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…

vegan ham and cheese croissant $4

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.

vegan croissant the size of your head

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…

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if there is anything on this blog deserving of an enthusiastic “hell yes!”, it would be these brand new vegan sliders from tony’s darts away in burbank.

i met my parents at tony’s for lunch yesterday and was all set to chow down on a vegan beer brat, when i noticed a new menu item on special: “WHEATLOAF” SLIDERS! oh yes. i often find myself sitting in various bars around town next to customers who are drinking beer while wolfing down plates of miniature burgers, and i always think to myself, “damn, i wish someone would make a vegan version of those.” tony’s darts away has officially answered my prayers, and the result is delicious…

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hi everyone! time for another field report from our european correspondent, dadatamonkey! this one is about gopal, a small vegan deli in barcelona, spain that serves up burgers, cakes, and vegan salami! what?! yeah!

Gateway to cake heaven!

Gopal is hidden away behind Las Ramblas, in a rather less than celebrious square. The people are friendly enough round here, but they know you are a tourist and have money, so take care. If you take a nice expensive camera down here put it in a rucksack in front of you!! Despite that, I’ve eaten here plenty of times without any trouble, and it´s defo worth the experience as the food is good! Make sure you visit the toilet prior to Gopal, as they don’t have one, but the bars around there do. If needs must just walk into a bar and use the toilet. Most of the time no one will mind.

I love the feel of this place. Barcelona all over.

This place is really clean and everything is kept in a massive chiller so you can munch without worrying about it later! Some of the burgers can look a bit weary though so look well! As you can see there aren´t many seats, but loads of people just grab a take-away so you wont normally have a problem getting a seat. If you are feeling brave, or are like me and don´t worry overly, go sit on the square with a beer. It’s interesting and fun. Oh yeah, beer. Gopal don’t do alcohol. They have a shitty alcohol free one but its foul. They do have bottled juices, water and fizzy drinks though. Haven´t tried taking a beer with me but reckon they wouldn’t mind, it’s a pretty laid back place. Very friendly too.

How big is the fridge? Vegan delights a plenty.

The food is mainly burgers (about 8 types including Redwoods ¼ pounder to homemade ones such as an orange one (no, not eating it) and spicy red pepper one. You can also buy loads of vegan goodies to take home and munch! Cheese, charcuturie, redwoods bacon etc etc! See, heaven. They also do special deals and a menu of the day. Prices vary but expect to pay 5-50 EUR for a deal (includes a patty eg chicken, salad, fried potatoes or nachos) or the meal of the day which changes daily at 6-50. Both include a drink so great value. But… I WANT BURGER!

Boy, did I ever get burgered. The beast is unleashed! 4-50 EURO

THE BURGER! This is sooo good! The bread is made on the premises, a big ol´ 1/4 pounder from Redwoods , toffuti cheese slice, fresh salad and a creamy Romesco dressing (that tends to dribble on you, in a nice friendly way!). Ketchup and mustard are available if you want them. All this for 4-50 EUR!! When I first ate here, I askled the main lady what she would recommend to try first? She asked if I was really hungry, er yup, always am. Thank you, you were right! You do need to be hungry to eat all of this.

What can I say except, yummy, & in my tummy in no time!

This burger is a meal in itself. I find the Redwoods ¼ pounder can be a bit tooo much if you aren’t careful. But these guys have got the cooking down. But what I really really want is cake. The best cake. I get it here…

Vegan Heaven on Earth! Lujuria knows his stuff, and now I know his secret ingredient too!

Maybe the best thing about Gopal is the desserts, boy they are stunningly good, best cakes (vegan or not) I have EVER eaten, bar none. And I’ve eaten a lot over the last 40 odd years!! Each time I’ve been in (quite a few..) THE SELECTION IS DIFFERENT. That’s good coz you know they are always fresh and also you get to try different ones each time. Oh, and they have cupcakes too. Wimmins food, bah. 😉 The mega selection is from Lujuria Vegana, and yes I have contacted him directly!

Chocotorture cake (my name). OMFG ONLY 3-50 EUR for your own stairway to heaven...

OK no BS, this is the best thing since I found out about ladies. If you don´t get to eat this before you die, you have not lived. No kidding, it’s the nuts. The chocolate torte part is soo smooth, thick, tastiest bit of anything I have ever put in my mouth. The hard really dark chocolate coating just finishes it off perfectly. I nearly bought the rest of the cake…

Various salami – This damn good stuff. One is even a bit like black pudding!

All gorgeous, all keep well and beat the pants off any other similar products – did I say similar – nothing I´ve had is similar to how good these are. The dogs bits they are!! 5 EUR upwards
So, got the idea? Yup, I really like this place. It’s good, honest vegan fast food combined with the best cakes possible. If you get to Barca and don’t go here then you are brainless, coz this place is a no-brainer! 10/10!!

Gopal
Location:
C/ Escudellers 42 – Plaza George Orwell (Plaça del Tripi)
Barcelona, Spain
Phone:
933 189 215
Cash only. Open Tue-Sun 12:00-23:00 NO TOILETS!
www:
Gopal’s Facebook Page

if you are looking for the ultimate meat-free dining experience in seattle, plum bistro is definitely your place. the gourmet restaurant is located on capitol hill and serves amazing all vegan cuisine for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. the food can be a bit pricey (think $14-$18 for an entree), but it’s fantastic and well worth it. one little secret that you can’t find on plum’s website though, is that they have a HAPPY HOUR sundays from 4-10pm and monday thru friday from 3-6pm, where food and drinks are super cheap. we hit up plum for the happy hour deals a couple weeks ago with a friend, and ate enough food to feed a small country for under 60 bucks. it was an excellent time.

spicy mac n yease: our signature mac n cheese $5 happy hour special (normally $7)

we started with a plate of the “mac n yease” which was down from $7 to five bucks for the happy hour special. i have been wanting to try this ever since this.charming.man raved about it back in january, and i must say it did not disappoint! it was spicy, creamy, flavorful, and honestly the best vegan mac and cheese i’ve ever eaten. there were mushy globs of cheese in between the noodles, just like the real thing, and little burned bits around the edges. i’d say plum is worth visiting for the mac n yease alone—it blows all other mac and cheeses out of the water.

sweet tea white russian: firefly sweet tea, soy milk, orange spice and cane sugar. $5

one catch about the happy hour menu is, you can’t order from it without buying a drink…but don’t worry, they have non-alcoholic stuff for all you xpeoplex. i went with the white russian because it’s my favorite mixed drink, and it’s impossible to find a vegan version at bars here in los angeles. the only other place i’ve had a vegan white russian outside of my house was at tube in portland, and plum’s was a million times better. the sweet tea vodka/soy milk mixture came in a sugar-rimmed glass, complete with a cherry on top. i absolutely loved it.

mini burgers $2 each.

we got a couple of mini burgers from the happy hour menu, because come on, who can resist vegan sliders?! plum has several to choose from including the crazy jamaican, tofu bbq seitan, quinoa, and el basito caliente. i am pretty sure the ones we ordered were the crazy jamaican and el basito caliente, and they were delicious. they were pretty big as well, you could fill up on a few of these and have dinner for 6 bucks.

quinoa nachos. $4

we also got a plate of quinoa nachos, which were a great deal for $4. this dish of blue chips came topped with an amazing creamy sauce, pico de gallo, guacamole and melted cheese. i am pretty sure the cheese on the nachos was follow your heart, which i am not a big fan of, but they were still pretty good.

gourmet garlic fries with jalapeno sauce. $4

next up was an order of gourmet garlic fries with jalapeno sauce, and they were super tasty. plum has a huge list of fries and sauces to choose from, and we originally ordered the “cheese w/ seitan bits” option. unfortunately/fortunately, they messed up our order and brought us the garlic fries, which wound up being great. the jalapeno sauce was to die for—rich gooey, and spicy—it went perfectly with the thick crispy fries.

vegan hot dog. $4

we also got a “vegan hot dog,” which to our surprise wound up being a high-quality field roast sausage! man i love field roast, so this was a nice treat. it came smothered in crazy good sauces and topped with sauerkraut. amazing!

orange-balsamic glazed tempeh with thai-spiced mashed yams and bitter greens. $17

we had our fill of cheap junk food snacks, but our friend wanted to be a little bit highbrow, and order something from the dinner menu as well. she got the orange-balsamic glazed tempeh with thai-spiced mashed yams and bitter greens. she let me try it and, WOWZA….it was awesome! the yams especially were not to be believed, such amazing flavor. i have a feeling that this is the kind of gourmet fine-dining food most people visit plum for, and plum knows how to do it well.

completely gratuitous

this was by far one of our best meals in seattle, and one of the best i’ve had in a long time. plum really has everything going for it: they are an all vegan restaurant with excellent food, they serve mixed drinks as well as beer and wine, and they have a nice fancyish yet comfy atmosphere where you can relax and hang for awhile. if you are in seattle, i would put this at the top of your “must visit” list, because plum is simply amazing. i can’t wait to return and try out their brunch!

plum bistro
1429 12th Ave E Ste B
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 838-5333

PS: the happy hour menu isn’t posted plum’s website, so i’ve uploaded it here for your enjoyment…

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

UPDATE 07/20/10: since the time i ate at red dog, chickette has changed their recipe and is no longer vegan. 🙁 red dog carries GARDEIN now though, so ask for that if you want a vegan option. also, someone left a comment saying the buffalo sauce is not vegan. i don’t know if they changed that as well, but double check and ask to see the ingredients.

red dog saloon. beer, bar food, and the best vegan pizza i’ve ever eaten.

a couple months ago, i was hanging in norfolk virginia and scoping out the meatless offerings. you wouldn’t think that such a small town would be so vegan-friendly, but i must say norfolk holds its own against other massive cities i’ve visited. the main stretch of restaurants i’d wanna visit runs along colley avenue, and within walking distance i found vegan sushi, vegan middle eastern food, 3 spots for vegan pizza, 2 vegan-friendly bars, and vegan tex mex. i can honestly say i’ve never seen so many options in such a small radius…it even rivaled the vegan strip mall.

today though, i’m here to talk about red dog saloon. located on colley avenue, it has a huge tap beer selection, comfy seating, good music, and most importantly an impressive vegan menu. there is nothing pretentious about this place, and it’s definitely the most “normal” bar that i’ve ever eaten vegan food at…maybe that’s why i love it so much. there is absolutely nowhere like red dog in LA: a typical bar where shit gets rowdy at night and locals hang out for hours, plus a wide selection of delicious vegan food that is readily available.

i spent less than a week in norfolk, but i wound up eating (and drinking) at red dog twice. both times i was kicking it with my friend and fellow vegan blogger sunny, and although we had complaints about some dishes, overall we agreed that red dog was super awesome.

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remember those match vegan burgers we raved about recently?! well they are finally available at chili addiction as of TODAY! i can’t stress to you enough, these really are the HEARTIEST and MOST REALISTIC veggie burgs i’ve ever tasted. not just that, but they’ve also started making a new “texas style chili” with pinto beans and match beef as well as a vegan sorbet with fresh strawberries! GO GET IT.

chili addiction
408 N. La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 203-1793
lunch 12pm-3pm
dinner 5:30pm-9pm

so i finally got around to making a meal from the much raved about cookbook, veganomicon. i picked what appeared to be the easiest recipe in the book (i cannot cook), did some ingredient hunting at the local health food store, and i was in business. special thanks to your vegan mom for pointing me in the direction of nature mart for their bulk bins of vital wheat gluten.

veganomicon’s black bean burger with sautéed mushrooms, sprouts, tomato, onion, avocado, vegenaise and colman’s english mustard.

in the end, these burgers turned out great…although i was a little worried during the process. after i had done all my fancy ingredient shopping at nature mart and whole foods, while in ralphs i realized i’d forgotten to buy bread crumbs. argh!!—all the varieties they offered contained whey, nonfat dry milk, or (shudder) egg whites. i decided it wasn’t worth the trip in la traffic to the nearest health food store just for one ingredient, so i used crumbled up hamburger buns instead. i think this resulted in my patties falling apart a little bit, but i just kept cooking them (longer than the recipe suggested) and they turned out just dandy.

more pix after the jump.

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