with thanksgiving less than 2 weeks away, it’s time to start planning your cruelty-free celebration. i know this time of year can be pretty depressing for vegans, but it doesn’t have to be! here in los angeles there are several restaurants offering meat-free holiday feasts, and i encourage you to try as many as you possibly can! i’ve put together this quick list for your reference, but if i am missing anything, please let me know! i will keep updating this post as we get closer to tofurky day, so check back often!

LIST AFTER THE JUMP —->
Read the rest of this entry »

the stand in orange county is a southern california institution. people have been telling me about this restaurant for years, and according to reports on happycow, it’s been around since the ’60s. the tiny vegan eatery is located right by the ocean in laguna beach, and serves up a large yet simple menu consisting of things like salads, sandwiches, burritos, and smoothies.

the focus is on plant-based natural foods, so that means no animal products, but also no processed fake meats or cheeses…even tofu and seitan are absent from the menu. the stand pulls it off though, with delicious meals based around fresh vegetables, legumes, brown rice, and incredible sauces. we went there for the first time last week and loved it.

special bowl: our tasty beans and brown rice, topped with guacamole and seasoned with mild salsa. $5.95

i have been kind of obsessed with bowls lately, and if i see one on a menu, i have to order it. luckily for me, the stand has tons of appetizing bowls to choose from, so i went with the special bowl. for just under 6 bucks, it came with filled up brown rice, pinto beans, mild salsa, and a garnish of shredded vegetables. it’s normally served with guacamole as well, but i opted for some extra hot salsa instead—so good. the sauce at the stand is so flavorful and fresh, it really took the entire bowl to the next level. for an extremely basic dish, i really loved this thing. all the ingredients were high quality, it was well cooked, and perfectly seasoned. positively scrumptious.

vegetable salad: a combination of crisp red and green cabbage, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, green peppers, celery, zucchini, alfalfa sprouts, carrots, jicama, parsley, and sunflower seeds with lemon herb dressing. $6.95

my husband went with the vegetable salad, a plate piled high with cabbage, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, celery, zucchini, sprouts, carrots, jimaca, parsley, and sunflower seeds…served with lemon herb dressing. he asked for it with no bell peppers, and the stand was happy to oblige. although the plate this thing was served on was a bit too small (i mean, just look at that pic!), everything was fresh and tasty.

the atmosphere at the stand is kind of what you’d expect from a little beach joint. the place is really, actually A STAND, with a tiny counter to order at and a handful of outdoor tables to sit at. even at around 2:30pm on a weekday, this place was crowded—so i imagine summer weekends could get pretty crazy. although it was packed, our food was ready almost immediately, so whatever they are doing back there in that little kitchen is obviously working.

i can’t wait to return to the stand, and i know this place will be a destination every time i’m in laguna beach. the food is simple yet tasty and fulfilling, and the atmosphere is modest yet charming. plus, it feels good to support an all vegan establishment that has been around for so long.

the stand
238 Thalia Street
Laguna Beach, CA 92651-2712
(949) 494-8101
open daily 7am – 7pm
check out the menu

PS: when you are done eating at the stand, head directly across the street for beach access and a nice little public deck overlooking the ocean. lovely!

it’s been 2 years since we first hit the spot in hermosa beach, and i have no idea why it took us so long to return.

the spot is LA’s oldest vegetarian restaurant and most of their menu can be made vegan. we were inspired to go back after reading this blog post about the spot’s healthy options, and lemme tell you, they did not disappoint.

Read the rest of this entry »

are you looking for a place to recharge with some healthy food after dining out on all the rich and decadent vegan cuisine that los angeles has to offer? well then look no further than a votre sante in brentwood. the cozy eatery offers light and simple natural cuisine that’s healthy yet extremely delicious.

we hit up a votre sante recently with none other than the healthy vegans, who turned us on to the place, and had a 3 course dinner that left us feeling energized and satisfied rather than stuffed and bloated.

Dragontail: Fresh vegetables, hijiki, organic tofu, ginger tamari sauce, organic brown rice, organic black beans, and soy tahini. $13.95

for my main course i ordered the dragontail from a votre sante’s vegan menu. although the restaurant has a separate vegan menu, don’t be fooled—most of their other offerings are vegan as well. for instance, they have a health mex menu on which almost everything is vegan. anyways, the dragontail was a winner. the bowl of food was absolutely massive and filled with vegetables, tofu, rice and black beans…all covered in tamari, tahini and hijiki. man, this thing was incredible. so fresh and simple yet packed with flavor. i don’t know how i managed to eat it all, but i did! the rice was some of the fluffiest i’ve ever tried, and the tofu was soft and juicy. i couldn’t get enough of the sauce either—at the end of the meal, i was practically licking the bowl.

Blackened Tofu Feast: Blackened organic tofu, steamed vegetables, organic brown rice, and soy tahini sauce. $13.95

mr. meaner also dined off the vegan menu, and ordered the blackened tofu feast with steamed vegetables and brown rice. this perhaps wasn’t the best angle to take the picture from, because you can’t really see the huge mound of marinated and blackened tofu! oh well, at least you can see that a votre sante didn’t skimp on the vegetables. i tasted a bit of the tofu and it was awesome…however, i still preferred my dragontail. this is definitely a super healthy option though, as you can see the plate is 80% vegetables, paired with extremely high quality rice and tofu.

our dining partners lex and kristin ordered some salad and pasta dishes, both of which looked delicious. they also ordered their entrees oil-free, and a votre sante was happy to accommodate…good to know, if you are in the mood to eat something uber-healthy.

soup du jour: corn chowder. $3.95

but lemme back up a bit, i forgot to tell you about the soup! everyday, a votre sante offers two vegan soup options, served with a vegan corn muffin. we got cups of soup around the table; mine being the corn chowder (pictured above) and mr. meaner’s the vegetable (below).

soup du jour: vegetable. $3.95

both soups were extremely tasty and hit the spot—i really can’t fault them. the perect warm, comforting starter on a blustery autumn night.

pumpkin pie

even after all that food, we still saved room for a bit of dessert. we got the pumpkin pie (we are less than a week away from halloween, after all!) and it was awesome. it was thick, moist and oozing with sweet pumpkin and cinnamon flavor. it definitely tasted “healthy,” but not in a bad way…just in a way that made me feel really good about eating it. the crust was thick and chewy, and it was even topped with a swirl of vegan whipped cream. total yumz!

i can’t believe it has taken me so long to eat at a votre sante, and i would highly reccommend it for a refreshingly light and tasty meal. the vegan options are plentiful, they use high quality ingredients, the service is polite, and the atmosphere is relaxing. i am thinking i will be back very soon for a healthy lunch prior to a stroll on the beach. we definitely need more places like this in LA!

a votre sante
13016 San Vicente Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 451-1813

it was a super eco-friendly day in los angeles as hippies, vegans and all around earth lovers gathered to partake in worldfest, “a solar-powered celebration of music, the environment, animals and humanity.” basically a big grassy field in the valley was fenced off and people were charged 7 bucks (+ $5 for parking) to hear to jam bands, listen to animal activist speakers, and have the opportunity to purchase a wide variety of all vegan food and alcohol. i went for a couple hours today and didn’t spend much time with the speakers or the music…i did get my fill of food though, and that’s what i’m here to tell ya about.

wordfest vegan corn dog. $3.50

between the two of us, my husband and i murdered a lot of vegan goodies. one of my favorites was a corn dog offered up by a stand selling field roast sausages, tofurky links, curly fries and vegan burgers. the corn dog was a standard veggie dog turned spectacular with corn batter and a deep fryer. this was nothing like your out-of-the-freezer family meal corn dogs…this thing was just like the old school hot dog on a stick meals i used to get at my local mall. the batter formed a crispy and almost burnt layer on the outside which surrounded fluffy moist corn bread and finally a plump and juicy soy dog. this totally brought back childhood memories.

we also tried the vegan chicken curry from the bodhi tree stand, which was excellent. the bodhi tree is a vegetarian restaurant located in huntington beach, and after eating their curry, i know i will be making a trip there very soon. the sauce was sweet with a perfectly subtle spiciness, and the soy meat was thick and juicy. all the vegetables were fresh and well-prepared as well, and they had so many other appetizing dishes i didn’t even get to try.

bodhi tree vegan curry chicken. $7

the chicken sandwich from follow your heart was another high point of the festival—at only 5 bucks it was a total steal, considering it was huge and came with a side of greens and potato salad. we interrogated the booth about the ingredients in the bun (normal follow your heart buns contain honey), and they ensured us that not only were these special vegan buns ordered just for worldfest, but that their restaurant buns may soon no longer contain honey either! (we will try to keep you posted on that.) aside from the bun, the sandwich was awesome and extremely well priced. the bbq sauce was mild and tangy, not overwhelmingly sweet, and the slices of soy meat were thick and hearty. the potato salad was on point as well: soft and creamy yet not too full of vegenaise. total perfection.

follow your heart vegan chicken bbq sandwich with potato salad. $5

for dessert, we rounded off the feasting with some maggie mudd ice cream all the way from san francisco. they offered a whopping bowl filled up with ice cream, chocolate sauce, nuts, sprinkles and whipped cream (ALL VEGAN) for just $7. it came with the choice of three flavors, but i stuck to two: memphis mudd pie (coffee flavor with chocolate cookies, fudge swirl and whiskey) and tarmack (chocolate peanut butter flavor with chocolate cookies and peanut butter swirl). the ice cream itself was extremely decadent, and it came with the most amazing toppings….this has to be the best old-fashioned dessert i’ve had since i was a child. no vegan ice cream has anything on maggie mudd; this stuff was so good, i’m considering a move to SF.

big bowl: tarmack and memphis mudd ice cream topped with whipped cream, nuts, chocolate sauce and sprinkles

to top it all off, worldfest had a bad ass beer garden serving up $5 pints of lagunitas ipa and $10 bottles of double ipa. that made coachella’s beer garden look like a total shithole. i’m telling you, this beer was off the chain. not only was it well priced, this stuff was hoppy and flavorful as hell…i’d be stoked to get brew this good in a bar, so imagine how thrilled i was to drink it at a sweaty festival in the valley.

lagunitas double ipa

although i did try a lot of great stuff at worldfest this year, i can only eat so much…so naturally i missed out on tons of vendors. i wanna give some shout outs to places that looked delicious, yet i was way too stuffed to try. to name a few: luscious organic desserts, c’est la v bakeshop, friedel caribbean cuisine and sunpower cafe. the frankenstand was also supposed to make an appearance, but to everyone’s dismay, ended up cancelling. basically what i am trying to say is, even with all the ridiculously tasty vegan food i got to eat today, it was still just the tip of the iceberg. worldfest is apparently THE PLACE to get your vegan eats on—i’m talking several entirely animal-free stands with stuff ranging from salads, to burgers, to fried foods, to desserts including ice cream, cookies, funnel cakes, and cobbler.

word to the wise: save up for worldfest 2010. the amazing food will make all the bitchy fees and unhealthy calories worth it. i’ve never seen so much food i can eat in one place, it made me feel like an omnivore…in a good way!