as you may or may not know, i’m a huge fan of native foods. it’s a westwood vegan establishment with several original options whose ingredients i completely trust. imagine how delighted i was on my coachella vacation last weekend when i looked up the nearest vegan restaurant to my hotel in palm springs and found a native foods just 2 MILES AWAY!
…bliss!

latino lover pizza: mexican marinara, soy taco meat, salsa fresca, corn, avocado, cilantro, and vegan sour cream. he cha-cha! $13.95

yes, luckily my parents happened to be in town, and i definitely owed them lunch for saving my ass. so what better place to treat them to a meal at, than the quarrygirl.com approved native foods?

now, while i LOVE native foods, my only problem with this restaurant is the ubiquitous unadvertised bell peppers which DRIVE ME MAD and are sprinkled all over most dishes. no matter what i do, i can’t seem to remember to ask for my meals without them. i digress. back to the wonderful food!

as you can see, the latino lover pizza was utterly amazing. my parents were actually the ones to order it, but i took quite a large helping for myself and enjoyed every bite. soy taco meat, soft bread, avocado and vegan sour cream were quite the contrast to the zesty tomatoey italian sauce. for some reason, it totally worked though, and the end result was a completely satisfying vegan pizza SANS any sort of cheese substitute. this is not something i would usually like, but believe me…in this case I DID!

now, because i was eating light and saving up for all the vegan coachella food that evening, i merely ordered a side of greens.

get ‘yo greens: steamed organic leafy greens with your choice of balsamic vinaigrette or lemon and gomasio. get ‘yo calcium, iron, and magnesiYum!: $4.50

the greens were absolutely delicious….but they had FUCKING BELL PEPPERS (which i HATE!!!!!!) sprinkled all over them. DAMN IT! i’ve! got! to! remember! to! always! order! no! bell peppers! at native foods!!!! what is it about this restaurant that is makes them assume every bloody vegan wants bell pepper-laden food? if the meals weren’t so great, i’d be SO OVER them. grrrrrrrrahahhghgghhghhgh! 

anyways, after i’d picked all the bell peppers out of my greens and ate half my parents’ food, i’d had a quite lovely meal indeed. 

i’d have to say the native foods in palm springs is even nicer than the one in westwood. the atmosphere is more welcoming, less rushed, and less like a deli. i even noticed a few extra items on the menu, which i can’t wait to go back and try!

great job, native foods! you managed to win me over AGAIN…even after completely sabotaging my meal with disgusting inedible bell peppers. if that doesn’t sound like the absolute highest compliment to you, well…then you just don’t know me! but i will be back.

native foods in palm springs. 1775 E. palm canyon drive. (it’s in a shopping center, so be on the lookout.)

welcoming interior, albeit full of old people. (it is palm springs!)

lovely outdoor dining area! (maybe someday it will cool down enough in palm springs for people to actually sit there.)