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sunday brunch at RFD
10March 8th, 2010LA restaurants, real food daily
i am always a sucker for a good brunch, and for ages i’ve been hearing that the sunday offering at real food daily is pretty damn awesome. so, after not eating at the restaurant for quite some time and having a great experience with their takeout food, we decided to give dining in at RFD another shot.
the LA benedict: Poached tofu, roasted tomatoes, sautéed spinach, buttery rustic toast, corn hollandaise, tempeh bacon, hash browns or fruit. $13.95
we hit up the weho location yesterday with a friend, and the food was tasty all around the table. i ordered the LA benedict, which came with tofu, tomatoes and spinach all atop buttery toast smothered in vegan hollandaise sauce. it was pretty expensive at just under 14 bucks, but at least the portion was large. personally, i prefer the benedict at m cafe, but this one was pretty good as well. my only complaint was that the tofu was pretty untreated—it tasted like the silken stuff just taken out of the box and sprinkled with pepper. the high points of the dish were the creamy hollandaise and the crispy bacon, i couldn’t get enough of that stuff.
breakfast burrito: Whole wheat flour tortilla, scrambled tofu, onions, peppers, guacamole, pico de gallo, Ranchero sauce, melted cashew cheese, tempeh bacon, hash browns or fruit. $13.75
my husband went with the breakfast burrito, which was a giant whole wheat tortilla stuffed with scrambled tofu, vegetables, and guacamole. it also came covered in RFD’s amazing cashew cheese (which can be subbed for jalapeno cheese upon request!). i didn’t try the burrito because it had bell peppers in it (which i HATE), but my husband said it was a bit soggy and mushy for his taste.
lastly, our friend ordered an appetizer as his main dish, the blt tartine (pictured below). this was basically a blt sandwich, but served bruschetta-style on little pieces of toast rather than in between slices of bread. this is another dish i didn’t try, but it got a great review from our friend, and i don’t think you can go wrong with RFD’s tempeh bacon.
BLT tartine: mini open-faced sandwich Tempeh bacon, tomato, spicy vegenaise, whole wheat baguette, baby mix lettuces, balsamic vinaigrette. $9.95
unlike some other times we’ve been to RFD, the service on sunday was great. the place was super busy, but we still got a really comfortable table and were constantly checked on by our waitress. the one huge drawback to dining at real food daily though, is that while the food is good, it is PHENOMENALLY overpriced. what would cost $8-9 at a normal vegan restaurant ends up costing $14-15. their prices are on par with madeleine bistro, but the food just isn’t quite as special. oh, and be really careful ordering alcohol. they were serving tiny little glasses of champagne at brunch that wound up costing 9 bucks a piece. let’s just say less than half of our bill went to cover food. oops.
that being said, we really did have a great brunch at RFD and i’m looking forward to going back. it’s just not something i would splurge on every weekend.
real food daily
414 N La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 289-9910and
514 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-7544brunch served sundays from 10am-3pm
Tags: brunch, weho
10 responses to “sunday brunch at RFD” 
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looks yummy, i had vegan brunch, here in Georgia yesterday, tempeh “crab” cakes, jicama potato salad and an awesome smoothie.
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I ate the LA Benedict there yesterday too! I agree the tofu on it was kind of flavorless, but that’s basically how the egg whites taste on a “real” Eggs Benedict.
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Leelee March 8th, 2010 at 13:24
We can never figure out the draw of RFD-between our experiences & those of friends who have eaten there over the years, the conclusion is : why? Why the high prices? Why the rude service? Why the mostly bland food? Why go back? This time we won’t.
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Schramm March 8th, 2010 at 14:24
biggest gripe for me is that the food is expensive and always the same boring menu. even going back to my first visit in 2000….. it was amazing then. now, par.
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EricM March 8th, 2010 at 19:42
I think they go to silken tofu when they run out of firm. Not a good sub, imo. It has happened to me a handful of times there.
For all that money, they should run to the fucking store when they’re out of firm tofu!
I swore off brunch there after several mediocre meals, including the nastiest sweet potato hash I’ve ever had (greasy as hell, and full of soggy peppers.)
The few dinner items I order are usually pretty consistent. In fact, going there now for the Buddah Belly special!
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Bobbie F March 9th, 2010 at 06:49
Seriously, RFD is not great food and it really is overpriced. I’ve had that burrito, and while it’s filling for sure it is completely bland and boring. There’s nothing special about RFD: not now, not ever in the future.
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Douglas Novack August 6th, 2010 at 19:45
real Food Daily is one of my favorite restaurants. I eat there regularly and the food and the quality is always consistently amazing. This is one place hat knows what they are doing and is a tradition with most vegans. The service is very accommodating and their prices are reasonable. My non-vegan friends love this place so it is easy to take groups too. i have been a customer for many years and can’t wait to take my granddaughter as i always took my sons and they love it….now RFD is def a family tradition……
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I love RFD! My family and I have been going there for years. The food is not only excellent but healthy. What I have noticed at a lot of vegan restaurants is that the food is highly processed and full of fat. This is not my experience at RFD. The brunch is out of this world. I would recommend this to everyone, vegan and non vegan.
Hannah March 8th, 2010 at 09:21