-
vegan food at hollywood and highland!
10December 5th, 2009koji's sushi & shabu shabu, LA restaurants
los angeles is a very fortunate city that’s rife with vegan options, but that doesn’t mean that certain parts of town aren’t seriously lacking in animal-free cuisine. i feel like every vegan i know has complained to me about the pitiful dining options along the tourist trap stretch of hollywood blvd between la brea and vine, and i agreed with them until i read a recent post in the quarrums. fear not, LA vegans! koji’s shabu shabu has plenty for us, and it’s right at hollywood and highland.
located on the top floor of the ugliest building in los angeles (the big egyptian-style one at H&H), koji’s specializes in japanese hot pot cuisine that you cook yourself at your table. they have an all you can eat vegetarian dinner for $12, that can be made vegan by simply requesting that your meal come without the mayo-based dipping sauce. we tried them out recently, and while the food didn’t blow me away, it’s a great option for that area of town and i know we will be back.
the place was empty when we arrived at around 8pm on a weeknight; we were promptly seated and asked for two vegetarian shabu shabu specials (NO MAYO SAUCE!). as soon as we ordered, our waiter turned this knob at the side of our table, which started heating up the two covered pots of water sitting in front of us.
i’d never had shabu shabu before, but the server explained that he would bring out an unlimited supply of uncooked vegetables, noodles, and tofu, which would need to be submerged in the boiling water for around 45 seconds and then eaten with hot sauce and rice. sure enough, the water started bubbling out of control and our waiter brought us a mountain of produce and tofu.
all you can eat vegan shabu shabu. $12
the plate of vegetables was absolutely massive. it was full of several types of leaves, carrot, squash, mushroom, lotus root, onion, mushroom, and cucumber—just to name few. plus an ample serving of cold tofu and two kinds of noodles. here’s a view from the back as well:
i must admit, when it comes to using chopsticks and preparing my own food, i am a bit of a n00b. so doing both at once was a bit overwhelming. eventually and with much effort, my vegetables finally made it into the boiling water, only to be very clumsily fished out shortly later.
koji’s provided us each with a bowl of excellent sticky rice to eat the shabu shabu with, which really hit the spot. bit by bit, we spooned small portions of rice, along with cooked vegetables and noodles onto the little plates and ate them up with lumps of hot sauce.
everything was delicious and really healthy tasting, albeit very messy. and even though the offer stood as “all you can eat,” neither me or my husband could finish what the put in front of us. i’m really looking forward to going back again and getting the hang of shabu shabu—maybe the next time i eat there, it won’t look like japan puked all over my table. :/
my only real complaint about koji’s is that it’s a tad expensive. 12 bucks for a plate (no matter how huge) of mainly leaves?! plus, the boiling water really fills you up. oh well, these are tourist LA prices and i will continue to support this place as it remains the only place at hollywood and highland where i can get a decent meal.
koji’s sushi and shabu shabu
Tags: hollywood, japanese, shabu shabu
6801 Hollywood Blvd, #400
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 871-0200
10 responses to “vegan food at hollywood and highland!” 
-
I was just standing at the corner of Hollywood & Highland about three hours ago, hungry and lamenting that there’s no vegan food to be had. Next time I’ll go with you and give you a chop-stick lesson 🙂
-
Kojis is ok as a last resort. If I’m going to cook my own grub I’d rather do it at home in my underwear.
-
spooper December 5th, 2009 at 19:37
Praise the Good Lord that my Google alert led me to this post. As a recent LA transplant working in Hollywood this is GREAT NEWS. I shall be there tomorrow.
PS: I’m an atheist, but the whole “Good Lord” thing just seemed like it was needed for dramatic effect.
-
A Holiday Thought…
Aren’t humans amazing Animals? They kill wildlife – birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.
Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative – and fatal – – health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.
So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions of more animals to look for cures for these diseases.
Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.
Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”
~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm by C. David Coates~
-
Dang, I wish we had veg Shabu Shabu! We used to go to a place nearby with “vegetarian” shabu shabu, it turned out to be in fish broth!
Foodeater December 5th, 2009 at 18:50