UPDATE! WE HAVE A WINNER.

hey everyone, last week we held a contest to come up with a new kale chip flavor for rawk-n-roll cuisine, and we need your help choosing the winner!

the 3 finalists are:
“buffalo” by the broke-ass bride
“chipotle lime” by vegyogini
“sour cream & onion” by anandajc

rawk-n-roll is in the test kitchen right now, getting creative and trying to make these flavors work…but they want quarrygirl readers to influence the final decision! which flavor of kale chip do YOU think sounds best?! let us know!

have you been to the los angeles based meetup vegan drinks yet? if not, you are missing out. the latest one was held at the new spork foods space, and it was a blast.

vegan drinks occurs once a month, and it’s basically just a gathering of LA vegans who want to hang out, socialize, and have a good time. it was started almost 2 years ago by lex and kristin, and has grown from a handful of friends at a local bar to a full on community with over 800 members. the spork foods vegan drinks was one of the funnest ones i’ve ever been to, partly because it was a private event. the spork sisters opened up their AWESOME brand new location, and for $15 we were able to enjoy home brewed sangria and an assortment of fabulous tapas.

there were delicious cashew cheese stuffed dates…

cashew cheese stuffed dates

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UPDATE 6/25/10: i just found out from madeleine bistro, that anyone who mentions that they heard about this tasting menu from quarrygirl will receive a $10 discount PER PERSON! you gotta take them up on it! also, please note that dinner is anytime between 5:30 and 7pm…and the discussion starts at 7, if you are interested in that.

hey everyone! just a quick heads up that our favorite restaurant in los angeles, madeleine bistro, is having a very special tasting menu this saturday june 26th at 5:30pm. not only will there be an extravagant 5 course meal using etheridge farms produce prepared by chef david anderson, but organic farmer gene etheridge himself will be on hand for a discussion.

it sounds AMAZING. and let me tell you, the best meal of my life was a madeleine bistro tasting menu…so i highly suggest you make a reservation!

check out the menu below:
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last night, i was fortunate enough to attend the “meat is for pussies” release party, with food provided by david anderson and tal ronnen. i was already super excited about john joseph’s latest book, so when i heard that two of the best vegan chefs in the world would be catering the event, i knew i had to be there.

here’s a re-cap of the night.

finger foods were being served all evening, and while it was impossible to keep track of (or even taste) every dish, all the ones i tried were spectacular. my friends and i stood gathered around a table savoring the appetizers as they were brought out, and trying to figure out whether each one was created by tal or dave. there was an incredible mini-pancake/mushroom appetizer topped with some sort of cream (pictured above), as well as crackers topped with vegan cheese…

little jacket potatoes…

some kind of insanely tasty pot pie thing (i have no clue what was in it, but it ruled)…

sushi…

bigger maque SLIDERS!!!!!!! (these alone were worth the drive to downtown)…

cheesecake tarts…and several other desserts i don’t have pix of!

there was a very good crowd in attendance as well…

vegans

it was bustling, but not uncomfortably crowded…

more vegans

a nice intimate group.

john joseph was wandering around, mingling with folks and chatting with fans. we snapped a pic of him with molly from madeleine bistro.

john joseph and molly anderson

moby was even there! and boy, was he shocked to see me!

moby

later in the evening, chefs david anderson and tal ronnen took the stage to introduce john joseph…

chefs david anderson and tal ronnen

of course the crowd went nuts cheering the chefs, because their food was so awesome.

john joseph treated us to a brief talk on veganism and a reading from his book, “meat is for pussies.” john’s presence on stage was awesome and his words were beyond compelling. his no-nonsense style was motivating and i could tell that meat is for pussies would be both an entertaining and informative read.

overall, the party was fantastic, and i’m so glad i went! incredible food, great company, inspiring words, and a worthwhile cause. just another night in the life of a vegan!

be sure to pick 2 copies of “meat is for pussies”—one for yourself, and one for your favorite omnivore. also, buy tal ronnen’s cookbook, and eat at madeleine bistro as often as possible!

hey everyone! this is a HUGE day, because the famed goldberg sisters of spork foods have officially relocated to their new space. the popular cooking class and catering duo have called silverlake their home up until recently…now, however they are operating out of a very roomy commercial space in weho, and of course we were there to check out their brand new new digs.

the official “opening party” was tonight, and it went a little something like this:

food and drinks galore!

nonstop snacks and alcohol! you name it, they probably had it. appetizers, drinks, music, it was the right vibe from the get-go.

a good crowd, very important.

the sporks party also had a good crowd. i showed up shortly after the starting time, and left a couple hours later…the whole while i kept running into lovely people who were excited about this new vegan addition to LA. by the time i left, a bouncer was getting serious about not letting newbies in! the place was PACKED…

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it’s gonna be a great weekend for vegans in los angeles and here is the stuff you shouldn’t be missing:

franken's on saturday!

first up on saturday, the frankenstand is taking over hollywood and western with its delicious plant-based sausages. if you haven’t tried this place yet, you GOTTA go. they are our #1 favorite food cart and their gourmet franks are beyond delicious. it’s also a special occasion because franken’s very rarely comes out in the daylight. seriously, GO. take my advice, and order the witch or the franken….you will not be sorry. follow @thefrankenstand on twitter for more info.

the franken: this classic sausage will make you feel alive! with a monster blend of sun dried tomatoes and basil giving it a slightly sweet taste. $5

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worldfest this year was fucking epic. were you there? ARE you there? i mean, it’s going on until 7pm, so if you read this post in time, seriously get over there.

i just got home, and i must say it was an incredible day of drinking and eating. many hours were spent in the beer garden sipping on bottle after bottle of lagunitas ipa and czech style pilsner. after several helpings of beer and several sets of loud ska music (the drinking area is located right next to the main stage), we decided to make the rounds and eat as much as we possibly could before heading home. the highlights of the day were as follows:

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hey everyone! not sure if you have lunch plans today, but mandoline grill is gonna be serving up food in the valley along with dainty cakes, who will have vegan cupcakes!

you can find them on the corner of lankershim and magnolia from noon-2:30ish and you won’t wanna miss it…

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hey vegans, clear your calendars for the weekend, because there are a few delicious activities that you should definitely attend.

here’s your weekend in vegan food….

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UPDATE: the surly goat is now open, and it’s awesome!

Two of the nicest and most talented guys you’d ever wish to meet are Alex Brown and Evan George, a duo of vegetarian chefs, beer experts, writers and god-knows-what-else collectively known as Hot Knives.

The last time we raved about Hot Knives was after attending some patio sessions at Glassel Park’s Verdugo Bar last summer. We whiled away a couple of warm afternoons drinking from an amazing beer selection while Alex and Evan served up some imaginative and very, very tasty vegan food. We’ve also long been fans of their blog where they wax lyrical about beers of the world and publish recipes to die for.

Imagine, then, how pleased we were to receive an invite for their book launch party to be catered by Hot Knives themselves at a brand new bar that shares some common ownership with Verdugo Bar. We couldn’t believe our luck with a one-two-three punch of Hot Knives’ food, 27 special beers on tap and a book about one of my favorite subjects: BEER!

This being January and LA storm season there wasn’t much patio action going on, but West Hollywood’s newest bar, The Surly Goat, couldn’t have been a better setting to munch on some food and learn about Hot Knives’ new beer book, “Greatest Sips”. The new bar (it opens to the public Wednesday February 3rd) is in the former 24K club spot and is a welcome addition to a part of town that doesn’t have many great places to drink, being situated a block west of Fairfax on Santa Monica Blvd. The beer selection pretty much mirrors Verdugo Bar (virtually all of it vegan) and there’s a cool, dark environment that’s a pleasure to be in. I know The Surly goat will be on my list of regular haunts, and I’ll probably be at the bar on a highly regular basis!

Upon arrival we downed a couple of Blind Pig beers from Russian River, and made our way to the back of the bar where Alex and Evan had laid out the most amazing spread. To call Hot Knives perfectionists would be an understatement.

They wanted just the right kind of bread to pair with their food so they invented a recipe and made a bunch of crispy baguettes (yes, they do taste as good — or better — than they look).

First order was to grab a hunk of this unbelievable bread and smear their special vegan cashew ricotta cheese all over it. The cheese was a perfect texture, something like cream cheese, but crumbly and tangy just like ricotta. I could seriously have eaten not only every baguette but also the entire hoard of cheese as well as it was so fucking good!

Just when I thought that I’d reached a state of sublime existence (due in part, I’m sure, to the Blind Pigs) Evan pointed out the second vegan plate which was a spicy habanero seitan loaf. The seitan reminded me a little of the seitan which they put in the Banh Mi sandwiches but the spiciness here was off the charts. A little crispy on the outside yet soft and chewy on the inside made for the perfect combination of mouth textures, while the delicate flavoring hid that fire in your mouth that only habanero chilies can deliver.

Balancing the power of the chilies was a smooth, cold and creamy sauerkraut sauce (I think they called it a mustard) which just begged to be splashed all over the food. Of course, we had multiple visits to the food tables and were not surprised to see everything disappear pretty quickly.

We had a chance to briefly leaf through the book “Greatest Sips”, written by the Hot Knives dudes in their inimitable style. Ours is on order now, at the mercy of USPS and will be an indispensable guide for beer drinking at The Surly Goat and elsewhere. Not only are the guys perceptive experts in beer, but they love to tell you about what food to pair it with and even what music to listen to while drinking it. No, I’m not joking! The insight is hilarious and I’m sure a little tongue in cheek. Here are Alex and Evan to tell you all about the book themselves:

Greatest Sips from Hot Knivez on Vimeo.

Hot Knives are vegetarian chefs, so they do use non-vegan ingredients in some of their cooking, and are huge fans of cheese..but we won’t hold that against them, rather we’ll hope that they do one day decide to become vegan so that they will be inspired to make more and more inventive and tasty vegan foods.

Also, on the beer front, do remember to check out Barnivore, a super site that answers questions about vegetarian and vegan ingredients in just about any beer you’ll ever want to drink.

Alex and Evan, thanks so much for feeding us today!

For more info on The Surly Goat, check out Eater and LATimes.

Oh, and finally, The Surly Goat hasn’t got its food menu together yet so they won’t be serving any of this gorgeous food (and maybe never will). Hopefully, though, the Hot Knives guys will show up from time to time and take care of filling hungry vegan bellies.

los angeles vegans, you need to drop whatever you are doing on sunday and get over to the verdugo bar because our favorite catering duo hot knives is taking over the patio again with another epic feast.

we attended both hot knives events at the verdugo in august, and i can honestly say they served some of the best food that i’ve ever eaten. not just that, but the music was good, the patio was relaxing, and the beer was tasty.

this weekend hot knives are coming back to host an “over the oktoberfest” celebration that will feature an arm wrestling competition and vegan german grub. the plan for the menu is vegan soaked in Rausch beer for smokey brats, with veeg sides to choose from. you would be insane to miss this. seriously, how often do we herbivores get to take part in the oktoberfest fun?

here is the press release and more info incase you wanna get involved in the arm wrestling competition:

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