you don’t wanna miss this. hot knives, our favorite local bloggers/chefs/cookbook authors are taking over space 15 twenty in hollywood this weekend and throwing a vegetarian (mostly, if not entirely vegan?) event featuring tons of eastside vendors. they’ve got you covered from street food to baked goods, band appearances to cookbook signings, sodas to condiments, posters to records. not only does it sound amazing on paper, but so many of our QG favorites will be there including clara’s cakes, plant food for people, and elf cafe. not to mention the band YACHT in person, DJing and selling merch.

here is the run down on the booths that will be at the event:
YACHT, the band, selling records and merch like their new Shangria-LA T-Shirt.
Plant Food For People, a Highland Park food collective infamous for jackfruit tacos and vegan tamales.
From the Robins Nest, home-crafted jams, jellies and awesome baguette sandwiches.
SaSo, a handmade, small batch hot sauce that you need in your pantry.
Complicated Dance Steps, a local freak-beat tape label will peddle their wares and mix records.
A fall menu of herbal and spice-infused sodas poured by Eden’s Herbals.
Echo Park Books, publisher of the “Art Time Punks” an archive of the infamous Part Time Punks club posters.
Elf Cafe, making available for the first time ever to-go jars of its signature harissa.
Clara’s Cakes, teen baking blogger phenom selling vegan treats.** for a list, see the bottom of the post.
Marriage Records, the Portland-based record label represent the Northwest with a smattering of recent indie releases.
Golden Wings and Rosie’s Vintage will be showcasing groovy threads for you Lady Knives.
Hot Knives will be DJing with Claire L. Evans of YACHT and demo-ing how to make Thanksgiving Pop-Tarts,
and will be giving out free Thanksgiving Trifecta Pop-Tarts to anyone who brings a book or buys a book for them to sign!

aaaaah this sounds like it could be one of the best vegan events of the year—that vendor list is blowing my mind. the whole thing goes down at:

space 15 twenty
1520 n. cahuenga blvd.
los angeles CA
sunday november 13th from 11am – 4pm
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
i will race you guys to the cookbook line for a vegan thanksgiving pop tart!

**i talked to clara from clara’s cakes to find out what treats she’d be bringing. right now the list is: pumpkin spice gobs, chocolate chip cookie covered oreos (THEY RULE!), neapolitan cupcakes, and pumpkin muffins. can’t wait to try ’em all!

we’re so happy to announce that as of today (at around 11am) cupcakes by clara’s cakes will be for sale at locali! the current flavors are chocolate peanut butter and vanilla raspberry, and they’ll probably rotate from week to week. clara’s cakes is one of our favorite local bakeries, it’s all vegan, and it’s run by a ridiculously cool 14 year old girl. we’re so stoked that these treats will be available on a regular basis.

in other clara’s cakes news, they’re also offering ZOMBIE CUPCAKES as a halloween special…

these scary little suckers are made of chocolate cake, filled up with raspberry filling (blood!), and decorated with awesome zombie artwork. they’re available for a special price of $40 per dozen. order some for your halloween party, or just because! people won’t be able to tell they’re vegan, i swear. to order, contact info@claracakes.com.

for more info on all things clara’s cakes, like them on facebook and follow them on twitter.

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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if you read this blog regularly, you probably know that we are huge fans of the madeleine bistro meal delivery service, the bistro box. the menu changes from week to week, it’s available for pick up or delivery on mondays, and it always features an insanely delicious and wide variety of gourmet items. i’m talking several servings of restaurant quality cuisine, to be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. well next week’s box will probably be the best one yet, because in addition to a stellar line up of classic madeleine bistro dishes, it will feature a dessert from one of our favorite vegan bakeries, clara’s cakes! (BTW, if you wanna catch a ride on the bistro box train next week, try to book by noon on friday/TOMORROW. that will guarantee you a seat, but they’ll be selling tickets until noon on sunday, or until they sell out.)

vegan gobs! vegan whoopie pies!

if you aren’t familiar with clara’s cakes, it’s an incredible los angeles-based bakery headed up by a 14 year old girl named clara. she may be young, but she bakes like a freakin’ pro, and her treats are something to behold. next week’s box will include a sweet from madeleine bistro as well as a bonus boston creme gob (or whoopie pie, whatever you wanna call them!) by clara. i have had these things and i promise you they are beyond yum—huge soft spongy cookies cushioning a generous blob of frosting…it’s what vegan dreams are made of.

the bistro box itself is bringing its a-game next week as well. highlights include QG favorites like chicken fried seitan, lemon rosemary seitan, mac n cheese, a scramble sandwich, the legendary red beet tartare and MUCH more.

chicken fried seitan, mashed potatoes, pan gravy. all in next week's box.

FULL MENU/prices/delivery radius/ordering instructions after the jump…

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clara’s cakes, the best teenage-owned-and-operated vegan bakery in the world has just expanded their menu of treats, and we’re here to verify that the new stuff is DELICIOUS!

vegan gobs! vegan whoopie pies!

over the weekend we had a chance to try out clara’s new whoopie pies, and they blew my little mind. i’d never even heard of a whoopie pie before going vegan, but these beauties are something to get excited about.

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got plans today?! why don’t you head over to locali and support one of our favorite vegans ever, clara polito. the 13 year old baker behind the delicious clara’s cakes is holding a bake sale to raise money for a school trip to new york.

let's send this girl to nyc!

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in celebration of the upcoming vegan pizza day (which you should all be spreading the word and blogging about), i’m gonna make an effort to post more about pizza on the blog throughout january…which shouldn’t be hard, because we eat a lot of it!

berkeley vegan: marinara sauce, vegan cheese, veggie burger crumbles, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions. (no bell peppers)

there are TONS of vegan-friendly pizza joints in los angeles, and we think zpizza is one of the best. we even added their amazing tuscan pizza to our vegan bucket list, it’s that damn good. another awesome thing about zpizza is, they’re a national chain and every location offers vegan pizza! so even if you aren’t in LA, you may very well have a zpizza near you.

recently we had a little zpizza shindig with us and the team from clara’s cakes, which meant not only was tasty pizza involved, but also mouthwatering desserts…

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there are a lot of vegan cupcakes available in los angeles, but i can say from what i’ve tried that clara’s cakes are some of the best. the blogosphere has been buzzin’ about clara’s cakes for a while, so i was super excited when i got a chance to try them yesterday. i’m happy to report that they exceeded my expectations, and i’m already plotting my next cupcake indulgence.

vegan tiramisu cupcake

clara’s cakes is an all vegan cupcake company run by 13-year-old baker clara polito. that’s right, clara is only 13 and she makes some of the best cupcakes i’ve ever tasted. so far i’ve only tried the tiramisu flavor, and it was intense. as described on clara’s website, “If this cupcake could be a person it’d be a chic, sophisticated, Italian woman. Magnifico vanilla base with espresso filling and cream cheese. Delicato cream cheese frosting topped with cocoa powder and a single semi-sweet chocolate chip.”

the moment i tasted the rich cheesy frosting, i knew this was going to be a good cupcake…but when i got to the cream cheese espresso filling center, it blew my eff-ing mind! (keeping the language in this post clean, for the kids!) seriously, this thing was incredible. the cake was all soft and moist, and the frosting was luscious and creamy. to be honest, i usually get pretty bored with cupcakes once the frosting is gone. i have been known to only eat the frosting and discard the cake. not with clara’s cakes though, these tiramisu babies had frosting in the MIDDLE to keep me happy all the way through. the center of the cupcake was the best part, all gooey and coffee-flavored.

after trying the tiramisu, i’m dying to get a taste of clara’s other flavors. her menu is pretty creative, with stuff like bubblegum frosting, and vegan cupcake flavors including thin mint, orange dreamsicle and neapolitan. you can order cupcakes online from clara’s website, and i highly suggest you do so ASAP. there is also going to be a bake sale next month at locali to help raise money for clara’s school trip to nyc, so mark your calendars! let’s show this young vegan baker some support…i promise you won’t be disappointed.

clara politio of clara's cakes

clara’s cakes website
follow clara on twitter

PS: i also got to meet clara herself yesterday, and she is rad. read her musings about animal rights, vegan food, and cool music at her blog, clara in veganland.