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vegan vietnamese at verdugo by mandoline grill
7September 1st, 2009LA restaurants, mandoline grill, vegan stuffjust when i thought it was safe to return to the verdugo bar to get my drink on, without tempting vegan food vying for valuable stomach space, mandoline grill had to show up and ruin it.
you see, verdugo bar has long been a favorite spot of ours, what with arguably the best beer selection in los angeles and a great atmosphere. but for the 2nd and 3rd sunday in august, the culinary geniuses known as hot knives took over the verdugo patio and transformed the place from an dark and cold foodless bar into the ultimate summer hang-out, complete with an all vegan menu, tons of board games, and a stellar music playlist. after two weekends of fun, the hot knives packed up their bags and i figured that for me the verdugo was back to normal—back to being a bar where beer reigned supreme without distraction.
then mandoline grill had to come along and prove me wrong. last sunday the soon-to-be regularly operating vietnamese food truck set up shop on the patio and served a delicious lunch in the heat. while their menu wasn’t entirely vegan, they did have some animal-free options that were really fucking tasty.
vegan lemongrass tofu banh mi. $5
the first was a lemongrass tofu banh mi. i am a pretty big banh mi fan in general anyway, and i can tell you that this was a really good one. the tofu tasted like it had been marinated for a long time, its flavors were intense and went all the way to the middle. the vegetables were fresh, and the french baguette was perfectly crunchy. plus, mandoline grill added a healthy amount of vegenaise to make the sandwich nice and creamy.
vegan cha gio. $3.50
they also offered vegan cha gio, fried spring rolls filled with faux meat. the rolls were pretty hearty and cost $2 each, or 2 for $3.50…definitely a decent price. the cha gio was rich, oily, and really delicious—it tasted like what i remember egg rolls tasting like but without the weird aftertaste. i would definitely order these little suckers again.
i’m pretty sure this was the mandoline grill’s first time serving food to the public, so they seemed a little stressed out and there were a couple delays. however, what they lacked in smoothness, they made up for with absolutely delicious vegan food. another great thing about mandoline grill is that they were pretty knowledgeable about veganism. they stressed to me that even the bread was vegan, and that everything was cooked separately and with different utensils. awesome. i can’t wait until they get there food truck up and running—i know i’ll be one of the first customers in line.
so let’s hope the verdugo continues to be awesome and host patio events that serve vegan food. it’s strange that my favorite bar in town is slowly becoming one of my favorite places to eat as well, but hey i’m not complaining.
for more info, follow @verdugobar and @mandolinegrill on twitter
Tags: alcohol, bbq, beer, food truck, mandoline grill, sandwich, verdugo
4 responses to “vegan vietnamese at verdugo by mandoline grill” 
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By the time I got there, the service seemed to be running really smoothly. We got our food in a timely manner–I think they probably worked the kinks out. I loved the Bahn Mi, although the combo of me sweating all over the sandwich and the veganaise dripping all over was probably not a pretty sight for my friends to behold!
I LOVE this place–it’s getting so crowded tho! Even with the boiling heat the place was pretty damn packed when I was there. If they keep having the awesome tunes, amazing food, and my fave board games, I will definitely be there every single Sunday.
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if verdugo bar continues to have great vegan food i’m doomed. they have one of the best beer selections in town. i’ll have lost all my sundays henceforth.
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I am totally digging the pants off of Verdugo Bar’s Funday Sundays. Even though it was ridiculously hot that day, we still had so much fun hanging out, drinking, eating, and getting really worked up over an intense game of Taboo. If they continue to do this every weekend, I will never be able to stay away.
And Mandoline Grill was pretty good too. I just had the vegan cha gio, and it was a great bar snack.
3 Trackbacks / Pingbacks
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