hey guys! as you probably know, we’re following the band silver snakes around on tour, via vegan food text updates from band member alex. he’s taken us around—from other parts of california, to nevada, to idaho, and now they’re in seattle (still) for more tastiness. today was epic, just see alex’s updates below. oh, and don’t forget to check out silver snakes when they’re in a city near you. go to their show and talk them into eating with you…it may end up on this blog!

Vegan Donuts from Mighy-O in Seattle

Mighty-o donuts. Seattle, WA. Naked cake and pumpkin spice donuts and a hot cocoa. Naked cake donuts are my favorite! I wish I could find them back in LA.

Read the rest of this entry »

here in los angeles vegan cookies and cupcakes are super easy to come by, but vegan donuts are a bit more elusive. it’s a crime! donuts are the perfect junk food—they’re sugary, often fried, and covered in frosting—and vegans deserve the chance to indulge. this is why i’m super jealous of people who live in the bay area, pepples vegan donuts are everywhere! the main “donut farm,” as they call it, is based in oakland…but pepples treats can be found in oodles of locations from berkeley to santa cruz.

pepples vegan donuts!

on a recent trip to SF i hit up the pepples stall in the ferry building, and had a rough time deciding what to order. they had loads of flavors on hand including salted caramel, orange creamsicle, and matcha green tea to name a few…not to mention a whole tray of FRITTERS!! i’m a self-proclaimed chocoholic though, so when i saw that they had a chocolate covered “chocolate cookie flavor,” i knew i had to have it.

Read the rest of this entry »

happy national donut day, everybody! we hope you’re celebrating with some delicious vegan donuts. here are some pictures of vegan donuts we’ve eaten from all over the country to get you in the mood.

old school vegan donuts from ronald’s in las vegas…

vegan donuts from ronald's

Read the rest of this entry »

when brody’s bakery in kansas city contacted me and asked if i’d like to receive a shipment of their baked yummies, i was like, “HELL YES.” the all vegan and gluten-free company offers an insane selection of treats: donuts, brownies, cookies, bars, truffles…it’s madness! the online menu is so huge, i couldn’t even begin to decide what to order. i told brody’s i trusted their judgment and to hook me up with something good. …and boy, did they ever!

i couldn’t even believe it when the massive box arrived, just overflowing with good stuffs. loads of rich, decadent baked goods that all happen to be vegan and gluten-free. WTF? how do they do it?

Oatmeal Pies: Just like the ones from Little so-and-so, right down to the thick creamy middle, only bigger, better and yummier! 8 for $10

Read the rest of this entry »

we all know that doomie’s is opening up this weekend, but there are a couple other awesome vegan events that should be on your radar as well.

remember those insane donuts i raved about last year from the righteous fryers?!…

Read the rest of this entry »

vegan donuts.

over here in the western part of the united states, we have our share of amazing vegan donuts. we have the gourmet delicacies from madeleine bistro in LA, the cheap old school treats that would fool omnivores from ronald’s in vegas, and then the rich well-crafted, organic donuts from mighty o in seattle. while i love all these places for different reasons…mighty o wins for inventive flavors, taste variety, and all around excitement.

recently my twitter friend (and quarrygirl.com caption contest winner) @deteriorate offered to bring me some mighty o donuts back from seattle, and the haul was epic.

french toast, chocolate, don king, peanut butter chocolate

i got hooked up with a combo of french toast, chocolate, don king (chocolate topped with coconut), and peanut butter chocolate. serious sugar coma. the pb chocolate was by far the best, and probably one of the best desserts i’ve had in my life.

when in seattle, be sure to hit up mighty o. and it may be worth taking a trip up there just to eat donuts!

mighty o donuts
2110 north 55th street
seattle, WA 98103
206-547-0335

since our last post, teasing the arrival new vegan los angles donuts, the righteous fryers have created a twitter account and officially opened up for business.

i don’t have any more info than what i gained from the following 2 tweets, but i highly suggest you follow them, email them, and place some orders because their donuts are fucking insaaaaaaaaaaaaane. sooo good.

the righteous fryers on twitter

these are some of the best vegan donuts ever, a cross between the fancy ones at madeleine bistro and quick cheap ones at ronalds!

best of luck to the righteous fryers! los angeles needs more vegan donuts.

one thing the los angeles vegan scene is really lacking is vegan donuts. luckily, that may change very soon thanks to a couple of food science college students named jessica and amanda. the two girls came up with some killer recipes for the deep fried treats during a product development class, and BAM—just like that their company the righteous fryers was born.

they hooked me up with some samples of their punnily-named wholly donuts, which were drop dead delicious. the flavors i tried were apple crumble and boston creme, and i was blown away by what these college kids created.

the first one i sampled was the boston creme. dense thick chocolate cake coated in chocolate frosting, and filled with moist and fluffy cream. gah, it was so tasty. it was small and artfully made, yet rich and messy…it was like the cross between a madeleine bistro and a ronald’s donut. LA would be a better place if stuff like this was readily available.

next i tried the apple crumble, and lemme preface my description by saying i usually hate baked fruit. this thing, however, won me over with one bite. the fruit flavor wasn’t strong, and everything was coated in sticky sweet cinnamon. plus, it had this sugary crumbly coating on top that was off the charts—it tasted like a deep fried donut, an apple pie, and a piece of coffee cake were having a threesome in my mouth. wowowow.

unfortunately, the righteous fryers are not in business yet because one of them is still finishing school. they are well on their way though, so look out for these donuts in the future. they definitely have the dessert skills down already, let’s hope they smooth out the business affairs and get rolling ASAP.

good luck, amanda and jessica!

oh, and you can follow jessica (@raspberryrush) on twitter. yay!

ronald’s donuts in las vegas are known to be the best vegan donuts ever. quite possibly the best vegan desserts ever. however, they are so cheap, so good, and so “real” tasting…they often leave people wondering if they are really vegan. i mean, why is this little hole in the wall shop in nevada the only place to master the art of the vegan bear claw?

some internet digging produced stories of rey ortega from sun flour baking having the donuts tested for veganocity, but the actual lab results were nowhere to be found. well thanks to mr. wishbone, the stealth agent behind operation pancake (our undercover investigation of the ingredients at LA vegan restaurants), we were able to get our hands on rey ortega’s report.

the results for the glazed donuts tested show that if any egg white was present, it was below the threshold they could detect. although rey didn’t have the samples tested for milk products, at least we can rest assured that the donuts don’t contain egg…which is a prominent ingredient in every donut recipe i can find online.

i definitely feel comfortable enough to continue eating ronald’s donuts after these results, but stay tuned…maybe we can get these suckers tested for milk in the future. until then, let’s give rey ortega of sun flour baking a big shout out for getting the donuts tested. doing this stuff isn’t easy or cheap, and now we can all eat our sweets with peace of mind.

and thanks to mr. wishbone for the tip. DONUTS.

on my recent trip to pdx, i made a stop by voodoo doughnut. the quirky shop in downtown portland is known for its wacky doughnut flavors and vegan selections, but i must say i was pretty underwhelmed with the place.

vanilla chicostick cake donut. $1.50

the first donut i tried was a vanilla chicostick doughnut. the thick white cake was topped off with white frosting and loads of mashed up peanut butter & coconut chick-o-stick candy. while the toppings and frosting were delicious, the cakey doughnut itself was inedible. one bite was enough to completely turn me off. it was way too thick and tasted like banana. i later found out that on some doughnuts voodoo uses banana as an egg-replacer, and i am definitely not a fan of that.

rice krispies treats and peanut butter chocolate raised donut. $2>

i also tried the peanut butter rice krispies doughnut, which was a much better but still nothing too impressive. at least the cake on this one was a little more soft and moist. turns out this donut was actually a “raised” one, rather than a “cake” one. i’m not even sure what that means, but it definitely was an improvement. the peanut butter rice krispies combo was an unusual idea, but it didn’t work too well. i could only finish about 1/3 of this donut, and then threw it away.

vegan donut menu

inside the shop, voodoo had a huge board full of vegan doughnut specialties, and some sounded quite delicious. however, almost everything i wanted to try was out of stock. as i was reading the board trying to decide on a few flavors, the surly employee behind the counter pointed at a near-empty case and barked, “those are your options!”

speaking of the dude behind the counter, he was a real dick. he seemed annoyed that i was asking for flavors that were on the menu, and he acted like he did not want to be there AT ALL.

so let’s see…i had one awful donut, one okay donut, and the service was absolutely horrible. i will definitely give voodoo doughnuts another chance next time i’m in portland, but i’m not in any rush.

voodoo doughnut
22 SW 3rd Ave
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 241-4704

los angeles vegans: take the day off, pack your bags, fill up your tank, and head to las vegas asap.

it turns out sin city has a lot more to offer than cheap beer, false promises of wealth, broken down hookers and all you can eat shellfish buffets—vegas is also home to the best vegan donuts in the world. i shit you not. ronald’s donuts are so delicious, nobody would ever be able to tell they are vegan. not to be confused with ‘fancy’ los angeles vegan vendors, ronald’s is a typical low brow donut shop. located miles off the strip in LV’s china town, the unassuming hole in the wall opens early, lacks ambiance and charges very little for its treats. it’s an insane experience, going into ronald’s which is exactly like a normal donut shop in every way, and being able to order a box full of classic flavors for just $6. stuff like this in LA would be three times the price and wouldn’t taste nearly as good.

at ronald’s donuts, there’s two big display cases and everything on the top two rows is vegan. my eyes were bigger than my stomach and i went a little crazy ordering, luckily these things keep pretty well in the refrigerator. i highly suggest if you go here, you stock up as well. you aren’t ever gonna find donuts this good again.

my favorite by far was the soy cream filled donut. the round squishy white cake was injected with thick vanilla cream and topped off with a layer of chocolate frosting. i can’t stress how much this tastes like the donuts i remember eating as a child. a cheap, normal, decadent donut in every way….except this one was vegan!

i also filled up on other spiffy treats like the apple burrito thingy pictured above, a fried pastry filled with fruit and topped with crunchy cinnamon. the classic chocolate frosted donut was also delicious…

…as were the glazed donut holes.

and you can sit back and enjoy your pastries with a hot cup of coffee in the traditional donut shop atmosphere. seriously, i never thought vegans would be able to do this kind of thing.

the three and a half hour drive to las vegas is well worth it just to experience ronald’s donuts. if you live in los angeles, i suggest you start planning your trip now. i hear from friends that the thing to do is stay up all night then get to ronald’s at 5am when they open for fresh donuts. not even i am that hardcore, but who knows, maybe i will give it a try next time. get your asses to ronald’s now…and bring some donuts back to LA for me.

ronald’s donuts
4600 Spring Mountain Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 873-1032

UPDATE!!! PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT DEE’S DONUTS BEFORE EATING THEM.

yawn! i usually don’t post on saturday morning, but as of today, there are finally vegan donuts in los angeles and that is so worth writing about at this dreadful hour! intelligentsia in silver lake has started selling dee’s nuts donuts and i can’t get enough.

dee's nuts vegan donut with chocolate frosting and purple sprinkles. yum.

it’s about fucking time vegan donuts made their way to los angeles. i mean, jeez, we have a gazzilion vegan restaurants, vegan cupcakes, vegan cookies, and (my fave) vegan twinkies, but no vegan donuts. …UNTIL NOW.

today, it seems that dee’s nuts donuts, a vegan donut brand has shot up overnight and started offering a line of baked goods at the very popular intelligentsia coffee shop in silver lake. dee’s nuts is a one-woman, animal-free donut company (she doesn’t advertise her goods as vegan, because the v word makes flesh-eaters recoil in horror) who has has been getting quite the buzz in the vegan community and causing a stir among herbivores on twitter.

dee’s nuts treats have been available for private order through her website for quite awhile. but today for the first time, they made their debut on the los angeles restaurant scene. since silver lake seems to have the most vegan restaurants per capita, it seems fitting that vegan donuts would first show up at a trendy sunset junction coffee shop.

intelligentsia is known for its superior coffee, tea, and pastries. how awesome is it that thanks to dee’s nuts, vegans from all of la county have a huge reason to visit there now.

vegan donuts at intelligentsia. $2.50 each.

glazed and chocolate-coconut are both delicious.

dee’s nuts creates a line of super fresh donuts, baked right in our own downtown los angeles, that taste authentic and sinful just like the real thing. plump, porous, juicy cake deep fried and covered in thick and creamy frosting make for absolute decadence. and at only $2.50 a pop, they are very reasonably priced, and give you an excuse to buy several.

because they aren’t advertised as vegan, i know that SO MANY omnivores will order these donuts and think they are “real.” muahahahahhahahahahahaha.

la vegans, get over to intelligentsia and buy some donuts. right now they only have one dozen per day. i got my silly ass there at 6am on a saturday and heard that other people had been calling about them as well. considering there are no other vegan donuts in town, i’d act fast and buy ’em whenever the fuck you can.

i was so stoked when i heard about these vegan donuts, that i couldn’t even wait for them to become available in stores. lucky for me, deanna of dee’s nuts invited me to her kitchen yesterday and gave me a quick tour, as well as a piping-hot donut fresh off the press. you can order your own batch through her website, and i highly recommend doing so, even if its just to be able to taste a donut moments after its been made. check out this cell phone picture i snapped of the vegan donut maker:

this is where vegan donuts come from.

i know, i know. i am very lucky.

dee’s nuts donuts also made a smaller debut today at fix coffee in echo park. fix has already been offering cookies baked by dee’s nuts, and as of today they will be selling donuts too. if you can stomach it, i would recommend getting to fix and trying the cookies out as well. there is a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie that is melty and out of this world, along with a thick spongy sugar cookie slathered in creamy frosting. these treats are also not advertised as vegan, and they are tasty enough to fool anybody.

vegan sugar cookie. $2.50 and vegan chocolate chip cookie. $2.25

i will keep you posted as these baked goods and donuts become available in more locations. now that i’ve had vegan donuts in la, i definitely don’t want them to go away.

oh yeah, and dee’s nuts! lol.

OMG VEGAN DONUTS!!!!!

i can’t even tell you how elated i was to find mighty-o, a donut-baking shop in seattle that was ENTIRELY vegan. i was even more elated when i tried their donuts and they tasted EXACTLY like (if not better than) the real (unhealthy, ridiculously sinful, fattening, artery-clogging) thing!

sprinkled o: the best chocolate donut ever covered in decadent frosting and sprinkles $1.65 along with naked cake: a mini plain donut 35¢

i’ve gotta say, during the short time i spent in seattle, mighty-o was by far my favorite discovery. it’s definitely a heaven on earth for any vegan with an intense sweet tooth who misses the sinful vegetarian lifestyle. i’ve not had a donut in YEARS, but i remember loving them.

i’ve alway had a penchant for sugar-laden treats. when i was a vegetarian teenager, i used to drive all the way from santa clarita to a donut shop in van nuys (a 20 mile journey) to obtain their coveted, brand-new, freshly-cooked donuts (if i arrived during certain hours, i could even watch them being made on a giant conveyer belt—what fun)! unfortunately, at the age of 20 when i became a vegan, i assumed that avenue of donut-devouring pleasure had been permanently closed off to me. ….boy, was i wrong! not only did mighty-o give me the opportunity to enjoy a pipin’ hot sugary donut, it also made those old treats i used to eat look like limp, crappy, fast-food versions of the real thing.

and with a refillable cup of mighty-o’s coffee, plus a great seat in the window, i could easily spend all morning sipping drip and eating donuts.

it’s no surprise that with vegan sweets this good, there was a line going out the door of mighty-o at 11 am on a saturday morning. the line was so long, in fact, that i turned around and decided to come back the next day, early. when i returned on sunday at around 8 am, the place was still pretty full—i guess people are willing to wake up early and wait for these magical donuts, and i am too!

Read the rest of this entry »