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

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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we’ve already told you how excited we are about the upcoming spork foods cookbook, and now you can celebrate with the sisters at the spork fed release party and book signing!

the reception will take place at a hollywood hills residence on october 2nd from 3-6pm, and tickets are only 20 bucks! there will be cocktails, appetizers, a vegan goodie bag, and of course the lovely sisters themselves. get your tickets now!

hey everyone! i’m so bummed i was outta town for FYF fest (aka LA’s best music event) this year, but our field reporter brittany was there and has your vegan wrap up. for more of her awesomeness, follow her on twitter and check out the daily kev. here ya go! -QG

fyf fest finally happened after months of being tortured with an amazing line-up and dealing with emotional scarring from last year’s festivities. okay, that’s a TAD dramatic. last year was a total shitshow and it did make me question if going this year was worth it. but, i went, i saw some great performances, and i ate!

first up was lunch from the yummy one truck. i saw the “bi bim burrito” on the menu and suddenly went from “eh i could eat” to “i’m fucking starving”. i ordered and was served faster than you can say… bi bim burrito.

tofu bi bim burrito: mixed asian style salad with romaine lettuce, red onions, cilantro, tomato and cucumber with marinated tofu and sesame dressing.

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yes, yes, yes! sunday will indeed be one of the best days of the summer as the dudes from hot knives take over the verdugo patio for a vegan bbq blow out. the vegetarian bloggers/cookbook authors are some of our favorite chefs ever, yet their food is rarely available to the public. basically, you don’t wanna miss this. the menu will include:

1) Oyster mushroom po’boys with radish remoulade, greens and a side of pickled potato salad
2) Mesquite-smoked jackfruit hoagies with peach BBQ sauce and a side of kaleslaw
3) Summer succotash and jalapeño cornbread

that all sounds pretty fantastic, right? they worked magic with mushrooms on the verdugo patio in 2009 with a pulled “pork” sandwich…i can’t wait to get a taste of the po’boys.

pulled "pork" oyster mushroom sandwich in 2009

this event isn’t only about eating awesome and rare vegan food though, it’s also a chance to be part of a photo shoot. a photographer will be documenting the event and shooting photos for hot knives’ second book, spring blaze, which is all about party foods. check out this video of the guys doing their thing on the 4th of july to get an idea of how it works…

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hey kiddos, there are still a couple spots left for this weekend’s urban food crawl, so get on it! this weekend’s downtown LA crawl is gonna be extra special, because included in the 6 stops will be an exclusive vegan tasting hosted by the wine and beer geeks at buzz. oh the alcoholic afternoons! sign me up. get your tickets here.

to read reviews of the previous urban food crawls, check out trip advisor.

summer is almost over, and what better way to make it count than to plan something epic for the 3 day labor day weekend? i suggest taking a vegan road trip to san diego and kicking it off with LOVELIKEBEER at hamilton’s tavern on september 2nd, where they’re celebrating to-firkin friday.

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so exciting! on october 1st, jenny and heather from spork foods are coming out with their very own vegan cookbook! spork-fed is available for pre-order online, and the girls have also made a super cute trailer for it.

creamy baked mac n cheese from the spork-fed facebook!

we’re already huge fans spork sisters’ real life and online cooking classes, so i’m super excited to put their cookbook to use. the recipes sound insane—fettuccine alfredo, meatloaf, biscuits and gravy, churros, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, and more!

check out their adorbs video after the jump…

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ooooh, now this sounds like a lot of fun. the folks at vegan drinks have rented out a 250 seat theatre at AMC century city on august 24th at 7:30pm to screen the new feature documentary, “got the facts on milk?”! tickets are $13.50 each, and after the screening there will be vegan finger foods provided by ummba grill…as well as a full bar!

more event info after the jump…

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well, well, well. of all the food events i’ve ever posted about on the blog, this one is definitely the most interesting! on thursday august 18th (that’s tomorrow!), chef joshua ploeg is cooking up a black banquet vegan feast for $25 per person.

what exactly is a black banquet? joshua explained it to me via email…

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hey los angeles, it’s almost friday so that means it’s time to start planning your weekend. i just wanna remind you of some cool events that you definitely don’t wanna miss.

we already told you about the vegan at verdugo party taking place on sunday from 3-8pm to benefit benji. chef stephen hauptfuhr will be manning the seabirds truck, serving up a vegan menu with truck favorites like jackfruit and beer battered avocado tacos along with new dishes like parisienne mac and cheese…as well as raw specialties, fried foods, and desserts. there will be beer pairing suggestions by the verdugo, and entrance is FREE! craziness! check out the facebook invite!

but wait there’s more…

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hey everyone! today we have a guest post from the makers of one of our favorite vegan products, upton’s naturals seitan. they hosted a “vegan chef showdown” over the weekend in chicago and they sent us a rundown and pictures from the event. i think we definitely need to organize something like this in los angeles. enjoy!

This past weekend Chicago was the proud home of the first ever Chicago Vegan Chef Showdown hosted by animal heroes, Mercy for Animals and local seitan producers, Upton’s Naturals. The event worked like this: 12 teams of chefs cooked their butts off in advance of the Saturday afternoon competition, arriving with food prepared and ready to be served to the hungry line of vegans waiting outside. The only rules were that the food had to be vegan and had to use one of the four available types of Upton’s Naturals seitan (Traditional, Ground, Italian, or Chorizo). Beyond that, the chefs, a mix of professionals, culinary students, and amateurs, were allowed to be completely creative with their dishes.

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photo by little vegan planet

about a month ago we blogged about a moveable feast, a new underground gourmet vegan supper club in los angeles created by kim and alix. they’ve held two dinners so far (check out our review of the first one!), and both have been massive successes. they’ve just announced that august 13th is the date for the third dinner, and the theme is summer inspired spanish cuisine!

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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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UPDATE 7/20: the first urban food crawl on 8/20 is officially sold out! wow! no worries though, it’s a weekly event and they are now selling tickets through october. i suggest you pick a date and act fast. this is a popular event!

well now, this is exciting! there’s a new vegan adventure in town, and it’s called urban food crawl. the group plans to give weekly meat-free eating tours around the city, and the first one is on august 20th in downtown LA.

this actually sounds really freaking cool. a great excuse to try new food, meet new people, and explore our city. they haven’t disclosed the menu for the first tour yet, but here’s what one of the organizers has to say about it…

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