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sante la brea: great vegan food, long wait
7May 6th, 2009LA restaurants, sante la breaover here at quarrygirl.com, we have been fans of sante la brea for a long time. the large elegant restaurant offers 3 separate menus of world cuisine, and every item can be veganized with soy meat and/or tofu cheese. i am a huge fan of their breakfast selections, salads, thai food, and desserts, and have never eaten one thing at sante and been disappointed.
however, on my last 3 visits to sante, the wait to get food after ordering has been a little much. my husband and i went there over the weekend and ordered a salad and tofu rancheros, which took 40 minutes to arrive at our table. it’s strange because the wait was so frustrating, and i worked myself up into quite a state, but when my food was finally in front of me, it was so fucking good i nearly forgot about all the hassle.
house salad with tofu: romaine, tomato, cucumber, shredded carrot, hummus, red quinoa, brown rice and wheat pita. choice of dressing: tahini, balsamic, cilantro lime, or citrus vinaigrette. $9
sante offers a great selection of salads, and even the simple house salad with tofu is out-of-the-park exceptional. the least exciting salad at sante comes with loads of vegetables, a mound of hummus, fluffy quinoa, rice and pita…plus your choice of several rich or light vegan dressings. it’s all beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. definitely a steal for 9 bucks.
vegan huevos rancheros. $8
the breakfast items at sante are similarly impressive. the vegan tofu rancheros come with fluffy scrambled tofu mixed with broccoli and carrots covered in chunky salsa with a generous helping of black beans, grilled breakfast potatoes, and soft corn tortillas. one of the best breakfasts in town.
when it comes right down to it, i can’t fault the food or value at sante la brea AT ALL. the place is downright outstanding. the only thing i have to complain about is the long ass wait…and it’s a damn valid complaint! i recommend calling way in advance and getting your food to go, or dining at sante when you have a lot of time on your hands. maybe throw back a bottle of wine while waiting, or spend sometime chatting with a large group of friends. don’t visit if you are in a rush. i know i’ll be back regardless…i can’t keep myself away from the excellent food.
sante la brea
Tags: breakfast, hollywood, la brea, salad, tofu
345 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 857-0412
7 responses to “sante la brea: great vegan food, long wait” 
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It’s such a coincidence that you posted this because just yesterday I made plans to go there for dinner with friends this weekend, and I was wondering if it was still good…. thanks for the heads up on the wait. I might just take your suggestion and throw back some wine in the downtime!! 🙂
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yeah Kirby Von Scrump and I have dinner plans there tonight, hopefully the wait won’t be even longer on a Friday!
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I’m there so often for social events, but I haven’t been there just to eat since February. You’re right that 40 minutes is an insanely long time to wait for food…you must’ve been starving!
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I’m so glad you liked the food! Chef Tigre is a friend, but I guess he’s only there on Saturdays and Sundays now.
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Maybe they are taking the European approach to making a meal more of a social experience, therefore the long wait?
As a side note, I’m really enjoying your blog. Living behind the orange curtain, I had no idea there were so many vegan places in LA until reading your entries.
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I JUST watched the Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares on this restaurant on Hulu LAST NIGHT! So weird! On the show, it looked like Ramsey came in and made the restaurant worse! He took all the fake meat away! I am relieved to see that the fake meats are back and they look delicious! I definitely want to try this place!
Plus, the owner seems AMAZING. MUST meet him.
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I went to this restaurant years ago and didn’t remember it being bad, but for some reason hadn’t been back since. After being reminded of it by the above post, I suggested to a friend we go for lunch yesterday. Sarcastically he asked me if this was going to be another one of those places where you walk out broke and still hungry? It definitely isn’t! The food was fresh, tasty and my friend and I both left very full and happy. The outdoor patio had a great relaxing vibe and both of our servers were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. I can’t wait to go back again soon……………
Kirby! May 7th, 2009 at 05:57