yeah, yeah, yeah…if you are a vegan in los angeles who loves pizza, you probably know all about purgatory pizza. the ny-style pizza joint gained vegan fame in february when they added teese cheese from chicago soy dairy to their lineup, making authentic delicious VEGAN PIZZA available to the masses. as if that wasn’t enough, about a week ago they stepped it up a notch and started offering field roast artisan vegan sausage as a topping.

well just when i thought the best vegan pizza in la couldn’t get any better, they went ahead and upped the topping selection. the field roast was amazing enough, but now just one week later, they are offering a delicious option of vegan gardein chicken STARTING TODAY. i was fortunate enough to attend a sampling party and taste three different gardein chicken pizzas, all of which were unique and insanely tasty. purgatory pizza is really making a conscious effort to embrace the los angeles vegan community and accommodate us at every turn. they even veganized their pesto recipe for good. that’s right, purgatatory pizza has omitted the cheese from their pesto permanently…so you can safely order the basil/pine nut concoction from now on.

now for the three pizzas. i must admit, i was a little skeptical at first…i am usually a mushroom and tomato toppings kind of girl and the thought of fake chicken on a pizza didn’t seem that great. but with a little magic in the kitchen, two talented chefs used the gardein chicken to make 3 of the best pizzas i’ve ever had. vegan cook extraordinaire jennshaggy was on hand to prepare and season the chicken, while purgatory’s own chef ricky made the sauces and crust. the first pizza, which was my favorite, was pesto pizza topped with mushrooms, olives and gardein chicken.

vegan purgatory pizza with teese cheese, gardein chicken, pesto, mushrooms and (1/2) olives

the vegan pesto was absolutely perfect. why anyone would need cheese thrown into this delicious blend of basil, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil is completely beyond me. the pesto was spread lightly all over the pizza, so although it was a bit oily, the pie didn’t taste heavy. the gardein chicken was extremely well prepared, tender and flavorful and not one bit dry. i seriously loved it. not to mention the melty teese cheese. this pizza was so fucking good, really, i swear, it tasted like the real thing.

the next pizza was a standard purgatory pizza with their normal tomato sauce topped with teese cheese, gardein chicken and fresh basil. simple and excellent. while my favorite pizza was the pesto one pictured above, a few of the pizza testers argued that this was the best one and i can totally see where they were coming from. again, the gardein came out very well and tasted great on the pizza…plump little chunks of italian-seasoned soy chicken that were crispy on top and moist in the center.

vegan purgatory pizza with teese cheese, gardein chicken and fresh basil

the third pizza was an amazing concoction from chef ricky himself which came with no sauce…just olive oil and garlic covered with teese cheese, gardein chicken, tomatoes and oregano. this was my husband’s favorite of the three pizzas, and it was definitely unique and like nothing i’ve ever tasted before.

vegan purgatory pizza with olive oil, garlic, teese cheese, gardein chicken, tomatoes and oregano

the olive oil and garlic mixed with the teese and made for a creamy base, so the sauce wasn’t even missed. again, the gardein chicken was excellent was the perfect compliment to the italian-style sauces and toppings. in fact, with all the olive oil, garlic, oregano and tomatoes, this tasted like a pizza version of a pasta dish. everything went so well together, i really suggest you give this exceptional pizza a try…i’ve never had anything quite like it.

so there you have it, get over to purgatory pizza and try the new gardein topping which will be available starting today. extra special thanks to jennshaggy and chef ricky for coming up with the way to make these extremely tasty vegan pizzas. the vegan pizza scene in la just keeps getting better and better.

chef ricky, the master of the pizza

purgatory pizza
1326 east 1st street
los angeles, ca 90033
323 262 5310
open everyday 6pm – 11pm

well, well, well…back in the day, my companion mr. meaner wrote a review of mao’s kitchen on melrose in which he commented on the delicious food, yet unpredictable service and portion sizes. the stark and modern byob chinese cafe is the newer sister restaurant to mao’s kitchen in venice and offers really decent, healthy-tasting asian food with loads of vegan options. i have always loved the food there, but last june my experience was so annoying (slow service, overcharging on the bill, and skimping on the main ingredients in our dishes), that i vowed to never return.

after about 9 months of cooling down and recovering from the situation, i was convinced by my husband to break my protest against mao’s kitchen…after all, they have damn tasty tofu. however when we headed over for lunch one saturday, although i was no longer protesting mao’s, several angry chinese people were. that’s right, there was a fucking picket line outside the melrose cafe, with angry dudes shouting into bullhorns and carrying signs that said things like, “MAO’S KITCHEN = HITLER’S BBQ!! RENAME YOUR RESTAURANT!!” there was such a scene going down, we decided it was all too much and went to bulan instead. i mean, i’m not a fan of mao himself or anything (c’mon, anyone john lennon personally disses in a beatles song is probably a total cunt), but didn’t these chinese protesters have anything better to do? isn’t there some actual violence to object to, rather than picketing outside a cafe owned by ignorant white people who are probably just trying to be trendy? sheesh!

luckily, i did get a chance to return to mao’s recently with a friend for lunch…no angry mob in sight. the meal was so absolutely delicious, i think i can put all my hard feelings about mao’s kitchen waaaaaay behind me. the portions were huge, the vegetables were plentiful, and our waiter was delightful.

coconut curry: green beans, eggplant, tomato, broccoli, black mushroom, carrot, onion & bokchoy with choice of protein. (tofu!!) $11

my friend ordered the green curry with tofu, which i took a pretty huge helping of. i usually don’t order asian curries in restaurants, because coconut milk strikes me as a bit meh. this stuff was amazing though. the sauce was thick with a darker color to it and was packed with spices and tons of heat. floating in the savory and drool-worthy sauce was an ample amount of crispy fresh asian vegetables. no complaints what-so-ever about this dish. oh, and it also came with a grip of fluffy rice (not pictured) to mop up all the curry goodness.

long march camp-fry: chinese cabbage, snow pea, tomato, wood-ear mushroom, white mushroom, zucchini & bean sprouts. plus tofu. $9

i went for the long march camp-fry which is normally 7 bucks, but i added tofu which brought it up to $9. this dish was nothing short of w00t. seriously, if you are in a healthy-kick kinda mood and want billions of vegetables with baked tofu in a light vegan (yet extremely flavorful) sauce, eat this! i have been to mao’s several times and never ordered this before, but now i know it will be one of my standard go-to dishes. it was packed with really scrumptious vegetables like cabbage, tomato, peas and my new favorite…wood ear mushrooms! the fluffy little mushrooms look like dark leafy greens but pack all the texture and flavor of a really tasty portobello. i’m going into food high just thinking about it. i especially recommend the long march camp-fry if you are dining out with others and want a vegetable dish to share. it’s artfully prepared, well-balanced and above all delicious. i’m never ordering steamed vegetables again.

vegan crack: deep fried thingys. free!

oh and one more thing, the food at mao’s kitchen is very good…so be sure not to fill up on the tempting vegan crack they bring to your table for free when you are seated. these deep fried crackers with sweet vegan sauce will sneak up on you…then all of a sudden…half the bowl is gone and you have no room for food because your brain is swimming in huge amounts of grease you just consumed. beware.

hit up mao’s kitchen on melrose for really awesome vegan chinese food. to avoid any contamination, just let them know you are vegan and that you want all your sauces animal-free. they seem to be pretty knowledgeable and always able to accommodate. good luck in there…hopefully you won’t run into crazy/bored protesters like me and the mr. did. if you do, there is always bulan or m cafe just blocks away. 😉

P.S. mao’s kitchen has a parking lot (epic melrose score!), it isn’t busy at lunch time, and you can take in your own booze. you officially have no excuse not to eat there.

mao's kitchen melrose

mao’s kitchen
7315 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 932-9681
open 7 days
11am – 12am

Gluten intolerance must be a really difficult thing to live with, especially if you’re vegetarian or vegan. Even if you’re an omnivore, so many delicious foods that gluten-tolerant people eat are completely off-bounds if you can’t digest the base ingredient in flour – indeed, the very thing that holds most baked goods together and turns crumbs into something chewy and tastily edible.

As a vegan by choice I know how having minority dietary requirements can be a real problem for eating out, but to be gluten intolerant, and therefore have NO choice but to avoid many foods (or get sick) must be a real bind, to say the least. I was pleased to see on a recent trip to Locali some tiny (a little under 6”) vegan, gluten-free pizzas in the freezer all wrapped up in a bag. Being a pizza fan of the highest order I grabbed a bag of four and headed to the cash register. When the gentleman rang up $25, I assumed it was a mistake, and jokingly said “hey! Don’t want to break the bank!”, to which he replied “Oh, this is a special price. They’re normally $7 each but four are only $25.”. I headed straight back to the freezer with them, and settled for a bag of wasabi peas instead.

I did some research when I got home, and it turns out the pizzas are made by The Sensitive Baker in Culver City, and are sold on their website for the exact same price. I love a challenge to discern the value of something expensive, so I was delighted when, on another trip to Locali, they were selling the pizzas individually. I threw down $14+tax of hard earned cash, and headed home with two frozen pizzas in hand.

sensitive baker vegan and gluten-free pizza

Now, I’m used to eating pizza by the slice with a good crust and hearty toppings – and, as anybody that’s seen my girth lately can tell you, several slices at that. When I got home I unpacked the pizza to expose something that really wasn’t much bigger in diameter than one of those large chocolate-chip cookies they sell at the checkout of Whole Foods, only a whole lot thinner. By thin, I mean the thickness of a couple of stacked quarters.

I’m commenting on the size (or lack thereof!) of the pizzas because I had just spent so much money on two, and wishing I’d bought four to feed two people — clearly, the “four in a bag for $25” deal should be what you’d go for, assuming money is no object. Anyways, I popped the pizzas in the oven per the directions and wolfed one down in about 30 seconds, taking eight bites to do so. I then immediately made myself a boca burger with salsa on top as I was so hungry.

And, after checking the nutrition information I was SHOCKED to learn that each pizza was 450 CALORIES — that’s as much energy as in three bags of potato chips. No, not the healthy “baked” kind, but the good, old-fashioned “Lay’s Classic” that makes one feel bloated after eating. This pizza is a source of concentrated calories of about the same as a three slices of a Pizza Hut 12” pizza, but a whole lot less satisfying.

From the bottom up, this was not an exceptional pizza, and certainly nothing special for the price. The crust was hard and crispy with no soft interior (I’ve been told that can be a side-effect of poorly designed gluten-free dough — after all, I’ve had gluten-free burger buns that are perfectly crispy and soft in all the right places). The sauce was watery – like somebody opened a can of tomato puree, diluted it and brushed it on the ‘crust’. There were about two tablespoons of cashew/tahini “cheese” which tasted decent (only because it was fattening enough to meet the nutritional requirements of 5 people in one day) right on top of the aqueous tomato puree.

So, a pizza that was this unimpressive (I’m a-telling you: a piece of dough with watered-down tomato puree and some Follow Your Heart cheese would be an equal match) begs many, many questions….

So, help me out here. Are you gluten intolerant? Do you know anybody that is? Have you ever made a gluten-free pizza… Or a gluten-free anything? Should a gluten-free pizza be nasty yet cost almost 90 cents a bite? Are gluten-intolerant people so desperate for a pizza that this is actually a god-send and value for money?

If this is the state of the art of gluten-free cooking, and it’s value for money I’d love to know – please leave a comment. If not, there has to be a better way to feed our gluten-free friends (some of whom are vegan: that requires a lot of dedication and courage).

located just down the street from all the hustle and bustle that is the melrose m cafe, there’s a much less crowded unassuming macrobiotic restaurant called inka. the natural foods restaurant is almost entirely vegan, except for some seafood options, and the food is prepared entirely with healthy and organic ingredients. while the cuisine is light and simple, it isn’t lacking in taste, and is provides a welcome rest from processed and artificially flavored food.

i took a trip to inaka recently with fellow vegan food blogger/vegan chef/vegan baker jennshaggy, and we both enjoyed our meals tremendously.

yakisoba noodles sauteed garden vegetables with soba or udon noodles. $13

we ordered a few dishes, and naturally ended up sharing everything. jennshaggy went with the yakisoba noodles, with the choice of udon rather than soba. i’m used to udon noodles being thick and round, like the stuff i get in packages at the supermarket and put into soups, but these noodles were much more wide and flat. they tasted slightly fried and a little oily, but still very light at the same time. the vegetables which included carrots, celery and broccoli were crispy and perfectly cooked. the only thing this dish could have used in my opinion is a huge bottle of sriracha sauce, but hey, i use that stuff like ketchup. overall very tasty.

hijiki (sea vegetables) salad: hijiki seaweed over green salad. $7

we also got the hijiki salad, which was basically a mixed green salad piled high with the dark sea vegetables. everything was extremely light and tender, and incredibly fresh. the salad had little to no dressing, so the sea vegetable taste was very prominent. i think this salad ended up being the best thing at the table, just because it had a pure and unique vegetable taste.

wok fry vegetables lightly sauteed fresh garden vegetables cooked with sesame oil, onions, broccoli, nappa cabbage, sprouts, carrots. served with bowl of brown rice. plus tofu. $15

i ordered the wok fry vegetables and added tofu to them for an additional 2 bucks. while this dish was delicious, i can’t really say it was worth $15. sure, everything was well prepared and the vegetables were crunchy and flavorful..but the tofu was a bit soft and boring. i dunno, it tasted like something i could make at home. next time i hit up inaka, i will opt for something with loads of exotic vegetables, you know, macrobiotic-sounding things i can’t pronounce rather than onions and napa cabbage. however, if you are looking for a simple and mild stir-fry…this dish is your man.

overall, i thought inaka was pretty decent. jennshaggy, an extreme foodie was very impressed with the place, and that goes a long way. while some of the food at inaka is a bit boring and arguably overpriced, they make up for that with simple dishes containing delicious vegetables. stuff like the hijiki salad stands far above meals i’ve gotten at other restaurants. i guess it just depends what you order.

i will be back to inaka again very soon to partake in some fine macrobiotic vegan cuisine. try this place out next time you can’t get a seat at the crazy-popular m cafe…at least at inaka you can relax and have a quiet meal.

inaka
131 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 936-9353
hours: tues-fri
lunch 12:00 noon to 2:30 p.m.
dinner 6:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
sat 5:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
sun 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Closed Monday

Last autumn we spent a nice, long veganific weekend in Manhattan. Despite our penchant for fine dining on that trip, we saved the best for last and paid another visit to Maoz at its Union Square location. Located right in the heart of Sunday-farmers-market-urban-chic on the cusp of Chelsea and Greenwich Village, and a few blocks north of Soho, Maoz is very well located for a lot of foot traffic. And, with the Union Square Park literally over the street there’s somewhere pleasant to eat your food – weather permitting.

Of course, on our recent London trip, we had to re-visit the Maoz location on Old Compton Street in Old Soho (where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola). This outlet is sandwiched (no pun intended) right in between an adult book store (of the most racy kind!) and an exotic lingerie shop – of equally (of not more) raciness, but to be expected in Soho. It’s just seconds away from Piccadilly Circus, Carnaby Street and the West End Theater District, but as there’s no picturesque park outside I’m glad it has some inside seating — unlike the Manhattan outlet.

maoz in london

I can report that the food experience is almost entirely the same in London as it is in Manhattan. Omnivores tell me that they enjoy ordering a Big Mac in different cities around the world as they taste the same. With Maoz (already crowned as a potential MacDonald’s of vegetarian food) the same holds true.

maoz falafel sandwich with hummus and unlimited salad bar. ...before going back for more toppings!

The premise is pretty straightforward: you get a warm, fresh pita pocket, and they put hummus, falafel or both into it. From there you can help yourself to an array of incredible vegetables – from the exotic (curried cauliflower) to the mundane (shredded carrots) as many times as you like (that’s another advantage of the London location – you can go back and grab more toppings without walking back into the store and feeling like a thief!). You can add on a range of condiments (mostly vegan) including spicy sauces, tahini, vinegars etc. for a truly healthy and personalized treat.

maoz refillable salad bar

Maoz is a great invention indeed, I’m glad they have outlets centrally located in two of my favorite cities, and it’s funny that I used to chill in London during the eary 80s, right in Soho, and then a few years later I spent a lot of time in Manhattan in the late 80s, right in the Gamercy Park/Union Square district. Of course, there were no Maoz there then. Bummer.

If you plough your way through the world’s MOST FUCKING ANNOYING WEBSITE EVER to find the locations, you’ll see that more are planned to open in the near future. Sadly nothing obvious on the West Coast or in LA, but I live in hope as there’s a franchise application on the site! Hopefully somebody will drop a few bucks to open an outlet in LA. I was thinking Westwood, 3rd St. in Santa Monica or even The Grove would be great locations.

maoz vegetarian
43 Old Compton St
London, W1D 6HG, United Kingdom
+44 20 78511586

of all the incredible restaurants we visited on our recent trip to england, the warehouse cafe in birmingham stood out as one of the best. the warehouse cafe is an entirely vegetarian co-op with a bookstore on the bottom floor and a kick-ass veg restaurant upstairs. they have a passion for the environment and serve up meatless meals containing local and sustainable ingredients that taste bloody brilliant—their vegan junk food and pub fare is completely unmatched. we went for the nachos, burgers, chips and pies…no room for salad. the guilty vegan pleasures at warehouse tasted so amazing…melty cheese and buttery crusts like i haven’t experienced since i was a teenager. wowee!

nachos grande (vegan): organic hand fried tortilla chips, jalapeno chillies, melted mature cheddar, and salsa. £3.95

to start, we ordered the vegan nachos, which were nothing short of incredible. the homemade chips were sinfully greasy and thick…not to mention the melty and creepily convincing cheese. total guilty pleasure x 1000.

organic vegan burger special with garlic and mushrooms.

the husband ordered the burger special, which was also above and beyond. a thick vegan patty with soy vegan cheese, sauteed vegetables, and chunky homemade fries made this dish one not to miss. we ordered it off the specials board, but the burger is available on the normal menu, it just normally doesn’t come with the mushrooms.

warehouse cafe special: leek pie served with garden peas and chips.

lastly, i again ordered off the specials menu and went for the leek pie. holy mother, this shit was traditional pub food done just right but veganized…right down to the rich, greasy crust and huge steaming chips.

the insides were prepared absolutely perfectly…i’m talking really succulent mushrooms in a moist but crispy-on-the-edges buttery crust and creamy beer-flavored sauce. everything we tried from warehouse’s menu was waaaaaay beyond delicious.

in addition to serving up excellent, traditional, and entirely vegetarian/vegan-friendly food, warehouse cafe was charming in the fact that it was run by a shared co-op which includes an environmentally-conscious bookstore located below the restaurant, and all the staff rotate and share ownership. literature on making our world a better place is scattered everywhere…in the dining hall, in the bookshop, and even in the bathroom (where there are 3 different ways to dry your hands, and pamphlets on each method explaining its effects on the environment).

the warehouse cafe is a little hole-in-the-wall that caught me off guard with its sweetness, its consciousness, and its ridiculously tasty vegan food. i will return to this place every single chance i have, because it’s so fucking special. if you find yourself in the uk, it’s totally worth taking a trip to birmingham to visit this place.

warehouse cafe birmingham

the warehouse cafe
54-57 Allison Street
Birmingham B5 5TH
0121 633 0261
Monday to Saturday
11 a.m. til 10 p.m. (last food orders at 9 p.m.)
Sunday
11 a.m. til 6 p.m. (last food orders at 5.00 p.m.)

let’s just set the record straight on what us vegans can eat at the kogi truck…because the information presently available is confusing to say the least. here goes!

if you live in los angeles, i’m sure you’ve heard of the latest food craze to sweep the city…the kogi bbq truck. kogi serves up korean/mexican fusion food on the cheap with a menu full of tacos, burritos, and daily specials. the little truck has gotten so popular in just a few months, that it has been known to draw crowds of hundreds and even run out of food. i have been wanting to try their tofu tacos since forever…so imagine my excitement when i saw on vegguide.org that they were in fact vegan.

kogi truck roja!

i ate the tacos and pretty much raved about them in a review i posted this morning. my party was ruined, however, when a very informed commenter named louise left the following in reply to my post:

Sorry to break it to you, but you just ate a mouthful of pork fat. The tortillas Kogi uses have manteca (lard) in them. That’s one reason why the BF (vegan) never eats their regular tacos. The only vegan one they have is the one wrapped in shiso leaf.

um…so the tofu tacos aren’t even vegetarian? that can’t be right. i messaged the kogi truck (who knew about my blog post) via twitter telling them i found out that there was in fact lard in the tortillas. they immediately replied, “U are mistaken. Im the roja manager steve. Come take a look anytime. We use canola oil” and i was like, “are you sure there’s no lard in them?” and he said, “yes.”

to follow up on the matter, we emailed the chef and told him we’d been hearing conflicting stories about the lard, and that the truck manager was saying the tacos were vegan friendly. it’s then that we got the sad, sad news from the kogi’s very own chef roy:

our tortilla itself contains hints of Manteca although we use canola oil…but we have a vegan taco with sesame leaf as the “tortilla”

alright dude, thanks for being honest. but that’s fucking so nasty that i ate something containing “hints of lard”. almost immediately after i received that email, the kogi twitter account deleted its tweets saying that the tortillas contained no lard, and sent me a direct message via twitter:

aLL the homemade corn tortiLLas are made with a touch of Manteca. The fLour tortiLLas aren’t. Hey! You can order an eggLess burrito! ^__^ (and cheeseless)

so that settles it. what a shame. those delicious fluffy tofu tacos topped with sesame-chili salsa, romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in korean chilli-soy vinaigrette, and cilantro-green onion-lime relish were wrapped in a tortilla contaminated with piggy fatz. as louise put it in an email to me, “It’s kind of stupid that they don’t make it a point to tell you. I don’t see the point of a tofu taco if it’s wrapped in lard. The tofu taco would have been a great option for vegetarians, but now it’s just, ‘Haha, just kidding guys. No tacos for you.'”

sad tacos. they taste so good and vegan in the middle, but are wrapped in lard. 🙁 🙁 🙁

so to take something good from this situation, at least we now know kogi does have some stuff that is vegan-friendly. i will definitely return to check out their lettuce-wrapped tofu taco, as well as their tofu burrito…minus eggs, cheese, and anything else unvegan.

for those of you vegans who aren’t phased and want to give this inventive cuisine a try…but don’t feel like queuing up and want to drink alcohol while you eat your korean/mex, kogi has taken over the kitchen at the alibi room in culver city monday-saturday from 6pm to midnite. their vegan stuff is available there as well, and if you call in advance, they say they can whip you up some extra vegan specialties.

in fact, lex over at vegan-la has talked to the chef and even arranged a “vegan drinks” session with alcohol and loads of kogi food at the alibi on march 28th. for more info on that, check out the vegan drinks site.

the way kogi seasoned their tofu tacos was nothing short of incredible…they truly blend flavors to create a really unique and delicious taste. i’m willing to bury the hatchet and try something that i know is vegan for sure, from the chef’s mouth.

for up to date times and locations of the kogi trucks, and for just some all around entertainment, follow kogibbq on twitter. also check out their website for more info.

hit up kogi when you can, and get there early to avoid the lines! i know i will be back. just don’t eat any fucking corn tortillas!! YUCK. oh, and don’t believe everything you read on vegguide or on twitter.

just a quick update, y’all. purgatory pizza, our favorite vegan-friendly pizza joint in downtown los angeles that we’ve raved about several times is now officially offering field roast sausage as a topping…as of tomorrow. we tested the field roast out, and i can tell ya it was the best meat-esque topping i’ve ever tasted, full stop.

field roast sausage makes for the best vegan topping EVER.

the field roast italian sausage toppings will be available starting tomorrow, and i say go and get your fill before they run out and have to order more. rumors suggest that even local whole foods will have to stop carrying this flavor of field roast due to a supplier issue. so don’t waste time or fuck around, order this on a pizza. i’m not kidding…it’s really damn good.

the vegan sausage topping is gonna cost you $1.50 extra for a medium pizza, and 2 bucks extra for a large…a very fair price if you ask me, considering field roast at whole foods is way fucking pricey and purgatory does NOT SKIMP on the amount. i mean seriously, 18 bucks for a large pizza with vegan cheese plus vegan meat toppings?!?!?! nobody in town can beat that…not damiano’s, not tomato joe’s, not that’s amore…nobody.

large purgatory vegan pizza with teese cheese and field roast sausage: $18

so get your ass over to purgatory pizza and order some fine, fine, fine field roast artisan toppings. the seattle company is known to have the best fake meat ever, and i feel so lucky that i can finally find their products in a los angeles restaurant. oh, and let’s not forget the awesome teese cheese, that sets purgatory apart from all the follow your heart peddlers. a big hand all around: purgatory, awesome crust! teese, your cheese tastes great and MELTS! field roast, your sausage is incredible!

purgatory pizza
1326 east 1st street
los angeles, ca 90033
323 262 5310
open everyday 6pm – 11pm

when i first posted on franken’s, the one and only all-vegan hot dog stand in los angeles, i vowed that i would follow them around, show up at their gigs, and get food from them every time they set up shop. since then, the frankenstand has made two appearances in la, and we were there for both of them.

the food was delicious on both occasions…but before i get into all that, i wanna remind you that the frankenstand will be serving it up in echo park this friday, march 13th at pehrspace. don’t miss it!

for more updates on franken’s, definitely stalk them on myspace and twitter.

the frankenstand

their latest appearance was a smashing success, and we were there at the front lines as they sold like a million hot dogs to hungry hipsters at the east hollywood art cycle event on february 28th. they set up shop outside la city college at heliotrope and melrose, right across from pure luck…it was a vegan’s dream come true!

the wolf and the franken

we ordered the wolf and the franken, both 100% vegan tofurky sausages steamed to perfection. i don’t know how the frankenstand makes tofurky taste so good, but it’s seriously something i can’t replicate at home. of course we took advantage of the eat-all-you-want condiment tray and sauce selection.

the wolf: this is a zesty frank you'll love to wolf down. packed with a fangtastic, chipotle pepper flavor! $3

this was my first time trying the wolf, the cheapest and definitely the spiciest of the sausages available at franken’s. for only 3 bucks it’s a really good deal, but it is considerably smaller than the other franks…so keep that in mind if you are very hungry. the chipotle pepper flavor was delicious, but i made it even tastier with tons of onions and even spicier with loads of hot sauce. i can’t tell you enough how much i love all the condiments and vegetables at the frankenstand.

the franken: this classic sausage will make you feel alive! with a monster blend of sun dried tomatoes and basil giving it a slightly sweet taste. $5

my husband got the same thing he always orders, the franken. the hearty italian-style frank is absolutely mouth-watering, with little bits of sun dried tomato chopped up inside. this sausage seems to be most people’s favorite, although mine is the witch…a tofu beer-flavored frank that costs 4 bucks.

the artists and bikers seemed to love the frankenstand—there was a pretty healthy line when we got our franks, and we were there relatively early. for more coverage on franken’s at the east hollywood art cycle, check out sick of lettuce.

we also caught up with the frankenstand at the threat fest in canoga park on february 21st. the valley crust punk crowd couldn’t have been more different from the heliotrope hipsters…but they sure loved the hot dogs just as much. i saw people going back for second, and even third servings of franken’s! you can see some pix from that event in the franken’s photo gallery and on vegan-la.com.

so those are all the franken’s adventures i have for now. stay tuned, and be sure to check out the frankenstand this friday!

the frankenstand
friday march 13th at 9pm
at pehrspace
325 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90026

vegan food is popping up all over the west side, some good and some bad…just last week i wrote about a newly opened vegan restaurant in venice that i wasn’t very impressed with. luckily for all you beach peeps, there is an excellent macrobiotic restaurant called seed on pacific avenue, serving up healthy all-vegan meals seven days a week.

seed has been open for 4 months, and while i’ve only eaten there twice, everything i’ve tried has been awesome. my first visit was just days after they opened, and i went back for a second time last week. i was happy to discover the food was just as delicious and it was great to see a healthy crowd of beach-goers chowing down on vegan fare.

saisai donburi macro bowl: kabocha, kale, shitake, arame, bean sprouts, daily bean, sauerkraut, balsalmic miso sauce all over organic brown rice. $11.95

the food at seed is masterfully crafted by celebrity chef eric lechasseur, who used to be the chef de patisserie at m cafe. seed’s macrobiotic menu is actually really similar to that of m cafe…tons of bowls, burgers, paninis and japanese vegetables…just without all the dead fish. a lot of my friends actually prefer the food at m cafe, arguing that seed’s food is a bit more bland. i don’t necessarily agree with that, and i’d rather eat at seed any day because it’s a 100% vegan restaurant.

i recently hit up seed with my husband on a double lunch date with eric and diana from happycow.net. i ordered the saisai donburi macro bowl, which was overflowing with more delicious vegetables than i could handle. it came with the option to add tofu, tempeh or seitan at an additional charge, but all the plants in this bowl were enough for me. i gotta say this was the freshest, lightest, tastiest meal i’ve had in quite a while. everything was incredibly delicate and just oozing with healthy flavor. the organic brown rice was extremely soft and fluffy, i ate every bite of it even though i tend to leave my rice behind. the bowl came with a tangy miso sauce that i forgot to even pour on top! that’s right, it was so good i forgot to liven it up with the sauce. i think i will order this every time i go back to seed.

my husband got the blackened tempeh burger which was huge and very hearty.

blackened tempeh burger with sauerkraut: lettuce, tomato, onion, sauerkraut, house mango salsa and mustard-vegenaise spread serverd on a wheat bun with a side of vinaigrette coleslaw. $9.95

while the burger was excellent, the flavor combinations weren’t my favorite. i like sauerkraut and tempeh, but i didn’t really like the mango salsa and mustard vegenaise. i think overall this burger was just too sweet for me, and my husband agreed. although i know tons of people who claim this is the best thing on the menu. ah, to each his own.

eric and diana ordered a side of sweet potato fries to share, which were so fucking awesome. i am just bummed i forgot to photograph them. seriously, they were the one thing at the table that didn’t taste insanely healthy and they were really good in a guilty pleasure sort of way. thin and incredibly crispy around the edges, but soft and fluffy on the inside. perfect fries indeed.

for the four months that seed has been open, i’ve been dying to try their soft serve ice cream. it’s on the menu, and i’ve heard that it exists, but it hasn’t been available the two times i’ve dined at seed. happycow eric informed us that it’s usually only available when chef eric is present, because the recipe and machine are so complicated. what? seriously? vegan ice cream so special that it can only be made when a celebrity chef is on hand? this made me want it even more. now i have another reason to get back to seed asap, as if the saisai donburi macro bowl wasn’t enough. i will let you know if i ever get my hands on some of that elusive soft serve ice cream.

so if you haven’t been to seed yet, got check them out. like i said before, they serve up high-quality m cafe style food, but without the disgusting dead fish. definitely worth a visit.

oh, and check out their happycow.net rating while you are at it…they’ve got a really high score. and join happycow if you haven’t already; it’s like the non-shady and vegetarian version of yelp.

seed
1604 pacific avenue
venice, ca 90291
(310)396-1604

open daily
10 am to 9 pm

Well, not IN the Beverly Center, but right across the street across from Souplantation on 3rd St., just East of La Cienega. Holy Cow is an honest to goodness fast-food style Indian eat-in/carry-out kitchen with a range of veg and non-veg offerings. As is common with many Southern-Indian restaurants there’s no beef on the bill of fayre (probably due to quasi-Hindi leanings of its owners) which leaves an extra-large gap in the menu for vegetarian food, much of which is either naturally vegan or can be made as such.

vegan take-out dinner from holy cow

On our recent visit, we rolled up at 8pm on a Saturday evening, and made that classic mistake: allowing cell a couple of ‘phone babbling people to go into the restaurant ahead of us. By the time they’d figured out what they wanted to eat, changed it three times, and had any number of ‘phone conversations with friends about the menu selections, we’d been standing by the counter for a good 10 minutes. However, the experience was rather educational as we deduced the gang in front of us were somewhat observant Jewish people, most particular to ensure that there was no dairy in anything they ordered – in this way, we got a good grounder of what could, and could not be, veganized without having to go through a big Q&A with the person taking the order.

When it was finally our turn, a very nice Indian gentleman of some stature and presence politely engaged with us, helping guide our choices. As is common with West Coast outlets like this (especially Indian), ordering a “dinner” is excellent value. For only a couple of bucks more than an a-la-carte single main dish one can get a appetizer, main dish, side of vegetables, rice and bread. Sadly for us, the naan bread contained eggs, so we had to order a-la-carte, even though a better economic decision might have been to order the dinner and trash the naan bread. But that’s not very vegan, now is it?

vegetarian samosas: crisp turnovers filled with potatoes and peas. $3.95

We started off with two Vegetable Samosas – at only $3.95 they were exceptional value and extremely tasty, being freshly prepared in the kitchen when our order was taken.

They had that crispy outside with hot steamy inside that is so unique to this dish. The nearest thing is a Chimichanga – that decadent Mexican-style deep-fried burrito, but I’d rather a samosa any day!

aloo gobi: potato and cauliflower cooked with herb and spices $6.95...and saag tofu: pureed spinach with tofu and spices. $6.95. plus rice!$2.95

I have a complete weakness for Potato and Cauliflower curries, particularly the Aloo Gobi which, if done right, can be a sublime dish. There’s something about the intersection of basic ingredients like vegetables, spices and oils that Indian cuisine does so well, and Holy Cow’s rendition holds up to the highest standards.

Our other entrée was Saag Aloo with Tofu – basically pureed spinach (spinach haters stop reading this paragraph now!) with chunky potatoes, spices and small, firm tofu pieces. This can very much be a hit or miss dish in many Indian restaurants because the cooking times of everything vary so much – seconds for the spinach, but 30 minutes or more for the potatoes and tofu, so a juggling act in the kitchen is needed to pull this delicate dish off to perfection – and whomever was back-stage at Holy Cow knows exactly how to make Saag Aloo happen: the end result being perfection.

Finally, we ordered White Rice, which was a bit misleading (albeit in a good way), because the rice was actually cooked in herbs and spices, including turmeric, which gave it a yellowy look and, spicy flavor that complemented the food perfectly.

So, bottom line, Holy Cow was a GREAT, inexpensive Indian take-away very much in the tradition of my homeland in England where you can take home the curry or sit in a brightly lit restaurant and eat it there. Holy Cow has the ambience of a vegan Thai restaurant, but the food is so much better.

With convenient parking, incredibly polite and helpful staff as well as completely above-average food, you can’t go wrong. The only competition is Samosa House, which is distant competition both in miles to travel (it’s in Culver City) and taste of the food.

Thanks for being there, Holy Cow, and thanks for understanding about vegans and our standards. We’ll be regular customers.

holy cow

holy cow
8474 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 852-8900

monday – friday
11:30am-9pm
sat and sun
5pm-9pm

basically any foodie will tell you that THE place to get a pizza in los angeles is pizzeria mozza. the sister restaurant to the upscale italian eatery osteria mozza has been open for years and it is still nearly impossible to get a reservation. mozza’s thin-crusted and crispy italian-style pizzas are so popular that every day before the restaurant even opens, several wannabe customers line up outside, hoping to grab a seat at the bar.

being somewhat obsessed with pizza, of course i’ve always had an interest in trying out mozza. but the thought of fighting with the crowds and dealing with the whole scene for some “highly modified to be made vegan” pizza was a bit of a turn off. plus, i’m just so used to big, take-out, new york style pies. the personal-sized expensive pizzas served at mozza with toppings i can’t pronounce all seemed a little to fancy for my comfort zone. luckily, i was jolted out of my reticence by my vegan friend and fellow pizza fiend who called me one day and exclaimed, “holy shit, dude! we gotta go to mozza! i have been dying to try that place and i just got confirmation their sauce and crust are vegan! what are you doing tomorrow?” we headed over to mozza the next day, lined up outside 15 minutes before they opened, and just managed to get a seat at the bar. what followed was epic pizza.

rapini, cherry tomatoes, olives & chiles $14 (no anchovies or cheese!)

we ordered a couple pizzas and then swapped slices, and my friend definitely chose the better of the two. she got the rapini, cherry tomatoes, anchovies, olives & chiles…sans anchovies and sans cheese. when the bartender heard her modifications, he asked if we were vegans and then assured us our food would be handled with different utensils. excellent.

the pizza tasted delicious without cheese and came with so many fine vegetables, the mozzarella wasn’t missed. the succulent rapini and and tiny tomatoes were perfectly prepared and sitting on top of the most amazing crisp yet tender crust. thin in the middle and bubbly on the edges, the crust was seriously out of this world. baked in an italian-inspired wood-burning oven, it’s miles away from any pizza i’ve ever tried.

tomato, extra virgin olive oil & sicilian oregano $10

the pizza i chose was a bit more boring, but i loved it all the same. oddly enough the pizza you see pictured above came as is, with no modifications. it’s naturally cheeseless and topped with only tomato, extra virgin olive oil and sicilian oregano. the oregano was phenomenal, but i couldn’t help but laugh when the waiter plunked the plate down in front of us and my friend was all, “DUDE! it looks like there’s WEED on your pizza!” and indeed it did. haha, it tasted great though…nothing like marijuana, i swear! the lack of toppings gave me the opportunity to really taste the amazing crust on its own and reaffirmed my feeling that this is the best fucking crust i’ve ever eaten.

while the seating at the bar is kind of tight, it was rather enjoyable. i would definitely go to mozza again and line up for 15 minutes to snag a spot. they only have one beer on tap, but it’s a damn good one: moretti. if i didn’t have to get back to work, i could have definitely thrown back a few pints of this stuff.

insalata mista. $8

we also shared a small salad and while mixed greens tend to be kind of boring, in true mozza fashion this was exceptional. the leaves were perfectly coated with salt, pepper, and a light tangy dressing, making for total salad awesomeness. the bartender also brought us some complimentary long and crunchy bread sticks, the perfect accompaniment to damn good salad and beer.

because the pizzas are pretty big, way more than enough for one person, i ended up with half a pie to bring home with me. when i went to heat up my barren, tomato sauce covered crust that evening i decided to throw on some vegan cheese to see how it tasted. because this pizza crust was so special, i decided to use some of my all-time favorite vegan cheese on top…CHEEZLY. cheezly (winner of the best vegan cheese pizza challenge) is so hard to come by, and it’s expensive as fuck. i order online at veganessentials.com and use it only on special occasions. but hey, what is more special than having a pizza from mozza to reheat?

pizza from pizzeria mozza with melted cheezly!

mozza crust with melted cheezly on top is so amazing, i can’t even describe it to you. since becoming vegan, i’ve never tried anything that tasted so much like real cheese pizza. you are probably looking at 6 bucks worth of pizza in that picture, just for a tiny slice…but man oh man it was worth it. vegans, if you miss pizza, seriously give this a try. go to mozza, get the plain pizza to go, and cover it in cheezly when you get home. just a few seconds in the microwave got the cheese melted all over the crust, and it tasted in-fucking-credible.

thank you mozza and cheezly for returning the joy of pizza to my life.

and i also highly recommend dining in at pizzeria mozza. get there a little bit before they open, or a little bit before they close and you should be able to grab a coveted bar seat. seriously, this place deserves all the hype.

pizzeria mozza
641 n. highland avenue
los angeles, ca 90036

323-297-0101

open everyday
12pm – 12am

los angeles vegans, i know you’ve had your fill of vegan thai food. on every corner there’s a vegan express, vegan house, vegan plate, or vegan-whatever-the-fuck…all dishing out indistinguishable pad see ew, freshy rolls and garlic pepper entrees. well now if you need an asian fix, you can put the thai habit on hold and grab some vegan-friendly chinese food from kung pao bistro.

the asian eatery has two locations, one in studio city and one in weho, and both serve up loads of vegan options. they have an entirely separate vegetarian menu, plus the option to make any meat dish vegetarian by subbing faux for real meat at a $3 charge. while some of the fake meat has milk powder in it, plenty of it doesn’t, so rest assured…there are plenty of vegan options.

i’ve been to kung pao bistro a few times. the weho location is close to my office, and has ample parking, so it’s usually a pretty no-brainer place to meet my mom for lunch when she’s in the area. while the vegetarian menu looks pretty inviting, we always get the same thing off the omnivore menu and veganize it for an additional 3 bucks…because it is so damn good.

soy beef pan fried noodles. $13.50

the pan fried noodles are like nothing i’ve ever had. they are the weirdest middle ground between soft and fried…they are crunchy yet soak up all the sauce, brittle and chewy at the same time. i love ordering them because they taste nothing like the vegan asian cuisine i’m used to, which of course consists mainly of thai food.

the soy beef is delicious as well. it isn’t too sweet like it is at many asian places, and the texture is realistic and hearty but not gross. another good thing about the soy beef is it is definitely vegan. kung pao bistro clearly states on their website: “Not all dishes are vegan. Some of the vegetarian meats are made with milk or whey protiens. Please make sure when ordering to ask which dishes are vegan friendly.” well, unfortunately the staff doesn’t know shit about what is vegan. seriously, the few times i’ve asked them, they said all fake meats were vegan. i got to the bottom of the issue and emailed the restaurant directly. the manager wrote back and confirmed that the soy beef, normal soy chicken, and soy fish are vegan. the breaded soy chicken items such as orange chicken and faux shrimp both contain a milk protein. the dude totally knew what vegan meant, and if you have any additional questions, totally email him. just be sure vegans, if you order chicken at kung pao to make sure it isn’t of the breaded or battered variety.

i went with whiter-than-white, all-vegan beef and it was delicious! even my mom loved it! and she doesn’t suffer crappy meat substitutes well. seriously.

we also split a side of broccoli which was absolutely delicious, but a bit of a butt-rape at $7.50.

sauteed broccoli. $7.50

cooked to perfection and flavorful as can be, i really can’t fault this stuff. but come ON! over 7 bucks for a plate of broccoli?!?! this is a $4 plate, tops. anyhow, i keep coming back to it because it’s really good. but i know i’m getting the shaft every time.

vegan fortune cookie. compliments of the house!

when you are all done eating, kung pao serves up not just the bill, but VEGAN FORTUNE COOKIES! yep. the one pictured was totally animal-free. read the label on the one you get before you eat it, because it coulda been just a lucky coincidence; i mean, who knows who their distributor is? if you are fortunate enough to have a vegan fortune cookie (ha ha), don’t waste that shit.

that’s all, kung pao bistro is a great vegan-friendly find. it isn’t necessarily a destination to travel to for some amazing experience or anything, but it’s damn good chinese food that you can trust to be free of dead animal bits. that’s not something we vegans get to eat very often, as most places are beyond sketchy. i will continue to go back, and next time i will try to order something different. (but damn those noodles are GOOD.)

kung pao bistro
west hollywood
7853 santa monica blvd
west hollywood, ca 90046
(323) 848-9888

studio city
11838 ventura blvd
studio city, ca 91604
(818) 766-8686

if you are a vegan in los angeles, i sure hope you’ve hit up purgatory pizza by now. the already-popular new york-style pizzeria started selling awesome vegan pizzas using teese cheese from chicago soy dairy in february, and now just one month later, they are known throughout town for having the best vegan pizza around. the quality of the crust, sauce and now vegan cheese is above and beyond all competition. as far as i know, they are the only pizza joint in los angeles using teese, which is fairly hard to come by, but by far the best brand in the united states.

imagine my excitement when i learned that in just a few weeks purgatory pizza has been so successful with the vegan cheese that they have also decided to start offering fake meat toppings as well. i was even lucky enough to attend a limited tasting-party to try out the new stuff…oh what a treat! the result: tons of new fake meats atop delicious teese pizzas, ending in a food coma of epic proportions.

vegan toppings of the night included field roast sausage, lightlife pepperoni, lightlife bacon, lightlife ham, and tofurky sausage.

all the pizzas we tried are pictured below. results were varied, but my favorite was by far the field roast sausage. it had a really meaty texture and tasted surprisingly like real pizza sausage that i remember from when i was a little kid…right down to the crispy edges and embedded fennel seeds, this stuff was unreal.

vegan purgatory pizza: field roast sausage and teese cheese.

the pepperoni was decent, but in my opinion it didn’t have the wow factor of the field roast sausage. lightlife products tend to be great for what i want to make at home, but just don’t do it for me when they are offered at restaurants.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife pepperoni and teese cheese.

same again with the lightlife bacon…it was tasty, but not something i would splurge on for a pizza topping.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife bacon and teese cheese.

purgatory also tried out the tofurky sausage as a pizza topping, which was definitely a worthy field roast opponent. this stuff was really good…but it sliced up into little disks, not globby clumps like the field roast sausage. something about this wasn’t as authentic to me, although i would definitely order it if i saw it on a menu.

vegan purgatory pizza: tofurky sausage and teese cheese.

lastly, was the ham and pineapple which, i won’t lie, i didn’t even taste. pineapple on pizza has never gone down well with me…but the other folks tonight seemed to enjoy it. the ham was the lightlife brand of meat, so i assume it was similar to the pepperoni and bacon.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife ham, pineapple and teese cheese.

again, in my mind, the clear winner was the field roast sausage. i honestly usually don’t like fake meat on pizza, but this stuff was so good, i think i’d order it every time.

vegan pizza with teese and field roast sausage! YUM.

sorry, readers. i don’t mean to get your hopes up too early or anything…because for right now the vegan meats aren’t available at purgatory pizza just yet. whatever scored best at tonight’s tasting test will hopefully be available soon though, and i will let you know as soon as it is. i’m hoping they at least go with the field roast sausage because that was my absolute favorite!

until then, you will have to suffer through with just vegetable toppings on the best vegan pizza in los angeles. speaking of which…i brought home some teese pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes and chopped garlic for my husband, who missed out on tonight’s festivities, and the stuff warmed up and melted like a charm. turns out vegan pizza is just as good leftover as normal pizza.

vegan pizza to go! teese, mushrooms, tomato and chopped garlic. YUM.

so whether you eat in or takeaway, purgatory pizza is the place to go for vegan pizza in la. they have the meltiest cheese and a load of vegetable toppings. once they get the fake meats come, they will be UNSTOPPABLE. vegans, if you haven’t been to purgatory pizza yet, you are fucking CRAZY. put it at the top of your list.

purgatory pizza
1326 east 1st street
los angeles, ca 90033
323 262 5310

open everyday 6pm – 11pm

as more and more vegan restaurants close these days (R.I.P. vegan spot and doomie’s), plenty seem to be opening…especially on the west side. we’ve been lucky enough to gain seed, casa de tree, and yet another m cafe in beverly hills. i guess with all this awesomeness happening, there was bound to be a fluke. enter j’s kitchen on abbot kinney in venice. the new vegan macrobiotic restaurant sitting on a prime piece of real estate should be something to get really excited about…instead, it wound up being a total letdown.

i was really excited for j’s kitchen to open, don’t get me wrong. supposedly this place has a wicked storefront in japan, serving up high-quality vegan food that is known all around the world for being delicious. they were supposed to open in like september, but that got pushed out months, and finally they did a soft-opening in december. what looked like it would be an awesome duplicate of the famous tokyo location turned out to be just a salad bar with no seating and very limited hours.

now over 2 months later, j’s kitchen still has no indoor seating, the menu is small and limited, and while they do have some food other than a salad bar…in my experience, it was really disappointing.

veggie tofu scramble. $4.50 plus tempeh bacon. $2.95

i wanted to love j’s kitchen so much, i really did. i drove all the way from mother-fuckin’ hollywood and met my vegan-enthusiast friend there at 8am. we were so stoked to be trying out a new vegan breakfast joint on the westside….the 50 minute drive didn’t even phase me. when we arrived, however, we were told that the chef “decided not to come in until 8:30” that day. we had the choice of getting some cold breakfast, or waiting a bit longer for the stuff that was advertised on the menu. we decided to wait. and wait. and wait. at 8:30, the chef still wasn’t there. she arrived at more like 8:45 or 8:50, and the food we received definitely didn’t justify the amount of time we had to sit around.

my friend ordered the veggie tofu scramble, pictured above, which was basically a mix of bland tofu and bell peppers. the tempeh bacon was an extra 3 bucks for just two slices, and they tasted like they came straight out of a box. even after adding a ton of salt, the scramble was still pretty tasteless. now i understand that macrobiotic food is a whole new game, but if seed and m cafe can make such awesome dishes, j’s kitcen really has no excuse.

breakfast burrito. $7.95 plus tempeh bacon. $2.95

i ordered the breakfast burrito, which was small and not very flavorful. i can’t believe it cost nearly $8! $3 dollars more than the scramble, and about the same amount of food. while the burrito wasn’t horrible to start with, it went from “meh” to “fucking disgusting” instantly when i found a long, black, curly hair all wrapped around the tofu at the bottom of the burrito. that’s it. breakfast over.

who knows, maybe my experience was a one off and usually j’s kitchen is great. some stuff on the menu did look pretty good, and i’ve heard great things about it on other sites. i just know that hair in my food was enough to gross me out for awhile, and the blandness of everything else makes me feel like i’m not missing much. sure, maybe i will return for lunch someday…but not any time soon.

here’s a copy of the menu, since it isn’t available on their site.

here’s to hoping j’s kitchen gets their act together! they are in a great location, and another good vegan restaurant on the westside would be a wonderful thing.

j's kitchen on abbot kinney in venice

j’s kitchen
1239 abbot kinney blvd.
venice, ca 90291

310-450-5119

open 8am to 4pm
monday thru saturday