have you been following our massive list of vegan thanksgiving options in los angeles? if not, you should check it out because we’ve posted several updates and the holiday is fast approaching. for instance, today is the last day to place your orders for an m cafe take out thanksgiving meal. and speaking of m cafe, they’ll be offering an in store thanksgiving roast meal for dinner at both locations now through wednesday. they invited me to try it over the weekend, check it out:

thanksgiving dinner roast: savory sliced seitan, homemade pan gravy, signature stuffing, brocollini, mashed kabocha squash with cous cous, cranberry relish. $17.50

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this is way too good to pass up! mark your calendars, people. on monday november 21st our favorite pub, tony’s darts away, is donating half the proceeds from all vegan sausages all day to the beagle freedom project.

eat a vegan dog to save a beagle dog monday at tony's darts away

seriously, don’t miss this chance to eat the best vegan food in burbank and help out one of our favorite charities. and bring lots of friends! if you aren’t familiar with the beagle freedom project, they focus on saving dogs from labs—these are animals that have spent their entire lives in a cage. the proceeds from the event at tony’s will go directly to the SPANISH 41 rescue: the rescue of 41 beagles from a laboratory in spain…

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recently i got an email from a vegan restaurant consultant alerting me new animal-free options at larchmont bungalow. she explained that the vegan menu was small but expanding (we have it at the bottom of the post) and that the restaurant would love my feedback. i can’t wait to check it out! i haven’t made it over there yet, but one of my readers did. here’s D‘s review:

So the local hip larchmont eatery has adopted some new vegan friendly fare; Along with the purchase of one of these they ask for you to score a feedback card… and if you take part, you get a free coffee beverage. So it seems like they are taking it pretty serious.

green vegan enchiladas: marinated five grain tempeh, sauteed spinach, caramelized onions, vegan mozarella and topped with roasted tomatillo salsa with guacamole, pico de gallo and black beans. $13.55

I asked what was most popular and landed on the enchiladas… $13 ain’t cheap, but I got a free coffee which was nice.

Taste: The enchiladas are kind of a healthier, drier version of the enchiladas “special” you can get on occasion at flore. Not that that is a bad thing, per se. They were REALLY tasty. The tempeh was perfectly cooked, Daiya mozz on top, the house made tomatillo was great and the guac smoothed the flavor. As I noted on the aforementioned feedback card, I would give the dish a 4/5 for taste.

Glad to see some more vegan options around town. I was also told the vegan breakfast burrito is great, so I will have to check that out next time.
word.

here’s a look at the menu…

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you don’t wanna miss this. hot knives, our favorite local bloggers/chefs/cookbook authors are taking over space 15 twenty in hollywood this weekend and throwing a vegetarian (mostly, if not entirely vegan?) event featuring tons of eastside vendors. they’ve got you covered from street food to baked goods, band appearances to cookbook signings, sodas to condiments, posters to records. not only does it sound amazing on paper, but so many of our QG favorites will be there including clara’s cakes, plant food for people, and elf cafe. not to mention the band YACHT in person, DJing and selling merch.

here is the run down on the booths that will be at the event:
YACHT, the band, selling records and merch like their new Shangria-LA T-Shirt.
Plant Food For People, a Highland Park food collective infamous for jackfruit tacos and vegan tamales.
From the Robins Nest, home-crafted jams, jellies and awesome baguette sandwiches.
SaSo, a handmade, small batch hot sauce that you need in your pantry.
Complicated Dance Steps, a local freak-beat tape label will peddle their wares and mix records.
A fall menu of herbal and spice-infused sodas poured by Eden’s Herbals.
Echo Park Books, publisher of the “Art Time Punks” an archive of the infamous Part Time Punks club posters.
Elf Cafe, making available for the first time ever to-go jars of its signature harissa.
Clara’s Cakes, teen baking blogger phenom selling vegan treats.** for a list, see the bottom of the post.
Marriage Records, the Portland-based record label represent the Northwest with a smattering of recent indie releases.
Golden Wings and Rosie’s Vintage will be showcasing groovy threads for you Lady Knives.
Hot Knives will be DJing with Claire L. Evans of YACHT and demo-ing how to make Thanksgiving Pop-Tarts,
and will be giving out free Thanksgiving Trifecta Pop-Tarts to anyone who brings a book or buys a book for them to sign!

aaaaah this sounds like it could be one of the best vegan events of the year—that vendor list is blowing my mind. the whole thing goes down at:

space 15 twenty
1520 n. cahuenga blvd.
los angeles CA
sunday november 13th from 11am – 4pm
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
i will race you guys to the cookbook line for a vegan thanksgiving pop tart!

**i talked to clara from clara’s cakes to find out what treats she’d be bringing. right now the list is: pumpkin spice gobs, chocolate chip cookie covered oreos (THEY RULE!), neapolitan cupcakes, and pumpkin muffins. can’t wait to try ’em all!

for more info on the secret menu, please see the bottom of this post.***

ever since i ate that life-altering vegan big mac and discovered doomie’s has a secret menu, i have made it my mission to try everything on it. since it’s pretty giant and not actually written down anywhere, it will be tough to track my progress on the secret menu, but i’ll try! i started on sunday with the “buffalo chicken sandwich”.

buffalo chicken sandwich: breaded buffalo chicken nuggets, hot sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and ranch dressing. served with fries. $8.95

oh jeez. i have tried almost every sandwich that doomie’s has to offer on the normal menu, and as far i’m concerned, this beats them all. SO GOOD…

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as you probably know, fatty’s in eagle rock (one of our favorite vegetarian spots in LA) recently reopened. we haven’t gotten over there yet, but our field reporter patricia went this weekend and loved it. check out her post:

hurrah for the return of fatty’s!!! over the weekend my partner and i finally got around to checking out the (somewhat recently) reopened fatty’s and i am happy to report that the food was even tastier than i remembered. we decided to share a bunch of stuff so we could sample as much as possible and ended up with an amazing six course meal with a nice bottle of red wine to go with it.

when our wine arrived we were also presented with a delicious dish of complimentary kale chips. light and salty these were a great snack to have while we looked over the menu.

walnut croquette: a pan fried paté of organic walnuts, butternut squash, and cumin, served with fennel slaw and orange vinaigrette! $12

the first thing i knew i had to have from the menu was the walnut croquette. this little guy was astounding. crunchy and flavorful with a delicious orange vinaigrette. in my experience when restaurants serve any kind of orange sauce it pretty much tastes like orange corn syrup. not at fatty’s, no sir. this was a slightly creamy, tangy, citrus dressing that i could eat on pretty much anything…

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mendocino farms finally opened up in west hollywood last week, and i wasted no time in getting over there. i hit them up on saturday for lunch, and like every meal i’ve had at mendo, my sandwich was predictably awesome.

Vegan Shawarma: Mediterranean chickpea shawarma, with a bean puree, vegan tzatziki, red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and shredded romaine on a grilled honey wheat tortilla wrap (vegan tortilla available on request) $9.25

there were 3 vegan sandwiches to choose from: chickpea shawarma, a spicy soyrizo wrap, and an indian dosa. i went with the shwarama (sauce on the side), and loved every bite. just be sure and specify that you want a vegan tortilla, because the wheat ones at mendocino contain honey. super fresh ingredients and a light falafelly shwarama that wasn’t too meaty…

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Seemingly, barely a day goes by that the Tony Yanow empire doesn’t further the cause of craft beer and vegan food in LA.

Just two weeks ago we were celebrating the opening of spanking new Golden Road brewery in Atwater Village, and not long before that we were chowing down on a vegan burger at the opening night of Echo Park’s Mohawk Bend. Of course, we’ve raved many times about the neighborhood bar Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank with its energetic crowd, great beer selection and plentiful vegan food options.

Frankly, we’d been looking for an excuse to visit all three businesses sequentially: A “Tony crawl”, if you will, for a while, and the final nail was placed in the coffin when we heard that Tony’s Darts Away had not only opened its patio up but was also serving LA’s ONLY vegan brunch with beer on tap.

So last Saturday we set out to eat and drink as much of Tony’s offerings as we could. To begin, we opened up Tony’s Darts Away, ordering both vegan breakfast options, as well as a couple of glasses of Golden Road Hefeweizen to wash down the food…

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today is world vegan day, and to celebrate, a few places of town are offering up vegan specials! i’ll list the ones i know about, and if i miss anything, please leave it in the comments.

hugo’s tacos is offering 20% off select items all day including burritos w/ soy chorizo or mixed vegetables, green tamales plain or w/ mixed veg topping or soy chorizo, salad, and frozato.

two boots in echo park has launched a new v for vegan pizza, which comes with daiya cheese, artichokes, shiitakes, red onions, and basil & red pepper pesto.

most surprisingly of all, hamburger hamlet is unveiling two new vegan options today: a portobello mushroom burger with all the fixins, along with ratatouille and basmati rice.

so, game plan: breakfast burrito at hugo’s tacos, lunch at hamburger hamlet, pizza for dinner at two boots.

let me know if i’m missing anything.

this is all kinds of exciting! mendocino farms, my favorite LA sandwich shop, is launching a new location in my hood on november 3rd and they’re letting me send FIVE readers (with their +1’s) as guests to their private complimentary pre-opening event this tuesday from 6:30-8:30pm.

one of the many insane vegan sandwiches on mendocino farms' rotating menu

while the restaurant isn’t exclusively vegan, at the party they’ll be serving up tempeh club sandwiches, wheatberry fingerling and fingerling potato salad, israeli cous cous, and possibly a vegan potato salad as well…all cocktail style! the latest mendocino farms shop (they’ve already got locations in downtown LA and marina del rey) will be at 7100 santa monica blvd, right next to target. i am super stoked that they’re opening this week, and look forward to consuming many many many vegan sandwiches in the future.

so who wants to go to the pre-opening party with a guest and eat free food?! we’re picking 5 winners, so the odds are better than ever. the rules are simple…

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…that’s right! the vegan tofu caprese potato pancake sandwich is comin’ back for the holidays!

the special will make its 2011 hugo’s debut wednesday 11/2 at the studio city location, thursday 11/3 in weho, and wednesday november 16th in agoura hills. we’ve blogged about this sandwich before, and it’s ridiculously good. it’s a double decker stacked with firm tofu, heirloom tomatoes, and fresh basil all sandwiched between thick fried potato pancakes. this time around, hugo’s is also adding the option of gluten-free flatbread. i think i’ll stick with the fried potato. anyways, go check it out…and be sure to specify you want it vegan.

check out hugo’s website for hours and locations.

hey guys, you know the drill! time for another quick bite from trishells. this one is about a vegan-friendly happy hour in downtown LA.

this past weekend i hit up one of my favorite joints with one of my favorite vegans, @greatbrittania. spitz not only has great food but also has a happy hour that runs all weekend long. *glug glug glug* even though they serve some pretty gross meat selections, when you order at spitz you can be pretty confident about ordering vegan. not only does the menu clearly mark the vegan items but when you order and they put it in the computer you see a big red “VEGAN” come up on the screen that makes me smile every time.

the offerings are minimal but think quality, not quantity. falafel and veggies come in the forms of wraps, sandwiches and salads that are full of flavor…

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a meaty korean bbq restaurant in hollywood has shut down! oh shit, turns out it was the only korean bbq place in LA (that i know of) with not just legit vegan items, but insanely good vegan items. like, bucket-list good vegan items. i’m talking about shin bbq. the website is still up; but the restaurant has been closed during business hours, the twitter account has been deleted, yelpers are saying they’re out of business, and the phone rings through to a disconnected message. thanks to veganinla for the tip. i know i’m gonna miss the fuck outta shin bbq’s vegan food. a moment of silence for the seitan bulgogi.

stoked! now mohawk bend, the massive beer bar and vegan-friendly restaurant in echo park, is now open at noon on saturdays & sundays for lunch. if you’ve been to mohawk, you probably know that it can get crazy busy at night (think 1-3 hour wait times!), but we checked the bar out last weekend at noonish and it had a much more chilled out and relaxed vibe. plus, a new vegan lunch option: bangers and mash!

vegan sausage & mash, cabbage and potato, barney flats stout gravy, mustards. $14

lemme preface this by saying, i love vegan bangers and mash. i have eaten it all around london, but i’ve never had a version of it here in LA…

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hell to the yes. starting this weekend tony’s darts away, our favorite vegan friendly pub is open early on weekends, and they’ve got a brand new brunch menu…not to mention a new outdoor patio!

hours on saturday and sunday now start at 10am. see you guys there for some scrambles and brews? vegan menu after the jump…

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