UPDATE: since this post, the vegan spot has CLOSED. a new vegetarian cafe has taken its place. this is very sad news indeed. there is no more vegan spot…but i will leave the original post up below for those of you who want to reminisce.

as you probably know, lately i’ve been having a passionate love affair with the vegan spot in silver lake. especially since there’s been so much talk about them going up for sale on craigslist, i feel that it’s my duty to eat there as much as possible, meaning i’ve been stopping in a couple times per week. in a quest to try everything on the vegan spot’s menu, i order something new almost every time i go, and am continually amazed at their ability to make each dish even better than the last. the vegan spot is frickin’ incredible.

french bread pizza: tomato and basil. $6.95

"turkey dinner" sandwich: thinly sliced and freshly prepared "turkey" layered with cranberry stuffing, basil and soy cream cheese on toasted herbed focaccia. $9.95

portobello sandwich: portobello mushroom, spinach and aoli served warm off the grill. $9.95

blta: maple smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado served with aoli on your choice of toasted 6 grain, bavarian rye or sourdough. $8.95

as you can see, all this shit was really really good. i don’t think i’ve ever tried so many things at one restaurant and have them all be so unbelievably tasty. i’ve been eager to try the pizza from the vegan spot for quite some time, because all the fake cheese in their other entrees has been very melty. i was anxious to see if the soy mozz would be equally impressive. of course, it was! the single serving pizza was the perfect meal, stacked with incredible gooey real-tasting cheese, thick juicy tomatoes and fresh basil. i was rubbing my tummy for hours after eating this.

just look at the melty cheese!

next up, the turkey dinner sandwich was something unlike any food i’ve ever tasted. huge, thick salty strips of fake turkey (imagine that delicious pre-packaged deli-sliced tofurky and multiply its tastiness by 1000!), small cranberry chunks along with soft cream cheese and garlic sauce. seriously, this was better than any thanksgiving i’ve ever had. plus, they served it up with a side of spinach leaves drenched in the most amazing dressing. you have to try this meal out to believe me. nothing i can write will possibly describe how well a turkey dinner can be consolidated in a vegan sandwich. nothing short of magic.

the portobello sandwich was also extremely succulent. a plump and juicy meat-a-licious mushroom went with the crusty and oily foccacia so bloody well. not to mention the slightly-wilted greens in the middle which soaked up the mild grease from the bread perfectly. this sandwich was all around super. the perfect healthy-ish junk food: maybe a little heavy on the oil, but balanced out by the fact that the main attraction was a portobello (basically no calories).

lastly, the blta was of course awesome as well. taking the blt one step further, this vegan version consisted of bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado. everything was top notch, and this sumptuous version took the old sammy to a new level. mostly thanks to the fake maple bacon that the vegan spot has invented. it borders on the sweet side, but is still completely irresistible. so much salty-meaty flavor combined with grilled bread, fresh tomato and creamy avocado makes for ultimate sandwich bliss. this entree sounds more simple than the others, but it is every bit as tasty.

so, if you can’t tell by now, i’m kind of obsessed with the vegan spot. i hope they aren’t going anywhere soon because their food is fucking crazy good.

get over there and try out something. everything i’ve had on the menu is awesome.

oh, and in case you need the menu, here it is.

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for now, the vegan spot definitely has the best vegan take-out, the best sandwiches, and the best fake cheese in town…full stop. 😀