UPDATE 8/12: the s’mores mohawk are now vegan! they make the graham crackers in house w/o honey. eat it up.

UPDATE 8/2: turns out the graham crackers that come with the s’mores contain honey, but mohawk is seeking a vegan alternative. GRRRRRR.

today is the day we’ve all been waiting for: mohawk bend in echo park is opening this evening! since the restaurant/bar announced that they’d have over 70 craft beers on tap and a 60% vegan menu, we’ve been tracking their progress with eager anticipation.

72 craft beers to choose from.

a couple weeks ago, we attended a press event to scope out the mohawk’s epic restored restaurant space and to whet our appetite for their local and seasonal cuisine…and a few days after that, we got the chance to sample even more vegan items from the menu. we’ve been waiting to share our second meal with you until mohawk announced an opening date, and fortunately they’ve decided to open tonight! here’s a look at some of the great dishes you can expect to find at echo park’s new vegan hot spot:

tony’s favorite casserole: polenta, leeks, broccoli, vegan cheese

i can see why this casserole is tony’s favorite—filled up with creamy polenta, roasted vegetables, and two types of vegan cheese, it’s served piping hot and is absolutely delicious.

the vegan burger at mohawk is one of the best in town…

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(sorta!)

we named them one of the best vegetarian restaurants in los angeles in 2010, only to hear they were shutting down six months later. now it looks hummus king is on the prowl for a new location in silverlake, but until then they’ve launched an all vegan delivery/catering service!

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it’s time to start planning the weekend, and i hope to see all you guys in highland park on saturday for the vegan cookout at figueroa produce! plant food for people will be serving our favorite jackfruit carnitas tacos, and the folks at figgy prod will be grilling up match meat burgers, chicken, and crab cakes–oh my!

here’s all the info on the event:

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with 7 locations and counting, a commitment to house-made ingredients, an impressive bottled craft beer selection, and a rotating menu of ridiculously appetizing specials, it’s no wonder that native foods is our favorite fast-casual vegan restaurant in southern california.

well now it looks like midwesterners can get into the fun, because native foods is expanding to chicago with THREE locations opening up over the next few months…and the first one is scheduled for august 8th! to celebrate this joyous event, native foods is offering up a FREE TRIP TO CHICAGO for you and a friend with FREE FOOD, A FREE HOTEL ROOM, BONUS SPENDING $$$, and LOLLAPALOOZA TICKETS! all you gotta do is…

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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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just a few updates for you folks regarding cruzer pizza in los feliz, LA’s only vegan pizzeria!

we’ve got their new whereabouts for this weekend, details on their frozen pizzas, and a reminder of what you already know…

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UPDATED 7/22: the person who makes the top donation to benji the dog will receive FREE FOOD FROM THE FRANKENSTAND FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR. seriously! to donate, hit up the frankenstand site and scroll to the bottom.

free all you can eat buffet from the frankenstand! do i have your attention? sounds like a dream come true, right? well first we need to deal with the sobering reality that there’s a poor little dog named benji who needs help. he’s a member of the frankenstand family, and he needs surgery ASAP! just look at that face:

the frankenstand is the only all vegan mobile food vendor in los angeles, and they’ve been serving up insanely tasty sausages and homemade toppings around town for years…even before the food truck explosion! they set up at various charity events and work long hours. i feel like it’s our duty to help out benji. and not just that, everyone who makes a donation to benji’s surgery fund will be invited to a FREE ALL YOU CAN EAT VEGAN BUFFET. it’s time to get generous. here’s the official word on benji’s condition…

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’re probably aware of the hoopla about the new Echo Park pub and restaurant: Mohawk Bend. Just like Sunset Boulevard, the street upon which it sits, Mohawk Bend has gone through many twists and turns as it wound its way through the acquisition, planning, construction and then opening processes – something that the City of LA makes as arduous as possible for small businesses.  The good news is: Mohawk is now scheduled to open next week, and as far as we’re concerned it will be the best place to eat and drink in Los Angeles.

So, what IS Mohawk Bend, and why has it garnered such intense interest? For one, the back-story is intriguing. Owner Tony Yanow (yes, that Tony) took a century-old theater which has been derelict for almost 30 years, and transformed it into one of the most astounding eating and drinking spaces in all of LA, if not the West Coast. It’s got 72 taps of craft beer (including two cask systems), an incredible food menu of locally-sourced ingredients (yeah, 60% of the food menu, and almost all beers are vegan: how about that?), with several distinct dining/drinking areas each of which has subtly different vibes. As Tony put it: “We wanted to create not just a place in Echo Park, but THE place in Echo Park”. There’s not a soul who would argue that he didn’t do just exactly that.

We were lucky to be invited to the pre-opening press/blogger event and from the moment we walked into the front patio area we felt comfortable, welcome and at ease. That’s the way Tony wants it to be, and he’s magically captured the neighborhood pub feel of Tony’s Darts Away while scaling it up massively and successfully into a veritable theme park of craft beer and gourmet food.

From its inception, the menu at Mohawk was designed to be extremely vegan-friendly. It’s a collaboration between two chefs—one of whom is a vegan herself, so as you can imagine, we’re well looked after. They’ve taken care of every last detail, down to separate fryers, utensils, and cooking preparation areas. The restaurant has succeeded in creating classic pub fare that everyone loves, with a vegan twist that’s extremely impressive.

Chickpea Beer Nuts

Upon arrival, we immediately started munching on bar snacks—almonds, pistachios, and absolutely amazing chickpea “beer nuts”. Although Mohawk had several appetizing cocktails on offer, we stuck to beer. A couple of Bootleggers Old World Hefes and a sampling of the appetizer selections really hit the spot.

Bootleggers Old World Hefe with a plate of housebaked bread and dipping sauces.

The bread and dipping sauces were ridiculously good! I’m telling you, freshly baked bread really does make a huge difference.

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starting today and running through the rest of the summer our favorite LA sandwich shop, mendocino farms, is having a vegan sandwich showdown!

the vegan spicy soyrizo is battling it out with the vegan shawarma to see who will get a spot on the permanent mendo menu.

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if you read this blog regularly, you probably know that we are huge fans of the madeleine bistro meal delivery service, the bistro box. the menu changes from week to week, it’s available for pick up or delivery on mondays, and it always features an insanely delicious and wide variety of gourmet items. i’m talking several servings of restaurant quality cuisine, to be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. well next week’s box will probably be the best one yet, because in addition to a stellar line up of classic madeleine bistro dishes, it will feature a dessert from one of our favorite vegan bakeries, clara’s cakes! (BTW, if you wanna catch a ride on the bistro box train next week, try to book by noon on friday/TOMORROW. that will guarantee you a seat, but they’ll be selling tickets until noon on sunday, or until they sell out.)

vegan gobs! vegan whoopie pies!

if you aren’t familiar with clara’s cakes, it’s an incredible los angeles-based bakery headed up by a 14 year old girl named clara. she may be young, but she bakes like a freakin’ pro, and her treats are something to behold. next week’s box will include a sweet from madeleine bistro as well as a bonus boston creme gob (or whoopie pie, whatever you wanna call them!) by clara. i have had these things and i promise you they are beyond yum—huge soft spongy cookies cushioning a generous blob of frosting…it’s what vegan dreams are made of.

the bistro box itself is bringing its a-game next week as well. highlights include QG favorites like chicken fried seitan, lemon rosemary seitan, mac n cheese, a scramble sandwich, the legendary red beet tartare and MUCH more.

chicken fried seitan, mashed potatoes, pan gravy. all in next week's box.

FULL MENU/prices/delivery radius/ordering instructions after the jump…

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hey everyone! time for another field report from rachel of power cut jewelry (check out her etsy site for awesome vegan and beatles-related items!). today she blogs about LA’s newest all vegan bakery, no udder desserts in woodland hills. check it out.

“The San Fernando Valley…it’s not the hippest place in the world, but it’ll do. It’s so unhip that it’s probably hip.” -Tom Petty

I suffered through the LVUSD school system and I’ve been engulfed by a bubble called “the valley” my whole life. Besides Tom Petty songs that make me happy to be a valley citizen, I have a strong dislike of the place. It’s too hot, the people are conceited, rude and terrible drivers lurk everywhere. One of my favorite restaurants, Madeleine Bistro, is hardly open and most recently the only somewhat decent vegan Thai place began serving meat. Although I complain, the most important thing about the valley is that my dog loves it here.

About two months ago, I randomly read about No Udder Desserts opening a storefront in Woodland Hills. Started by Trisha Lobefaro a few years ago, No Udder Desserts has been sold at various places in the L.A. area and can now be found at a quaint little bakery smack dab in the valley.

The umbrella is hiding the word "vegan", but it IS there!

The shop is nestled in a little outdoor mall near a Target and Payless Shoes, it might be hard to find if you’re unfamiliar with the area, but luckily a sign reading “Vegan Bakery” adorns the main window. Inside is very small, with two tables and one outside the doors; although I didn’t eat inside, I can imagine sitting there with friends over some coffee and sweets would be quite nice.

I first went here about a month ago and was pleased to see that many of the cake offerings were petit fours. They’re the perfect size for when you want to indulge, yet not overdo it. I left No Udder Desserts with a pecan bar which was delicious. I immediately told Quarrygirl that I wanted to do a field report on this place!

I finally made it back to No Udder Desserts earlier this week, and got myself more than just one thing to try. Various bite-sized cakes that caught my eye were carrot, coconut, and chocolate. I also tried a lemon bar, pumpkin “cheezecake”, whoopie pie, chocolate chip cookie and I couldn’t leave without another pecan bar.

Carrot cake, chocolate cake, lemon bar, coconut cake, and a pecan bar in the middle

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although starbucks outlets in the UK have catered to vegans for years (the falafel panini doesn’t suck!), the stores in the united states have always been lacking in animal-free food options…until now.

according to the starbucks website, they currently offer a “sesame noodles bento box”. while the meal doesn’t explicitly say “vegan” on it, the ingredients are posted and they all check out. have a look…

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about six years ago i tried inaka for the first time and fell in love with it’s healthy and flavorful food. their menu is macrobiotic and offers some fish dishes but is dairy free. i’ve tried several dishes at inaka and although i enjoyed everything i’ve tried the “inaka bowl” is absolutely my favorite.

inaka bowl: brown rice, today's bean, greens, root vegetables, sea vegetables and more. $11

the vegetables and beans that cover brown rice are often different but always amazing. this round came with kidney beans, kale, cabbage, lotus root, broccoli, carrots, seaweed, some kind of yummy gravy stuff, and other vegetables that i have no idea what they were but tasted damn delicious.

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plant food for people, the all vegan fast food joint with plans to open in highland park, is doing another preview of their jackfruit tacos on saturday night and you all should go check it out! we went to the last one, and fell in love with their tacos and salsa.

here are the details…

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dudes, this is HUGE!!! the much coveted mozzarella teese mozzarella cheese sticks (we have been obsessing about them for ages) are now available at our favorite pub, tony’s darts away!

photo credit: mercy for animals

i was just there and i saw them on the “specials” menu…

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