• amazing vegan food at lower prices: casa de tree. go there!

    9
    March 24th, 2009quarrygirlcasa de tree (closed), LA restaurants

    so a few months ago, i wrote about this new little japanese/french vegan deli/bakery that opened up in west los angeles on motor avenue called casa de tree. at the time of posting, the restaurant was the sister to the recently-closed torrance location, and didn’t offer a full menu yet…just a pay-by-weight salad and hot food bar with a few blackboard specials to choose from each day.

    3 months later, i am happy to announce that the west la casa de tree has expanded their menu and lowered their prices. these changes aren’t even reflected on the casa de tree website yet (most of the online info is out of date), so pay close attention to the prices and the menu that i will post below. not just that, but they wave before us the promise of their torrance location re-opening soon, which would be great news for the vegan community.

    i had the awesome opportunity to catch up at casa de tree with like-minded herbivores last weekend for an oh-so-fun and sporadic happycow.net meeting. now for all you vegan angelenos who want to know about these meetings in the future…just join happycow, leave some reviews, and specify that you want in on all the vegan shindig info for your area. this site is a great place to meet other veg-heads and stay abreast of all vegan/vegetarian-goings ons in yer area.

    that being said, the husband and i decided to have a slap-up feast, starting with the curry donut to share. as of recently, casa de tree offers several pastries…some savory and some sweet. so whether you are in the mood for an appetizer or dessert, they will definitely find a way to loosen your waistline.

    curry donut: vegan curry paste inside crunchy bread crumbed dough. $2.50

    curry donut: vegan curry paste inside crunchy bread crumbed dough. $2.50

    the curry donut was nothing short of exceptional. seriously, even though it took a bit long for them to heat it up behind the counter, one bite of it immediately launched casa de tree into the category of “favorite vegan restaurants, ever”. and that’s a bold statement. it was fried with little crumby edges…all crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. not just that, but it was ooooooooOOOOOOooozing with salty and chunky curry goodness.

    casa-de-tree-curry-donut-inside

    for my entree, i decided to order off the newly-introduced fixed menu. as i said, last time i went to casa de tree i was limited to the pay-by-weight buffet option, so on my recent trip i couldn’t help but test out one of the MANY BURGERS AND SANDWICHES they are now offering daily. not just that, but the meals are cheaper than they were even at the original torrance location. damn, i was having a fantasy menu field day when deciding what to order, there was so much awesomeness. i eventually settled on the katsu sandwich, which was a great choice.

    katsu sandwich: homemade organic seitan katsu, cabbage, mustard and italian miso sauce. served with salad and side dish. $8.95

    katsu sandwich: homemade organic seitan katsu, cabbage, mustard and italian miso sauce. served with salad and side dish. $8.95

    although it took way too long to arrive (maybe it just felt that way because all my fellow diners went with the buffet option), the katsu sandwich was totally worth it, and was a bargain at $8.95 with a salad and a side dish. the bread was remarkably soft and porous, the cabbage was fresh and crispy, the mustard was hot and tangy, and above all the seitan was crispy and just fatty enough. it was a sinful yet healthy tasting food, if you can imagine that…truly the best of both worlds. it came with a light and well-prepared salad as well as a cold and a creamy noodle dish which was packed with flavor. i’d order this again in a jiffy…after exploring the other amazing sounding sandwich and burger options, of course…

    casa-de-tree-seitan-sandwich-cu

    sticking to tradition, my husband went with with the pay-by-weight buffet option, which is probably the most obvious thing to do at casa de tree (it isn’t exactly clear when you walk in that they have a proper menu). since our last visit, the restaurant has lowered their price to $7.99 per pound, the exact same price as whole foods, but with much MUCH better shit. he filled up on loads of salad, sushi, tofu steak hamburgers, deep fried jalapenos, vegetable gyoza, and potato cakes. it really is a little self-serve vegan paradise. just be aware that it will cost you!

    vegan buffet: $7.99 per pound.

    vegan buffet: $7.99 per pound.

    the buffet is a great option if you are feeling up for eating samples of 15 different things, but i think in the future i will order off the newly-available set menu at casa de tree. they really give you a lot of food for the (now lower) price, and although it takes a while longer, it is so worth it.

    check out the menu i’ve posted below. as i said, the items AND prices are different than the ones listed on the casa de tree website, which is well old and useless. also please note that casa de tree is CASH ONLY. if you come prepared with enough cash to foot the bill, this could easily be the best restaurant in los angeles. if you fill up on heavy shit from the buffet and get overcharged, then have to run to the atm…this could leave you with a very bad taste in your mouth. i hope my little hints will help you make the best of your experience.

    casa-de-tree-menu-1 casa-de-tree-menu-2

    casa de tree
    3741 motor ave.
    Los Angeles, CA 90034
    310.784.0455

    Tags: , , , , , ,
 

8 responses to “amazing vegan food at lower prices: casa de tree. go there!” RSS icon

  • I would kill a bitch for the curry donut. I hope the heat up took awhile because it wasn’t microwaved, but cooked slow & low, like it should be!

  • I’m sorry I missed this meet up! I’m totally going there tomorrow for that sandwich!

  • That curry donut looks like a personal-sized slice of deep fried heaven. The katsu sandwich looks nothing short of extraordinary as well.

  • This is great news! I’ve been wanting to try Casa de Tree since they were in Torrance (especially the curry donut), but hadn’t made it there before it closed. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of pay-per-pound and was waiting for the regular menu to arrive. Good thing it’s close to my office, too!

  • I just had the Katsu sandwich, it was FANTASTIC! They are staying open until 9pm starting in April. The new menu is so good! I’d just order everything w/o oil because they get OUT OF CONTROL with the oil there.

  • lex: i am so glad you loved the katsu sandwich. i am trying to convince my better half that this is an amazing restaurant, but he’s never ordered off the set menu so he thinks it’s kind of meh. that sandwich ends all sandwiches. ugh, so the oil is crazy? i believe it!

    melisser: i DID kill a bitch for that donut and it was worth it.

    foodeater: have you been?!? you would love it, truly truly truly great food. the service i slow but they make up for it.

    vegygini: if i worked next to casa de tree, i would gain like 80lbz in one week. be careful yo! ha.

  • I seriously would drive all the way out to Torrance to go to Casa de Tree. I’m so glad they are down the street now!

    You must try the anpan, red bean pastry. Yummmm!

    They make our 7 grain sourdough bun at seed. Their breads are amazing!

  • Woot! Vegan curry pan (カレーパン)? OMGWFTBBQ!

    I haven’t had curry pan since the 80s! I have never seen vegetarian curry pan anywhere.

    My mom owns two Japanese restaurants in northern California and she’s always said she wants to make curry pan. I’ll have to email her a link.

    That’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time!


1 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

Leave a reply