over 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
345 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 857-0412

i know that only yesterday we broke the news of a brand new vegan restaurant in los angeles. well, today we have one more recently-opened, cruelty-free eatery to report: cafe flourish located on wilshire at cloverdale. hell yeah, miracle mile finally has it’s own 100% vegan establishment, and it has officially come out of the gates swingin. i got a tip about cafe flourish from a reader called “mc”, and naturally i dragged one of my co-workers there to check it out immediately. although the cafe has just been in business a couple of weeks old and only offers a ‘limited opening menu,’ there was a buzzing lunch crowd when we visited, and the food was pretty impressive.

flourish plate: southern macro plate. pinto beans, long-grain brown rice & sauteed kale with a delicious creamy sauce & a gluten-free corn muffin. $9.95

for just a soft opening menu, cafe flourish sure offers a ton of mouth-watering selections, and i had a tough time deciding what to order. from a rueben, to a quesadilla, to a french dip, to a burrito, to jackfruit tacos, and assorted pizzas, there was more than enough food to choose from. i settled on the “flourish plate” because it sound soul foodish, yet light at the same time. boy, was i spot on!—i’m very happy with my decision, because the flourish plate had that traditional home-cookin’ feel, yet without all the oil or heaviness. the only thing decadent about it was the creamy-cheese-style-sauce. the plate consisted of a huge guilt-free portion of greens, some light but well-seasoned rice, and whole beans covered in the most amazing white sauce mixture. the gluten-free cornbread was also quite tasty: light, moist, and squishy…and not nearly as greasy as the cornbread i am used to eating. this is definitely a way to get a southern fix without feeling like you are about to give birth to a food baby.

my omnivorous friend ordered the BLT&A (which i took a large portion of), and both of us were quite pleased with it.

although it may look a bit simple, the sandwich was quite exceptional with delicately toasted bread, creamy vegenaise, fresh vegetables, soft avocado, and moist flavorful tempeh. the fact that both a meat eater and herbivore were in love with this sandwich speaks volumes. oh, and it came with a choice of side salad. she got the quinoa, which turned out to be the best thing at the table! she even went back in and got her own side order to take home. m cafe and its deli case have got nothin on this, baby.

BLT&A: smoky tempeh bacon, red-leaf lettuce, ripe roma tomatoes, avocado & spicy mayo on half-toasted white bread. with a side of quinoa. $8.50

of course, we couldn’t leave this new found vegan paradise without ordering dessert. although the glass case of cakes was pretty appetizing, we decided to splurge in a small way and split a minty-chocolate-chip cookie. damn, fucking incredible! fluffy and soft with huge, melty chunks of minty chocolate…i defy you to find me a vegetarian cookie as good (and healthy) as this.

vegan chocolate chip mint cookie. $2.25

even though the place has been around just a couple weeks, cafe flourish truly has its shit together. the tiny take-out stlye eatery was crowded when we were there, the service was friendly, the wait was minimal, and the food was excellent. what more do i require? plus, mid-wilshire has been begging for a vegan restaurant for quite a while. this would be the perfect place to grab dinner before a show at the el rey, or to pick up take-out to eat at the little bar.

from cafe flourish’s menu: “we are committed to sustainable food practices; we use organic whenever possible, we don’t use animal products, we compost for low waste, and our food is lovingly prepared, embedded with positive intentions. your choice to eat here today is a contribution toward the planet, your community and your health. we thank you, and may your flourish!” …..in other words…..“nom!!!!!”

hope you all enjoy this place as much as i did. thanks again to my reader mc for sending this in.

cafe flourish
5406 wilshire blvd.
los angeles ca 90036
323-939-3932
monday-saturday 11am-10pm

hey kids, i’ve got some good news for ya. today marked the opening of los angeles’ newest vegan restaurant…and it wasn’t vegan thai. that’s right, sunpower natural cafe in studio city opened its doors to the public with organic raw and cooked offerings for the health-conscious, ranging from burgers and salads to quiches and cakes. i know what you are thinking: a 100% vegan restaurant in studio city that doesn’t serve thai food? it sounds too good to be true! fortunately though, sunpower is a reality. you gotta get over there and check them out asap.

i hit up sunpower with my friend and fellow vegan blogger, brittany from sickoflettuce.com, and both of us are dying to go back. for a newly opened establishment, sunpower is already making some bangin good food, and i’m pretty excited to see what the future holds.

chopped seitan salad sandwich: seitan, celery, onions, vegenaise, dill and parsley on a whole grain bun. with a side of hummus and pita. $8

tons of stuff on the menu looked delicious, but i decided to go with the less adventurous seitan salad sandwich. this was basically like an old-fashioned tuna sandwich made with seitan instead of fish, and sunpower really nailed it. the seitan was top notch, the vegenaise was creamy, and the chopped vegetables were fresh and flavorful but not overwhelming. the seitan salad itself was really exceptional. although it sounds a bit boring, it was just so perfectly mixed and the seitan was so succulent, i doubt i could replicate this at home. i’d definitely order it again.

the sandwich came with “choice of side dish” and i went with the pita and hummus, which i loved. other options included coleslaw, cookies, vegetables with dipping sauce, and kale. the hummus turned out to be an excellent choice, because they gave me like a vat of it. 8 bucks for a load of hummus and hearty seitan sandwich? can’t beat that.

for dessert, brittany and i split a slice of the special of the day “cacao cheesecake”. the thing was so rich and dense, it was fucking ridiculous. i loved every bite, but it was so thick that it was hard to eat with a plastic fork! this cheesecake probably could be a meal on its own, it was so decadent. however, it didn’t sit like a brick in my stomach as do many desserts. sunpower really has conquered the intersection of delicious and healthy(er).

vegan cacao cheesecake. $6

a few things to note about sunpower: they are a ‘take out’ restaurant officially…kinda like seed in venice. so while they have tables, your food is served in to-go containers and you pay at the counter. the service is great and the meals come out super fast. this is an excellent choice if you are in a hurry. also, the staff and ownership are pretty passionate about veganism. we really felt at home there and the people serving us showed genuine concern that our food was good. hell, they even invited us to an animal rights conference happening soon in LA! total vegan homies. oh, and they were also open to criticism…so if you eat here and don’t 100% love everything, they seem like the kinda people who would appreciate your feedback.

so vegans, let’s welcome this new animal-free restaurant to los angeles. get your asses out to studio city and eat at sunpower natural cafe!

sunpower natural cafe
3711 Cahuenga Blvd
Studio City, CA
(818) 308-7420
11am to 8:30pm, 7 days a week

as you probably know, i am madly in love with london and all the fabulous vegan food the city has to offer. i tried out so many restaurants when i went a few months ago, and i can safely say that mildred’s vegetarian restaurant in soho was one of the best. although the menu isn’t entirely vegan, there are more than enough vegan options to choose from, all of which are clearly marked. the popular restaurant is usually buzzing, and with small tables and dim lighting, the atmosphere is ‘fancy,’ but the prices are reasonable and the food is excellent.

chargrilled artichoke crostini with lemon aioli £5.25

when i went to mildred’s with my husband, we started off with the vegan-optional chargrilled artichoke crostini. huge thick slices of artichoke came piled on top of little crusty toasts, with a dipping sauce that was incredibly tasty. while the appetizer was simple, it was cooked and seasoned perfectly. i would definitely have this again.

mixed mushroom, porcini and ale pie served with fries and mushy peas £8.75

mildred’s menu is pretty extensive, with offerings that range from asian to mexican food. they also have a pretty big selection of vegan pub fare, which is hard to come by. my husband ordered the mushroom pie with chips and mushy peas, which i stole many bites from. growing up in england as a vegetarian, my husband used to eat mushroom pies in pubs all the time…however the buttery crust and creamy innards make them totally off limits to vegans. i am so glad mildred’s created a cruelty-free version so he could enjoy pub food just like back in the day.

even though i’ve never had a ‘real’ mushroom pie, i can vouch for this thing and say it was absolutely delicious. the flaky crust was filled up with succulent vegetable bits and covered in a savory runny gravy. damn, why can’t i get food like this in los angeles? oh, i did have one complaint about the pie though…it came with MINTY mushy peas, which are gross. normal mushy peas are awesome, i hate it when people add mint to them. wtf.

sundried tomato, tarragon and kidney bean sausages served with celeriac mash, braised red cabbage and rosemary red wine gravy £8.75

i also went with traditional pub fare for my main dish and ordered mildred’s take on bangers and mash. the sausages were amazing, like nothing i’ve ever tried before. they were thick and meaty, but also full of chunky tomatoes and large kidney beans. the mashed potatoes were wonderfully fluffy and creamy, and soaked up all the red wine gravy just perfectly. i love mildred’s take on classic food, they really made delicious and unique vegan versions of old favorites.

coconut tofu cheesecake with caramelised banana £4.75

for dessert we shared the vegan tofu cheesecake, which i was very impressed with. mildred’s only has a few vegan dessert options, and i wasn’t really in the mood for coconut, but this thing definitely won me over. it is the closest thing to a ‘real’ cheesecake that i’ve ever tasted. the coconut flavor was subtle, as to not overwhelm the amazing cheesecake taste. the carmelised bananas were a nice touch as well, good stuff all the way around.

i really don’t think i could speak highly enough of mildred’s. our food was so excellent, i can see why the place is always packed. definitely don’t miss this one when you are in london, it’s one of the best restaurants i’ve ever been to.

mildred’s
45 Lexington St
London, W1F 9AN, United Kingdom
+44 20 74941634
12 noon till 11pm Monday to Saturday

it is with great excitement that i inform you…los angeles has a brand new vegan restaurant called vegan world, located at ventura and vineland in studio city. this weekend marked their grand opening, and naturally we were there to suss it out. in true unmatched valley class, the restaurant was sandwiched between a beauty shop and a fast food place, all within a very respectable strip mall.

naturally, we arrived at the restaurant starving…and craving a unique meal that would send us into blogger-eater-paradise. however, one look at vegan world’s menu and it’s limited options of tahini wraps, salty noodles and cowboy burgers told us that this restaurant just wasn’t our style….vegan world turned out to be just another vegan thai place. zzz.

i’m kinda tired of vegan thai at the moment, so we ended up going elsewhere for lunch. in its defense, vegan world is brand new…plus, it’s the ONLY VEGAN THAI PLACE between tujunga and vineland in studio city (the other vegan thai joints are at least 2 blocks east). plus, it advertises “casein-free” cheese, and it’s fairly priced. i wouldn’t rush to eat here, but it would definitely do in a bind. Read the rest of this entry »

** NOTE ** These forums are NOT necessarily the views of quarrygirl/aka Ms. Anthrope alone. Several people moderate.

After realizing there are limited vegan-oriented forums anywhere on the Internet where one can engage in frank discussion about the seamier side of vegan life, we stayed up all night and created the quarrums. Feel free to register and join in the discussion. ANYTHING GOES.

quarrygirl.com: a silly vegan blog headquartered in Los Angeles
forums: a place to go on the internet where you can debate issues and share thoughts
quorum: Noun “a gathering of the minimal number of members of an organization to conduct business”
quarrums: the quarrygirl.com forums check them out!

Do enjoy the forums, and let us know what you think. Moderation will be kept to an absolute minimum, and there are no ads or anything anywhere on them. Have at it!

hey los angeles! i just wanna update you with one more place in this town you can get vegan cupcakes, cake and art on santa monica blvd in west hollywood.

mini vegan cupcakes

to be honest, until recently i didn’t know this place existed. their website doesn’t even advertise vegan cupcakes, but they carry both a chocolate and vanilla flavor that are delicious. last week i had some friends over, and one of my vegan homies showed up with a box of mini cupcakes from cake and art. the moist little cakes were topped with loads of rich creamy frosting, and they were so good that we all stood around the kitchen fighting over them until not a crumb was left.

i live pretty close to west hollywood, so it’s pretty dangerous knowing this place is around. a shop where i can stroll in off the street and get cupcakes this good is bound to lead to disaster.

cake and art
8709 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 657-8694

UPDATE: since the time of this post, Lucifer’s has CHANGED THEIR WAYS. They now offer 100% VEGAN PIZZA made with Teese Cheese! YAY!

Sigh. Our mission for quarrygirl.com was never to serially expose vegan establishments that are mistaken and neglectful, but we just can’t let it slip when somebody repeatedly tells us something is vegan, and it turns out not to be. The latest offender is Lucifer’s Pizza in Silver Lake. Sadly, they are a business that covers up the truth, and blatantly lies in the face of honest questions. Here’s the sad story.

A few weeks ago, vegans on twitter were buzzing about Lucifer’s Pizza offering vegan cheese as an addition to their regular milk-based offerings. Apparently, they were dropping off flyers to homes and businesses proudly proclaiming “VEGAN CHEESE!” as an offering for only $2 more on a large pizza.

As soon as we found out, I called to order a pizza for pick-up, and the person answering the ‘phone confirmed “Oh, yes, we’ve had vegan cheese for a while!”. I asked what brand it was, and for a list of ingredients. After some persuasion the lady (who didn’t know the answers off-hand) got a pack of the cheese and started to list the ingredients, one of the first of which was “casein – a milk protein”. I stopped her right there, and asked if she was sure that was the vegan cheese. She said “Yes, this is what we put on vegan pizzas”. After informing her that cheese was not vegan, she said “oh, I just work here”, and hung up.

Next step was to give Lucifer’s the benefit of the doubt, and so we filled in the contact form on the website saying that the “vegan cheese” was not vegan, and that they should just advertise it as “soy cheese,” or offer a casein-free alternative. A representative from Lucifer’s named Adam replied, as follows:

On Apr 26, 2009, at 4:41 PM, adam@luciferspizza.com wrote:

Hi There,

Thanks for your e-mail. It only came to my attention on thursday
that there was casein in the cheese. We had been told infatically from our
supplier that this was Vegan cheese. I have spoken to them and they realised
they have made a mistake. We will have 100% vegan cheese delivered to our
store tomorrow. Obviously we take this very seriously, My Partner is Vegan
and I fully understand the importance of having a great Vegan option.

Again thanks for the e-mail.
Kind Regards
Adam

I mean, seriously, it appeared to be such a nice and honest response. We had not only an apology but also a resolution – vegan cheese would be arriving “tomorrow”, meaning Monday 27th April. With Adam’s partner being a vegan we had every reason to trust what he said. Although, the response seemed a little too self-effacing and insincere. If I was a vegan, with a partner who ran a pizza parlor with a vegan cheese option I’d probably want to know what brand of vegan cheese he was serving… wouldn’t you?

We responded that it was GREAT news they were going to be offering “100% vegan cheese” and suggested they check out Teese as an option, considering how amazing it is on our favorite pizzas in town.

We decided that Wednesday would be our big night out in Silverlake. We planned to go to a bar first, and then pay Lucifer’s a visit. Before we planned an evening around vegan pizza, we thought we’d call and check one last time. After our initial call was terminated by a frustrated worker: “They told me it’s VEGAN, OK?”, we called back a while later and had the following exchange:

quarrygirl: hi, i’d like to find out what kind of vegan cheese you use.
lucifers: it’s a soy based cheese from the roma supplier, i don’t know the brand, but it’s 100% vegan.
quarrygirl: oh, are you sure? does it have casein in it, because casein is a milk—-
lucifers: —-no, it doesn’t contain casein. we had a cheese that did, but this is a new casein-free cheese from our supplier. it came in today. i just don’t know the brand. but there is no casein.
quarrygirl: thanks, we’ll be in tomorrow for a vegan pizza!
lucifers: see you then

Again, how much more reassuring could they be? Learning about what we vegans can eat is a rocky road, but we’re happy to work with food suppliers to help them get there. The fact he offered the information about casein really set our minds at ease. So, Wednesday night we had a beer at the Silverlake local Ye Rustic Inn before walking to Lucifer’s hungry as hell and looking forward to vegan pizza.

We ordered a large pizza, with vegan cheese, garlic, mushrooms and tomatoes. As the guy taking the order was ringing it up, we engaged in a dialog as follows:

quarrygirl: hey – have a quick question before you make the pizza. Is your cheese completely vegan?
lucifers: yes, it’s a soy-based vegan cheese
quarrygirl: that’s great. Would you mind bringing out the package so we could check it’s vegan?
lucifers: sure thing, hold on.
[brings large box of “soy cheese” from cooler in the back of the kitchen]
quarrygirl: that says “soy cheese” – could you read out the ingredients?
[tips the box toward me, where the ingredients are clearly visible, and starts reading]
lucifers: soy protein, water, casein (a milk protein)….
quarrygirl: hold on a sec, that’s not vegan cheese. Are you sure this is what you put on vegan pizzas?
lucifers: yeah, this is what we put on it
quarrygirl: but that’s not vegan…
[turns to cash register, clearly annoyed]
lucifers: —sorry, guys, goodnight then!

Sorry indeed. And we’re sorry to break it to so many vegans that have been eating milk at Lucifer’s…. they are LIARS, CHEATS and care not about their customers. I have no doubt that they treat all their customers with such disrespect, be they omnivores or vegans.

I could understand how somebody on a cash register, or taking my order over the ‘phone might be confused about what’s vegan, but Adam, who answers the website queries and feigns such vegan understanding should know better. He lied to us twice, his staff lied to us three times more and they have lied to and misled many vegans since they have been serving “vegan” cheese.

Note to Adam’s partner: leave a comment with your email address and we’ll hook you up with a real vegan, not one that lies and doesn’t train his staff properly. If, that is, vegan partner you actually exist and are not just another Lucifer’s lie.

While Lucifer’s Pizza might be in hell, Purgatory Pizza is closer to heaven in every way (stick to them from now on!).

UPDATE: THIS JUST IN:

From: adam@luciferspizza.com
Date: April 30, 2009 10:47:36 AM PDT

Subject: RE: Vegan cheese

Hi,

The cheese arrived, however to my shock and disappointment with my supplier,
it also contained Casein. We have pulled the cheese off the shelf and are
only selling regular pizza until we can get our shipment of the Tease Cheese
you recommended. I have ordered it yesterday so hopefully it will arrive in
the next few days. It’s so frustrating that the suppliers are not on top of
this, and that they are misleading the customers. I feel terrible about this
especially as we have unknowingly served a product that is not 100% vegan.

I will be in touch with you as soon as the cheese arrives. I will have you
come in for a free meal to say thanks for all you help with this.

Kind regards

Adam

Seems genuine enough, but a really genuine move would have been to remove the pizza from the shelf weeks ago when it was first reported, don’t you think Adam? Plus, we called Lucifer’s twice after receiving this email, and they were still selling casein cheese as vegan.

vegans from los angeles may have a hard time finding food in palm springs. after all, we have been completely spoiled in this city with a huge amount of vegan restaurants options. still, there are two places not to miss in the desert—one is native foods, and the other is nature’s cafe. located inside a health food store, nature’s cafe is a very vegetarian/vegan-friendly counter with friendly staff and excellent food. they have a whole section dedicated to vegan selections on the menu, and the workers are very knowledgeable about what other items can be veganized.

we stopped by nature’s cafe on our way back from coachella, and were blown away by how delicious our meal was. i’m talking exceptional, large portions packed with vegetables and cooked to perfection. even better than most of the stuff i can get back home in LA.

tofu burrito. $7.50

my husband got the tofu burrito which was listed under the “breakfast” section of the menu, and was stuffed with scrambled tofu, black beans and sauteed vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower. the vegetable selection was a bit odd for a breakfast burrito, but worked really well and was a welcome change. i ordered the tofu ranchero, which was absolutely huge and consisted of scrambled tofu, avocado, corn tortillas, black beans, rice, kale and assorted vegetables all packed into one box. incredible!

tofu ranchero. $9.95

Read the rest of this entry »

just a quick post to let los angeles vegans know, you can’t order a vegan burger at follow your heart. i know that seems kind of weird…after all, the entire cafe is vegetarian and there are vegan substitutes for almost everything. the patties are vegan, they come with vegenaise, and there are two vegan cheese options…it’s the buns that hold the burgers back because they contain honey.

follow your heart burger. $8.95 (everything is vegan but the bun)

i’ve ordered the ‘vegan’ burger at follow your heart several times, never thinking to question the bun until i heard from a friend that they weren’t vegan. i called follow your heart’s cafe yesterday and they confirmed: all the buns contain honey, but you can order any of the burgers on vegan bread. apparently the rolls that come with the soup are also not vegan, even though the menu specifies they are “non-dairy.” usually to me, at vegetarian cafe, i would take non-dairy as meaning it’s vegan…i guess you can never be too sure.

i wanna point out this isn’t like a huge deal or anything, they aren’t sneaking casein into the vegan cheese or whey into the mock meat; but still, to most of the vegans i know (myself included) honey isn’t something acceptable to eat, so it’s kinda a bummer we can’t get a vegan burger at follow your heart.

this isn’t gonna stop me though, those burgers are so damn good i will have to try them out on normal bread. here’s to hoping someday follow your heart will carry a bun that is 100% vegan. it never hurts to ask, right?

When you eat food that was prepared by somebody else, you’re entering into an unwritten contract of trust that is centuries old. On a base level, you’re trusting that the food preparer took all the necessary steps to ensure that what you’re about to eat was made with ingredients that are wholesome (not contaminated, past a use-by date etc.) and prepared in an environment that’s clean and sanitary. For us vegans, especially when dining in an omnivorous establishment, we’re also trusting that our food is animal free – something we take very seriously.

The ultimate slap in the face, though, is to be served food under the guise of it being vegan, only to find out that it not only contains animal products but was prepared on equipment so dirty that it’s a clear health hazard and contravenes a number of health codes. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dee’s Bakery and Donuts: the non-vegan donuts cooked in a filthy deep-fat fryer.

Let’s first examine the non-vegan nature of the ingredients. We understand, from two eye-witnesses that the sprinkles for the donuts contain “Confectioner’s Glaze”, or Shellac, which is made from the secretion of the lac insect (the manufacturing process involves keeping thousands of insects under warm lamps so that they secrete like crazy until they die from heat exhaustion after only a few hours). The resulting secretion turns into a hard, shell-like compound when cooled (hence the name Shellac – Shell from the Lac insect) and is the coating on the sprinkles of Dee’s Donuts. Nice, huh?

Now, there are plenty of non-shellac sprinkles available – however, they are more expensive than the regular kind and more difficult to obtain. Still, not impossible and by no means prohibitively expensive as a simple search on the Web will confirm.

the donut machine that makes dee's donuts (also note the layer of dust next to the oil underneath. YUCK)

Now, what about the dirty preparation conditions? You probably know that donuts have to be deep fried – this is what gives them an utterly decadent flavor, as the combination of sugar and oil wrapped up in a crispy surface tastes just great! You probably don’t want to know, though, the details of how to maintain and care for a professional deep fat frying machine, and apparently neither does the person who makes Dee’s Donuts.

In a restaurant I frequent regularly, along the main corridor between the dining area and the restroom, is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen: the deep fat fryer used by Dee’s Donuts. To be honest, I thought that it was a piece of scrap kitchen equipment that was discarded and ready to be taken away as junk and even joked as much with the person who owns the kitchen. Apparently, Dee’s Donuts rent the restaurant kitchen early in the morning to make the donuts, and then leave the fryer for 20 hours, in a main corridor completely uncovered.

Kitchen health rules (and common sense) state that fryers must be covered when not being used, as cold oil is very sticky and attracts flies, hair, insects, dander and fluff. Every fryer I’ve ever seen has a cover that’s put in place when the kitchen closes, and then removed when the oil is heated up for the next shift. Sadly, Dee’s Bakery and Donuts don’t think us vegans are worth protecting and leave a dirty fryer open for many, many hours so it can absorb god knows what crap before being used again for the next batch of donuts. I took a close look at the surface of the oil with a flashlight, and could see plenty of hair fibers and what appeared to be a small black fly that had obviously flown to the fryer, attracted by the smell only to meet a sticky death before being cooked into a donut that some unsuspecting person would eat the next day.

This harks back to a comment one LA vegan made some time ago that there was “a hair” stuck in the coating of his donut. No fucking wonder! And, I’m absolutely serious about all this — the photographic evidence proves it, as well as several eye witness accounts of the fryer’s neglect.

These days, it’s cool to be a vegan baker — seems like everybody is doing it (Dee’s Donuts were even featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show). An avalanche of decadent vegan products is a welcome addition to our diets (in moderation, of course!) and really helps dispel the myth that we vegans live on cabbage and tofu. However, it’s one thing to be too cool for school and create something vegan, and another to be responsible enough to ensure that you keep your side of the unwritten contract of common decency.

I’d urge Dee’s Bakery and Donuts customers (Intelligentsia, Locali, Café Muse, Café De Leche and others) to stop carrying the products immediately and pull anything unsold out of the desert case and put it into the trash where it belongs. If you’re in one of those establishments and you see Dee’s Donuts baked goods for sale tell them about the hair and fly-filled fryer and insect secretions.

I’ve eaten several Dee’s Donuts over the past few months, and even given them to vegan friends. After seeing that fryer and reading about shellac I really feel like I want to puke. Dee’s Bakery and Donuts: you really let us all down. Thanks for sidling up to the vegan community of LA (this blog included) for a bunch of free publicity and a lot of love and hope from us, in return to feed us insect secretions, flies and hairs. Thank you very fucking much.

i know i have raved about los angeles’ latest whole foods in venice being the best whole foods EVER…but i was lying. there’s an even better one across the pond in london on kensington high street, and it’s just one more reason that i know i NEED to move to the uk. seriously, this 3 story whole foods makes all the ones in los angeles look like scrubs. they have an entire vegan section with more mock meats and cheeses than you could ever possibly try…i’m talking double or triple the size of the sections at our local markets.

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vegans, pack your bags up and move to london. seriously, i would if i could. LA has got nothing on that place…even in terms of vegan food. london’s west end is packed with tons of meatless restaurants, and beetroot in soho is one of the best we visited. entirely vegetarian and mostly vegan, beetroot is a restaurant where you choose your container size and pay for it, then fill it up with your pick of 10 hot dishes.

trays of vegan food at beetroot in london

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the title of that book is right, vegan cupcakes really are taking over the world. vegan bakers all over the place are trying their hand at the classic dessert and some of the results are better than others. one line of vegan cupcakes i can definitely vouch for is luscious organic desserts. the orange county based company was recently selling their goods at coachella and i got to try 3 different flavors, all of which were superb.

luscious organic desserts oreo cupcake

of the 3 i tried, the oreo cupcake was probably my favorite. slathered in creamy cookie-flavored frosting, the chocolate cake was incredibly moist. i’ve decided luscious is the perfect name for this company, because their desserts definitely are.

luscious organic desserts espresso cupcake

i also tried the espresso cupcake and the chocolate cupcake. both types of frosting were extremely rich and packed with flavor. i don’t know how they got the coffee taste down so perfectly in the espresso frosting, but it was unbelievable. these cupcakes were decadent in every sense of the word. they didn’t taste dry, bland, or have any kind of weird vegan-y texture…instead they were creamy frosting and juicy cake goodness.

luscious organic desserts chocolate cupcake

since i don’t find myself in orange county very often, i am super glad i got to try luscious cupcakes at coachella. currently you can find luscious cupcakes at native foods in costa mesa, mothers market in santa ana, and vegi wokery in cerritos. they also make tons of other mouth-watering desserts that you can order through their website. these are definitely vegan desserts i could get used to.

luscious organic desserts
949-378-7102

i am jealous of people who live in orange county. not just because they are all rich and shit, but because they have some great vegan dining options that i covet. in addition to that’s amore (awesome vegan pizza/italian food), they also have a swanky all-raw/vegan bar and lounge called 118 degrees.

i have never been to the actual restaurant, but i am dying to hit it up after trying their food at coachella. they were at the festival selling their packaged foods under the name jenny’s raw and organic. we ordered the raw taco and pizza with a pasta side salad, both of which were refreshingly delicious.

raw taco from jenny's raw and organic

while the taco was tasty, it was more like a salad than a taco…you know, the kind where they use lettuce instead of a tortilla. i preferred the pizza and pasta, which tasted extremely light and were covered in fresh vegetables.

raw pizza and pasta salad from jenny's raw and organic

after checking out 118’s menu online, i am anxious to get over there asap. they have stuff like raw tamales, enchiladas and nachos, not to mention an array of high quality beers and mixed drinks. maybe they could open up a los angeles location soon…that would be rad.

118 degrees
2981 Bristol
Suite B5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-754-0718
Monday through Saturday
9am to 10pm (last seating at 9pm)
Sundays
10am to 9pm (last seating at 8pm)
Sunday Brunch 10am to 3pm