• April 27th, 2011mr meanerLA restaurants, swingers

    Dear oh dear! Looks like we stumbled upon yet ANOTHER piece of vegan drama. Earlier today we received an email from Amanda Graham that we thought was an honest attempt to inform us about a misunderstanding, or inaccuracy, about the original post accusing Swingers restaurants of being lax in the disclosure of the ingredients in their “vegan” dishes.

    Our policy is to immediately remove any posts that accuse us of inaccuracy, investigate the background and then issue an update as soon as possible. As soon as we received the email, we took down this post, and here’s the result of our investigation:

    You cannot trust Swingers.

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  • April 25th, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, swingers

    i hate it when this happens. i mean, we have SO many great vegan-friendly eateries in LA. i’m talking about omnivorous restaurants that are willing to bend over backwards to give us plenty of options, restaurants that take the v-word seriously. unfortunately though, every once in a while (as we’ve seen before) a restaurant comes along and throws around the vegan word willy-nilly in order to make a profit, without knowing or caring what it means. i’m sad to say, that i think our previous favorite swingers is in that category.

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  • June 25th, 2009quarrygirlLA restaurants, swingers

    UPDATE 4/25/2011: DON’T EAT AT SWINGER’S. they put lard in “vegan” items.

    i know in los angeles we have loads of vegan-friendly restaurants, but sometimes it can still be really hard to find a vegan meal. for instance, after a late night at 2am or early in the morning at 7am…it’s sad, but none of the favorite spots are gonna be open at those hours. rest assured to know when other restaurants are closed, you can always turn to swingers—the all american diner has plenty of vegan options, is open 21.5 hours daily, and has 2 locations (one in santa monica and one near weho). they also serve booze and offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day long.

    recently my husband and i found ourselves stranded and hungry at 6:45am, and luckily swingers on beverly came to the rescue.

    vegan soyrizo scramble: organic tofu scrambled with soyrizo, served with black beans, salsa, and your choice of tortilla. $7.95

    vegan soyrizo scramble: organic tofu scrambled with soyrizo, served with black beans, salsa, and your choice of tortilla. $7.95

    i’m a big fan of the breakfasts at swingers, and they have loads vegan-friendly choices that are clearly marked on the menu. from tofu rancheros, to vegan nachos, to a vegan breakfast burrito there are more than enough options. on our most recent visit, i went with the veganized soyrizo scramble, with organic tofu rather than eggs.

    i must say that this scramble was exceptional. they mixed the fake meat and tofu all together thoroughly and the fried it on the bottom so it had a really “scrambled eggy” texture, but with none of the gross egg taste. the plate came with a mound of black beans, fresh chunky salsa, and a huge fluffy flour tortilla…damn good value for under $8.

    swingers-soyrizo-scramble-cu

    despite the fact that it was earlier than 7am, my husband wasn’t in the mood for breakfast, so he went with the swingers salad. on it’s own the salad is pretty simple, but for an extra $2.50, you can add some damn fine sauteed tofu. i wouldn’t call this salad amazing or anything, but it’s good, it’s vegan, and it’s available to eat at 6:30am.

    swingers salad with tofu: organic mixed baby greens, tomatoes and carrots with choice of dressing and sauteed tofu. $9

    swingers salad with tofu: organic mixed baby greens, tomatoes and carrots with choice of dressing and sauteed tofu. $9

    so there you have it. when other places aren’t open and you are craving some vegan grub, swingers will always save the day. sometimes the service can be hit or miss, but i’ve always left with a belly full of decent food.

    swingers
    8020 Beverly Boulevard
    Los Angeles, CA 90048
    (323) 653-5858
    6:30 a.m. – 4:00 a.m.

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  • January 26th, 2009quarrygirlLA restaurants, swingers

    UPDATE 4/25/2011: DON’T EAT AT SWINGER’S. they put lard in “vegan” items.

    UPDATED POST: the cinnamon rolls featured in this post were originally supplied by dee’s bakery and donuts, but after learning about the conditions of her kitchen and non-vegan ingredients, swingers has discontinued their dee’s bakery products.

    swingers diner on beverly has been a regular haunt of ours for a long time, especially on weekends for breakfast. the smart-ass and ironic pseudo-50s-style diner has a whole lotta attitude (their slogan is “ass, cash, or grass, nobody eats for free”), plus a huge menu with more vegan options than i could ever possibly try. mr. meaner and i usually both order the vegan burrito, but we’ve posted about that before and decided to branch on our past visit and try some new stuff.

    we hit up swingers for breakfast on sunday, and the first thing i noticed as i walked in the door was a huge tray of plump cinnamon rolls sitting on the counter. the waitress saw me scoping them and called out to me, “you should really try one of our rolls! they are absolutely delicious and they’re VEGAN.” that sealed it. it’s pretty rare i see a random mouth-watering dessert and find out i can eat it…that pleasure is typically reserved for omnivores. i ordered one and savored every bite regretted it later after seeing the kitchen it was made in.

    vegan cinnamon roll from swingers

    vegan cinnamon roll from swingers

    the cinnamon roll turned out to be from dee’s bakery, and i can’t stress to you how un-vegan this tasted. (probably because it wasn’t) argh.

    gratuitous frosting close up

    gratuitous frosting close up

    after murdering an entire sinful, frosting-filled bun, we opted for some healthy entrees: the vegan cobb and the tofu saute.

    vegan cobb: sauteed tofu, soy cheese, avocado, sweet corn, tomatoes, crispy onions, and carrots with organic mixed baby greens tossed in tahini-dill dressing. $10.95

    vegan cobb: sauteed tofu, soy cheese, avocado, sweet corn, tomatoes, crispy onions, and carrots with organic mixed baby greens tossed in tahini-dill dressing. $10.95

    the vegan cobb was amazing. the cheese tasted like tofutti slices (which i love) and the sauteed tofu was perfectly seasoned. plus it came with mounds of vegetables and really fresh avocado. awesome all the way around. for a big meal salad, you could do a lot worse.

    the tofu saute was also quite tasty, and had a certain asian flare to it.

    tofu saute: tofu, sauteed quinoa, broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, red cabbage, garlic and ginger with a squeeze of fresh orange, served with a swingers salad. $9.25

    tofu saute: tofu, sauteed quinoa, broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, red cabbage, garlic and ginger with a squeeze of fresh orange, served with a swingers salad. $9.25

    these little mounds of tofu were perfectly seasoned and came with a whole ton of crispy vegetables. it definitely tasted light and healthy; the ideal contrast to all the warm frosting floating around inside my belly.

    with so much great vegan stuff on the menu, there is no reason not to give swingers a try. ok, for some folks it may be a little bit arrogant and cooler-than-thou in an annoying hipster sort of way…but, don’t worry, it’s way too far west to take itself very seriously. if this place were in los feliz i may be intimidated, but it’s two locations are in weho and santa monica, and the servers are a lot more cooky than they are snotty.

    and whether you are looking for some hard core vegan junk food, late night munchies, healthy salads or overwhelming desserts…swingers has it all. plus, it’s a place you can take your meat-lovin’ friends and find something on the menu for everyone.

    so head over there fast. and if you are lucky enough to get a hot vegan cinnamon roll, fucking do it.

    swingers
    8020 Beverly Boulevard
    Los Angeles, CA 90048
    (323) 653-5858

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  • May 19th, 2008mr meanerLA restaurants, swingers

    UPDATE 4/25/2011: DON’T EAT AT SWINGER’S. they put lard in “vegan” items.

    I have a pet hate about places where the staff prefer to give virtually all their attention to regulars, and rudely ignore casual visitors. Once such establishment is Swingers on Beverly Blvd. Anywhere that has the message: “ass, cash or grass: nobody eats for free” pinned above the door probably has more than its fair share of pretentiousness — and I can confirm beyond doubt that is the case.

    After sitting down, I usually have to wait at least five minutes to get attention, and this weekend it took over 20 minutes before our drinks arrived (a diet coke and a David Banner smoothie), all in a restaurant that had only four tables occupied (see this picture for proof, and the back of the place — not shown — was completely empty):

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