, salad, soy meat, veggie grill
6 responses to “veggie grill: still edible when i’m nauseous!” 
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I must make it there someday soon!
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Nice post!
i will never go to the red car brewery…EVER.
did you ask if their beer was vegetarian? most IPAs are not.
thanks for the photos. i will link your post to my post on this fine subject./F/T/
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mr meaner April 16th, 2008 at 19:59
foodtrance: yeah, sadly, most beers (especially the dark ones) use finings (isinglass) from fish gills to clear out the cloudy malt that remains after the brewing process. a friend of mine works for a brewing federation in the UK, and he’s an electron microscopist (long title, long story), and he assures me that nothing remains of the finings at a molecular level after the process is completed. I equate the moral dilema the same as eating organic green leaf salad delivered on a truck where the driver and everybody in the supply chain ate meat which gave them energy to do their jobs and bring me the produce. this is an interesting debate – how far should one take one’s commitment to avoiding any kind of animal produce/animal cruelty. to live in the west we have to compromise and turn a blind eye every day.
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Earlene April 26th, 2008 at 16:24
Foods looks appetizing and delicious. Any chance of asking the owner for at least one recipe? However, if they use any kind of preservative, this vegan restaurant is NOT more me! I wish more and more people would ask and if the owner’s response is yes, refuse to partake. We need to get the crap out of our food, people!….it’s killing us bite by bite, especially since anyone with a brain knows it is totally unnecessary.
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Veggie Eddie August 14th, 2010 at 14:43
The Kale Salad was the Best salad I’ve ever had and the
Sweet Potato fries were awesome! This is surely one restaurant to check out. -
Charlene September 20th, 2010 at 06:52
One of my favorite places in L.A..
I didn’t think I would EVER get to have carne asada again, but thanks to Veggie Grill, I can, and it’s wonderful!
The All American Stack is fabulous as well.
Luckily I often go with a friend, and we split those two. 🙂
Vegyogini April 16th, 2008 at 10:11