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sad news: a taste of life has closed down!
21October 5th, 2009a taste of life, LA restaurants
it with much regret that i bring you the bad news that one of our favorite restaurants in los angeles , a taste of life, has closed down its storefront. the entirely vegan soul food restaurant has been a staple of LA meatless cuisine, serving up the best milk-free mac and cheese in town, southern black eyed peas, sweet bbq tofu, and amazingly flavorful greens. plus loads of other items such as burgers, sandwiches, lasagna and “secret” off-the-menu delights like fried pot roast and gyro meat. the portions were huge, the prices were decent, and the food was amazing. i know that hundreds of vegans agree with me when i say a taste of life will be sorely missed.
the good news is…you can still get a taste of life’s amazing food in the pre-packaged section at several stores around town, and many of their hot menu items (see the combo pictured above) are available every sunday from their booth at the hollywood farmers market.
before officially announcing all this on the blog, i did get a few emails, comments, and friends telling me that a taste of life had closed down its storefront. hoping it wasn’t true, i contacted a taste of life, and received this statement from the restaurant:
Quarrygirl, what’s up? Long time. Well, I got bad news and good news…Bad news first–sadly the rumor is true. We have closed the restaurant. It just got really slow and of course the area it was in didn’t help. Good news–we are still providing our foods in several ways: Retail, catering, meal plans (coming in November), holiday catering (for the holiday season), personal chef services. Vegetarian/ Vegan consumer trends suggest that people are leaning more towards chilled and frozen prepared foods so we decided to move towards the trend. The economy is tricky. So yes, you can still have your beloved mac and cheese…We still cook out of the kitchen. Thanks for reaching out! Oh, we’re doing cooking classes too starting in November. I’m sure you’ll spread the word. Thanks dear!
they also sent me this handy flyer, with a list of where you can still find a taste of life’s delicious food.
so there you have it. it’s a sad day in the los angeles vegan world, and we are hoping a taste of life finds a way to re-open. until then, don’t miss your chance to get their soul food combo at the hollywood farmers market, and buy their prepared foods (mac and cheese!!!) at your local store. also, if any of you crazy kids plan on getting married, i hear they are great at catering weddings!
Tags: closed, farmers market, hollywood, soul food
a taste of life vegan soul food combo. with some of the best mac and cheese i've EVER tasted.
18 responses to “sad news: a taste of life has closed down!” 
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Man, that is major suckage. Their ginger juice and mac ‘n’ cheese… holy moly. So good. But yes, the location was sketch and the hours were always kind of strange. I hope they reopen later!!
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Michelle October 5th, 2009 at 08:27
wah!!! 🙁 I LOVE Taste of Life. I’m always bringing them new customers. Great food, friendly service. BUMMER! I really hope they get a new location soon. Don’t want them going the way of Doomie’s…us obsessed fans have to hunt them down to support them. I’ve seen some of Taste of Life’s stuff @WFM & Locali but the prices are kinda steep. Wonder where they’re gonna do cooking classes, that I’d like to sign up for.
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Lauren October 5th, 2009 at 09:17
This is awful news! Does that mean I can no longer get the tofu filet?
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I almost started crying until I read they will still have their booth at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market – hooray! Their tofu and juices are fantastic!
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ugh, this is the worst news ever. now i’m going to have to go to that market every week.
i didn’t eat taste of life every week before, but now i’m going to want it just because i can’t have it. i love that mac and cheese more than almost anything. wompwomp.
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msmerymac October 5th, 2009 at 09:58
I think they just need to move to a better area!
They were actually the featured food vendor at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market yesterday. Which reaffirmed my statement that I could eat their bbq tofu and mac and cheese everyday for the rest of my life.
Also: They cater weddings?!
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whatmoonsongs October 5th, 2009 at 14:39
i am NOT sad about this. the only time i went in there, the service was AWFUL and the food was mediocre. i will admit, the mac and cheese is aight. i bought some at Locali last week.
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In similar news: Casa de Sousa, the vegan-friendly restaurant/coffee house/store on Olvera Street has been shuttered; the store was in the Sousa family for over 60 years but they couldn’t pay rent for the past 6 months and so they’ve been evicted. Sad day for vegans who brought out of town guests to Olvera Street, now they have nothing to eat.
http://blogdowntown.com/2009/08/4621-no-mas-casa-de-sousa-eviction-upheld
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Oh wow this is sad. However, I must admit that even though the storefront was really close to my place, I often found myself just hitting them up at the farmer’s market anyway because the restaurant was so odd. I’d go in there and half the time they wouldn’t be open when they said they were and then when they were open it would take eons for the food to come out. As long as they are still pumping their amazing food out somewhere, I am happy!
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Thats really awful news. That place was probably my most frequented vegan establishment. I really hope they try and get into another storefront eventually. They will be missed. I think they would have really thrived in Silverlake or Hollywood area, so long as they stayed open slightly later on the weekdays.
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Damn! I’ve only been to the booth, I wanted the full menu from the storefront!
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Michael G. October 29th, 2009 at 08:19
I am not sad. I went twice and had bad experiences. The restaurant didn’t look clean. The food was mediocre at best. They had a TV blasting the entire time with a program about murder and rape. When I asked the worker to turn off the TV (we were the only two people in the restaurant) to turn off the TV since I didn’t like to eat my vegan food while watching rape and murder, he changed the channel to the news reporting more violence. It seems to me a low level of food, creatively and taste-wise. Money is tight. When I have it, I go to Bulan or Cinnamon or Flore Cafe for my Vegan.
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whatmoonsongs November 20th, 2009 at 08:43
alright, alright… i take back all the bad things i’ve said about this place. i mean, i did have a bad experience at their restaurant, but last week, i went to the farmer’s market to try the breakfast sandwich i’ve been hearing so much about. it was pretty good, a fun little treat anyways 🙂 and the service was AMAZING… completely the opposite of my first experience, which is so weird. the guy running the booth, Hoshea, came across as such a sincerely warm, friendly person, and i left feeling really happy 🙂
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