• August 30th, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, native foods

    2 native foods blog posts in one day?! you bet. not only is their regular menu stellar, but the restaurant never misses a chance to offer new and inventive specials. the newest one will be available this labor day weekend, friday through monday. let me introduce you to the “chimichurri burger”.

    labor day chimichurri burger: homemade thinly sliced seitan, topped with warm grilled zucchini slices, sweet roasted peppers, caramelized onions and freshly blended chimichurri sauce. served with garlic fries and a veggie credit skewer with extra chimi sauce. $9.95

    good god, the thinly sliced seitan is amazing. if this is even half as good as their epic oklahoma bacon burger, you’re in for a treat.

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  • August 30th, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, native foods

    the more i eat at native foods, the more i love it. ever since they opened up their new spacious location in culver city, i can’t stay away. they even have a rewards card program, and just last week i got an email saying i’d earned ten bucks worth of free food!

    i recently took my omnivorous sister and niece to native foods and they were impressed. seriously, they were shocked that it was vegan. have a look at what we ordered:

    chili cheese fries: seasoned potato fries smothered in homemade native chili. topped with native cheese and diced red onions. $5.95

    topped with meaty vegan chili and homemade “cheese,” these fries are not to be messed with.

    native nachos: homemade corn tortilla chips covered in black beans, native taco meat, native chipotle crema, native cheese, salsa fresca, and guacamole. topped with corn, green onions, and cilantro. $7.95

    we couldn’t decide between the chili fries and the nachos, so we got both. best decision ever.

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  • May 7th, 2011quarrygirlkay 'n dave's, LA restaurants

    this is GREAT news for the los angeles vegan world. kay ‘n dave’s, a mexican restaurant that we love in culver city, is now experimenting with daiya vegan cheese…and if it does well, they’re gonna carry it at all their locations!

    yay for vegan cheese!

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  • April 2nd, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, native foods

    pizza, cheesecake, and buffalo wings?! yep, it’s new menu time again over at native foods. they are rolling out EIGHT new vegan items tomorrow, and they’ve sent us a sneak peek along with a few snaps. it all sounds delicious, check it out!

    Sweet Potato Taquitos: Crispy corn tortillas filled with coconut mashed sweet potatoes, drizzled with Native Chipotle Crema and served with guacamole. $6.95

    seven more after the jump…

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  • January 26th, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, native foods

    UPDATED: this special is so awesome, it will now run through sunday february 6th! eat up!

    vegan meatball sub available this weekend only at native foods!

    Italian sausage meatballs, marinara sauce, caramelized onions, roasted sweet peppers, pumpkin seed pesto, roasted garlic crema and homemade parmesan on a warm grilled baguette, served with an onion ring pileup. Ranch dressing on the sideline!

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  • January 8th, 2011quarrygirlLA restaurants, native foods

    i’ve got some very exciting news! native foods is launching a whole new menu tomorrow, and they’re giving quarrygirl readers a sneak peek at the goods! chef tanya has created some fantastic dishes for the winter season, and i don’t know about you guys, but i’m totally jonesing to try them all. have a look at the 8 new mouthwatering items.

    first up, there are 2 new appetizers:

    Creamy Artichoke Spinach Dip: Served warm with crispy crostini and dipping veggies. $6.95

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  • November 15th, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, native foods

    today is a super exciting day, because it marks the grand opening of the new native foods location in culver city! the popular vegan restaurant already has 6 locations scattered around southern california, and we are thrilled that their 7th is going to be right here in los angeles. native foods culver city opens today at 5pm, but we attended a pre-opening party over the weekend and got a sneak peak at their beautiful new space and their delicious menu items.

    the new culver city location is absolutely lovely inside. it’s bright and spacious with colorful walls and lots of pretty decorations. you order at the counter, then take a number, choose a table, and wait for your food to be delivered. since the weather was nice, we grabbed a spot at a long communal table outside on the patio.

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  • October 21st, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, m café, native foods

    m cafe in culver city has shut down, but native foods will be taking over the lease

    so i guess you can file this under “bad news” and “good news.” as of today, m cafe’s culver city location has shut down and a trusted source tells me that native foods will be taking over the space. I CANNOT WAIT. while i am sad to see m cafe go, at least an awesome vegan restaurant will be replacing it. FINALLY, a native foods in LA with proper parking and seating. you gotta admit, the westwood location is a bit awkward.

    m cafe lovers can still enjoy their awesome vegan food at the melrose and beverly hills locations. our heart goes out to m cafe, and we wish them the best…but this cloud appears to have quite a silver lining. let’s all cross our fingers.

    special thanks to my anonymous informant!

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  • September 18th, 2010brittanyLA restaurants, m café

    it’s no secret that m cafe has one of the best vegan burgers in town. but did you know that in addition to the delicious whole grain patty, tofu cheese, and awesome sauce, you can get your burger with avocado and tempeh bacon?! ’cause YOU CAN!

    vegan loaded burger at m cafe: big macro topped with tempeh bacon and fresh avocado. $12.95

    i recently stopped by m cafe and got one of their burger/fries/lemonade combos. i tried the avocado & bacon variation of the big macro and i can tell you it is super yum! m cafe really does have some of the best tempeh bacon, so adding it to the already delicious burger was a special treat. and i admittedly haven’t been to m cafe in a while, so i was especially surprised to see they have sweet potato fries! the fries are served with a tangy aioli – which was really good BUT they were so delicious and well-seasoned i ended up just shoving most of them into my mouth sans-dip.

    i definitely recommend the tempeh bacon burger – and with the combo it’s a pretty sweet deal!

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  • June 22nd, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, leaf

    earlier this year, we were saddened when the raw vegan restaurant, leaf organics closed its doors to the public. we are happy to report now though, that as of june 18th, the eatery has re-opened its culver city location, and is serving an array of both raw and cooked vegan food! we checked out leaf on their second day back in business, and while they were still ironing out a lot of the kinks, the food was pretty good and we are feeling optimistic.

    veggie chili. $6.50

    the menu at the new and improved leaf is pretty impressive. they’ve got raw and cooked burgers, salads, soups, and even specialties like raw mac and cheese. when we were there, however, they were only serving about half of the menu…hopefully more items will become available ASAP. to start with, we ordered a bowl of the cooked vegan chili, which was a mix of vegetables, beans, and i think maybe a little bit of soy protein. the ordering process was pretty unorganized, and the girl behind the counter couldn’t tell us exactly what was in the chili, but we both really enjoyed it.

    spicy california rolls: spicy veggie pate nori rolls. $6.50

    we also shared an order of spicy california rolls, which consisted of raw vegetable pate rolled up in nori. i must admit, i wasn’t a big fan of these. first off, they came with bell peppers (which i hate), so i had to pick those out. secondly, i found the vegetable pate to be a bit odd. it tasted like mushy carrots and was kind of bland. these rolls weren’t bad…they just weren’t my thing, so definitely try them if they sound good to you.

    hale kale salad: with avocado, sprouted wild rice and mung beans. $10.99

    lastly, we shared a large order of hale kale salad. this raw dish came with massive amounts of fresh kale, sprouted wild rice, and mung beans, all mixed up in an avocado dressing. not only was this thing huge, it was delicious as well. all top notch ingredients with a smooth and refreshing flavor, i’d definitely order it again.

    inside, leaf is relaxing and spacious with large tables and comfy seats. like i said earlier, it was a bit chaotic when were there…many of the menu items were crossed out, the staff seemed stressed, and they were even repainting the sign. i think leaf may have just opened their doors to the public a little too early, and therefore things were not running smoothly. that being said, i can’t wait to return and try more menu items. the tempeh sandwich, sloppy joe, and raw burgers are all calling my name.

    hit up leaf when you have a chance and welcome this vegan restaurant back into the neighborhood. we don’t want to see them go out of business again.

    leaf organics
    11938 W Washington Blvd
    Los Angeles, CA 90066

    PS: leaf’s telephone isn’t working right now, and their website has the wrong address listed. (naughty leaf!) the address above is accurate though, so go check them out.

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  • February 9th, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, m café, Uncategorized

    as you probably already know, the club club is an ongoing series of blog posts where we ruthlessly attempt to seek out the best vegan club sandwich in los angeles. so far we’ve hit up follow your heart, flore, casa de tree, and mani’s bakery…all of which boasted quite impressive double-decker sandwich offerings. tonight’s sandwich comes to you from m cafe, and i am pretty sure if we had to declare a winner right now, this would be it.

    california club: a triple-decker of savory tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, carrots, sprouts, and soy mayo on your choice of bread. comes with one deli salad. $11.25

    granted the m cafe club is a bit on the expensive side, and clocks in at over 11 bucks…but the taste and quality of this thing can not be beat. it’s much lighter than the other clubs but comes packed with the finest and most memorable ingredients. the avocado is always soft and creamy, the carrots are paper thin, and the other vegetables are fresh beyond belief. add to that some completely spongy yet lightly toasted bread and the best tempeh bacon i’ve ever had….whoa!

    plus each sandwich comes with a side of your choice (not pictured), and the deli salads at m cafe are amazing. depending what’s in season, there are usually tons of good options, but i can never stray from the epic peanut kale (ask anybody who has tried it—-it is insane!).

    as you can tell, i’m a little blown away by the m cafe club sandwich…..and i have been since the day i’ve tried it. but this contest IS FAR FROM OVER! leave your favorite vegan club in the comments section and we will be sure to review it. it’s a tough job, but that’s why i’m here.

    m cafe de chaya
    check them out on melrose, in beverly hills, and in culver city!

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  • February 4th, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, leaf

    so sad to see yet another vegan business go under. leaf organics has already closed its sherman oaks location, and plans to shut down its culver city restaurant on february 13th at 9pm. their packaged foods will also cease to be available at local retailers. 🙁

    the good news is, you still have 9 days to get over to leaf and take advantage of the discounts they’ll be offering before they close.

    raw food by leaf cuisine

    photo from leaf’s website.

    while i’ve never been to leaf, i have enjoyed some of their ready made meals from whole foods. i definitely hope to get over to the culver city location before it’s gone for good.

    here is an email forwarded to me by a reader, that leaf sent out to their newsletter subscribers:

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  • January 7th, 2010quarrygirlLA restaurants, samosa house

    looking for authentic and vegan indian street food? look no further than LA’s very own samosa house in culver city. in addition to their dinner combo menu (which is hard to veer away from but often worth it), they also offer a vegan version of the classic vegetarian street dish: bhelpuri.

    bhelpuri is a popular indian dish which consists of hot puffed rice, chopped vegetables, boiled potatoes and tamarind sauce. does that sound weird?! well it should because it IS. it’s like a savory rice krispies treats vegetable dish for dinner, but it’s really fucking good. go try it out at the samosa house. and be sure to say that you want it made vegan (otherwise they may put yogurt on it, ew!) seriously, this stuff is worth writing home about.

    the samosa house
    1510 W. Washington Blvd
    Culver City CA, 90066
    310-398-6766

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  • December 24th, 2009mr meanerbawarchi, LA restaurants, samosa house

    The plethora of vegetarian Indian kitchens in and around Culver City is a wonderful thing. I’m often known to leave work and head to Father’s Office for a Pliny The Elder or two before hitting up Samosa House (both locations) or Bawarchi for a box full of great value meatless Indian food to take home and eat in front of the TV.

    samosa house

    Frankly, the original Samosa House (which has been in Culver City for over 30 years) is quite a trek for me, and has had an historically spotty reputation for the taste of its food and quantities served. But perhaps due to competition from the newer Indian kitchens, or even the shitty blog post I wrote back in October 2008, Samosa House has transformed itself into a paragon of scrumptious food, value and excellent service. The staff are friendly and helpful when asked about vegan items, and take pride in piling your food choices into the containers with a smile. They always have a vegan bread, tasty rice and have recently added things like veggie burgers, dosas and rotating specials just to spice things up a little.

    bawarchi in culver city

    Lately, though, I’ve found myself going to Bawarchi more than Samosa House purely because it’s a couple of miles closer and (crucially!) east of the 405, meaning that I can get there much faster from where I live and work. I’d been bitten by the Bawarchi spell: closer location, exact same food offerings, smiling staff and great service that I began to wonder why I’d ever have an excuse to visit Samosa House again. Until, that is, a couple of weeks ago when I found myself running an errand closer to Samosa House so I popped in, just like the old days, and ordered a couple of combination meals to go.

    When I got home and opened up the meals, I realized that I was getting far, far more for my money at Samosa House than I was at Barwarchi. More curry, more bread, less rice (making room for more curry!), less raita (non-vegan stuff Bawarchi always manages to sneak into the bag) and the food was, frankly, better. It wasn’t as dry, tasted much fresher and had a fuller flavor without being overly saturated with spice.

    samosa house dinner combo!

    VS

    bawarchi dinner combo!

    Just to be sure, I went back to Bawarchi a couple of days ago and ordered my usual – the exact same dishes at the same price as Samosa House. This time, though, I watched the friendly bearded gentleman behind the counter spoon my food in. He was unbelievably diligent in ensuring that he put the absolute minimum of food in each compartment (except for the rice, of course, which filled 80% of the large compartment). At one point, he actually TOOK OUT some jackfruit that he put in, while all the time talking to me so I’m distracted from his hand action like the victim of some Victorian illusionist.

    bawarchi dinner combo!

    VS

    samosa house dinner combo!

    The lentil dal was probably the worst example – he put so little in the box that it only filled one regular shot glass!

    WTF, bawarchi?! ...really?

    Of course, cramming a box with rice (factually, the world’s least expensive food crop) and 25-30% less food than one’s competitors goes straight to the bottom line – and in today’s economy, who doesn’t want to keep costs under control? Exactly.

    I continued to watch him serve a couple of other customers, and I seriously think this guy has a Ph.D. in “food service cost control”: Measly portions, lots of rice and some clever slight of hand lead me to dismiss Bawarchi as a cost-driven business dealing in bait and switch techniques to the uninitiated.

    I’m going to avoid Bawarchi for a while — until they improve the portions and put their customers first. and if, like me, you’ve dumped Samosa House for Bawarchi, try switching back for a while and see the difference. I promise you, it’s worth the extra 1.65 miles however you cut it.

    stick to the samosa house

    Samosa House
    11510 W Washington Blvd.
    Culver City, CA 90066
    310-398-6766

    Bawarchi
    10408 Venice Blvd
    Culver City, CA 90232
    (310) 836-8525

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  • December 18th, 2009quarrygirlLA restaurants, samosa house

    yep, i shit you not. you gotta get to the samosa house and try this thing.

    vegan burger at the samosa house: veggie patty, indian spices, peanuts, tomatoes, onions, coriander. $3.99

    vegan burger at the samosa house: veggie patty, indian spices, peanuts, tomatoes, onions, coriander. $3.99

    i didn’t even know the samosa house had burgers—i’m usually too caught up in the cheap and delicious dinner combos to notice anything else. but last time i was there, i saw a paper sign hanging up at the counter advertising a veggie burger for just $3.99. i asked them if it was vegan, and sure enough it was!

    i ordered one to go, and to be honest i didn’t expect it to be very good. i mean, who orders a veggie burger at an indian restaurant?! i am pleased to report though, that this thing was better than good—amazing even! i’ve never had such a tasty and uniquely spiced burger. the patty was thick and meaty, not full of vegetables and grains like some vegan ones are, and it was topped with chopped up roasted peanuts. add that to an indian sauce, some fresh vegetables and coriander leaves and you have pure delicious.

    i will definitely, definitely be back to order this again. and i encourage you to try it out as well. if you like burgers and indian food, this is the perfect intersection.

    samosa house
    11510 W Washington Blvd
    Los Angeles, CA 90066
    (310) 398-6766

    oh and BTW, this burger is only available at the old school samosa house (the one with a market attached to it). they don’t have the veggie burger at the new samosa house east.

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