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pure luck love
26September 25th, 2009LA restaurants, pure luck (closed)
beer beer beer. on tap.
it’s no secret that pure luck is one of the best vegan restaurants in los angeles. the small eatery has an inventive menu with lots of mexican-style cuisine and sandwiches and also boasts a great selection of micro brews at a reasonable price. i’m talking 16 ounces of stone ipa and pliny the elder for $5! best deal in town!
i wanna just take a minute to show you some of my favorite things i’ve ever eaten at pure luck. i hope this gets you drooling.
you are not allowed to eat at pure luck without trying the jackfruit. they make the most insane “carnitas” tacos out of marinated jackfruit that impresses every omnivore i know.
taco combo plate: 2 tacos with rice and pinto beans, or side cesar salad. $8
they can also throw those carnitas in a mexican sandwich called a torta with tomato, onion, avocado and vegenaise. made on soft, fluffy la brea bakery bread, this is one of my favorite items on the menu.
jackfruit torta: sauteed jackfruit “carnitas”, plus pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, tomatillo salsa, sliced avocado and vegan mayo on a grilled rustic roll. $9
other amazing sandwiches include the tofu pesto…
tofu pesto sandwich: grilled tofu and fresh basil-spinach pesto on a rustic roll, with romaine and onions and vegan mayo. $8
and angelica’s garmabanzo salad sandwich (think tuna sandwich, but way better)!
angélica’s garbanzo salad sandwich: Need a comfort food fix? You won’t be disappointed by our Garbanzo salad. Served on a grilled rustic roll with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and pickles. $7
as a side dish, i highly recommend the vegan soup of the day.
vegan soup? yeah!
or some potato pals! just ask your waiter or waitress for these and they will hook you up…even though the pals aren’t listed as a side on the menu.
POTATO PALS
the salads at pure luck are pretty damn good too. they make the best vegan ceasar that i’ve ever tasted.
cesar salad with tofu: romaine lettuce topped with grilled tofu, sliced avocado, onions, croutons and our lemon-garlic César dressing. $8
just look at that juicy little bite of marinated tofu. i wanna kill it!
doesn’t that all look delicious?! don’t get me wrong…pure luck has some annoying flaws that have to be mentioned. let’s go through this very quickly:
1.) the food is inconsistent. somedays it’s better than others.
2.) the soy fish at pure luck may contain casein. (i avoid it just in case)
3.) pure luck used to have really comfortable seating and then they replaced most of it with high tables and bar stools that nobody wants to sit at. there are still a few decent seats though.even after those gripes, pure luck is one of the best restaurants in los angeles. so there you have it: i am totally butt-crazy in love with pure luck. if you like vegan food, beer, or awesomeness, you should eat there as soon as possible.
pure luck
707 N Heliotrope Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 660-5993open 11am to Midnight, Mon – Sat
Tags: beer, salad, sandwich, tacos, tofu
closed Sundays
24 responses to “pure luck love” 
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Yum, yet another place I now must visit when I’m in the US!
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Great review, thanks!
Did Pure Luck ever respond to questions on their soy fish?
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From what I understand anyone that has supported or works for Pure Luck has absolutely no love for Quarry Girl. I had mentioned this web-blog to friends of PL and almost had my head knocked off.
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Pure Luck should be paying quarrygirl.com for all the free advertising! Why they would hate on a blog that gives them so much glowing attention is beyond me. Even quarrygirl’s investigation of their nonvegan soy fish was too flattering and forgiving.
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mr meaner September 25th, 2009 at 06:48
Yeah, I’ve heard they slag this blog off a lot. The waitress said nasty shit about it to me (not knowing of my affiliation with quarrygirl).
Pity, cuz pretty much everything we write is positive. Also, Ben Ling (“owner”) told us he would re-test the “fish” and let us know the results. Either he didn’t care enough to do so, or he didn’t want us to know the result because we’ve heard nothing from him since then.
I have decided we might fight back and give them a reason to talk shit. I’ve a list of things our readers might like to know.
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I’ve been fortunate to always have good food at Pure Luck…I’ve never been on one of the inconsistent days, but I know they exist! This review/Pure Luck reminder just made me want jackfruit…I need to get back to Pure Luck soon.
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i could pretty much go to pure luck and just eat all of their delicious fried appetizers… potato pals, fried pickles (!!!) sweet potato fries (although i’ve heard they’re baked) and the garlic rosemary fries… all so delicious!
mr meaner – i want to know!
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msmerymac September 25th, 2009 at 08:56
Their caesar dressing is so rich and creamy! It tastes just like the real thing. Best vegan caesar I’ve ever had. I have to get SOMETHING with the caesar dressing every time I’m there.
I’m partial to Kristen’s Carnitas Wrap, which has jackfruit, caesar dressing, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and I think rice and beans. It’s SO good. Pure Luck is probably my favorite restaurant, and omniboy is partial to it to. I need to visit soon…
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nameless September 25th, 2009 at 09:15
i have very mixed feelings about pure luck.
as i mentioned to you guys the owner is not vegan. so i’m guessing he really doesn’t care about the vegan fish. if he invested himself the place could still run smoothly. i mean, who doesn’t think ahead that suppliers might be closed for holidays/holiday weekends and therefore runs out of vegetables? i still go to and (sometimes) love pure luck but wish for the good old days.
btw, does the list of things for the readers to know include the huge cockroaches you sometimes see casually sitting on the wall? eeeww! -
When did they change up the seating? I was there a few months ago and they still had the big booth. Is that still there?
I last went on an inconsistent day. Nothing was good or bad just mediocre. Best thing about it is Vegan Ice Cream cones and shakes at Scoops across the street. Wish I knew what cone I can eat (Waffle?).
James
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phact0rri September 25th, 2009 at 10:24
so I suppose its a requirement when we go tonite to mention the blog.
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The only downside to this place is the annoying Fauxhemian clientele being all ‘ironic and shit’ as they use their cellphones to update their blogs with shitty photographs of their shitty friends wearing post-modern t-shirts.
Good beer, though.
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They really need to get on top of the soy fish debacle, for those fish tacos are damn good.
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i <3 pure luck.
kristen's carnitas wrap is the best best best.
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This place is hit-or-miss for me.
I LOVED it at first, but upon subsequent visits found the food to be wildly inconsistent. I know this has been mentioned by others.
Also, they have Heinz ketchup at all the tables. I see that PETA lists Heinz ketchup as being vegan, but it’s got “natural flavors” on the ingredient list. As a vegan, I find that a bit sketchy.
The garbanzo bean sandwich is freaking awesome. So good, in fact, that I have tried to replicate it at home. Not very hard…basically tuna salad with garbanzos, instead of fish.
The one time I ordered the potato pals they felt greasy and heavy. Not a fan.
The torta and the jackfruit tacos are terrific! I never knew what jackfruit was until Pure Luck showed me the light…
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susielol September 25th, 2009 at 17:38
It really sucks that it has come to this. They got pissed off over a blog entry? A restaurant should want to try to accommodate to their clientele and get fired up to CHANGE a FEW things for the better and keep making those awesome dishes, well, awesome! Not just get pissed off! They should be happy that you are basically advertising their restaurant when you blog about all the dishes you enjoy and love. There are a few restaurants I have never even cared to try until I read one of your reviews. And it’s a REVIEW for goodness sakes! 5 star restaurants look to reviews to get feedback and strive to make their restaurant the one to beat! It’s not like you boycotted the place, started picketing or whatnot. You just inform your readers of YOUR opinion on what you think is good and what is not, and it’s up to US what we take from it. Thank you Quarry girl and Mr. Meaner for standing tall and sticking to your guns. That’s why we all love your blog.
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freddysbored September 25th, 2009 at 22:28
Pure Luck is yummy, but can really have off days w/the food & customer service. But my main gripe is beer. That’s right, I said it. Every time I’ve been there they’ve been out of the first 3 (yes 3!) beers I’ve asked for that are on their drink menu. Why list stuff you never have? That is all. (Good god that garbanzo sandwich w/potato pals is yummy!)
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I consider it overrated, but maybe that’s sour grapes, since I can’t eat there without feeling bloated and uncomfortable for three days afterwards. 🙁 I usually have an iron-clad stomach, but something about PL does not agree with me.
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Francisco September 26th, 2009 at 16:56
dear quarrygirl:
Just wanted to give you a quick tip. I work at the hummus booth at the farmers market in Silverlake on Saturdays, which happens to be RIGHT IN FRONT of Cru cafe. It is my second week there, and to my surprise, the Crepe stand right next to mine serves vegan friendly crepes. I talked to the owner and he told me that the crepe batter was vegan, and he seemed very knowledgeable about ingredients (he pointed out that the mushroom-garlic sauce had skim milk in it without me asking)
Anyways, you should definitely give them a try because they are amazing! I recommend the long vegetarian life (option #1) with hummus instead of cheese, no eggs, add mushrooms. And on the sweet side, they have banana strawberry crepes with agave nectar and cinnammon. And if you decide to stop by next saturday, stop by my booth and say hi!
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susielol September 26th, 2009 at 21:08
Man, your pictures! Those Latin dishes (carnita soft tacos, torta, and posole) are making me drool… I really need to try this place!!! lol
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Wow, I wouldn’t have even heard of Pure Luck were it not for this blog.
But now, I’m much less excited to go there. Oh well, I’m sure somewhere else will like my bizness.
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whatmoonsongs September 27th, 2009 at 10:46
I had a good experience there Friday night! Good food, mediocre service, but I’ll definitely go back.
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Pure Luck is not only inconsistent 2 me the worst part is that it’s dirty…
especially the bathrooms -
I still haven’t been to Pure Luck yet but when I read “potato pals” I thought of tater tots. The pictures look exactly like gnocchi so I was wondering, are they fried gnocchi?
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