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seed opens up in venice
21November 10th, 2008LA restaurants, seeda new vegan macrobiotic restaurant has just opened up in venice, and it’s incredible. my husband and i had the pleasure of checking out seed this weekend, and both dishes we tried were delicious.
eric lachasseur, the original chef de patisserie at la’s famous m cafe, has now (along with his wife sanae) opened up his very own macrobiotic restaurant in venice. seed’s food is quite similar to that of m cafe, with one very important difference: while m cafe serves fish, seed is 100% vegan. not only that, but the food that i tried seemed lighter and healthier than what i’ve eaten at m cafe, and still just as delicious.
the menu at seed isn’t huge, but every single item on it looks incredible. paninis, hot bowls, burgers and sweets…there is so much to choose from. i had quite a hard time deciding what to eat! finally, i chose the soyrella, tomato and basil panini, which was out of this world.
soyrella, tomato and basil panini: tomato, fresh basil, vegan soy cheese and pesto sandwich. freshly grilled and served with coleslaw. $8.95
i’ve had paninis at other restaurants that are dripping with oil and taste all around fattening, but not this sandwich! even though this was slathered in rich pesto, it still tasted incredibly light. stacked high with thick tomatoes and fresh basil, each bite of the sandwich was bursting with wonderful italian flavor. the soy cheese was thin and not greasy at all—it went perfectly with the creamy sauce and crunchy grilled bread. at $3 dollars less than a panini at m cafe, i gotta say this was a great deal!
my husband was stoked to see that seed had FOUR burgers to choose from. it took him a few minutes, but he decided on the southwest burger. we both loved it.
southwest burger: bean & grain burger with lettuce, vegan soy cheese, guacamole and ancho chili spread. $9.95
the burger arrived unassembled with a huge mound of guacamole and a large slice of vegan cheese. when i saw the thick and freshly-made patty, i knew it would be a winner. my husband also got a bun upgrade for $1.50 to an organic seven-grain sourdough bun. it was really tasty, although i have no idea how much better it was than just a “normal” bun…’cause we didn’t try that.
i think it’s safe to say, this is one of the best vegan burgers in los angeles. the sauce is absolutely amazing, filled with unique flavor and southwest flare. this dish was filled with stuff us vegans LOVE: guacamole, fresh vegetables, a succulent patty, and of course…soy cheese that actually tastes good! and the best part is, seed has 3 other burgers that i haven’t even tried yet! most places just have one vegan burger…i cannot believe that seed actually has FOUR.
dining in seed is quite pleasant and lovely as well. the food is served up in bio-degradable to go containers, and there’s one long wooden communal table, plus several small tables. the place has big windows, so during the day the interior is totally soaked in sunlight. it makes for a nice, comfy place to chill and enjoy lunch. when we visited seed, it was sunday morning at around 10:30 am and to my surprise, the place was already hoppin’ with customers! word of mouth on this restaurant must be pretty awesome.
we sat next to a woman who was eating what appeared to be the saisai donburi macro bowl with kabocha, kale, shitake, arame, bean sprouts, sauerkraut and miso sauce. even though i had just eaten a whole sandwich, i was totally drooling over her meal. i can’t wait to go back to seed and check out all the other stuff on the menu.
the service was also great at seed. you place your order at the counter, and they call you when your food is ready. the girl serving us was bubbly and friendly, and was happy to accommodate us with some extra hot sauce. our food came out quickly and was handed to us with a smile. plus, eric lechasseur himself was strolling around the small restaurant, introducing himself to customers and making sure they were satisfied. on their opening weekend, seed was putting forward great effort to make sure everyone was pleased and taken care of.
on top of great meals, seed also offers some pretty tasty-looking desserts. they even have a SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM MACHINE! omg. you have no idea how excited that gets me! unfortunately, when i was there it was out of order. i CANNOT WAIT to return once they get it working—i haven’t had soft-serve ice cream in years!
seed also carries a large selection of vegan cupcakes, which i’ve heard are amazing. they have green tea, chocolate, vanilla coconut, and sweet azuki bean…all of which look delicious. i was tempted to order one, but decided to save myself for a future visit. the display case is filled with these attractive cupcakes, each one topped with a huge swirly blob of creamy frosting. i wanted to take a picture of the dessert case, but just as i finished up my meal, none other than alicia silverstone walked in and started admiring the restaurant. i quickly put my camera away and decided not to photograph the cupcakes. i’d hate for alicia or anyone else to think i was some scum bag trying to get a shot of her.
so, los angeles vegans, head over and check out seed as soon as you can! as far as i’m concerned, this place is way better than m cafe and definitely one of my new favorites. i left wanting more and feeling healthy. i urge you to do the same!
word of warning: seed has no public restrooms! so plan accordingly. don’t drink 2 liters of water or anything before you show up.
seed
1604 pacific avenue
venice, ca 90291
(310)396-1604open daily
Tags: burger, macrobiotic, panini
10 am to 9 pm
20 responses to “seed opens up in venice” 
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Can’t wait to try Seed! FYI–the Hugo’s tacos in Atwater Village also just added vegan fro yo!
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Yet another “must try” to add to my list! Also, I see the onion invasion in the cole slaw, so I know for sure not to order that!
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Oh wow, nice Alicia Silverstone spotting! What time were you there? We were there right at 1pm.
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I have seriously been talking about vegan soft serve for years. I even researched suppliers and priced out machines. Too expensive to justify without owning a suitable eatery to put it but I’m glad somebody got going on that.
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miss anthrope November 10th, 2008 at 18:59
liz: thanks for the tip on hugo’s tacos! i don’t even know where atwater village is, but i’m gonna freaking find it fast if they have vegan fro yo! hellzyeah.
vegyogini: don’t miss it. so worth the drive to the west side!
lex: we were there from around 10:30 to 11. i know that sounds early, but i just COULDN’T WAIT to try this place out. i’m totally jealous of those pix from yours and kristin’s feast!
scvegan: dude, i am the same way. that’s why i am so bloody excited about the ice cream. the minute they get that machine working, i’m going back!
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email Eric and tell him to notify us the second that softserve machine is up! Its going to be in the 90s later this week, maybe we can do a vegan ice cream social meetup there, lol
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miss anthrope November 11th, 2008 at 07:29
lex: that sounds like a great idea! his assistant emailed me, so i will ask her to keep me posted on the soft serve machine. likewise, if you hear anything, do let me know! if only they knew how much excitement this damn ice cream machine was kicking up!
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Is the machine just broken or are they still working on a soft serve recipe for vegans? If it’s the latter I did that research already. Cones too.
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miss anthrope November 11th, 2008 at 18:08
scvegan: i am pretty sure he has a recipe, but they haven’t got the machine working yet.
what is your recipe?!!?
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I promise you guys will be the first to know when the ice cream machine is working. Eric has a great recipe, but the machine is built for regular dairy ice cream, so it takes some tweaking.
I will mention to him the dyer need to get the thing running before the heat hits again!
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miss anthrope November 12th, 2008 at 08:55
christy: THANKS! yes, please keep us posted. i can’t bloody WAIT for vegan soft-serve!
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Gordon_Gecko November 13th, 2008 at 14:31
From my research it seems that any sit down restaurant with more than 10 chairs is required to have a restroom.
Do they have less than 10 chairs or are they just dicks?
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Its only zoned for take out so they aren’t permitted to have a public restroom. They are working as fast as possible to get it rezoned, but they definitely did they best they could with the space they have. There is a community table and probably around 10 chairs.
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miss anthrope November 13th, 2008 at 15:57
here is a response i just got about the restrooms from someone who works at seed:
“We are not a “sit down” restaurant. We are a take-out cafe that happens to have seating. All the places in the Venice area have no public restrooms because of the city code. It isn’t our decision. The bathroom is through the kitchen and no one except staff is allowed in the kitchen. That’s the way it goes. Nothing we can do about it. Sorry!
There are public restrooms on the Venice Boardwalk just across the street.”
there ya have it!
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WOW! I’m so happy that I finally ate here…and it was excellent! Each dish I tried (the minestrone soup, the mango tango bowl, the soysage panini, the indian curry, and the blackened tempeh burger – and a cup of their excellent organic coffee and the chocolate mousse – which was so decadent) was amazing. I feel much better after eating there!
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Had lunch at Seed today and I was blown away. My blackened tempeh sandwich was fab. And my fries were glorious. This place is worth a visit. I was so full from my delicious meal that I forgot to get a soft serve on my way out. I am kicking myself…
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Alicia Silverstone is the sex symbol in the late 90s, she is really very pretty.”~~
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Sprocket August 21st, 2010 at 08:22
Yes, Seed is the BEST place for vegan burgers!! I tried their black bean burger and bbq tempeh burger both awesome!! I love, love, love this place! At the moment this is my favorite place. I just wished it was closer.
Please open another location near the valley or hollywood!!!! -
how could we possibly forget Alicia Silvertone, she use to be the sex symbol of the 90s~-‘
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new vegan restaurant in studio city: sunpower natural cafe | vegan food and living in Los Angeles May 4th, 2009 at 19:14
[…] to note about sunpower: they are a ‘take out’ restaurant officially…kinda like seed in venice. so while they have tables, your food is served in to-go containers and you pay at the counter. the […]
Liz (¡Yo Soy!) November 10th, 2008 at 10:48