answer that question, and you could win a pair of tickets to the LA vegan beer fest from our kind sponsors at follow your heart.

yes, that’s a picture of @LXESTRADA with an entire gallon of vegenaise. he ate it all, because he’s that awesome.

here are the details on how to win. do this stuff TODAY for a chance:

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free. vegan. pizza. aren’t they the best words in the english language? well tonight is the night that all 3 of them come together, as the original pizza cookery in woodland hills will be giving out complimentary samples of their new vegan menu!

we already love pizza cookery to bits….after all, we did include them on both our top restaurant list AND our vegan bucket list of 2010. my advice: get your ass over there and eat for free this evening. the vegan pizza at this place is truly special. (and be sure to try the vegan-cheese-filled garlic rolls, OMG!)

here are the details:

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reason #8,965 that you need to attend the LA vegan beer fest this weekend: the veg-it-up truck! hell yes, LA’s newest meat-free truck will be there with a giant menu full of vegan sandwiches, burgers, tacos, and wraps that will please omnivores and herbivores alike.

veg it up!

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i have eaten A LOT of vegan cupcakes in my day, and the most recent ones (and frankly some of the best!) were from courtesan cupcakes.

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i have never had vegan ethiopian food that i didn’t like. while in dc we saw a lot of ethiopian restaurants but instead of just popping into any random spot i relied, once again, on my buddy @kmudrick. he recommended Meskerem and we quickly headed on over.

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the LAVBF is just 1 week away. doomie’s and fresh fries will be there. will you….?!

unlimited beer. more vegan food than you could ever eat. local bands. pretty much, the best day ever. (non drinkers are welcome too!)

get your tix here.

UPDATE 8/31/11: just confirmed that the dough at pizza port IS vegan. here’s the official word from the restaurant: All of our dough is vegan as well as our traditional tomato sauce (not the pesto or ranch). 

oh man, sometimes i forget how good GOOD cheeseless pizza is. sometimes i’m all caught up in the technology of stretchy melty-liciousness, that i forget to savor the flavor of exceptional sauce and perfect crust. pizza port in solana beach provided me with a much needed wake up call.

pizza and beer: 2 of our favorite things.

not only does the small family-friendly pub brew their own beer, but they also make their own pizza. and they’re damn good at it. first let’s discuss the pizza, because i know the majority of you are just interested in food. it was off the chain. after verifying that the normal crust (sorry, i’m not sure about the wholegrain!) and sauce were both vegan, we ordered directly off the menu—the “garlic veggie pizza”, sans cheese.

small garlic veggie pizza (no cheese): spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and garlic. $8.25

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Hello, people! Sexy Vegan, here. I didn’t really eat that many vegetables as a kid, unless you count pizza sauce. My mom didn’t really like to cook, so the majority of my childhood diet consisted mainly of pizza, and pizza related items. Cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, cheesesteak pizza, garlic knots, and don’t even get me started on stromboli. We had all the local pizza joints on speed dial. Remember when home phones had that list of buttons you could program? Remember home phones? I’m glad we never had any type of emergency requiring us to hit the 911 speed dial button, because we would have heard, “Claudio’s, what can I getcha?” on the other end.

There is one pizza, however, that has managed to elude me during my first 33 years of existence: Deep Dish. Having never been to Chicago, I’ve not had the delight of indulging in a true deep-dish pizza. And I suppose if I went to Chicago now, coming by a vegan one, would be a herculean task. So I thought I’d take a stab at making my own…and if Chicago’s is half as good as this one, then I think they’ve got a future in the deep-dish pizza industry. All you need for this recipe is a 6 inch cast iron skillet, some vegan cheese, and a Trader Joe’s. The cheeze I used here is my own “Not-zzarella Cheeze” which consists mainly of cashews and silken tofu, and is a recipe you will find in my book. Yes, I have written a cookbook, but there is no release date yet. All I know is that the world is supposed to end TWICE before it comes out.

O.k. on to the recipe:

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photo by kat nguyen

aw shucks! recently we blogged that the much anticipated mohawk bend would be opening its doors on june 28th. unfortunately, the gastropub has been delayed until further notice. lemme tell you, i got a personal tour of the mohawk space over the weekend and it is INSANE. i think it’s gonna be the best place to eat and drink in town, especially for vegans! there are like 8 million beer taps, two cask pumps, a dedicated vegan fryer, and a gigantic dedicated vegan pizza oven! gaaaaaah, i have never been so excited about a place opening before! here’s the official/unofficial word from team mohawk:

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lately the vegan restaurant scene in los angeles has been in a constant state of change. pure luck closed down, doomie’s moved from downtown to hollywood, native foods replaced m cafe in culver city, veggie grills are popping up in every part of town at an alarming rate…and with madeleine bistro’s fate looking uncertain at best, for a moment it seemed like we were losing our one meatless fine dining option in the city. enter sage vegan bistro.

the small echo park eatery shares the bottom corner of the jensen rec center on sunset with kindkreme (a raw and dairy-free ice cream parlor) and has been open for a little over 3 months. the menu is ambitious to say the least, with a slew of lunch items (served all day), gourmet dinner fare (served after 5pm), and brunch on the weekends from 9am-4pm. the offerings are pretty creative as well—items such as banh mi spring rolls, almond crusted fried cheese, and white bean french cassoulet all sound incredible.

i’d dined at sage once before, for brunch, and quite enjoyed it…so i was anxious to try them out for dinner. we stopped by over the weekend with our friends jen & jen, and i’m happy to report that our meal was excellent.

polenta galettes topped with sauteed leeks and a raisin date spread.

upon arrival, we were presented with lots of menus! the dinner menu, the lunch menu, and the kindkreme dessert menu…and everything on them was ours for the taking. there was even a “specials” menu written on a chalkboard hanging in the restaurant. we were a bit overwhelmed by the amount of choice, but i think we managed to get at least one thing off every menu.

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UPDATE: this contest is closed. we have two winners! huge congrats to lolahippie and wendy samson!

huge news, dudes! we have TWO $20 GIFT CARDS to give away from juicy ladies in woodland hills! saturday june 18th is the restaurant’s 2 year anniversary, and they are throwing a massive party from 10am-4pm with samples, massages, face painting, live music and tarot readings. but first, they’re getting warmed up with some awesome generosity towards QG readers. read on for your chance to win some free grub.

this vegan restaurant is rockin’, with great burgers, sandwiches, salads, bowls, breakfast items, and specialty smoothies. you could do a lot of things with 20 bucks at juicy ladies; may i recommend the juicy special burger (pictured above) paired with a rich chocolate almond shake?! here’s what you gotta do to win:

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it’s almost here! do you have your tickets yet for the 2nd epic beer fest we’re hosting with tony’s darts away and the roxy?! here’s the vital info:

the LA vegan beer fest will take place on june 25, 2011 at the roxy in hollywood from 1-5pm.

UNLIMITED BEER is included with general and VIP admission. and not just any beer, i’m talking good stuff from craft breweries all over the country like stone, dogfish head, green flash, north coast, deschutes and many more! plus, there’s a non-drinker/staightedge admission this year! VIP tickets get you early entrance to the fest at noon, plus access to a VIP lounge with special beer. you can purchase tickets here. proceeds will be donated to ARME, who have been rocking it lately with their beagle freedom project!

there will be loads of vegan food trucks and vendors, including the following:

doomie’s home cookin’! (one of our favorite restaurants in LA will be serving up home-cooked goodness. not sure what’s on their menu this year, but at the last beer fest they had jalapeno poppers, buffalo legs, empanadas, taquitos, sushi, shrimp cocktails, chocolate covered bacon, and VEGAN BEER CUPCAKES! oh my!)

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i have driven by grassroots in south pasadena many times barely noticing it and passing it on by. well, i’m here to confess how foolish that was! grassroots is a small market and wonderful kitchen filled with healthy, organic, and vegan options in their store as well as a prepared food section. i was so hungry i walked straight up to the line for prepared food which was about 6-7 people deep. while i waited in the line that moved quicker than i anticipated (about 5 min) i glanced around and saw vegan mock meats, vegan desserts, and kombucha galore! waiting in line also gave me the much needed time to decide what to order. they had wraps, tacos, salads, burritos and, (as QG will be happy to hear) BOWLS!

vegan beef bowl

for my meal i went with the vegan beef bowl ($9.99) and it was A-MAZING!
the food line at grassroots looks like that of a subway sandwich shop. you place your order and watch them put all the ingredients together in front of you while you confirm that they include only ingredients you like.

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Indian-inspired curries are the national dish of my home country, England. We Brits eat an astonishing 3.5 Indian dishes per person EVERY WEEK, we have over 10,000 Indian restaurants (as opposed to “only” 1,400 McDonald’s outlets) and Tikka Masala is the number one consumed dish by a very wide margin in the UK. Indeed, Fish and Chips have long been relegated to and also-ran in the national culinary identity league.

As a vegan, I’ve yet to find an Indian restaurant that can’t cater to my preferences. Most can prepare vegan dishes if you ask that they not be cooked with butter ghee, and instead use oil or vegetable ghee and omit any yoghurt or cream. Also, there are many Indian restaurants (often Hindu owned or run) which have a strict lacto-ovo vegetarian policy having no meat anywhere on the premises.

One such restaurant in London is Indian Veg Bhelpoori House which has stood for over 30 years on picturesque Chapel Market in Islington, a few minutes walk from Angel tube station or a nice stroll from busy King’s Cross station. Chapel Market is a narrow cobbled street that has hosted a daily market since Victorian times. Despite much modernization and full immersion into the cultural smorgasbord of the area, Chapel Market oozes old time London – one could be in the 1940s or the 2000s. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell depending on your viewing angle.

Crammed into what looks like the ground floor space of three large Georgian houses, Indian Veg Bhelpoori House has loud green banners outside proclaiming things like “A vegetarian diet will save the world!” and “Come and try our £3.95 all-you-can-eat buffet!”. Yes, the restaurant is at the same time lovingly familiar yet absolutely quirky.

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big daddy dagwood at native foods

this sunday is father’s day! are you prepared? if not, you better get on it. thankfully, LA has lots of great options for a vegan celebration. i’ll list the ones i know about here…and if i’m missing any, tell me in the comments and i’ll add them to the post. it’s that simple!

here we go:

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