it’s almost time for another summer vegan patio session at verdugo bar! sunday august 7th, seabirds is trucking it up all the way from orange county with guest chef stephen hauptfuhr to serve up a full menu of cooked and raw goodness, paired with craft beers by the verdugo.

Beer Battered Avocado Taco - Topped w/shredded cabbage, red onion and creamy tequila-jalapeno sauce. $2

the menu is gonna be pretty epic. so far it will include jackfruit tacos, beer-battered avocado tacos, mac and “cheese” with roasted figs and mushrooms, alfredo zucchini pasta, greek hummus wrap with sweet potato fries, and a walnut fudge brownie with ice cream. proceeds will benefit benji the dog, so don’t miss it!!

facebook invite and full info after the jump…

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heads up: mooi in echo park isn’t open during normal hours anymore. here is a quick message from the owner, stephen hauptfuhr:

currently we have been operating under non-regular hours, meaning we are not open for regular dinner service on a daily basis as before, we are open every Friday for a set prix fixe 5-7 course menu that changes each week from stephen hauptfuhr and occasional collaborations with guest chefs… if you would like to be made aware of these dinners and any other times we will be open, please email stephen@mooifood.com with the subject heading ’email list request’ and you will be added to his private list to receive these messages.. or you can join our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter to be notified.. we will continue to operate on these hours through the holidays as we are doing a lot of catering.. you may also email us with any special orders for cakes, ice creams or any regular menu items you would like and we will get back to you the same day..

below the menu for the dinner this friday! while we are definitely sad to see mooi scale back its hours, these new dinners look incredible. take advantage!

this is GREAT NEWS. mooi, one of the best places to get raw food in los angeles, is now offering a full sunday brunch menu with both raw and cooked items! i can’t think of anywhere else to get vegan brunch in echo park…so eastsiders, get on this.

brunch will be offered every sunday at mooi from 10am to 3pm, and you can check out the menu here. i don’t know about you, but the “lenti, spinach, walnut & seared shiitake mushroom terrine” is calling my name!

stephen hauptfuhr (the owner and chef at mooi) was kind enough to send me some snap shots of the brunch items for your enjoyment. so get over there and check them out this sunday!

raw rosemary cashew cheese, anise walnut sausage, peas and greens in a coconut mango crepe.

MORE PIX after the jump —>

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we have a winner for the mooi pizza contest! and the prize goes to PETER with:

a variation of a hearty Meatball Pizza called “Mooiball Pizza”:

Mooiballs/Meatballs: (walnuts/cremini mushrooms/nama shoyu/cloves/garlic/ thyme/oregano/crushed red pepper/flax seed oil/sea salt/pepper)

Tomato Sauce: (plum tomatoes/sea salt/pepper/fresh thyme/olive oil marinated sun-dried tomatoes/garlic clove/fresh basil leaves/fresh thyme/dried oregano/ crushed red pepper/sea salt/pepper)

Cheese: (cashews/sea salt/ garlic clove/black pepper/flax seed oil)

And add slices of Fennel and Vidalia Onion.

congratulations, peter! enjoy your complimentary dinner for 2. 🙂

everyone else, be sure to get to mooi for some tasty raw vegan pizza ASAP.

mooi
1700 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

UPDATE 12/10/10: i just got an email from CSA, and the pickup spot has moved down the street, about a mile away from mooi! here is the new info they sent me:

Hi There! I just wanted to give you news on our pick up location in Echo Park. There is a new health food store near by Mooi. It’s our new pick up spot. And for people who can’t pick up by 5 the bags will be left at the store, and they can pick it up after hours. I know that was a concern for some of the people when they originally read the article. I’d love it, love it if you’d be willing to update the information. I hope this will help out the community more, as several people told me they can’t pick up until after 5. Now they can! I hope all is well!

Here’s the address. 0.9 miles from Mooi
Silver Lake Market
2829 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90026. (213) 908-6730.

great news, eastsiders! community supported agriculture is headed to your area starting next week! if you haven’t heard of CSA, it’s basically an awesome program where you can get a massive box of locally grown fruits and vegetables for $25 per week, available at pickup locations all over los angeles.

huge box of fruits and vegetables, available weekly. $25

as reported earlier this week by LAist and echo park now, CSA are making their eastside debut on tuesday august 17th at none other than the amazing restaurant (and quarrygirl BFF), mooi.

here is the official word from CSA’s newsletter:

CSA launches next Tuesday August 17th in Echo Park at a new raw food restaurant called Mooi. Mooi is located at 1700 W Sunset Blvd. We will be there every Tuesday from 3-5. We may extend the hours to 5:30 once we have enough customers. Below is a link to sign up for the program. You can participate every week or every other week. You will see a list of what was in last weeks bag online. We stick with the season and everything is organic. Each bag is $25 and $2 from every bag goes to school garden programs. Please spread the word!

https://csacalifornia.org/Sign_Up.html

i have had the pleasure of eating my way through an entire CSA box in the past, and let me tell you, it was a damn good value. the fruits and vegetables are extremely fresh and plentiful, and it’s so wonderful eating something that you know was locally grown.

so please, ORDER YOURSELF SOME CSA PRODUCE and PICK IT UP AT MOOI next week. and whilst you are at mooi, eat some of the awesome vegan ice cream and raw food!

for more info on CSA
for more info on mooi

hey everyone, i’ve got some pretty exciting news! starting next week (probably on wednesday), mooi in echo park will be offering 4 flavors of raw vegan pizza. the restaurant has featured pizza as a special before, and it was so popular that they decided to add it to the regular menu.

the best part about all this though, is that mooi wants YOU to come up with their newest pizza flavor. all you gotta do is leave a comment with the type of raw vegan pizza you’d like to see at the restaurant. the winner will get a complimentary dinner for two at mooi, as well as their pizza choice added to the menu! neato, huh?

but first, let me tell you about the fantastic pizzas mooi is gonna start carrying next week. i got a sneak peak at these babies and i was completely blown away.

margherita: sweet chunky marinara, olive oil, macadamia mozzarella, fesh basil leaves & sliced tomato.

the margherita was my favorite—simple flavors, but perfectly executed. it came with chunky marinara, oilve oil, macadamia mozzarella, fresh basil, and sliced tomato. i gotta admit, i am a huge fan of cooked pizza, and this thing still won me over big time. the “bread” crust was ridiculously convincing, and the macadamia cheese was TO DIE FOR. i am really beginning to think nut-based cheese is the best tasting vegan cheese there is. i was seriously shocked by how good this pizza was, maybe it’s because i didn’t know quite what to expect.

hawaiian style: BBQ sauce, eggplant bacon, carmelized onions & pineapple.

next up, i tried the hawaiian style pizza with bbq sauce, eggplant bacon, caramelized onions, and pineapple. i am usually not a fan of this pizza flavor, but i quite enjoyed the raw version. the insanely delicious eggplant bacon and onions are what did it for me. that bacon is just ridiculous. this pizza was pretty crunchy with a great texture, and a wonderful combination of salty and sweet flavors.

red pepper and sundried tomato: red pepper and sundried tomato sauce, anise & fennel italian walnut sausage, macadamia cheese & kalamata olives.

there was also a red pepper and sundried tomato pizza, with anise and fennel italian walnut sausage, macadamia cheese, and kalamata olives. honestly, i didn’t even try this one because i hate bell peppers. it sure was pretty though, and i tasted a bit of the walnut sausage, which was excellent.

lemon basil pesto and garlic aioli: lemon basil pesto sauce, garlic aioli, mixed greens (mustard, kale), fresh basil leaves & marinated shiitake mushrooms.

lastly, there was the lemon basil pesto and garlic aioli pizza—a basil garlic sauce topped with mixed greens, basil leaves, and marinated shiitake mushrooms. like the others, this pizza was extremely tasty. nice fresh ingredients with a rich pesto sauce…what’s not to like?!

now that you’ve seen and heard about all these pizzas, you gotta get over to mooi next week and try them. even if raw pizza sounds a bit strange to you, i think these will knock your socks off. i have tried a couple different raw pizzas before, and these are definitely the BEST, and the only ones that come close to resembling “the real thing.” the crust really tastes like crust, the cheese really tastes like cheese, etc. seriously, i fell in love with just one bite.

oh, now about that contest. you wanna make up your own pizza flavor and win a dinner for two at mooi?!?! details after the jump.

CONTEST —> —–> —–>

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after months of setbacks that often come with being a new establishment, mooi raw vegan restaurant in echo park has finally opened its doors…and well, it’s pretty phenomenal. i ate there for the first time last night, and i must say after just one visit, i think it will prove to be one of my favorite spots in LA.

first off, the interior is stunning. a huge double decker space, mooi is furnished with lush comfy chairs, vintage lamps, and purposely mismatched tables. the layout is spacious and extremely well executed—i think the ambiance alone makes it one of the most unique places to eat in LA.

to add to the eclectic vibe, the menus aren’t presented in typical form, but instead they’re pasted into dr. seuss books…

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finally, the time is here! the much-anticipated mooi restaurant in echo park is opening its doors tomorrow, monday 5/24!

the raw/vegan eatery and dessert parlour has been a quarrygirl favorite for quite some time, and we are so happy that they finally have a brick and mortar location. the menus are already posted on mooi’s website, and we think they look pretty amazing…

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oh my vegan friends, the time is FINALLY here! mooi restaurant in echo park is ready to open its doors this week, and i can’t fucking wait.

they held a little pre-opening shindig last night—and while i have been a long time fan of the food, i can now say the restaurant space is incredible as well.

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UPDATE 05/15/2010: WE HAVE A WINNER!!! hey everyone, the winner of the vegan ice cream contest is “ttt” with a creation called “cracker jack”: salted caramel ice cream with peanuts and/or peanut butter swirl!

mooi is gonna crank out this ice cream in the near future, and it will be on the cafe’s menu when they open. ttt, congratulations! email me for your prize!

runners up included chick-o and the man(go) by LCMom, cop’s breakfast by Liz, standing avoation by Emily, and birthday cake ice cream by Veggywood.

FREE VEGAN ICE CREAM BY MOOI! enter to win! i’ve had a lot of great contests on this blog, but this has got to be my favorite! instead of just winning a 32 oz container of ice cream, you have the chance to create your very own flavor that will appear on the mooi restaurant menu!

orange cream with peppermint fudge ice cream

in case you haven’t heard of mooi, it’s this amazing raw/vegan restaurant that’s about to open up in echo park. their ice cream is already available at naturemart in silverlake, and it’s seriously some of tastiest, most inventive dessert food i’ve ever eaten.

here’s what you need to do to win:

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as we get closer and closer to the opening of mooi, a raw vegan restaurant in echo park, i am growing more and more excited. not only have i recently discovered the joys of raw food—but i have had the pleasure of trying several mooi desserts and appetizers, each one being utterly fantastic.

here are a few of the things i got to sample (let’s just say, you have a lot to look forward to!)…

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when we announced we were going raw for the week, we turned to stephen hauptfuhr and his food business mooi, to help us get by. we were already huge mooi fans—the organic/vegan/raw catering company won us over long ago with their delicious ice cream and homemade cheeses, and we have been anxiously awaiting the opening of their restaurant. however, we’d never tried their entrees until just a few days ago, and only now do i realize how much we were missing out! everything was incredible, and the best news is that it’s all available to buy pre-packaged at naturewell in silverlake!

check out our massive haul…

ginger garlic stir fry with sweet 'n sour pineapple skewers: carrot, cabbage, broccoli, celery, and bok choy.

our first mooi dish was a raw vegan stir fry, which consisted of carrot, cabbage, broccoli, celery and bok choi in an extremely tasty garlic ginger sauce. it came topped with a generous amount of pineapple skewers, which added the perfect sweetness to the vegetables. i don’t know how mooi does it, but this honestly evoked all the flavors and nuances of an actual stir fry…without being cooked.

thai peanut noodles: kelp noodles with peanut sauce, broccoli and snow peas.

the next entree was by far my favorite of the four. a raw take on thai food, it consisted of kelp noodles in a rich peanut-style sauce with loads of fresh vegetables. it was so ridiculously good, i can’t possibly do it justice. the thick, creamy, and nutty beyond belief…and the soft noodles were fantastic. the normal dish comes with bell peppers, which i hate, so stephen was kind enough to leave them off for us. if you are into raw food, or just good food, you should seriously head to naturewell and pick some of these noodles up.

more after the jump…

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if you aren’t already excited about mooifood, a new vegan restaurant coming soon to echo park, here is another reason to be….

on the menu mooifood will offer several homemade raw nut cheeses as an appetizer, as well as a 3 course cheese entree. after reading about how much i love dr. cow’s, stephen from mooifood sent me a selection of 7 flavors of cheese to try.

have a look:

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WARNING: you probably shouldn’t even read this unless you have a massive and i mean MASSIVE sweet tooth…

recently when mr. meaner and i celebrated our wedding anniversary, stephen hauptfuhr from mooifood got in touch with me and told me he was going to make us something special as a gift. i had no idea what to expect, but after having tried several flavors of mooifood ice cream, i knew it would be delicious.

about a week later i received an enormous raw, vegan, organic pie that was so sweet, words don’t do it justice. it came in an extra thick cinnamon almond crust, with a full-bodied layer of milk chocolate, dark chocolate and peanut butter…all finished off with a pecan caramel topping. there were so many nutty and sugary flavors going on in this thing, one bite just about knocked me over.

seriously, i cut myself a small slice and had to take breaks while i was eating it because it was so rich….but in a GOOD way. if you need an opponent for a super fierce sweet tooth, call mooifood and order one of these. there is absolutely no match for this pie! pure lusciousness.

just so you know, everything at mooifood is raw, organic, and vegan…and they are opening up a restaurant soon in los angeles which is gonna have a full on ice cream bar, and i am soooo fucking excited!

mooifood.com
twitter.com/mooifood

who said ice cream couldn’t be raw, vegan, and delicious? the folks over at mooifood have created tons of amazing flavors using ingredients such as coconut meat, agave, and soaked cashews—who would have though such tasty ice cream could come from such simple foods? mooifood’s ice cream is all raw, vegan, organic, soy-free & gluten-free, and is available at naturewell in silverlake by the scoop or half pint.

blueberry cheesecake

i was lucky enough to receive a sample of 6 of the 9 flavors, and each one was refreshingly tasty. this ice cream strikes the perfect balance between being decadent and healthy…tasting good and not making you feel like crap after eating it. the first flavor i tried was the blueberry cheesecake (pictured above). it was cool, creamy, and filled with tiny chunks of fresh blueberries. i ate it in one of mooifood’s homemade raw vegan cones, which was phenomenal—like a big, thick bendable cookie. i never realized raw food could be such a treat!

pumpkin (seasonal)

the next type of ice cream i tried was the seasonal pumpkin, which was by far my favorite. this was the richest flavor of them all, and tasted like a frozen version of pumpkin pie. it even had a crunchy swirl in the middle, YUM. i don’t know how long the pumpkin ice cream will be around, so you must rush over and try it ASAP! it will totally get you in the mood for the holidays.

chocolate peanut butter

the chocolate peanut butter swirl variety is pretty decadent as well, made with cacao and sunflower seeds. the creamy chocolate ice cream is filled with big chunks of salty, nutty patches. if you are a peanut butter fan, this really won’t disappoint. and i am definitely a peanut butter fan.

gingersnap cinnamon cookie dough

again in a raw cone, i tried gingersnap cinnamon flavor, which was packed with big chunks of delicious cookie dough. epically scrumptious!

maple cornbread

the maple cornbread ice cream was a blend of unique tastes that worked really well together. the real maple syrup flavor was strong throughout and added a perfect sweetness to the cornbread.

peppermint chocolate chip

lastly, the peppermint chocolate chip was delicious—ice cream flavored with peppermint oil and littered with cacao nibs. extra minty with just enough chocolate flavor.

you can find all these mooifood ice creams as well as strawberry banana, vanilla and chocolate at naturewell in silverake. right now they are priced out at $2.25 for one scoop, $3.75 for two scoops, or $4.99 for a half pint. i don’t know if you are used to raw ice cream prices or not, but that is CHEAP compared to other places. if you want even more, you can contact mooifood and get 16oz for $8.99 or 32oz for $14.99!

if raw food is your thing, you will absolutely love this ice cream. and even if you aren’t much of a raw foodie, this stuff is really impressive…and fairly good for you. it sure won me over. definitely get to naturewell and try some—i suggest pumpkin flavor! 🙂

naturewell
3824 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 664-5894

for more info on mooifood, check out thier website or follow them on twitter!