the other evening, i was feeling a little timesick and craving papa john’s pizza. it used to be my absolute favorite as a kid—probably because every pie came with it’s own pot of ridiculously rich garlic sauce. it was only relatively recently that i discovered the original crust, tomato sauce, and even the garlic dipping sauce (how is that even possible?) are all vegan. even with so many other fake cheese pizza options available in LA, i had to succumb to a throw back papa john’s friday night in front of the television.

papa john's cheeseless pizza with tomatoes and portobellos. around $10?

choosing a pizza wasn’t hard, because the topping selection at pj’s is rather limited. i went with a couple old favorites: tomato and mushroom, minus the cheese, extra sauce. i had a coupon, so i think the pizza came to around ten dollars—not bad considering a vegan cheese pie in this town is usually in the thirty buck range…

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dudes, TDA has been rockin’ the vegan specials lately…and it’s our mission to try them ALL! they seem to have a new one every few days (sometimes even more often than that)—way to keep us vegans on our toes. my all time favorite tony’s special remains the seitan french dip, but here are the latest two offerings…

this week tony’s has been offering a vegan buffalo po boy made with a field roast country style sunflower cutlet and frank’s red hot sauce. our correspondent brittany ate it the other day, and sent us this photo along with a thumbs up.

last week was the vegan philly cheesesteak, a bun stacked with celebration roast, daiya mozzarella, peppers, and grilled onions…

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heads up, angelenos! our favorite local sandwich shop, mendocino farms, is rolling out a new vegan special at all of their locations tomorrow. as you probably know, we here at QG are obsessed with sandwiches, and this one looks incredible. i know i can’t wait to try it.

Vegan Picnic Sandwich: House Marinated Organic Tempeh Bacon with Potato Salad Spread, Vegenaise, Red Onions, Whole Grain Mustard Slaw, Tomatoes, Panini Pressed on Dolce Forno Roll (the bread is vegan!) with a Side of BBQ Sauce. $9.25

i gotta find a way to get downtown or to marina del rey this week—this thing looks way too good to pass up! go support mendocino farms for their always inventive and delicious vegan options.

how does native foods continually manage to have the coolest facebook contests ever?! a couple months ago, they sent two fans of the restaurant to chicago (the winners found out about the contest from this blog, btw!), and now they’re picking 3 different winners to have a pre-thanksgiving meal for 7 cooked in their very own home by chef tanya herself.

eeeep! could you imagine having your friends over for a dinner cooked by THE chef tanya?! native foods will be picking a winner from southern california, chicago, and portland—so if you live in one of those areas, be sure to enter! here are the details on the contest:

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listen up, parents! take your kids to any veggie grill location this monday october 3rd and try their brand new kids’ meal v-burger on the house.

this is a normal sized v-burger at veggie grill

i haven’t tried the new kids’ burger, because i’m way over 12 years old…but if it’s anything like their normal v-burger, i’m sure it’s fantastic. here’s the official VG description of the burger:

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i know you’re already crazy busy on sunday, with vegan @ verdugo III and all…but be sure to save room for dessert and help out homeless kitties by picking up some cruelty-free treats. stray cat alliance will be holding a vegan bake sale at locali (home of the best reuben on earth) on 10/2 from 10am – 4pm, so go grab a cookie or 10 for a good cause.

here are 3 reasons you should hit up the event:

vegan baked goods

stray cats (photo via http://dailykev.tumblr.com/)

locali's badass breakfast sandwich: vegan sausage patty, daiya cheddar, organic maple syrup and special sauce on an english muffin. $4.50

great news, folks! our favorite mashed potato peddlers on the planet, bangers and smashed, have come out with a new flavor: lemon artichoke basil!

lemon artichoke and basil smashed

we tried it and absolutely loved it, even more than the previously blogged about moroccan spices squash flavor. the marriage of tangy and creamy is a beautiful one, and bangers and smashed has it nailed. you have a chance to try the new flavor paired with italian pepper field roast this sunday at eagle rock brewery between noon and 6pm. i know you’ll probably already be in the area that day for our vegan @ verdugo III event, so why not make a day of it and hit up both.

this flavor rules, so be sure to check it out. follow bangers and smashed on twitter to keep track of their whereabouts.

sandwiches!! we love them, i mean, who doesn’t?! today we’re bringing you our top ten list of vegan sandwiches from around town, in no particular order. enjoy. oh and just to be clear, these are only sandwiches that are actually available right now or regularly at restaurants or food trucks.

the vegan reuben at locali. our favorite reuben in town, and something you need to try before you die…

the vegan reuben: marinated tofu deli slices topped with melted vegan cheese and sauerkraut & smothered with delicious homemade vegan russian dressing! $10.50 full/$5.50 half

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remember that vegan philly cheesesteak special at m cafe that i blogged about recently? well, the restaurant has decided to make it a “fall special,” which means right now it’s available all the time! i took the sandwich for a spin on friday (minus the bell peppers, because i hate them), and it was all kinds of amazing.

philly cheesesteak: thinly-sliced seitan, peppers, mushrooms, and onions then smothered melted “cheese sauce”. $9.95

good god, this is the best philly cheesesteak i’ve ever eaten…

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vegan taco tuesday is coming to highland park this week! join us for a night of drinking booze and eating jackfruit carnitas from our favorite soon-to-be vegan drive thru restaurant, plant food for people, at johnny’s bar on york blvd.

we absolutely love the plant food for people tacos, and they aren’t available very often, so be sure to check them out on tuesday if you have a chance.

here’s the official flyer:

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next sunday is the first sunday of the month, and you know what that means: time for another vegan at verdugo patio session! october’s event will feature two of our favorite food trucks, fresh fries and mandoline grill, and they’ll be serving a mashup of 100% vegan specialties to be paired with the verdugo bar’s fine tap list. come join us for an afternoon of great grub and craft beer..plus board games, friendly company, and good music.

check out the facebook event here. let’s make sure the monthly vegan at verdugo events are well attended, so they keep happening! see ya there.

vegan @ verdugo iii
sunday october 2nd
3-8pm, 21+
3408 Verdugo Road
Glassell Park, CA, 90065
323.257.3408

as you probably know, the opening hours of madeleine bistro (what i consider to be the finest vegan restaurant on earth), have been pretty irregular. over the past year, they’ve shut down their weekday operation, gone on hiatus, switched around their weekend schedule, and everything in between. thankfully for us, it now appears as though they’ve settled into a normal routine of being open on saturday and sunday evenings for dinner, as well as brunch time on sunday from 10am – 3pm.

we checked them out for brunch last sunday at around 11am, and had a meal of epic proportions. i am constantly amazed by the insane food this restaurant is able to create—it’s truly next level vegan stuff like i’ve never tasted. the first thing i noticed when i opened the menu was the addition of a tempeh reuben. being obsessed with the sandwich (you may remember the reuben wars of ’09!), of course i had to order it.

tempeh reuben with choice of side. $12

phenomenal. madeleine bistro’s reuben is much more dainty and delicate than the giant reubens full of fake meat that i’m used to, and even more delicious. thin pieces of tempeh topped with homemade cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island, served between two slices of grilled bread. it came with a choice of side, and i opted for the potato salad…

the best potato salad ever

hands down, best potato salad i’ve ever eaten. it consisted of red potatoes, chives, and celery in a light creamy sauce. my only complaint is that i wanted more.

chocolate covered donut. $2

i finished it all off with some vegan creme brulee (pictured at the top–OMG!) and a chocolate covered donut, another new (to me) addition to the menu. i have been a fan of madeleine bistro’s normal sugar coated donuts for years (they even made our bucket list!), and i think i liked this one even more. the cake was hot, fresh, and surprisingly light…while the chocolate was rich and melty.

we grabbed some photos of other madeleine dishes (all stuff we’ve blogged about before), but check them out anyway…

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this week our favorite sandwich shop in town, mendocino farms, has a vegan club on special and it looks scrumptious!

Traditional Vegan Club: House Marinated Organic Vegan Tempeh Bacon with Smashed Avocado, Vegenaise, Pickled Red Onions, Tomatoes, Mixed Greens on Buckwheat. $9.25

we’re already in love with the soyrizo wrap and vegan shawarma at mendo, so we can’t wait to check the club out. let’s see how it stacks up against the current champion of the club club. go give this sandwich a try at any of the mendocino locations and let us know what you think!

PS: someone left a comment on an earlier post calling into question the veganocity of mendocino farms’ bread. i got the official word from the restaurant, and here’s a list of their vegan and non-vegan breads:

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listen up! tonight you have the chance to eat tasty food and help animals at the same time, as the veggie grill is hosting fundraisers at two separate locations.

mention the ASPCA tonight when you dine at the farmers market veggie grill, and kitt crusaders when you eat at the sunset restaurant. when mentioned, each location will receive 50% of your bill in donations.

more info after the jump…

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hey dudes! time for a field report on vegan chinese food from a somewhat local spot, wok n roll in long beach. what?!?! how have i not eaten here? i go to LBC all the time, and this place wasn’t even on my radar until joel wrote to me about it. anyways, here’s what he said:

Wok n Roll is easily my favorite spot in Long Beach, the city is a little lacking as I know you are aware. This place does something special; it’s a little vegan chinese fast food gem. Granted this place isn’t entirely vegan, they have a whole vegan-friendly vegetarian menu including ‘meat’ fried rice or chow mein, a couple of sandwiches, soups, and seriously THE BEST vegan chicken nuggets i’ve tried thus far.

vegan chicken nuggets $6.69

As for the main options, they pretty much can make you anything off their regular menu but vegan of course…

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