this is very bad news for LA vegans who like to class it up. XIV, the home of uber fancy vegan-friendly tasting menus, has shuttered according to eaterLA.

RIP: pine nut terrine. cranberry, cardamom, flatbread. $8 (one of the finest dishes in my blogging memory!)

while we only ate there a couple of times, XIV was THE place in los angeles to get cushy vegan food. it offered special occasion perks like no strictly vegan restaurant can or does—creative cocktails, celebrity customers, and overpriced extravagance.

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if you’re anything like me, you’re over it: fucking LA restaurants with the word “vegan” in their name, that regurgitate the same tired menu of fake thai food and fake vegan food, which is usually neither. you know who i’m talking about—the “vegan thai” places that sell westernized items like soy nuggets, “cowboy” burgers, quesadillas, and “tropical pancakes”…much of which contains dairy and/or eggs! i’d say they make up for like 60% of the vegan restaurants in los angeles, and it’s RIDICULOUS. the food is both uninspired and untrustworthy. do you realize that this shit makes a HUGE impression on vegetarians and omnivores? some people i know think vegan food IS vegan thai, and that’s just beyond depressing. anyways, enough of my rant. if you want actual good thai food that happens to be vegan-friendly, go to toi.

we’ve blogged about the sunset eatery before, and every time we return we’re reminded of how awesome it is. the place has a scruffy rock n roll vibe with band posters hung up allover the dining area and graffiti completely covering the walls in the bathroom. my favorite seat in the house is the john lennon table in the back corner, located under two massive posters of the ex-beatle.

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oh man, i really wish i was eligible to win my own contests! LA’s newest upscale vegan restaurant, seed bistro, is giving away a dinner for 2 at chef eric’s tasting table to one lucky quarrygirl commenter.

the prize includes a six course dinner prepared by chef eric on seed bistro’s opening night—monday, august 29th at 8pm. the value of the dinner is $60 per person, but seed will comp the winners up to $75 per person to include alcohol. that’s a $150 value! epic! please note that gratuity is not included…so if you win, tip and tip well.

the chef’s tasting table is a “sushi bar-esque” raised counter that only has room for 6 guests at any given time, so to occupy 1/3 of it on opening night would be quite an honor!

here’s how to enter…

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it looks like i’m a little bit late to the game on this one, but apparently there’s a weekend pop up event going down at the shuttered fatty’s in eagle rock for the rest of the month! “charlie puffer at fatty’s” takes place on friday, saturday, and sunday evenings through august and features fancy cuisine and wine pairings by chef jonathan harootunian.

photo credit: charlie puffer’s posterous

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as any curry-loving vegan will tell you, naan we can eat is very hard to come by. while many indian dishes are animal-free by default, the traditional flatbread is usually off limits due to its egg and butter content. well vegans in LA need look no further for the naan of their dreams—i found it yesterday at mrs. winston’s green grocery on ocean park, of all places!

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hungry vegans, your voices have been heard! last week we blogged that larkin’s in eagle rock had recently discontinued their bangin’ vegan menu, and obviously you weren’t too happy about that.

vegan chix pot pie: soy and rice based sauce with peas, onions, garlic, potatoes, and soy chicken with vegan biscuit. $10

we urged you guys to let larkin’s know how you felt, and now just one week later they’re feeling the pressure and re-introducing vegan options. starting with brittany’s favorite, the infamous pot pie…

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you just gotta love native foods! as if that restaurant isn’t already awesome enough, they’re always keeping it interesting with new and appetizing specials. this weekend, to celebrate their newly opened restaurant in the windy city, they’re giving californians a taste of the chicago dip au jus.

thinly sliced native peppered seitan piled high on a freshly baked baguette smothered with homemade "giardinera extrordinaire," au jus, and native fries. $9.95

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since mohawk bend opened up in echo park about a week and a half ago, we’ve spent several evenings there. whether it has been quick drinks and a snack at the bar, or a full on meal in the gorgeous ramona room, each visit to the restaurant has been very enjoyable.

mohawk is still riding high on the hype surrounding its much anticipated opening, so by 7pm there can often be an hour and a half wait for a table! my advice is to arrive early at around 5pm, and they should have no problem seating you. here are some pictures of the food we’ve been digging at mohawk over the past week…

herbed flatbread with spicy white beans. $6

the herbed flatbread is remarkable. i tried this on my first visit to mohawk at their press event, and have ordered it a couple times since. the bread is made in house and served with your choice of spreads—most of which are vegan. you can get bread and 1 spread for 6 bucks, or 3 spreads for $12. my favorite is the spicy white bean spread, it’s chunky and packed with tangy lemon flavor.

vegan fun guy: roast mushrooms, shallots, herbs, vegan cheese, truffle salt. $14

mohawk also has a large selection of vegan-friendly thin crust pizzas made with californian 00 flour and organic tomato sauce…

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well this is definitely good news for vegans in los angeles! according to eater LA, babycakes is expanding to a second local storefront later this year in larchmont village!

the vegan nyc-based bakery opened its first LA outlet in 2010, and we’re stoked to see that they’re growing…

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as you may already know, doomie’s home cookin’ (one of the greatest vegetarian restaurants in los angeles), suffered a fire a couple months ago and had to temporarily shut down. thankfully the repairs are officially done, and now they just need to tidy the place up a bit so they can open.

doomie’s is holding a cleaning party today at their hollywood restaurant from 1-8pm. please come help out for as long as you like, any time within those hours. they’ll have snacks on hand, as well a visit by the frankenstand at 3 o’clock.

here’s the official info…

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this is such exciting news! los angeles has been in desperate need of a fancy vegan restaurant, and it looks like we’re finally getting one! this month chef eric lechasseur (the same dude who brought us seed kitchen in venice) is set to open seed bistro on wilshire.

from the looks of the press release, this new restaurant is going to be amazing.

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not sure if you guys are aware, but today is international beer day!

i don’t give a damn about religious holidays or federal holidays…but i can definitely get behind an unofficial beer holiday. let’s celebrate! today we’re drinking at newly opened mohawk bend, the latest and greatest watering hole in LA…

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SO SAD! i loved their spicy walnut vegan mac n cheese, and i never had a chance to try their chix pot pie!

turns out the vegan-friendly menu we raved about at larkin’s in eagle rock has been canceled due to lack of demand. a reader wrote into us and said that her server at larkin’s encouraged her to call the restaurant and ask for vegan options—maybe they’ll bring them back. i already put in my phone call!

for now, the soul food joint still has at least one vegan-friendly option…

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dinner plans tonight? head over to the newest veggie grill location by the fairfax farmers market and fill up for a good cause.

from 5pm – 10pm on thursday august 4th (that’s today!), all you gotta do is mention bark avenue foundation when you order, and 50% of the proceeds from your meal will be donated to them. if you haven’t heard of bark avenue, they’re a local animal shelter and rescue/advocacy group committed to reducing companion animal overpopulation through spay/neuter, humane education, rescue, re-homing, and community outreach. they support lots of animal shelters in the area (including fur baby rescue), and proceeds from tonight will go directly to surgeries and expenses to care for homeless animals. official flyer after the jump…

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while mohawk bend is definitely my new favorite place to eat and drink in LA, we can’t forget about my old favorite place to eat and drink in LA: tony’s darts away. the casual burbank bar has a giant tap list of california beers and the best vegan pub grub i’ve ever tasted.

i hit up tony’s last night with a couple of hungry omnivores, and we all chowed down on a massive amount of vegan snacks. in addition to an impressive menu of sausages, salads and fried foods, tony’s is known for its rotating specials. crazy stuff like vegan mozzarella sticks, wheatloaf sliders, and sunflower po boys never stick around for very long. yesterday tony’s had fried pickle chips on the menu and we just had to split an order.

cornmeal crusted pickle chips with vegan aioli $5

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