hey dudes! did you know las vegas has a new all vegan restaurant?! i didn’t, until fred (@cycled) sent me this field report on pura vida. looks awesome, and i can’t wait to go! check it out…

Due to its proximity to Los Angeles, a short journey to the desert is always on the horizon for the most trivial or celebratory events. My first stop whenever I go to Vegas is always Ronald’s Donuts so I can stock up on donuts for the duration of the trip and to take back home. After Ronald’s, we decided to make another short drive in order to try Pura Vida. After passing through an industrial sector, I managed to spot Pura Vida on the opposite side of the street, overlooking vacant lots and surrounded by empty business. This sector is certainly an unlikely place to find delicious vegan food, but after searching through their website and a handful of Yelp reviews I knew we were going to be in good hands. It appears the menu on weekends is mostly focused on “Sweet” rather than “Savory”. Seeing as how we were in the mood for “Savory” we decided to forego the waffles and ask for some recommendations. Our server was very accommodating, along with Chef Myra, who personally came out to assist us and explain what she could make for us.

Spinach/Tofurky Sausage/Daiya Quesadilla & The Jace Wrap

Spinach/Tofurky Sausage/Daiya Quesadilla
One of my pet peeves when dining out is ordering an item that you could easily make at home. For this reason, I don’t think I have ever ordered a vegan quesadilla at a restaurant. However, I have to say this quesadilla was fantastic, easily better than any I have made at home. I could try to duplicate it, but I doubt it would be as delicious….

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happy saturday, everyone! let’s celebrate with some cake! today’s extra sweet post comes to us from @GinaTakeABow, as she shares a crowd-pleasing vegan dessert that she made with her adorable daughter marina.

check out their delicious recipe for vegan chocolate bubble cake…

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hey everyone! time for another field report from rachel of power cut jewelry (check out her etsy site for awesome vegan and beatles-related items!). today she blogs about LA’s newest all vegan bakery, no udder desserts in woodland hills. check it out.

“The San Fernando Valley…it’s not the hippest place in the world, but it’ll do. It’s so unhip that it’s probably hip.” -Tom Petty

I suffered through the LVUSD school system and I’ve been engulfed by a bubble called “the valley” my whole life. Besides Tom Petty songs that make me happy to be a valley citizen, I have a strong dislike of the place. It’s too hot, the people are conceited, rude and terrible drivers lurk everywhere. One of my favorite restaurants, Madeleine Bistro, is hardly open and most recently the only somewhat decent vegan Thai place began serving meat. Although I complain, the most important thing about the valley is that my dog loves it here.

About two months ago, I randomly read about No Udder Desserts opening a storefront in Woodland Hills. Started by Trisha Lobefaro a few years ago, No Udder Desserts has been sold at various places in the L.A. area and can now be found at a quaint little bakery smack dab in the valley.

The umbrella is hiding the word "vegan", but it IS there!

The shop is nestled in a little outdoor mall near a Target and Payless Shoes, it might be hard to find if you’re unfamiliar with the area, but luckily a sign reading “Vegan Bakery” adorns the main window. Inside is very small, with two tables and one outside the doors; although I didn’t eat inside, I can imagine sitting there with friends over some coffee and sweets would be quite nice.

I first went here about a month ago and was pleased to see that many of the cake offerings were petit fours. They’re the perfect size for when you want to indulge, yet not overdo it. I left No Udder Desserts with a pecan bar which was delicious. I immediately told Quarrygirl that I wanted to do a field report on this place!

I finally made it back to No Udder Desserts earlier this week, and got myself more than just one thing to try. Various bite-sized cakes that caught my eye were carrot, coconut, and chocolate. I also tried a lemon bar, pumpkin “cheezecake”, whoopie pie, chocolate chip cookie and I couldn’t leave without another pecan bar.

Carrot cake, chocolate cake, lemon bar, coconut cake, and a pecan bar in the middle

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this is just a heads up to let everyone know that the carvel ice cream in beverly hills makes make vegan versions of old school ice cream cakes, including the cookie puss! it’s seriously too good to be true…their cake page is insane, and they can all be veganized. i have never had a vegan ice cream cake, but i’m freaking dying to try one. all i need is 14 friends to help me eat it. :/

this is a vegan classic cookie puss that carolyn from the healthy voyager got for her birthday. i’m totally jealous.

vegan ice cream cakes are available from the beverly hills location only, so give them a call or send them an email to order your cake. they responded to my email almost immediately!

carvel 90210
421 N. Rodeo Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-278-5411
carvel90210@me.com

everyone knows that the tofurky feast is a vegan thanksgiving staple (we usually eat at least 2 of ’em over the holiday season). the delicious vegetarian turkey alternative has been around for 15 years, but this year there is even more to love about it because it comes with the decadent addition of amy’s vegan chocolate cake!

the folks at turtle island contacted me and asked if i wanted a coupon to try out this new tofurky/amy’s package, and of course i said HELL YES!

i’m happy to report that the tofurky roast was bigger and tastier than ever (they’ve upped the serving size this year!), and the amy’s cake was moist and delicious beyond belief. let’s start with the tofurky roast…

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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

UPDATE: i just found out carvel has extended their FREE ICE CREAM giveaway! they open officially this weekend, but are giving out free vegan samples from 11am-4pm until FRIDAY 1/29! get over there!

free vegan soft serve!

yes, FREE VEGAN SOFT SERVE AND ICE CREAM CAKE!!

do i have your attention now? remember carvel los angeles, the place i blogged about back in the summertime that was offering vegan soft serve? well they have been in the process of relocating to beverly hills, and construction is finally complete! they aren’t officially open for business yet, but AS OF NOW monday through friday from 11am-4pm they are handing out free samples and introducing their new vegan line.

i heard this info from a pre-recorded message when i called their location at 310-278-5411 (try it for yourself!), and it sounded way too good to be true. lo and behold, i showed up today at around 1pm and was greeted by 3 friendly staff members who wouldn’t let me pay for my ice cream. they gave me some vegan vanilla soft serve with nuts (pictured above), as well as a slice of chocolate ice cream cake. they also explained that when they open, the carvel beverly hills will be half vegan with even more animal-free flavors and toppings (including chocolate sauce)! woooo!

free vegan ice cream cake sample!

the ice cream cake and soft serve were both great! they were really sweet, but also very healthy tasting, and not overly rich. back at the old location, carvel was using temptation soft serve from one of our favorite companies, chicago soy dairy. not sure if this stuff was temptation as well, but it was damn good. i can’t wait until these guys open for real, because i am totally gonna have them make me a vegan cookie puss!

i highly encourage you to do whatever you can to get to beverly hills this week and hit up carvel for some FREE ICE CREAM! dude, soft serve and cake, at no charge?!!?!?!? what could possibly be better than that?

they are located on rodeo drive, in the rodeo collection….on the very bottom level, by the valets. i parked north for super cheap in the metered parking lot at santa monica blvd and rodeo drive. if you enter from rodeo, this is what it looks like, and just take the escalators to the bottom level.

carvel 90210
421 N. Rodeo Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-278-5411

PS: if you do go this week and take advantage of the free stuff, leave a nice tip! i, stupidly, had no cash on me today….so if you could throw in an extra buck on my behalf i’d be totally grateful!

it’s no secret that i’ve been eating at vegan-friendly restaurants all over los angeles for quite some time. however, throughout the last several years of living here as a vegan, for some reason i never bothered to check out fatty’s in eagle rock. the all vegetarian restaurant on colorado boulevard has high prices, gourmet menu items that i can’t pronounce, strange opening hours, and a pretty dairy-heavy menu. for so long i just assumed the place wasn’t for me. BOY WAS I WRONG. i finally had the chance to check out fatty’s a few weeks ago and it rocked my my vegan socks off.

my husband and i ended up at fatty’s on accident. we had an epic double-date dinner planned to attend shojin’s 1 year anniversary party with lex and kristin of vegan-la, which also coincided roughly with when they would be leaving los angeles to embark on backpacking trip around europe. turned out shojin was way too crowded to eat at (i’m talking line-out-the-door savage nightmare), so we headed out to fatty’s eagle rock for of the best vegan meals i’ve had in this town.

fudgey: a two layer chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache, toasted coconut and pecan frosting with a creamy center. $8

just because it was so fucking scrumptious, lemme start by telling you about the fudgey. this was the dessert that lex and kristin ordered and were kind enough to share with us (had this been my cake, nobody else at the table woulda got even a bite of it!), and we all agreed it was delicious. the thing was big enough to feed a boatload of people and it came with layer after layer of sugary goodness. chocolate, coconut, and pecan creaminess made this one of the best sweet things i’ve ever encountered. dense and decadent, this cake could fool ANYONE who is addicted to eggs and milk. nothing about it tasted vegan. fudgey is the perfect name for this ridiculously fudgey dish.

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last week the west side got a little more vegan-friendly when a brand new vegan cafe opened up on wilshire and 11th in santa monica. golden mean is a small restaurant offering a variety of organic teas and coffees, salads, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, pizzas and vegan baked goods. the place has a total hippy vibe that is “sooooo santa monica” in my book, with stuff like bamboo plates and quartz-infused walls. even the name golden mean is either a reference to some philosophy or magical ratio….i dunno….i just want some vegan food.

now, how do i put this nicely? i understand that as vegans, we have the tendency to get pretty excited when we find stuff we can eat. i get that the fact that a new 100% vegan restaurant on the west side is something to get worked up about. but don’t let a whole menu full of vegan options and a case full of vegan desserts distract you from the fact that in the end, the food at golden mean just isn’t that great. sorry, i wanted to like it…it’s just…so….blah.

the works burger: bean and grain veggie patty with lettuce, tomato, pickles and special sauce on burger bun plus avocado, tempeh bacon, and vegan cheese. $12.75

we hit up golden mean over the weekend, and trust me, we were so ready to rave about this place. the menu looked a little pricey, but hey it’s vegan stuff so that’s to be expected. they were still working out the kinks of the computer system when we went in, so it took a while to place our order. we got the works burger which comes with avocado, tempeh bacon and vegan cheese and clocks in at over 13 bucks once you’ve added tax. it comes with either some potato chips or a side salad, so we ordered it with kale.

overall the burger wasn’t disgusting or anything…it was just bland and definitely not worth 13 dollars. i mean, that’s even more expensive than m cafe’s big macro which is huge, also comes with a side, and is probably the best burger in town. the kale side salad was flavored with orange or something and tasted way too sweet, i definitely wasn’t a fan.

we also ordered the portobello mushroom panini which i liked better than the burger, but it still wasn’t worth the price.

portobello panini: roasted portobello, onions, baby arugula and vegan mozzarella on a ciabatta roll. with a mugwort soba side salad. $10.95

i ordered my panini without bell peppers and the chick at the register said they get the paninis pre-made, but she would be able to remove the peppers before heating the sandwich. i was fine with that, but it’s always good to know when you are ordering food that’s been pre-made. the portobellos in the panini tasted great, and the arugula added a fresh and tasty touch. as a side i got the mugwort soba noodles with vegetables which tasted good but were a little on the bland side. overall, this was a pretty decent dish…i just know of much better sandwiches i can get for well under 10 dollars.

while i wasn’t that impressed with our lunch, i can tell you that golden mean definitely blew me away with the dessert. we tried two things, both of which were f-ing incredible.

vegan chocolate cake. $5.50

the vegan chocolate cake was absolutely massive and slathered in the richest and creamiest frosting. it also had little crushed up chunks of cookies and coffee beans all over it. so damn delicious. we also tried the strawberry short cake which was amazing as well. the cake was really spongy and moist, the fruit was fresh and the frosting was decadent. ***** out of 5.

vegan strawberry shortcake. $4.25

so there you have it: hippy vibes, bland expensive food, and really awesome desserts. that’s what i took away from golden mean. definitely check it out though. some vegans have been really positive about the place, while others have been sort of on the fence. i can tell you, with a great restaurant like interim cafe so close by, i don’t know when i will ever find the motivation to try out golden mean again. although i could be tempted by that cake. i guess we’ll see!

here is the menu if you wanna check it out. special thanks to jennshaggy for scanning this and sending it to me.

golden mean menu. click to enlarge.

golden mean vegan cafe
1028 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 393-6500

move over kids, there’s a new vegan baker in los angeles and the goods are amazing. vegan bake sale launched just a few weeks ago and specializes in beautiful and tasty cakes and cupcakes, but cheesecakes and cookies are also in the works. alix, the talented baker behind all of this, has been teasing los angeles vegans with her treats for quite awhile on her blog cute and delicious…i was so excited when she announced that she was making them available to the general public.

coincidentally, alix launched vegan bake sale just 5 days before my dad’s birthday. what better way to celebrate than to get him a huge vegan cake…right?!?! mwahahaha.

vegan bake sale double layered chocolate cake. $45

when i contacted vegan bake sale to place an order, alix wrote back and said she could make any flavor i could dream up. that sounded like quite an opportunity, but i still went with basic old double chocolate. i mean, who doesn’t love that, right? when i picked up the cake i was shocked at the size…it was much bigger than i imagined! it was also beautifully decorated with gorgeous piping around the edges. seriously, too pretty to eat. even the smell of it in the car on the way to my folks’ house was so sweet and tempting, i am shocked i made it all the way there without stealing a finger full of frosting.

i think everyone would agree the cake was a huge hit. my non-vegan parents loved it, and so did my husband who usually won’t go near sweet foods. on her blog, alix says her baked goods “aren’t the healthy, crunchy, cardboard vegan desserts you find at health food stores, they’re the decadent, delicious treats that could fool any non-vegan,” and she is absolutely right. the cake itself was sinfully tasty, and so was the rich luscious frosting.

after eating just one slice i went into an epic food coma. i left the cake with my parents and kept getting emails from my mom about how great the leftovers were. total success.

so if you are looking for a vegan birthday cake in los angeles, or a load of vegan cupcakes, definitely hit up vegan bake sale for treats that will impress. i got an amazing vegan birthday cake from real food daily last year, and i can tell you this thing topped even that…which is saying a lot! plus, alix can not only bake “any flavor you can dream up,” she’s also a total frosting artist and your cake is guaranteed to look amazing.

check vegan bake sale’s website, blog, and twitter for more info.

UPDATE 6/15/10: since reading this post, i have found that many of cru’s menu items are not vegan because they contain honey (including the deep green salad). please check out cru’s menu online to see which items are safe to eat.

cru is a vegan, mostly raw restaurant that i’ve been wanting to check out for quite some time. my little hipster omnivore friends go on and on about it at the office, and recently it got quite a glowing review on to live and eat in la. so last weekend, i finally decided to go check out cru for myself and see what everyone was raving about. oh, and i found out: simple, fresh, organic fare that’s bursting with tons of flavor.

deep green salad: marinated kale with avocado, tomatoes, sprouts and sunflower seeds in a chili lime dressing. $10

i went to cru, like everywhere else, with my husband…and he opted for the deep green salad. it was a mix of delicious kale, vegetables and seeds all tossed in a light and refreshing dressing. i would say this salad was pretty much perfect. not sure how they do it at cru, but they really concentrate on packing tons of flavor into each dish. most salads, even the tasty ones, are pretty boring and nondescript…the deep green salad at cru though, had a life of its own. when i tried it, i was tasting flavors i never knew existed.

i decided to get something off the cooked menu. i know, i know…lame of me, but i wasn’t in the mood for raw! i can’t find exactly what i ordered on the online menu, but it was an amazing mix of sauteed spinach, onion, squash, sauerkraut and mixed greens atop a bed of steaming quinoa. it was INSANE.

awesome cooked entree.

like the salad, the cooked bowl was just going crazy with deliciousness. i was bombarded with so many new and exciting tastes, i seriously can’t wait to go back to cru and see what else they have to offer. the quinoa wasn’t the least bit boring either, they cooked it with something that gave it an incredible silky texture that soaked up all the vegetables’ flavors.

we also split a glass of freshly made juice that was pretty invigorating.

spinach cucumber apple ginger juice. $6

it was a rather strange flavor combo, but it ended up being divine. light and made with fresh ingredients, the juice had a distinct ginger flavor that was tasty, but didn’t overpower the fruits and vegetables.

after two scrumptious and ostensibly healthy meals, we decided to splurge and split a piece of cru’s famous raw chocolate truffle cake.

chocolate truffle cake. $8

dude, this truffle cake was crazy. it didn’t taste or feel like you’d expect from looking at it. when it arrived at our table, i shoved my fork in it to grab a bite, and the fork just got stuck. breaking off each piece was kind of a chore. this isn’t your normal cake, think of it like a huge, thick, firm piece of pure chocolate. that being said, it soooo good. even my husband held his own and ate up half of the cake, and he usually can’t compete with my sweet tooth.

man, oh man, that cake was so rich! i loved it, but i highly doubt i will be able to justify ordering it again any time soon. i can only take that decadence once every so often.

on top of having insanely yummy food, cru was also quite pleasant and comfortable. i’d read on yelp that the place was absolutely tiny, so we decided to go for lunch (which they only offer on friday and saturday), in order to miss the dinner crowd. when we were there, the place was nearly empty. i would definitely recommend hitting them up during their lunch hours if you wanna bypass the craziness. plus, i’m pretty sure they give you a discount at lunch time. our meal seemed really cheap compared to the prices on the menu. maybe they just thought we were awesome, though…that wouldn’t surprise me.

so go get some cru. raw, cooked, drinks, desserts, it’s all off the chain.

last week i turned 24, and while to me getting older is a kinda depressing thought, i took it as an excuse to completely gorge myself on vegan cake.

chocolate & peanut butter cake from real food daily! (i dunno how much it cost 'cause it was a gift)

i haven’t had a birthday cake since i was 18…back in the day when i was still a vegetarian. i used to love the gooey dribbling frosting and moist chocolate sponginess—all stuff i’ve half-way written off since becoming a vegan. luckily for me, i have the most awesome co-workers who went out of their way to surprise me with a delicious vegan cake from real food daily and 3 bottles of specialty beer. what a gesture!

the cake was out of this world. everyone in the office was going at it, and nobody had a problem with the fact it was vegan. in fact, the cake was GONE, no leftovers, in like 30 minutes. usually we order cake from sweet lady jane’s, and when we do, a few slices always get thrown out. not with the real food daily cake, uh uh. people were coming over from different departments, wishing me a happy birthday just so they could sleaze away with a slice of me cake! it was great watching omnivores enjoying the vegan dessert. and trust me, i got plenty of it to myself—two big slices that sent me into a food coma and rendered me useless for the rest of the day. mmm. chocolate-peanut-buttery goodness.

yummmmmmmmy cake.

i know we at quarrygirl have had some unkind things to say about real food daily in the past (sometimes they blow), but none of those feelings spill over into my review of their cake. i don’t really know how expensive this was because it was a surprise, and i don’t know how the service was because i didn’t pick it up…but i DO know that my bday cake tasted incredible and looked beautiful. people were questioning, “how do they make it so soft and moist?”, “are you sure this doesn’t have eggs in it?”, “omg how do they make this taste just like real cake?” and then it was all gone. and everyone was full.

i highly recommend real food daily for a stellar, tasty birthday cake. i may even have to give them another shot and eat there again.

and a big shout out to the peeps who bought me this cake. if you ever read this, you rule!

on my recent trip to florida, i ate at a ton of cool veg restaurants, but none of them compared to the vegan perfection i would find at SUBLIME. actually, nowhere i’ve ever been compares to sublime, a high-class vegan eatery in ft. lauderdale, florida that boasts numerous celebrity patrons, including paul mccartney. i can safely say it is there that i ate the best meal i’ve ever had, and the owner wasn’t lying when she stopped by our table and assured us, “there’s nowhere like sublime in the entire united states.”

i could tell the moment i walked into the entirely vegan restaurant and saw the fancy interior complete with waterfalls, the neatly dressed staff and enormous bar that i was somewhere special. i would have to treat myself to a full on slap-up meal consisting of an aperitif, an appetizer, two entrees (to be shared by me & my husband), and dessert. so that’s just what i did.

(i apologize in advance for the dark photos in this post. sublime is a classy joint with dim lights, not ideal for taking pix that are up to snuff. you will have to believe me when i say these snapshots don’t do the food justice.)

before we even ordered, our fabulous waiter showed up at our table with a small plate of complimentary pesto polenta. i knew we were off to a good start. it, of course, was delicious.

pesto polenta, on the house!

for my pre-meal cocktail, i ordered a mojito—this is florida, after all, and drinking anything else would be a crime. it was cool and refreshing. sweet and minty. ahh.

minty-licious mojito $8

now, let’s get TASTY. sublime offers a pretty big appetizer menu and all of it sounds good, but one dish in particular caught my attention: sublime sliders.

sublime sliders: cheddar, seitan steak, onion, romaine, gherkin, special sauce. $12

i see people chomping on these mini burgers in bars all the time—a common happy hour food, most weekends i find myself 3 stools away from a plate of sliders and an endless stream of bud light. being super into vegan burgers, i’ve daydreamed from time to time about creating my own cruelty-free slider recipe. unfortunately, it all falls apart when i think about forming and baking miniature buns, or getting the itsy-bitsy patties just right. luckily for me, sublime took care of all that for me. i finally know what it’s like to eat a slider…fucking awesome. if there was a vegan heaven, god would serve sublime’s sliders nightly hourly.

after devouring my shameless, hamburger-emulating appetizer, i knew sublime was ready to bring it—i had to order some entrees that would be difficult to veganize; stuff normally reserved for omnivores. after those sliders, i had a feeling sublime would be up for the challenge.

what better way to start than with a quiche? upon googling a quiche recipe, the first result i found called for 4 eggs, 1 cup of half & half, 1/2 cup of real mayonnaise, and 8 ounces of cheddar cheese. yep, it could skate by as vegetarian, but the quiche contains all the vegan’s worst enemies. how could any fine restaurant possibly create one that i could actually eat? i dunno. but sublime sure as fuck did.

tuscan quiche: tofu, “mozzarella”, roasted shallots, wood-fired artichokes, braised spinach, roasted red bliss potatoes, seasonal vegetables. $16

this quiche was off the chain: delicious, soft, melty and moist. each bite was an explosion of creamy flavor. the order also came complete with sinful oily leafy greens and perfectly grilled potatoes. i’ve never had such a perfect replication of cheese, milk and eggs all in one. this tasted REAL, sans the cruelty and dead shit. give me any omnivore, and i guarantee they would believe they were eating the bloody puss-filled dairy products they are used to. i mean this all in a good way. there is NO reason not to be vegan.

next up, the even bigger test…PIZZA. other than tomato joe’s, nobody has made a vegan pizza that i’m totally impressed with. i knew that if sublime was on point, they’d be able to pull a out a decent vegan pizza. of course, they did.

margherita classico: tomato, fresh basil, soy mozzarella. $12

sublime’s vegan pizza is unique, because it doesn’t contain the crappy over-used follow your heart cheese that runs rampant here in los angeles. being a vegan cheese fanatic, i can swear that sublime’s cheese substitute tastes just like TEESE…a tasty brand that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. beyond taste, the sublime pizza’s cheese had an ever-so-slight pinkish tinge to it, another teese characteristic. of course, it was delectable. it’s so refreshing to eat vegan pizza in a restaurant, free of follow your heart’s impudent and never-melting fake cheese. this stuff was gooey and stringy, melty-licious and unruly…almost just like real cheese. a definite winner. cooked more like a fancy italian restaurant pizza, this isn’t your huge take-out, tv dinner pie. instead, sublime serves their dusty pizza on a thinner crust, with decorative garnishes and fresh light ingredients. the presentation, exquisite taste and top-notch fake cheese make this pizza an A+++++++++++++.

after eating away and sipping cocktails into oblivion, my husband and i agreed that this was, without a doubt, the best dinner ever. sublime was truly the most special, wonderful, magical place that we’d ever eaten. there is absolutely no way we could pass up on dessert. it just wouldn’t be right, to us, and ESPECIALLY to you!

being a choc-o-holic, i chose the chocolate nirvana cake with ice cream on the side. never before has being a vegan felt so decadent and delicious.

chocolate nirvana: milk chocolate, kahlua butter creme, dark chocolate ganache. $11

this cake was better than any crappy vegetarian cake i’ve ever eaten. i think whoever made it possesses secret powers. seriously, it was soooo luscious. the frosting was rich and creamy, the cake itself was moist, and it came with a huge piece of chocolate candy that was sumptuous. it totally had me scraping the plate and licking the fork. even my husband, mr. “i don’t like sweet stuff” was all over it. best dessert ever. wow.

my experience proves that only one word can describe sublime: perfect. this place is amazing, and the only thing i hate about it is that it’s located so far away from me. it’s absolutely superb—i recommend if you visit florida, or any of the surrounding states for that matter, you do whatever it takes to have dinner at sublime. it will be worth your while. i’m looking into booking another trip to florida ASAP just to eat there again.

best food. killer atmosphere. huge selection. what more do we vegans require? plus, the rock star on my banner eats there. go there. it will be so fucking tasty!