UPDATE 9/5/11: before dining at the wynn, please check your restaurant’s dress code. i’ve heard some horror stories of nice vegans being turned away for not being fancy enough. boo! just a heads up!

we scored a load of vegan menus from the wynn. check out the update here.

hey, animal lovers! just a quick heads up that my friend sara radovanovitch over at alchemy tattoo in silverlake offers VEGAN TATTOOS IN LOS ANGELES.

you might be thinking, “what is non-vegan about a harmless tattoo?!”. but the sad fact is, most inks include animal bone or even animal fat. you could get a totally gnarly death-filled tattoo job without even knowing it! do you want that stuff inside your body for the rest of your life?! i didn’t think so. if you want to get inked up in LA, i highly suggest you do it with sara. as a longtime vegan and animal rights activist, she uses only vegan inks and products (something very rare in this town)…

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hi everyone, we’re heading to london for the next couple weeks! we won’t be updating the blog as regularly as usual, but we have some good posts saved up for you guys, so be sure to keep checking in. if any new vegan restaurants open up in LA while we’re gone, let me know! also please comment if you have any london restaurant recommendations. <3

i love hungry tiger too so freakin’ much. it looks and feels like a typical bar with a great beer selection, but it’s also got an absolutely massive vegan menu and some of the best food i’ve ever eaten.

we hit up hungry tiger too on our first trip to portland, and were so blown away that we new we had to return on our next. let’s just say, i’m glad we did…because it was just as good the second time around.

portobello scramble: fresh portobello mushrooms with tofu, garlic, spinach, onion and nutritional yeast. with a house made biscuit and vegan gravy. $6.75

the vegan biscuits and gravy at this place are unmatched as far as i’m concerned, so i knew i had to work them into my meal somehow. i spotted a tasty-sounding portobello scramble on the menu, and noticed that for an extra buck, i could get a biscuit and gravy on the side. the biscuits are so enormous and the gravy is so thick, that eating 2 of them is enough to send me into a food coma, so i knew one would be plenty. the scramble came in 2 sizes (large and small), so i got the little one with a side of biscuit for $6.75…and boy, it was a lot of food!

the scramble was simple but quite delicious—fresh portobello mushrooms with tofu and vegetables, all stirred up with nutritional yeast. as you can see, hungry tiger too’s idea of “one biscuit” is HUGE. this was definitely the highlight of the meal; the biscuits and gravy here are so good that no words do them justice. the biscuits are big and fluffy, like pieces of cake and the gravy all kinds of creamy, rich, and clumpy. i could seriously drink a vat of this stuff. honestly, if you ever go to hungry tiger too, you MUST at least try the biscuits and gravy. your tummy will thank you forever.

next up, we got the southeast club. the menu is filled with appetizing vegan sandwiches (including a reuben!), but we walked in knowing we had to try the club, after reading on vegtastic voyage that it was so big it had to be “dismantled” to be eaten. yep, it lived up to its reputation—the sandwich was gigantic.

southeast club: 3 slices of sour dough piled high with tofurky, tempeh bacon, tomato, lettuce, avocado and vegenaise. $10.50

the southeast club was awesome, layer after layer of hearty fake meatiness. every thing about it rocked from the soft bread, to the fresh vegetables, to the crispy bacon and creamy vegenaise. one of the best vegan clubs i’ve ever tasted. we ordered it with a side of potato chips, which were top notch as well. i’m talking thick, warm, and FRESHLY MADE. yes!

in addition to having an epic vegan menu, hungry tiger too has a damn good beer selection. local brews like rogue and deschutes are lined up next to classics like pbr.

i have never been to portland on a wednesday, which is unfortunate because hungry tiger too celebrates the middle of the week with $1.25 VEGAN CORN DOGS! i just may have to plan my next trip around that one.

next time you are in pdx, don’t miss your chance to visit hungry tiger too. great beer, amazing food, and biscuits & gravy that will blow your mind.

hungry tiger too
207 SE 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 238-4321

PS: they also play great music at this place. when we were there it was smiths and t. rex album cuts. yeaaaaaah!

hey readers! today we have yet another vegan field report, and this time it’s from shine cafe in morrow bay. this one is written by brittany, who runs sick of lettuce. if you haven’t checked out her blog, you should! i will let her take it away:

shine cafe is located in morro bay, about 3 1/2 hours north up the coast. it is located in the back of sunshine grocery, which is probably the only health/natural foods store in the area (cause there ain’t much else!). the cafe is in the back of the store, i tried to get a picture of the kitchen area but the two guys working in the kitchen (who i think, judging by some family photos on the wall, were sons of the owner?) were on alert and i felt weird. anyway, the cafe area is super tiny with 3 tables, a huge chalk board menu on the wall, and an open kitchen which seemed to only consist of a hot plate, a sink, a few counters, and a few bakers’ racks full of small appliances and kitchen tools.

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the best place to have an extravagant, relaxing, delicious brunch in los angeles is without a doubt madeleine bistro. the entirely vegan restaurant located in tarzana specializes in organic, elegant, and cutting-edge cuisine. i dined there recently with a large group of friends and strangers, and our table was covered with some of the most amazing food i’ve ever eaten. i didn’t get pictures of everything, but here is just some of what we had…

beignets, organic fruit compote. full order. $8

we started with a couple of orders of beignets to pass around the table. the small fried dough balls were perfectly fluffy with a sugary outer-coating.

fresh organic donuts. $2/each

we also shared a few plates of donuts, which are so good they defy description. there’s a reason we put these things on the bucket list of must-try vegan food in los angeles.

red beet tartare, warm tofu cheese crouton, english cucumber, balsamic glace. $12

a couple red beet tartares were ordered as well, to be shared by some of the diners around the table. this is madeleine bistro’s signature dish, and a must order if you are a first time visitor. the most incredible mixture of soft beets atop a warm cake tofu cheese and doused in balsamic glace, it’s a culinary masterpiece.

porcini-crusted tofu benedict, smoked portobella, rosti potatoes, hollandaise sauce. $15

sitting across from me, polly from veggywood ordered the porcini-crusted tofu benedict, which looked like layer upon layer of pure scrumptious-ness.

waffles and "chicken": belgian waffles, seitan chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy. $16

brittany from sick of lettuce ordered the waffles and chicken, which looked so good, i will be sure to order it next time. her plate came with a huge stack of fluffy waffles, crispy chicken-fried seitan and a mound of mashed potatoes.

plus it was all smothered in madeleine bistro’s incredible gravy….something i could drink by the gallon.

lemon rosemary seitan with cornbread stuffing.

melisser from the urban housewife went with an order of lemon rosemary seitan and sourdough stuffing. i have eaten this exact seitan at madeleine’s before, and i can tell you it’s nothing short of divine.

the bigger maque: two no-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese... $11

also at the table was a bigger maque, definitely a contender for the best vegan burger in los angeles. this thing comes stacked with two patties, layers of cheese and fresh vegetables. it’s like a gourmet, cruelty-free version of the old mcdonald’s favorite.

phillet no phish: panko-crusted seitan, cheese, tartar sauce, whole wheat bun. $10

the phillet no phish was also ordered, and this is seriously one of my favorite things on the menu. panko-crusted seitan, cheese, and tartar sauce all on a soft wheat bun. if you are a sandwich lover, this has got your name on it.

madeleine club: chicken-fried seitan, tempeh bacon, sourdough. half order $6

already approaching food coma from the donuts, i went with a half order of the madeleine club. it came with chicken-fried seitan and tempeh bacon on sourdough, and it really hit the spot.

vegan crème brûlée

for dessert, natalie aka vegan kitten, ordered the vegan creme brulee. she snapped the gorgeous pic above, and for more of her madeleine bistro photos you should check out her flickr set.

organic mimosas

and of course, what long and lazy weekend brunch would be complete without at least a couple of mimosas? madeleine bistro offers those as well.

seriously the brunch at madeleine is absolutely epic, and what you see here is only about half of the food on the table. i couldn’t think of a better place to spend a few hours having a meal. pure food bliss, i tell you!

madeleine bistro
(818) 758-6971
18621 Ventura Blvd.
Tarzana, CA

as you probably already know, the club club is an ongoing series of blog posts where we ruthlessly attempt to seek out the best vegan club sandwich in los angeles. so far we’ve hit up follow your heart, flore, casa de tree, and mani’s bakery…all of which boasted quite impressive double-decker sandwich offerings. tonight’s sandwich comes to you from m cafe, and i am pretty sure if we had to declare a winner right now, this would be it.

california club: a triple-decker of savory tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, carrots, sprouts, and soy mayo on your choice of bread. comes with one deli salad. $11.25

granted the m cafe club is a bit on the expensive side, and clocks in at over 11 bucks…but the taste and quality of this thing can not be beat. it’s much lighter than the other clubs but comes packed with the finest and most memorable ingredients. the avocado is always soft and creamy, the carrots are paper thin, and the other vegetables are fresh beyond belief. add to that some completely spongy yet lightly toasted bread and the best tempeh bacon i’ve ever had….whoa!

plus each sandwich comes with a side of your choice (not pictured), and the deli salads at m cafe are amazing. depending what’s in season, there are usually tons of good options, but i can never stray from the epic peanut kale (ask anybody who has tried it—-it is insane!).

as you can tell, i’m a little blown away by the m cafe club sandwich…..and i have been since the day i’ve tried it. but this contest IS FAR FROM OVER! leave your favorite vegan club in the comments section and we will be sure to review it. it’s a tough job, but that’s why i’m here.

m cafe de chaya
check them out on melrose, in beverly hills, and in culver city!