29 responses to “quick bites: more from long beach vegan eatery”

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  Gee Gee October 19th, 2011 at 08:46

  Hopefully this review of the place will help them reconsider their menu items and try again. I really wish I could do a vegan restaurant make-over of this place…it has so much potential!

  A lot of restaurant owners don’t realize that just because they opened up a business does NOT mean they should be the head chef. They can’t do it all, hire a chef that knows what they are doing! I think Long Beach could be so awesome if we had a place where you could get brunch on the weekends (kinda like Flore with pancakes, waffles, hashbrowns, sausage,etc.) and a classic burger joint at night that serves milk shakes and fries-to-die-for (kinda like Saturns Cafe in Santa Cruz, CA). O.K. I’m getting a little carried away and making myself hungry! 😉

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  Christina October 19th, 2011 at 09:09

  Yes, that would be awesome! I went to Portland this summer for a vegan road trip (which was awesome!) and Sweetpea Baking Co. is a vegan bakery that does a Sunday brunch.

  I would love to open a vegan bakery that does a Sunday brunch here in LBC. I’m just not sure what kind of market we have. I know there are vegans here, just not sure how many.

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  Tracy Rose October 19th, 2011 at 09:39

  Christina,
  There are plenty of vegans here in LB and plenty from Orange County that will travel. I’m lucky to know a slew of them and if the food is amazing, even my carnivore friends will give you their money!!!!

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  Christina October 19th, 2011 at 09:47

  Thanks Tracy!

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  Loresia October 19th, 2011 at 10:42

  I was there on opening day too… Couldn’t have said it better myself. Minus the cockroach.. Though my a friend of mine went on day two and saw a cockroach too.

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  james October 19th, 2011 at 13:03

  Kind of a bummer when you hear about someone pouring their heart into opening a vegan restaurant and it getting such bad reviews =/ I think all of us really want to see them and every veg restaurant succeed.

  hopefully they can take some constructive criticism, tweek a few things out, and bounce back stronger then ever!

  the good: opening a ~v~ restaurant in long beach. its just amazing that a city that big with so many vegi’s has such limited options.

  the bad: menu/food quality/pricing strategy as a whole(the most important thing)!

  1) At just short of $10 for a vegi sandwich that you can make at home, it just doesn’t make sense. If you are going to use easily available/generic ingredients, you really need to go take-out style (Orean Pasadena comes to mind) and lower the prices. To be fair, the entree’s seem reasonably priced, but haven’t tried any as of yet.
  2) If you want to charge roughly $10 for a menu item, why not just charge about $12, come up with some unique, specialty menu items with quality ingredients and really make a name for yourself. Restaurants like: Stuff I Eat, Real Foods Daily and Sage come to mind. Those are all places I will drive quite a bit away to eat at. ditch the Gardein and experiment with some Match meats.. why not try some jackfruit options on the menu? 10 years ago the menu options would have been cutting edge, but now days you really have to up your game if you plan on charging $10 menu items.

  Hope they read this and hope it helps if you are looking for feedback. I will stop by again and try things again in the near future.

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  emmmly October 19th, 2011 at 15:55

  I agree with all of this.

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  Sista Chris October 19th, 2011 at 17:36

  Hi, I’m new here and was just wondering if any one can explain Chick’n to me. I am salivating over the drumstick looking things. If that is not real chicken then what is it? Is it gluten free? and Where can I order some and have it shipped to STL?

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  james October 19th, 2011 at 20:05

  Hi Sista Chris, Not sure where LBVE is sourcing their “vegan drumsticks” or what the ingredients are but they are either wheat gluten or soy based (or both). If you’ve never tried “vegi” meats, you may be surprised at how good some of them are. I think at one time this company may have made vegan drumsticks you questioned above:
  http://www.vegeusa.com/VegeUSA/products/vege_drumsticks.html
  (these list whey as an ingredient, so just be aware if you are curious 100% vegan items).
  You may be able to order somewhere online, but you can also check your local whole foods in STL frozen foods section, you can usually find these or similar products there.

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  Eddie October 19th, 2011 at 21:52

  I have to disagree. I didn’t see any cockroaches. Whoopie pie, carrot cake, Cheesecake, and Cinnamon Bun were all amazing. Came in for dinner and it was packed; however, my Chick’n Sandwich was flawless. I’ve also tried the mock meatball sub(delicious and felt stuffed regardless of the size), Tacos were great as well. Best quesadilla i’ve had, hands down. BBq ribs were pretty good a bit more sauce like the drumsticks pictured above would’ve made it better. As for sides I’ve had chili, french fries, mashed potatoes, garlic hummus(quite different than what i’ve had before though). Mac and cheese, vegan dogs, and chick’n nuggets looked pretty tasty, although, I haven’t tried them yet.

  So Far:
  Favorite Entree: Quesadilla
  Favorite Dessert: Whoopie pie or carrot cake (I have to say they really specialize in baked goods).
  Favorite Side: Fries dipped in Chili

  As for service, I have to say these people really are putting in their hearts to what they are doing. I’m sorry about your water mishap. I’m sure a reminder wouldn’t have left anyone bitter. I work at a car wash in “the most exclusive area in LB” and I know how harsh customers can be, although I would imagine the stress being greater with food. This place has so many options for vegans than any other restaurant in Long Beach. Of course I could go to Ralph’s, Whole-foods, or another restaurant to get some of these items but I think you’re really paying for the service, atmosphere, plus the quality is great in my eyes. If you’re still left unsatisfied the best thing you can do is support the place as much as you can, offer some constructive criticism and perhaps the quality you’re looking for will develop while getting to know the place more. So far i’ve been here 4 times in the past 3 days of their opening and plan on having everything on the menu. I’ve probably spent almost $100(with friends) but maybe with my support the food can only get better, more of my favorite entrees will appear on the menu, and there will be a greater demand for Vegan Restaurants like LBVE.

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  obvious October 19th, 2011 at 21:54

  nice to see the owner chiming in with a fake comment about his own restaurant. slick.

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  Eddie October 19th, 2011 at 22:19

  ^^^Wow dude, really? I was just stating my opinion. I guess I’m sorry I like the food……for anyone contemplating becoming vegan, I’d have to say it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I’ve had the best meals since. And it’d be nice if more people were, so meals wouldn’t be so “expensive” instead at taco bell where a shitty quesadilla is $3, you don’t have to disrespect yourself and you can make your footprint on the earth lighter. Exploring meatless meals leaves me with an extra satisfaction every time.
  I guess I could add more criticism so I can keep it “real br0”, It’d be nice if some costumers left their High School drama outside. Not to attack anyone who commented above but I think my meal was ruined once by overhearing the word ‘like’ from these HS girls waiting for their food.
  Also, music. I went “out of my way” by asking if there would be music soon, which there will be. Another plus for the atmosphere 🙂

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  yep October 19th, 2011 at 23:27

  i thought the same exact thing when i read this. atmosphere? what atmosphere??!! the lighting is god-awful, the service is horrible, the decor is vaguely reminiscent of some boring nineties diner, and there’s no music. it’s incredibly small, which would have been fine, if everyone on staff wasn’t being so awkwardly quiet. i took my mom and sister with me to lbve tonight and we couldn’t wait to get out of there. we didn’t even finish the one thing we ordered (waldorf sandwich) because it AND the atmosphere was so blah. as far as quality goes, lbve cannot even hold a candle to someplace like native foods, which produces almost all of their core ingredients on site. i wanted to like lbve so badly, but as a broke vegan, i can’t afford to spend ten dollars on a sandwich with no creativity! if it were something incredible then i probably wouldn’t even think twice. i don’t think twice about making the drive for a bowl of pho at mitasie in huntington beach because it’s THAT GOOD. (and it’s only six bucks, but i digress). the problem with lbve is that there isn’t just one problem. if the food was great but the atmosphere sucked, it wouldn’t matter. but they can’t BOTH suck. anyway, dude, you may not actually be the owner and if that’s the case, then you’re probably a friend of the owner’s. it’s totally cool that you wanna represent the place in a flattering light, but the truth of the matter is these people need to completely overhaul their business model if they want their restaurant to last longer than a few months.

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  girl October 20th, 2011 at 08:21

  the issues i have with this comment are:

  1. i’m not paying for service. they advertise as a counter-service restaurant.
  2. they can’t take credit for the quality because they didn’t make anything themselves, only heated items.
  3. i offered constructive criticism to the owner, jeff, through email after i failed to find a yelp page and his response back was cranky.

  none of us are bashing vegan food, as you seem to think, based on your second reply. it’s us vegans who are disappointed with the lack of creativity. i’m a student; when i go out to eat, it’s a splurge. therefore, i’m not going to want to splurge on a restaurant that serves food i could have bought down the street for chepaer. my best quesadillas have been with daiya too, but it doesn’t matter who makes them. it’s the daiya that’s good.

  i am aware that better quality can develop over time and i’m hoping that is the case so that i can feel good about supporting l b v e. but until i start hearing more positive reviews (from vegans), i’ll give them some space.

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  Omnivoire experimenting with vegetarianism October 20th, 2011 at 08:27

  I liked the sandwich that I tried, (California chic’n) with avocado, lettuce and tomato. My boyfriend got “meat”loaf, and it was really good – a veganized family recipe I was told. I am going to try the meatball sub next. I kinda see it as a vegan coffee shop, with familiar foods, like a coco’s or burger joint – but vegan. Fast, clean comfort food. I liked it, but as an omnivore, apparently my opinion has less weight than strict vegans… but how is an omnivore going to be attracted to veganism without “gateway foods” like veggie burgers??

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  Melissa October 20th, 2011 at 08:58

  I would love to know his response to your email.

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  Melissa October 20th, 2011 at 09:14

  Omnivore,

  Your opinion has no less weight than vegans’ opinions. The point we are trying to make is that LBVE is using packaged/processed convenience foods that are available to buy at Whole Foods, Ralph’s, etc. I guess what I’m trying to say is that these foods have already been “discovered” and we were hoping for more creative, homemade options that are not just basically heat and serve.

  I think if you try Native Foods (www.nativefoods.com) or The Veggie Grill (veggiegrill.com), you’ll see what we’re talking about. (Don’t know if you’ve tried either of those already). Glad you enjoyed your experience at LBVE!

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  girl October 20th, 2011 at 09:20

  omni,

  melissa is right on target! on that note, if you enjoyed your food at l b v e, you will definitely enjoy native foods and veggie grill, as they use many of the same “meats”! if you’re local to long beach, try zephyr on 4th street – their salads are my favorite and the desserts are great too!

  if you’re interested in experimenting with your own cooking and would prefer aforementioned “gateway foods”, try gardein
  http://www.gardein.com/index.php
  and daiya
  http://www.daiyafoods.com/

  the fact that you are experimenting with vegetarianism is awesome. happy eating!

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  Gregalor October 20th, 2011 at 21:07

  Let’s be honest, I loooove Veggie Grill, but they’re basically Gardein: The Restaurant.

  They do make some things, though, I’ll give them that; you certainly can’t find vegan gumbo everywhere, and the salads are the best you can get anywhere.

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  Melissa October 20th, 2011 at 21:16

  This was in response to Omni’s comment about LBVE. That is Gardein the restaurant. At least Veggie Grill jazzes up the Gardein. I was just pointing out that if Omni liked LBVE, would probably like Veggie Grill and be blown away by Native Foods.

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  Erica October 20th, 2011 at 22:59

  There are also plenty of vegans in LA (like myself and my good friend) who don’t mind traveling in order to stuff our faces with good food. We do it often : ).

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  Matvei October 21st, 2011 at 11:21

  I don’t mean to pile on, but this place is clearly in deep trouble. The Yelp rating alone is going to bury them, and loads of terrible feedback on LA’s preeminent vegan blog won’t help. Roaches, undercooked food, bad service, and poorly made, derivative dishes: this place seems like a vegan Spires or Norm’s, only worth it when you’re locked out of the house at 2 AM. I don’t mean to be cynical, but I live here and this is typical Long Beach.

  Too bad for us, then, but I want to remind everybody here that we’re within easy driving distance of two of the ten best vegan places in California: Thuyen Vien in Anaheim (west of the 5, easy to get to) and the incomparable Au Lac in Fountain Valley. If you haven’t been to those places yet, you have to go. Thuyen Vien is the sort of place I would eat at every day if I lived within 15 minutes, honestly as good as the great Vinh Loi in Reseda.

  So while we may have jack in the LBC itself, those two are worth the drive and there’s obviously plenty more good places in OC (Native Foods, Veggie Grill, Seabirds Truck, Mitassie 3, even the cafe at Mother’s).

  Also if you’re willing to drive down a bit further, Peace Pies in Encinitas has fan-effing-tastic raw food that is starting to convert me. Everything is refrigerated and premade, so you can buy a ton of it and bring it home. I have no idea how they manage some of the flavors they have there, but I hope QG gets to try this place soon. I was way surprised and impressed.

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  ebeb October 21st, 2011 at 11:34

  You’re pretentious and bitchy.

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  Mar mar October 21st, 2011 at 15:45

  I haven’t been to LBVE, but from what I can tell from the photos and reviews, it is NOTHING like the Veggie grill! There’s nothing wrong with using garden and daiya, but when ALL you use is pre-packaged fake meat (that is most likely microwaves), cheap smart and final buns, and pre-packaged frozen vegetables–that’s not good.

  The Veggie Grill takes gardein meat and they take the time to carefully season and grill or fry it just like an omni restaurant would treat their meat. They don’t simply pile plain, microwaved gardein on top of 10 year old bleached bread. The bread they use is fresh, whole grain, and probably purchased from a real bakery. The ingredients they use in their salads are incredibly fresh and crisp. The toppings for their burgers and sandwiches are all very unique, flavorful, and fresh.

  The food at LBVE is stuff that I could easily throw together in 5 minutes at home. I suppse the stuff at veggie grill could be made at home, too, but it would be a lot more time consuming, difficult, and would not be as tasty. I should know; I’ve tried to recreate several veggie grill sandwiches, and while they usually come out fairly tasty, they are not nearly as good as the original.

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  Mar mar October 21st, 2011 at 15:57

  Those drumsticks are definitely the same drumsticks every vegetarian thai restaurant uses. They are “veri-soy” brand. I buy those all the time, too, from Thai town. You can buy a 5 lb bag for $19 at Silom Market on hollywood blvd (in thai town, of course. near los feliz).

  $10 is way too much for something that was probably just microwaved and had prepackaged BBQ sauce added to it. I could literally make 20 or more portions (with 4 drumsticks in each portion) out of the 5 lb bag I buy.

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  562vegan October 22nd, 2011 at 06:36

  The Yelp reviews are stacked with friends and family, because there is no way that many people were actually impressed with the offerings at LBVE. The owner is boohooing on the business’s Facebook about the lack of support from the vegan brotherhood, but he’s missing the point. We vegans love food. We cook for ourselves every single day because of limited dining out abilities. When we plop down $30 for two people for an extremely mediocre meal, yeah, it’s gonna piss some people off. Do a focus group and workshop your food, man. Find out our needs and meet them.

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  Jana October 22nd, 2011 at 07:10

  Gross. The food looks just as boring as their uncreative name.

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  Gregalor October 22nd, 2011 at 10:45

  I’m glad someone brought up the name! I kept thinking, “Why didn’t QG put the name of the place in the headline?” Oh right, that IS the name of the place.

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  curious in LB November 3rd, 2011 at 08:04

  So, when is QG going to give her review of this shithole?