well this sure is great news for vegans in southern california (like me!) who dine out often. the new green menu dining card offers automatic savings to members at vegan-friendly restaurants all over town.

10% off food at rahel ethiopian? yes, please!

the list of 132 participating california restaurants features some of our favorite haunts, including cruzer pizza, cinnamon, doomie’s, rahel, samosa house, streets of india, vinh loi tofu, and many MANY more!

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earlier this week we reported on a new vegan fast food joint coming to highland park called plant food for people. well, we just got back from their unofficial debut/preview and it was incredible. if you are reading this post tonight (saturday 6/11), get over there! not only is the food delicious, but it’s served up with a smile by an extremely friendly team.

they were scheduled to start serving at 6pm, and when we showed up at 6:03, there was already a line…

tonight’s menu at plant food for people was simple. “carnitas” jackfruit tacos for 2 bucks a pop with a choice of 2 toppings, plus an optional side of homemade pinto beans for $1.

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vegan coconut caramel cake from nite moon cafe.

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holy wow, guys! i think we all need to book a trip to brooklyn just to eat at vinnie’s pizza. the brooklyn pizzeria has two locations and an ASTOUNDING SEPARATE VEGAN MENU with options like bbq beef pizza, both follow your heart and teese cheese, garlic knots, hot dogs, beef rolls, drumsticks, and custom desserts. i’m going crazy just thinking about it.

reader jp sent us this picture and blurb after trishells’ papacitos post…

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if i could only eat one meal out in philadelphia, you can bet your arse it would be a vegan philly cheesesteak. thankfully, JL goes vegan is the same and she’s written us a lovely field report on the coveted sandwich. i really wanna go to philly so bad someday, and when i do, this thing is on my bucket list.

I recently found myself on an Amtrak from New York to Philadelphia to attend a cooking intensive. The great thing about taking a three-day vegan culinary class is that you don’t worry about where to eat — you eat what you cook. I arrived Friday morning, the class was to begin at 2:30, so I had only one meal out. I met up with my friend who lived locally. She knew I wanted a vegan Philly cheesesteak sandwich for lunch and suggested Mi Lah.

This small, vegan restaurant is bright and bustling. As I read the menu I became quickly distracted by the specials of the day (from rice noodles to veggie burritos to mofongo veggie bacon and chorizo to corn masa cakes) and had to snap myself back to my mission: eat a vegan Philly cheesesteak!

But first, the salad…

Mango, avocado and mix green salad with spicy Caribbean lime dressing $6

This was the “small” salad. The portion was generous and the fruit and vegetables were extremely fresh.

Then it was show time.

Mi Lah Cheesesteak with sauteed mushrooms and peppers $8

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as we blogged earlier, pure luck’s official last day in business was supposed to be last saturday. however, due to some escrow dramz the restaurant has decided to remain open for limited hours this week.

here’s the official word i just got, straight from the owner:

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the nice thing about staying with locals when traveling is that you get introduced to nice little neighborhood spots. on my last trip to ny i stayed with my friend in brooklyn and she suggested salud (in flatbush) for lunch one day. although salud serves some meat they are very knowledgeable about veganism and the menu clearly states veg and vegan options.

fiesta wrap at salud

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hell yes, northeast LA!!! an all vegan drive-thru fast food joint called plant food for people has plans to open up in highland park, and on saturday they’re doing a special debut/preview of their jackfruit street tacos on york blvd.

vegan jackfruit tacos. get 'em on saturday!

DID YOU HEAR ME?! there is going to be an ALL VEGAN DRIVE-THRU in los angeles. i’m kinda MAJORLY freaking out with excitement. i never thought i’d see the day. what year is this? am i still alive? plant food for people already supplies their neighbor (and QG favorite) figueroa produce with vegan deli sausages, but apparently they decided to turn the awesomeness up to 11. details about their debut after the jump…

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cafe gratitude in larchmont village hasn’t been open very long, and it’s already one of the best spots to eat in los angeles. the almost all vegan restaurant (one of their drinks contains honey) has a massive menu with something for everyone—raw food, cooked food, gluten-free stuff, salads, soups, tacos, sandwiches, bowls, booze, desserts, you name it! i hit up the small restaurant a couple nights ago for dinner with my friend milque, and our meal was fantastic. the cafe bustling, service was friendly and the food was delicious.

i’m gonna spoil this blog post by starting with dessert, because it was honestly the highlight of the evening.

i am adoring - tiramisu: nut flour cake soaked in espresso with vanilla “whipped cream” & chocolate frosting. $8

as we’ve mentioned before, the menu items at cafe gratitude are all named with positive affirmations. while it makes for a somewhat awkward ordering process, the food doesn’t suffer, so i can’t complain. for dessert we got a slice of “i am adoring”, cafe gratitude’s vegan tiramisu, which was shockingly good. i’d heard people rave about this cake before, but i wasn’t prepared for its awesomeness. it was perfectly spongy with layers of creamy coffee-flavored frosting and a dusting of cocoa on top. if you haven’t tried it yet, the tiramisu alone is reason to check out cafe gratitude.

i am transformed taco plate: two handmade corn tortillas with brown rice, beans, salsa verde, guacamole & cashew nacho cheese. served with a side salad with fig balsamic dressing. $11

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great news, peeps! staring this weekend tony’s darts away, LA’s very own vegan-friendly pub, will offer specialty burgers on sundays on a bi-weekly basis.

vegan burger and beer: you complete me.

photo by kat nguyen

that means every other sunday, they’ll have a different vegan burger available to wash down with one of their many tasty california craft brews. this week’s burger sounds awesome. it’s only tuesday, and i’m already jonesing for it…

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hey everyone! time for another field report from JL Goes Vegan. this one comes to us all the way from new york state and covers a restaurant called garden cafe on the green, near the woodstock farm animal sanctuary. if you ever wanna hang out with some sweet animals and eat some tasty food on the east coast, do yourself a favor and bookmark this page!

My husband and I recently took a “vegan day trip” from metro NYC to Woodstock, NY to tour the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (check out this brief vlog of the farm sanctuary tour).

After a couple of hours of walking the grounds and meeting the incredible animals saved from the factory farming, I have to admit we were hungry. But not for animals!

The Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary has a few restaurant suggestions on their website and I went with the one that was all vegan and offered wine and beer (natch), Garden Cafe on the Green.

So, yes, we started with adult beverages.

We decided to share a starter…

Curried Panko Crusted Fresh Green Pea Fritter, $9

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recently the husband and i took a 4 day trip to san francisco, and we ate and drank far more than any person should. in our culinary adventures, one of our favorite discoveries was the somewhat new vegetarian restaurant, source. to say that we enjoyed our meal at this place would be a severe understatement. we’re officially smitten, and i’m looking for excuses to book bay-area travel just so i can get another taste of this restaurant.

source started out on a great foot. we arrived at around 6pm and the place was somewhat busy but not uncomfortable. they have an order and pay at the counter policy, which is my favorite! no waiting around and trying to get a server’s attention, no time gap between finishing the meal and leaving. source also rules due to the fact that it’s an all vegetarian restaurant, and EVERY ITEM can be made vegan! this isn’t obvious on their website, but it’s true! all the pizzas? veganizable. the mac and cheese? that can be vegan, duh. the lasagna? vegan version available. plus, all the desserts (and there are many!) are already vegan. other than a totally vegan restaurant, this is definitely my favorite model. (just be sure to ALWAYS specify vegan when you eat at source. play it safe!)

the menu at source is massive, so we had a pretty hard time deciding what to order. we were determined to have a slap up feast though, and finally settled on the “buffalo cluck” as an appetizer. all the fake meaty menu items at source have cutesy names that echo the sounds of the emulated animal. cluck for chicken style meat, moo for fake beef, quack for duck and so on.

buffalo cluck with slaw and sweet jalapeño chutney. $5.95

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as if i need another reason to imbibe, this week on monday through thursday shojin is offering a FREE dynamite roll (the best sushi EVER) with every alcohol purchase between 10pm and midnight. hell yes people, you know where to find me this week enjoying a night time beer and epic snackage.

if you haven’t tried the dynamite roll yet, you’re missing out big time! it’s one of our favorite food items in LA, and believe me when i say it’s incredible.

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after a long day of traveling and getting by on only snacks, papacitos in greenpoint, brooklyn was the very first stop we made from jfk airport. i was so starving and tired i only took this single barely lit photo of my enchilada plate. papcito’s is incredibly vegan friendly and everything is clearly marked on the menu. for their filling options on tacos, enchiladas, etc, they have four vegan options: seitan, tempeh, grilled veggies, and soyrizo.

seitan enchiladas

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that’s the word on the street! for a few weeks now, the staff at pure luck have been telling customers that their last day in business will be june 4th. my advice: get your ass over to pure luck TODAY, because you may not have another chance.

ORDER POTATO PALS, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

although the official last day is supposed to be today, i’ve heard some rumblings that there have been escrow dramz and we may be able to squeeze another week or two out of our beloved restaurant. fingers crossed. either way, after today pure luck will be living on borrowed time, so get over there while you can. because once they shut, these are the only potato pals you’ll be seeing:

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