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jury duty vegan food: mendocino farms in downtown los angeles!
15February 25th, 2009LA restaurants, mendocino farmstoday i had the unfortunate opportunity to be called for jury duty and report to the metropolitan courthouse in downtown los angeles. i thought i was totally fucked…and well, i was. i wasted several valuable hours that could have been spent at the office, i killed way too many brain cells surfing the free wi-fi with absolutely no purpose, and i was subjected to good morning america, the view, oprah, and dr phil all within a short period of time (the volume turned up to full)! luckily downtown los angeles had one spectacular thing to offer…LUNCH! i lunched it up proper today and finally got acquainted with a place people keep RAVING about: mendocino farms.
vegan mushroom burger: veggan housemade mushroom and white bean burger with red onions, housemade pickles, tomatoes, sauteed greens and veganaise on ciabatta. $9.50
yep, my whole shitty day was validated with just one sandwich. for quite awhile, i’ve been hearing mad buzz about the downtown la vegan-friendly sandwich shop mendocino farms. the place calls itself an environmentally-friendly and conscious eatery, offering local, vegan and organic options. laist, my fave local blog, highlighted its amazing vegan selection, and mendocino even got a ringing endorsement from buddy and fellow blogger jennshaggy, who told me i just had to check out the meatless sandwiches. the few vegetarians and vegans i know who have tried this place all swear by it, and after today i am no different.
located in the 300 s grand business plaza, mendocino farms is smack dab in the heart of a bustling food court, with loads of busy angelist professionals lining up in really pro attire to grab a midday meal. when i arrived in rush mode from the courthouse, it was nearing 12:15pm, and i had to be back in the jury purgatory/holding room at 1:30. the line for mendocino was so bloody long, i seriously thought i’d never be able to eat there and get back in time. i’m not talking about just a “long line”. this thing was literally 65-70 people deep and would have taken at least an hour to stand in. i chatted to a chick near the top quarter of the queue, and she said she’d been waiting for about forty minutes. see for yourself. this line winds way around the building to the left. luckily i found my way around the madness.
mendocino farms line, be sure to call ahead and skip it!
i took one look at that crowd and knew i couldn’t hang. here is a tip to all vegans who visit mendocino farms in the future, this totally worked for me: go to the shop and suss out the situation, if the line is massive, call the restaurant and order your food to go. they will give you a wait time of about 15 minutes, during which you can stroll around the grounds and check out the water garden…before returning to mendocino and BYPASSING THE ENTIRE LINE TO PICK UP YOUR SANDWICH. that’s what i did. yep, i called ahead, took a leisurely stroll and then grabbed a sandwich that was hot and ready. oh yeah, and i also stopped for a long moment to smugly grin at the dozens of people who arrived before i did and were still waiting in line. 🙂
tricks and tips of the trade aside, my mendocino farms meal was very delicious and unique in its own right. a luscious vegan burger filled with beans, mushrooms and spices, piled high with crisp vegetables and creamy condiments on a fresh and crunchy ciabatta roll.
super awesome vegan mushroom burger from mendocino farms.
the patty soft and mushy, but in a really good way. whole chunks of mushrooms and large white bean bits were all bound together to make a truly tasty burger. i gotta say, i was pretty impressed with the way they rushed out such a high-quality product in the midst of what seemed to be a million other orders.
all i gotta say is, if i lived or worked in downtown los angeles i would be eating at mendocino farms nearly everyday! unfortunately they are only open for limited hours during the week, and always seem to be extremely crowded. the menu is so vegan-accommodating though, that you must check them out if you are in the area. beyond a clearly marked menu of vegan sandwiches, they also have daily vegan soups, vegan salads and even vegan cookies. every month they have a “secret sandwich” which is also often vegan, and you can keep track of it via their mailing list. for february, the secret sandwich is the “Spicy Vegan Soyrizo Wrap: Vegan Soyrizo and Tofu Scramble with Roasted Potatoes, Shredded Romaine, Roasted Tomatoes and Veganaise on Grilled Tortilla Wrap for $9.50″ you should definitely give that a try in the few days we have before march and a new secret sandwich arrives!
los angeles vegans: if you find yourself anywhere near downtown la, hit up mendocino farms for an extremely satisfying lunch. definitely one of the best, heartiest sandwiches i’ve had in a while. and be sure to call them in advance, or even call in your order once you get there…otherwise, you could be stuck in line for ages. and to all vegans serving on jury duty at the downtown la hill street courthouse, this is your motherfucking SPOT! park on grand avenue by moca and eat at the outside tables. you will make it back in tons of time.
mendocino farms courtyard
ah, that great great sandwich. i will be hitting up this place as often as humanly possible.
mendocino farms
Tags: burger, ciabatta, downtown, downtown la, mushrooms, sandwich
300 South Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(tel) 213-620-1114
Hours 11:00am-3:00pm Mon-Fri
11 responses to “jury duty vegan food: mendocino farms in downtown los angeles!” 
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Mmmm yum!
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Bahahaha I just watched the TJ’s video. I’m sending it to everyone I know.
Let’s petition Mendocino to bring back the Vegan Chick’n Shawarma. Best sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my life.
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Who can wait in an hour line for their lunch break? What is it with LA people and lines? Great tip on the phone order!!!
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I LOVE Mendocino Farms but was kinda keeping it to myself… now you’ve gone and given away our little secret and the lines will be even longer… damn you!
Seriously though, this place is great. The only reason I haven’t written about them yet is because I always seem to order the stuff they have on special, which they only serve for a short time… then by the time I’m ready to blog and tell the world about it, they yummy thing I ate is already gone! Last summer they had this absolutely AMAZING vegan schawarama sandwich that was one of the best things I’ve ever had in my mouth. It tasted nothing like schawarma but all the same it was incredible. But then just as quick as it appear it was gone from the specials menu 🙁 I sure hope they bring that one back.
And yeah, excellent tip on the phoning it in thing, the lines at lunch time there really are ridiculous… as is the fact that they are only open for a few short hours during the week. Kills me that they are closed on weekends!
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Sorry about jury duty, but the sandwich looks great. Thanks for sharing!
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Jury duty is always a good reason to visit vegan places that you wouldn’t often visit otherwise. I got called in to the courthouse near LAX last month and tried Stuff I Eat for the first time.
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I wish I would have known about this when I had jury duty a few months ago…. the little phone message said I had to come in, and after going downtown, filling out the paperwork, watching the video, and sitting there the entire goddamn day, I didn’t even get called for QUESTIONING. Everyone got called for something, except for 5 of us that just sat in that stupid room the WHOLE DAY!!!! The worst part was that required 90-minute lunch break, because I didn’t know where to go and ended up eating at this awful overpriced Chinese place, which made me even more mad about the whole situation. Then, it got worse because I read almost all of “In Cold Blood” while I was in the waiting room for 7 hours, and therefore, ended the day wanting to kill everyone in the courthouse. SIGH….. maybe next year, I can check out Mendecino Farms!!
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miss anthrope February 27th, 2009 at 07:33
foodeater – man, i hope they bring back the shawarma too! vegan shawarma is awesome, and i’ve only ever had it at herbivore. i saw pix of the the mendocino one on LAist and i was totally drooling.
kirby – OMG THAT SOUNDS AWFUL! i am so sorry to hear about your shitty day in that horrible jury room. at least you had a good book to read, even if it made you want to murder everyone. i had my laptop and was just sitting there refreshing perezhilton.com all day. ugh.
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I love just about anything w/ mushrooms and tomatoes. This is making me crave a big fat juicy portabella burger.
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Claudia L March 29th, 2010 at 20:47
Oh Quarry Girl, How I love you for this post! Stuck on a long trial and had no idea where to eat a vegan meal downtown. Thanks!
4 Trackbacks / Pingbacks
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Nessy February 25th, 2009 at 07:54