i really do love follow your heart. the all vegetarian cafe and market has been around since 1970 and offers some of the best food and hardest to find groceries in los angeles. my biggest complaint about follow your heart is that it’s located too far away from my house, so i don’t get to go there enough!

the cafe can be uncomfortably busy on weekends (i understand why, it’s because the food is so good!), but on weekdays it’s much more pleasant. i checked it out recently on a monday morning at around 11am with my mom, and we had almost the entire place to ourselves…

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UPDATE 1/7/10: ok, so i got an email from the staff at follow your heart saying the wheat bread is VEGAN. they also said the burger bun is the only bread-type-thingy with honey in it. so do with that info what you will!

UPDATE 1/6/10: i have heard from a couple people that the wheat bread at FYH contains honey (not vegan, duh)! although i have been told twice by servers that it is vegan. since FYH has a sketchy honey policy, i would definitely avoid the wheat bread. be safe and get rye, yo.

so…since we have declared what appears to be an undefeatable winner in the vegan reuben wars, maybe it’s about time we move on to another sandwich, eh? and what could possibly be better than the vegan club? the traditional double-decker sandwich comes layered with several pieces of turkey meat and vegetables between 3 slices of bread, and is so big that each quarter of it has to be held together with cocktail sticks.

los angeles, being a great town for vegans and all, has several restaurants that offer animal-free versions of the meaty sandwich. we set out in an effort to try all of them, and first on our list was follow your heart.

Club Sandwich: The Classic Triple Decker on Toasted Whole Wheat Bread with Turkey-Style Wheatmeat, Vegetarian Bacon Bits, Lettuce, Tomato, Thousand Island Dressing, and Vegenaise. $8.50

the all vegetarian restaurant in the valley is known for its massive unconquerable sandwiches, and the club is no different. basically two meals in one, it comes with double layers of seitan, wheat bread, green leaves and fresh tomatoes. unlike most clubs this comes with bacon bits instead of sliced bacon, but it’s surprisingly good!

at $8.50 it’s reasonably priced and too big to eat in one sitting. by default it arrives with a side of carrot chips, but you can upgrade to fries for an extra charge…and you can also add avocado to your club, which i’m totally gonna do next time.

as with everything at follow your heart, be sure to specify you want your sandwich vegan. while they don’t serve any flesh at this restaurant, if you aren’t careful you may end up vegetarian animal products. i always just tell the staff i am vegan to avoid any slip-ups.

so there you have it, a damn good sandwich. so far, so good. who will be next to join the club club? wait and see.

Follow Your Heart
21825 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
(818) 348-3240

…well, not really. but it sure reminded me of one. what i’m talking about here is lorenzo’s tofu eggwich at follow your heart.

Lorenzo's Tofu Eggwich: A Grilled Scrambled Tofu Pattie, Tomato and *Pastrami* Wheatmeat, with Avocado and Vegenaise® on our Homemade English Muffin. Served with Fries or Fresh Fruit. $6.95

on a recent trip to FYH, i was jonesing for a burger. unable to order any of follow your heart’s veggie burgers because the buns contain honey (even though the menu claims they are vegan-optional…for some reason), i scanned the menu for other options. hiding out in the appetizer section, i found the meal i was looking for: a tofu eggwich that sounded a lot like an egg mcmuffin…but better, with added vegetables.

the english muffin came stacked with a tofu patty, pastrami wheatmeat, vegenaise, avocado and tomato. served with a generous portion of crinkly fries and costing under 7 bucks, this thing was a bargain! not just was it a good deal, but it tasted awesome too. the patty and wheat meat were perfectly salty, and nicely rounded out by the cool, creamy avocado and vegenaise. the english muffin was warm and toasty, while the tomato was cold and fresh. fucking delicious, all of it!

i honestly don’t know what this tofu eggwich is doing in the appetizer section of the menu. it makes a fine main course for one person, and i may just call it one of the best little vegan sandwiches in los angeles. get over and try this thing when you have a chance. it’s hearty, tasty, and it won’t break the bank.

why don’t more restaurants in los angeles have vegan egg mcmuffins?!

follow your heart
21825 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, California, 91303
(818) 348-3240

as i’ve mentioned before, vegans have an unhealthy obsession with reubens. i don’t know what it is about sauerkraut, thousand island, and rye bread that gives every vegan i know a hard on, but it never fails.

i’ve written blog posts on 2 vegan reubens in los angeles before, and each time i’ve gotten comments from people urging me to go to follow your heart and try their reuben. not only that, but three of my favorite blogs named it the best vegan reuben in town. i went to follow your heart over the weekend with super high expectations and finally got my mouth around the legendary sandwich.

the reuben: thinly sliced wheatmeat, cottage-style tofu, sauerkraut, mustard and vegenaise on oversized rye bread, oven-baked. served with dill pickle and thousand island dressing. $10.75

one thing the FYH reuben definitely has going for it is SIZE. the thing is absolutely ginormous—definitely big enough for two people to share. it clocks in at just under 11 bucks, so i would definitely say you get your money’s worth. the weak side of carrot chips leaves something to be desired, so next time i would consider upgrading and paying a bit more for french fries.

the vegan version of the sandwich comes with your choice of cottage-style tofu or follow your heart vegan cheese. since i can’t stand FYH cheese, i went with the cottage-style tofu, which was nothing short of excellent. they layered it on nice and thick, and it gave the sandwich a hearty and thick texture that i quite enjoyed.

the follow your heart reuben is also piled high with slices of wheat meat, rather than tempeh like many vegan reubens, so it has a similar taste and texture to its meaty counterpart. the faux meat FYH uses is awesome as well, just chewy enough and very flavorful.

the one issue i had with this sandwich, and the only reason i’m not yelling in all caps “OMFG THIS WAS THE BEST VEGAN REUBEN EVER,” is that it was pretty dry. after the fact i was told by foodeater that i should have ordered it with extra thousand island on the side, and i will definitely take her advice next time. something about the combination of the crispy (maybe slightly over-baked) bread and the not-too-moist cottage tofu left me wishing the whole thing was a little more juicy.

so to recap, follow your heart’s reuben is indeed awesome. is it the best? maybe.

pros:
it’s really fucking big.
the wheat meat is awesome.
the cottage-style tofu is absolutely incredible.

cons:
the side of carrot chips is kinda lame.
the sandwich without extra dressing can be a bit dry.

overall, the FYH reuben scores pretty high here at quarrygirl.com, with just a few points being deducted for the dryness. it’s nothing that couldn’t be easily fixed though—if the bread were a bit softer and there was a tad more dressing, this sandwich would have been an a+ rather than an a-.

head on over to follow your heart and check this sandwich out. let me know what you think. i highly recommend the cottage-style tofu and a side of extra thousand island.

follow your heart
21825 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
(818) 348-3240