We’ve been contemplating a “Top 5 Vegan Restaurants in Southern California” post for a while, but with the notable fact that we’d never dined at Madeleine Bistro in Tarzana (frequently referred to as one of, if not the best vegan dining establishments on the West Coast). We couldn’t possibly start listing the wonderful restaurants we have here in SoCal, so we held off publishing this seminal piece.

Well, after a trip to Madeleine’s last weekend for brunch we can (spoiler alert!) confirm what we’ve been told for the last couple of years: Madeleine’s is without a doubt, and by a far margin, the absolute best vegan dining in Southern California. It’ll be #1 on our list, if – that is – we ever get around to writing the “Top 5” post! And, we only sampled the brunch menu — from what we’ve heard, dinner is even more astounding.

We’re talking menu composition, ingredients and food preparation waaaay beyond the norm here. After every first bite of each new dish we tried, we had instant eye contact followed by gasps and almost disbelief at what it was we were eating. For starters (although it was the dessert!) take a look at the chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream, this picture cannot begin to do it justice:

chocolate souffle with vanilla ice créme. $12

As my aunt could testify, a soufflé is almost impossible to cook successfully, as it has to be crispy on the top, spongy on the bottom and a smooth gradation in between – and that’s using non-vegan ingredients like eggs, cream and even GELATIN to prop up this most delicate of sweets. At Madeleine, though, the soufflé was incredible – I’m talking a perfection of texture and taste in every bite, and served at just the right temperature with cold ice cream on the side that (even on its own) would have been a completely scrumptious dessert.

Skipping back to the beginning of the meal, yet sticking (no pun intended) to sweet things, we enjoyed a donut that reminded me 100% of the French-style snack served all over Europe, yet with a lighter, purer texture that only non-dairy sweets can have. It was plump, round, slightly crispy on the outside yet perfectly fluffy on the inside and, just like the soufflé, served at exactly the right temperature, lightly dusted with crunchy sugar. It is, without a doubt the best donut I have ever eaten – vegan, vegetarian or omnivorous.

fresh organic donut. $2

So much for the beginning and end of our meal, but the in-between was even better!

the bigger maque: two no beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions. $11 add a side of potatoes. $3

I ordered the “Bigger Maque” with a side of breakfast potatoes, and had to have it ‘splained to me that the Bigger Maque was a pun on “Big Mac”, the ubiquitous McDonald’s ‘dish’ which, by its very existence, proves beyond a doubt that billions and billions are so misguided. Looking at the cross section of the Bigger Maque which (thankfully!) comes cut in two you see the complexity of this meal – meatless patties, lettuce, ‘cheese’, onions, pickles (thankfully optional in this case!) so carefully and beautifully packed inside a bun cut into three horizontally.

I polished off the Bigger Maque in record time, and punctuated every other bite by one of the breakfast potatoes – again, predictably, perfectly cooked and seasoned (crispy on the outside, soft on the inside yada yada, etc. etc. hopefully you’re noticing a theme here?).

porcini-crusted tofu benedict: smoked portobella mushrooms, rosti potatoes, hollandaise sauce. $15

I only managed a bite or two of our other entree, the “Porcini-crusted Tofu Benedict” which seemed not to be of this world. Again, perfectly designed, prepared and served with tastes and textures that defy words. Just like the Bigger Maque, this baby was layer upon layer of scrumptious ingredients. On the ground floor was a perfect medley of grated, fried potatoes all scrunched up into something resembling a burger patty, right above that were thinly sliced and (presumably) sauteed porcini mushrooms, the whole thing being topped off with a soft and tasty slab of tofu all hidden under a splash of yellow, tangy hollandaise sauce and surrounded by asparagus spears.

side of tempeh bacon. $3

Oh, I almost forgot that we ordered a side of Tempeh Bacon which disappeared pretty quickly. Crunch, crunch, munch munch and there was an empty plate. My only criticism of this side is that there wasn’t more of it. Like, a thousand times more of it so I could take it home and eat it forever – morning, noon and night. All night.

We also really loved the “Red Beet Tartare”, another creation of such taste and uniqueness that it’s difficult to describe in writing.

red beet tartare: warm tofu cheese crouton, english cucumber, balsamic glace. $13

Basically, you’re looking at a succulent patty of tofu cheese under a medley of finely diced and prepared beet, pickled to perfection all sitting on top of finely sliced cucumbers. After coming down off the entrees, our expectations were somewhat schizophrenic – on the one hand, sky high with anticipation, yet on the other wondering how they could possibly better what we’d just eaten. Well, the Red Beet Tartare delivered on every level imaginable. It kinda exists as a bridge between an entree and a desert, both in appearance and taste. Every bite starts with the cooler beet at the top, followed by the warm ‘cheese’ underneath, then a crunchy slice of cold cucumber to round off this diversity of textures and flavors. I define this dish as the ultimate synergy, defined as “the working together of two or more things to produce an effect greater than the sum of each”. This, my friends is an example of the real brilliance of culinary genius.

Oh, and not being familiar with the Madeleine menu, we were not aware that this is one of the signature dishes of the restaurant – an accolade so rightfully deserved.

Anyways, enough about the food. Ambience is important, and the high standards of the menu indicate that the interior of the restaurant has to be a notch or two above what you’d expect, and it is. Even allowing for the fact that all restaurants look better at night (those candles are strategically placed on every table for a reason!), Madeleine’s was relatively calm and peaceful on a Saturday late morning. People were bustling past outside, other customers were calling for reservations and the other clientele were clearly regulars – as will we after a few more more visits!

Our server was courteous, attentive, and knowledgeable. All the food appeared magically at just the right time, and the dishes were bussed with a smile. I can usually pick fault in any service, but not this time for sure.

The location is psychologically and physically far away from the Westside and all the potential well-heeled, guilty-rich-liberal types from Santa Monica that “dine vegan” as an occasional trend rather than a lifestyle commitment. However, it has an adjacent parking lot and is less than two minutes from the 101 freeway, so from West Hollywood it takes about the same amount of time to get there as would the tony establishments of Santa Monica (which can’t hold a candle to this place).

Talking of Westside vegetarian/vegan resturants, Madeleine’s delivers striking good value for money, especially when you consider that my Bigger Maque was priced at $11, less than the (inferior, prepared by line cooks, crappy dine-in experience) M Cafe Big Macro and $6 less than Real Food Daily’s “RFD Burger with The Works” which is basically inedible. Yeah, $13 for the “Red Beet Tartare” might seem like a lot of money at first glance, but it’s an entree that you will never, ever forget.

I only regret only one thing about Madeleine’s: that it’s been nearly three days since I ate there, and I have not been back for dinner yet – a travesty I fully intend to rectify as soon as possible!