the more i eat at native foods, the more i love it. ever since they opened up their new spacious location in culver city, i can’t stay away. they even have a rewards card program, and just last week i got an email saying i’d earned ten bucks worth of free food!

i recently took my omnivorous sister and niece to native foods and they were impressed. seriously, they were shocked that it was vegan. have a look at what we ordered:

chili cheese fries: seasoned potato fries smothered in homemade native chili. topped with native cheese and diced red onions. $5.95

topped with meaty vegan chili and homemade “cheese,” these fries are not to be messed with.

native nachos: homemade corn tortilla chips covered in black beans, native taco meat, native chipotle crema, native cheese, salsa fresca, and guacamole. topped with corn, green onions, and cilantro. $7.95

we couldn’t decide between the chili fries and the nachos, so we got both. best decision ever.

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i hate writing lukewarm reviews about meatless establishments…but after my first visit to steamed, long beach’s newest vegetarian restaurant, i wasn’t very impressed. the place is obviously making an effort, and i’m hoping they’ll improve over time, but at the moment their vegan cuisine is a bit uninspired. the menu is pretty basic—a modest selection of salads, burritos, and quesadillas—most of which are loaded with dairy cheese and/or sour cream.

we hit up steamed over the weekend and kept it simple with a salad and a burrito bowl. before the food arrived, the restaurant had already lived up to it’s name—we felt as though we were being steamed in the tiny un-airconditioned dining room!

green salad. $6.50

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have you guys tried snikiddy baked fries yet?! i got my first taste of them at natural products expo west, but now they’re available at whole foods…and they’re quite addictive.

be warned: not all the snikiddy flavors are vegan-friendly, so be sure to read the bag before buying. i can personally recommend both the bbq and the sea salt varieties. snikiddy fries scratch the same itch as a bag of potato chips, but they’ve got less calories and half the fat.

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best news ever! next week LA proper is finally getting it’s very own upscale vegan restaurant: seed bistro. the brainchild of chef eric lechasseur, seed will focus on gourmet and macrobiotic cuisine, with many gluten-free, raw, and sugar-free items. healthy fancy food that tastes delicious? yes, please!

photo via seed bistro's facebook page

seed bistro is set to open on monday at 5:30pm, here’s a peek at the menu and how to make a reservation…

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here at quarrygirl.com, we are always on the hunt for the latest and greatest vegan pizza. “normal” pizza is the very last thing we gave up as vegetarians, so finding a good substitute is a quest that’s very near to our hearts. our latest pizza breakthrough was a big one, and it took place at sizzle pie in portland.

let us play your party: house red sauce, muchrooms, spinach, black olives, white onions and not-a-ricotta. $4

although sizzle pie is an omnivorous establishment, their vegan options are plentiful, creative, and even sold by the slice! on top of that, it’s honestly some of the best pizza i’ve ever had. in a city with an overwhelming amount of vegan-friendly restaurants, we went to sizzle pie TWICE during our recent 4 day PDX trip. that should tell you how much we enjoyed the place.

on our first visit, we just stopped by for a couple slices each at 4 bucks a pop. sizzle pie has something for all vegan pizza lovers: they’ve got daiya for fake cheese fans, creamy spreads made from cashews or caramelized onions, nutritional yeast covered pies, and a cilantro pepitas pesto topping. the menu items all have fun names as well—we went with a slice of “let us play your party” (pictured in the center above) which came with house red sauce, mushrooms, spinach, black olives, white onions and not-a-ricotta. plus 3 slices of “spiral tap”…

spiral tap: creamy caramelized onion spread, house marinara red sauce and a light dusting of nutritional yeast. $4

the vegan slices were incredible! the spiral tap especially with its rich spread, topped off with tangy tomato sauce and creamy nooch. another thing i loved about this pizza is that the slices were massive, thin, and proper. you know, you could fold them in half. respect…

our next visit to sizzle pie was even better. this time we got a couple slices and a normal pie to share.

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vegan chocolate chip cookie covered oreos from clara’s cakes. (like them on facebook!)

these are brilliant. giant homemade chocolate chip cookies with oreos stuffed inside. you can order them now in los angeles, so get on it. here’s how:

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this is very bad news for LA vegans who like to class it up. XIV, the home of uber fancy vegan-friendly tasting menus, has shuttered according to eaterLA.

RIP: pine nut terrine. cranberry, cardamom, flatbread. $8 (one of the finest dishes in my blogging memory!)

while we only ate there a couple of times, XIV was THE place in los angeles to get cushy vegan food. it offered special occasion perks like no strictly vegan restaurant can or does—creative cocktails, celebrity customers, and overpriced extravagance.

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summer is almost over, and what better way to make it count than to plan something epic for the 3 day labor day weekend? i suggest taking a vegan road trip to san diego and kicking it off with LOVELIKEBEER at hamilton’s tavern on september 2nd, where they’re celebrating to-firkin friday.

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RIP souley vegan sunday brunch. it was fun while it lasted.

i guess you can file this under bad news and potentially good news?! the incredible sunday brunch we ate at souley vegan in oakland recently was one of their last. according to an email from the owner, the restaurant has currently ceased brunch service, but they plan on re-introducing it soon on tuesday through saturday mornings. let’s hope this plan takes off quick, because souley’s brunch is one of the best on earth.

we’ve already raved about the lunch options at souley (EPIC), and their brunch menu was/is just as stellar. they offered a la carte options as well as a build your own combo plate for ten bucks. we shared a whole bunch of stuff including the tofu breakfast sandwich…

breakfast sandwich: scrambled tofu, vegan cheese and tomato on an english muffin with toast. $4

the 4 item brunch combo with scrambled tofu, smothered tomatoes, and 2 orders of biscuits and gravy…

4 item brunch combo. $10

plus an order of grits…

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if you’re anything like me, you’re over it: fucking LA restaurants with the word “vegan” in their name, that regurgitate the same tired menu of fake thai food and fake vegan food, which is usually neither. you know who i’m talking about—the “vegan thai” places that sell westernized items like soy nuggets, “cowboy” burgers, quesadillas, and “tropical pancakes”…much of which contains dairy and/or eggs! i’d say they make up for like 60% of the vegan restaurants in los angeles, and it’s RIDICULOUS. the food is both uninspired and untrustworthy. do you realize that this shit makes a HUGE impression on vegetarians and omnivores? some people i know think vegan food IS vegan thai, and that’s just beyond depressing. anyways, enough of my rant. if you want actual good thai food that happens to be vegan-friendly, go to toi.

we’ve blogged about the sunset eatery before, and every time we return we’re reminded of how awesome it is. the place has a scruffy rock n roll vibe with band posters hung up allover the dining area and graffiti completely covering the walls in the bathroom. my favorite seat in the house is the john lennon table in the back corner, located under two massive posters of the ex-beatle.

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so exciting! on october 1st, jenny and heather from spork foods are coming out with their very own vegan cookbook! spork-fed is available for pre-order online, and the girls have also made a super cute trailer for it.

creamy baked mac n cheese from the spork-fed facebook!

we’re already huge fans spork sisters’ real life and online cooking classes, so i’m super excited to put their cookbook to use. the recipes sound insane—fettuccine alfredo, meatloaf, biscuits and gravy, churros, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, and more!

check out their adorbs video after the jump…

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we may not like it, but on occasion we vegans have to travel to unvegan-friendly places or dine out with omnivores…and sometimes we find ourselves at the most dreaded establishments of all: chain restaurants. don’t fret though, team QG is here to help! here at the blog we are committed to helping vegans find edible food at “normal restaurants”. we’ve covered fast food joints like chipotle and baja fresh, as well as higher brow chains like CPK and macaroni grill. today we’re all about the super tasty and vegan-friendly il fornaio.

if you haven’t been to il fornaio yet, you are missing out on one of the best vegan chain dining experiences available. their freshly baked ciabatta is unmatched, and it’s FREE with every meal. not just that, but their vegan options are plentiful…

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ooooh, now this sounds like a lot of fun. the folks at vegan drinks have rented out a 250 seat theatre at AMC century city on august 24th at 7:30pm to screen the new feature documentary, “got the facts on milk?”! tickets are $13.50 each, and after the screening there will be vegan finger foods provided by ummba grill…as well as a full bar!

more event info after the jump…

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hey everyone, time for a vegan field report from north carolina! today’s post comes to us from amy to zucchini and she’s reviewing the very first vegfest in asheville. i’m actually pretty jealous of all this delicious looking food—we should start up an LA vegfest, stat!

Asheville is a unique little city in the hills of western North Carolina. By tourists and locals alike it is often described as a ‘hippie town’ and lives up to the reputation with street performers and buskers on every other corner, a penchant for open-air markets and fairs and at least 4 fully vegetarian/vegan-friendly restaurants. (In fact Asheville’s only all-vegan restaurant, Plant, opened just a few days ago). So I was pumped when I heard about the first annual VegFest that would be taking place downtown on Sunday, August 7. It was Asheville’s first and mine too!

I took my omnivore dad with me, just to keep things interesting and get him excited about veggie eats. It was a fun event, with lots of vendors selling food, local restaurants representing, and booths with animal rescue shelters and sanctuaries providing information on their causes. There was a whole kid’s section too with games and activities. After doing a lap and scoping things out it was food time.

We started off with a tofu dog from Avery’s Hot Dogs A hearty and delicious dog, we went classic with mustard and sauerkraut for $5 With Highland Brewery’s Gaelic Ale.

Tempeh reuben from Green Light Cafe, $7. Difficult decision over their tempeh tacos with avocado, slaw and cilantro-lime cream sauce but glad we went with the reuben. Wonderful flavors and great bread.

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oh man, i really wish i was eligible to win my own contests! LA’s newest upscale vegan restaurant, seed bistro, is giving away a dinner for 2 at chef eric’s tasting table to one lucky quarrygirl commenter.

the prize includes a six course dinner prepared by chef eric on seed bistro’s opening night—monday, august 29th at 8pm. the value of the dinner is $60 per person, but seed will comp the winners up to $75 per person to include alcohol. that’s a $150 value! epic! please note that gratuity is not included…so if you win, tip and tip well.

the chef’s tasting table is a “sushi bar-esque” raised counter that only has room for 6 guests at any given time, so to occupy 1/3 of it on opening night would be quite an honor!

here’s how to enter…

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