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September 20th, 2011vegan cheese
i don’t know about you guys, but i think this sounds like a pretty sweet gig. food for lovers (makers of the best fucking vegan queso aka cheese sauce that you will ever try) announced yesterday that they’re looking to hire brand ambassadors in los angeles, portland and san francisco.
“WTF is a brand ambassador,” you ask?
Tags: food for lovers, vegan cheese -
September 20th, 2011doomie's, LA restaurants
if you want hearty vegan comfort food, there’s absolutely no better place in LA to get it than doomie’s home cookin‘ in hollywood. the all vegetarian (and mostly vegan) restaurant recently reopened, and i swung by last week with the team from clara’s cakes to check them out. good god, it was all fantastic—after a plate of nachos, 2 burgers, a pulled pork sandwich, a ham & cheese croissant, and a massive brownie, we could barely walk.
doomie himself was in the kitchen and was delighted to tell us that he was working on a new vegan cheese—one that stretches, melts, and tastes like the real thing. he’s already using it in the croissants, and offered to let us test it out on our burgers. hell yes.
let me work backwards though, and start off by telling you about the croissant…
the vegan croissants at doomie’s are gigantic—definitely big enough to be an entire meal—and they’re stuffed full of homemade vegan cheese and sliced soy ham. i used to love real ham and cheese croissants when i was a kid (gross, i know), and these really took me back to my childhood donut shop days. absolutely amazing. the flaky pastry shell was so “buttery” and realistic. and the cheese inside is eerily close to the real thing.
even if you eat yourself silly at doomie’s like i did, grab a croissant to go. they heat right up in the oven and taste as good as new.
the new vegan cheese was just as insane on doomie’s already delicious burgers. check out how real this stuff looks…
Tags: burgers, croissant, nachos, vegan cheese -
September 19th, 2011rants
i was super bummed to learn today that hodo soy beanery, a tofu company in oakland, uses cruel mice torture glue traps in their factory and has no plans to change their ways as reported by all american vegan.
i don’t wanna have lots of depressing stuff on the homepage, so more info after the jump…
Tags: hodo soy beanery -
September 19th, 2011blue palms brewhouse, LA restaurants
i love pubbin’, i love grubbin’, and blue palms in hollywood is the perfect place for both.
we’ve been fans of the craft beer bar since it opened 3 years ago (the draught selection is bonkers!!!), and back in 2008 we sang the praises of their blackened tofu platter. i’m happy to report that since then, their cruelty-free options have expanded to include several field roast sausages and a veganizable homemade veggie burger. of course when i heard about all this, i rushed over to check it out.
Tags: beer, burger, hollywood, sausages -
September 18th, 2011LA restaurants, shojin
hell yeah! shojin, the all vegan japanese restaurant (and one of our favorite places to eat in LA) is starting a whole new sushi, ramen, and cocktail menu on monday september 19th.
they’ve sent us a sneak peek and we can’t wait to go try it. you may remember how much i’ve raved about their insane dynamite roll (it’s even on our vegan bucket list!), and these new creations look just as tasty. check ’em out:
Tags: downtown la, japanese, ramen, sushi -
September 18th, 2011LA restaurants, long beach vegan eatery
all you people who were stressin’ about the lack of vegan options in long beach when we wrote that less than flattering post about steamed can chill out—a new vegan restaurant is opening next month in the LBC!
Tags: long beach -
September 17th, 2011eureka, more restaurants (not LA)
heyo! today we’re bringing you a field report on soul food in northern cali. who doesn’t LOVE soul food? nobody! now sit back and enjoy this post about bless my soul in eureka…courtesy of field reporter, “righteous fist”!
Stopping off in Eureka on my way up the coast my Happy Cow app (which I’m grateful for) lead me to Bless My Soul Café, a small soul food spot on 5th street that serves both meat and veg options.
I opted for the “Veggie Plate” with sweet potato and collard greens…
And my mom who went on this adventure with me ordered the same but with different sides (creole corn and sautéed cabbage)washed down with their very own secret recipe sweet tea…
Tags: field report, healthy, northern california, soul food -
September 16th, 2011home, LA restaurants
hey everyone! time for a quick bite from our resident field reporter trishells! for more of her shenanigans, follow her on twitter and check out her yoga website! xo -QG
home restaurant is a very veg friendly joint serving american home style meals. they have two locations: los feliz on the corner of hillhurst and kingswell and the second in the silverlake area on the corner of riverside and fletcher. both locations serve the same menu but the silverlake location is much larger and imo has a cozier atmosphere.
i have become a regular at home in silverlake and the breakfast burrito (substitute tofu for egg and minus cheese) has become one of my favorite meals. the veganized version serves up a spinach tortilla filled with tofu, grilled veggies, garlic, black beans, and salsa served on the side. it’s served with a choice of home fries or fresh fruit. when i awake in the morning my typical first thought is “breakfast burrito” and (when i have the time) the craving leads me directly to home.
Tags: breakfast, burrito, silverlake -
September 15th, 2011vegan events
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!
Tags: spork foods -
September 14th, 2011cheesecake factory, LA restaurants
ah, vegan chain dining! we don’t like it…but sometimes we just gotta do it. it may not be the best meal in the world, but it’s worth noting that the cheesecake factory has at least one decent vegan option.
you’d think that a restaurant with a menu the size of a college text book would have more to offer us, but sadly their best vegan option is the thai lettuce wraps, minus the chicken. the dish comes stacked with fresh vegetables, noodles, and an assortment of sauces for you to assemble yourself. fun!
Tags: chain dining -
September 13th, 2011more restaurants (not LA), nashville
As a vegan that routinely travels on business I’ve become used to sustaining myself on overpriced chips from the in-room minibar due to the almost 100% lack of vegan offerings at most business hotels. Back in the day I used to take sandwiches in my carry-on, but they don’t let you bring food through security any more, so I’m bereft of and bites when I land – especially a problem when I get back to the hotel late, tired and hungry.
My recent trip to Nashville, TN was no exception: Early flight, endless meetings punctuated with nothing but salad at the office and a late arrival to my hotel room at The Hutton Hotel – a relatively new hip and trendy place on the outskirts of downtown. I usually don’t bother studying the in-house restaurant menus at hotels and have long given up calling room service to see if their pizza dough is vegan, but something prompted me to read through the menu for the in-house bistro, 1808 Grille.
To my shock and surprise, the menu clearly listed a “Vegan chile relleno” which sounded wonderful: brown rice, pinto beans, tomato, red chimichurri…
Tags: business trip, hotel -
September 12th, 2011fatty's & co, LA restaurants
this is such great news! fatty’s, one of our favorite vegetarian restaurants in LA, is officially re-opening thursday evening after a 9 month hiatus. we are so freaking stoked. the restaurant sent us sneak peek of their new menu, which we’ve posted below, and it includes many of our old favorite dishes as well as loads of new vegan options. in fact, fatty’s has shifted its focus from being a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options to having a mostly vegan menu with a few dairy options. how rad is that?!
if you haven’t been to fatty’s yet, trust me: get over to eagle rock and treat yourself. it’s one of the very few nice/fancy/gourmet/classy joints to get a vegan meal in los angeles, and the food is positively stunning.
official word from fatty’s and a peek at the menu after the jump…
Tags: eagle rock, fancy -
September 11th, 2011more restaurants (not LA), new york
not only is NYC the best city in america—it’s arguably the vegan restaurant capital of the world, with an literally hundreds of restaurants to choose from. healthy food, comfort food, junk food, breakfast food, traditional food, dessert food, fancy food, shit food…new york has it all! no trip to the big apple is complete for us though without a meal at franchia, NYC’s fine dining vegan korean restaurant on park avenue. the food is always exceptional and the atmosphere is slick. whether you’re on a date, chillin’ with friends, or dining with colleagues, franchia sets the perfect tone. the menu covers everything from casual lunch and sushi to prix fixe tasting menus and intricate entrees.
franchia is usually our first stop after landing in NYC, and the above meal is no exception…
Tags: NYC, quick bites -
September 11th, 2011more restaurants (not LA), portland
that’s right. it’s sunday, which means sweetpea baking in portland is holding its weekly all you can eat vegan buffet…and today is biscuits and gravy day!
there is a whole lot of good food to eat in pdx, and if you are there on a weekend, make sure to put sweetpea’s sunday brunch buffet at the top of your list. it’s ten bucks for all you can eat, and it’s absolutely fantastic. it starts at 9am, and be sure to get there early because it gets crowded pretty quickly.
Tags: all you can eat, biscuits, brunch, buffet, pdx, portland -
September 10th, 2011LA restaurants, m café
oh hell yes! next week m cafe is rolling out two new vegan dinner specials: a chicken pot pie and a philly cheesesteak sandwich!
i’ll take one of each, please! the specials will run at both m cafe locations from 9/12 to 9/26 after 4pm. the dishes are actually the result of a facebook and twitter contest where m cafe fans were invited to submit ideas for “macrotized” (aka veganized!) comfort foods. i’d like to personally thank who ever came up with these two winning suggestions.
we have the recipe for both dishes after the jump, in case you wanna make them at home. me? i’ll be at m cafe on monday for dinner. pot pie, here i come! (PS: i don’t have a picture of the sandwich, but it’s gonna be stacked with thinly-sliced seitan, peppers, mushrooms, and onions then smothered melted “cheese sauce” for $9.95.)
Tags: beverly hills, melrose, pot pie