i’m not gonna lie, this is one of the best field reports ever and it’s about my favorite food group: PIZZA. Aj aka QueerVeganRunner sent us this post about authentic nyc-style pizza from cafe viva in new york. if this doesn’t have you drooling, i dunno what will. damn, i wish we had a place like this in los angeles! in one visit, she ate FIVE different kinds of vegan pizza BY THE SLICE. amazing. here ya go:

I love LA. But, in my heart (and in my attitude), I am a New Yorker. And to me, and to any real New Yorker, there’s nothing like a slice. To qualify that slice with an “of pizza” automatically disqualifies you from the “real New Yorker” club. Back in my pre-enlightenment days, I swore up and down for Famous Ray’s Original. But Ray’s has not caught on that non-vegan food has gone the way of hookers and crack in Times Square, so passé. Luckily real New Yorkers and tourists can enjoy Original Café Viva (why the original in every pizzeria’s name?). And lucky for me, they are spitting distance from my parents’ apartment.

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there was a new food truck on the block during lunch today – which is a big deal to me because my options for food, especially within walking distance, are limited and starting to get a little old. so i strolled by the clean street food truck because i heard they had a vegan sandwich. and GUESS WHAT, they do!

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hey everyone! time for a vegan field report. this one comes to us from all the way across the country in west palm beach, florida. check out chicavegan’s review of darbster!

Last week, I went to South Florida to visit my family there before the Holidays and for my little sister’s 18th birthday. I had already dined at Sublime before, and Miami is a little too far for me, so I decided to go up to West Palm Beach to try “Darbster” for the first time, a dog-friendly restaurant, tucked away from the busy Dixie Hwy. My older brother and younger sister came along; neither of them are vegan, and were quite curious and intrigued.

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the quick bite series continues! this one comes to us from tettes, who recently hit up gracias madre in san francisco. as of recently we are HUGE FANS OF GRACIAS MADRE….so we were super excited to receive tettes’ glowing review. here goes:

I visited San Francisco during the Thanksgiving holiday, and I went to Gracias Madre twice.

Here are a couple of pics of food items that Quarrygirl didn’t order, including a butternut squash tamale smothered in mole sauce, a butternut squash quesadilla and one of the best items I’ve ever eaten: roasted brussel sprouts in a cashew cheese sauce baked with garlic breadcrumbs on top. OMG!!!

This place is beyond amazing. Perhaps the best vegan place I’ve ever visited!

Butternut squash tamale smothered in mole sauce with a side of refried black beans and spicy pickled vegetables.

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hey everyone! time for a reader review by leigh about an awesome all vegan los angeles cobbler stand called cobblermania. i’ve never tried their food, but this place appears to be a bit of a moving target, operating everyday at the NE corner of la brea and venice…as well at various farmers markets including hollywood, mar vista, torrance, culver city, downtown LA, and san dimas. the best way to track these guys down/get their hours is to call (323) 316-4793. i called them at 8:30pm on a weeknight, and they picked up and were ready to answer any questions about their schedule. from the looks of this review, they are definitely worth checking out. i know i am gonna make it a point to visit them soon!

Cobbler Mania is a cobbler stand on the NE side of the intersection between La Brea and Venice and it promises to be “So Good You’ll (Want To) Slap Somebody!”. They’re not out there every single day but they were today and were prominently displaying a tempting “$5.00 Cobbler Sale” sign…

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hey everyone! just a quick and straightforward holiday reader review from D, who got his thanksgiving meal at real food daily this year. he breaks it down for us in a simple and entertaining manner. listen up!

Below are my pics and thoughts on this years RFD thanksgiving to go… for your amusement of course.

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time for another field report from i dream of greenie! this one comes to us from across the country…seva vegetarian restaurant way over in michigan. if you are ever in ann arbor in search of some vegan food, hopefully this will come in handy. 🙂

While on a recent trip to Michigan, I dined at Seva, in Ann Arbor on the recommendation of Noelle of An Opera Singer in the Kitchen.

I really liked the rustic décor, complete with plants on the ceiling and wood panels (reminded me a bit of a Napa winery).

After a long flight, we were in dire need of a cocktail so we asked our waitress if any of the wines were vegan. She was initially a little shocked, explaining that we were the first person to ask her that question in the 2 years she’d been working there but would look into it that second. She came back a few minutes later with the sad news that none of the wines are vegan.

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it’s field report time! this one is written by i dream of greenie, who recently took a trip to cinnaholic in berkeley. we blogged about mail order cinnamon rolls from the all vegan bakery last week, and now i am dying to visit the shop even more. be warned, this post contains graphic imagery including cookie dough, dandies, and offensive amounts of frosting. YUM.

cinnamon roll with macadamia nut frosting and cookie dough chunks

I have a full set of sweet teeth so when I heard about Cinnaholic, a bakery in Berkeley that boasted custom ordered vegan cinnamon rolls, I knew I needed to visit this spot next time I was in the Bay Area. After drooling over the photos on their website, it became evident that Cinnaholic was the first place I needed to stop upon getting into town.

En route I began to worry that I was about to suffer from a classic case of the letdowns. There is a major difference between enjoying eating something and getting a full sensory gratification and I was definitely hyping it up to be the latter, which from my experience is a rarity. After having been there multiple times, Cinnaholic is simply THAT GOOD.

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field report time, and this one comes to us from a new operative located way over on the other side of the country! check out christina’s review of baladi, a middle eastern restaurant in virginia beach. this post seriously had me drooling. it’s got vegan baklava, turkish delights, and the best looking plate of hummus i’ve ever seen. enjoy!

Attention all military families, beach travelers, those visiting PETA in Norfolk, or anyone else mysteriously finding themselves in Hampton Roads, VA: I have found a gem in the seven-cities.

By chance one morning, I bumped into Khaled, the owner of the Mediterranean restaurant Baladi in Virginia Beach as he was delivering food to my workplace for lunch. You don’t have to pull my arm to get me to try a new Mediterranean restaurant—by the end of the workday I was dying to take that thirty-minute drive to his restaurant to scope out the falafel.

Needless to say, Baladi has become a restaurant that I frequent—due to the superb customer service, the vegan-friendly menu, and the drool-worthy dishes. Each vegan item on the menu has a “VV” next to it, which makes me want to high-five everyone around me.

The word “baladi” in Arabic means “local,” and the restaurant most definitely has a local vibe. The owner is ALWAYS there—taking orders, preparing food, delivering food to tables, learning customer’s names and humoring you if you try to speak mediocre Arabic with him (so what? At least I try). Baladi’s ambiance also happens to be refreshingly unique. I feel like it would have been a nice place to study during college—if there were more seating.

The pastry case at Baladi regularly contains vegan mamool, vegan baklava, and Turkish delights. I’m the sucker that ends up purchasing so many sweets that I have leftovers for days (if you’re wondering: yes, these treats still taste amazing three days later). There is even a deal for people like me: six sweets for $7.50.

The Jalapeno Hummus with spicy garnish is hands-down the best hummus I have ever eaten. I have no idea what “spicy garnish” is—but it is bangin’.

Both the tabbouleh (above) and the couscous (below) are part of the mezze menu, and are affordably priced ($4.95 each!). The tabbouleh is fresh, not too lemony. The couscous is joist moist enough and has some tiny bits of green onion and tomato mixed in. A little lady, such as myself, could purchase one of these and be perfectly satisfied.

Seriously—Baladi consistently crafts the perfect falafel. Above is the Falafel Supreme wrap (crunchy lettuce, warm falafel, hummus, tahini, and Lebanese olives on the side. Mmmm). This baby is only $7.50, too.

This dish is a dream … thick pita bread covered in lentil soup and topped with that wonderful spicy garnish. The lentil soup here is spectacular by itself, but there is something about eating thick, soup-soaked pita bread that makes me drool a little.

These Turkish delights turn me in to an American delight—all I’m sayin’. They’re coated with just enough confectioners’ sugar and they’re not so chewy that they stick in your teeth (in case you want to talk later).

I grew up on this stuff as a kid. Until I was 14, I thought baklava was a staple at everybody’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, thanks to my Arab-American family. After transitioning to veganism I really missed baklava, so this is a great find for baklava fiends—or anyone wanting to have their taste buds tantalized with phyllo dough, rosewater, and pistachios.

No one should ever leave here without getting a Turkish coffee. It’s always made fresh, and it’s served in the most elegant of demitasse cups and saucers. They’re so fancy that I take them up to the counter after I bus my table so they don’t get broken. I know, I know. I’m a sweetheart.

Cute, yeah?

If you’re ever in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, Baladi is definitely worth a visit (or five). Say hi to me when you go, I’m sure I’ll be sitting in the corner scarfing down dish, after dish, after dish …

Baladi Mediterranean Café
640 Hilltop West Shopping Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23451-6139
(757) 425-8877
Monday through Saturday, 11am-8pm

heyo, time for another field report from dadatamonkey! though his recent posts have been from barcelona, this one is about benito’s hat, a mexican restaurant in london. for a little back story, you may wanna check out his quite negative review of london’s chipotle. let’s see how this place measures up!

The branch in Covent Garden. Very, very cool!

On a quick visit back to London, I went to my fave places.. And was either disappointed or they had closed. Didn’t realise I spent that much money on eating out in London! Which meant I had to find new places to munch! Well, through twitter I’d heard good things about Benito’s Hat, and despite my reservations (largely due to my experience with Chipotle) I decided to give it a go. Now I know my Chipotle review caused a little bit of consternation over the pond, so I also know this one may too. So the UK cannot do decent Mexican food yeah? Dream on. This place blows Chipotle out of the water! Read on and see why people…

Simple menu system but much clearer than the others.

The menu is the classic multi-choice/stage type, but is really clear as to what’s veggie (actually vegan unless its cheese or sour cream). Instead of being over the serving area it was MASSIVE on the wall upon entry, which helps if long queues build up I guess. I like this. Style. Not sure why but I got to add in as much as I wanted from all the selections vegans can eat, but more on that shortly.

Wow. This is uber cool. Beetles heaven. As in VW, not music!

So first things first. It was a dead night in London, and I needed cheering up coz it was raining cats and dogs (virtually the whole time I was there). Walking in I just went “OK, this is cool. I feel at home.” Perhaps it was the fact the ladies working there were all speaking Spanish (Barcelona ladies are the best), but mainly the massive mural at the end of the restaurant with my first love. The VDub Beetle!

Watch you don’t prick yourself now! These little cacti are cute as and a great touch!

Now I am a bit of an aesthetic (I blame it on Alexander Baumgarten), and they’ve got this joint spot on. The high seats have tables that fold out, so if you need to fit on more food you can. They also have these cute cacti dotted about all over the place. Sad, but true. I love Cacti! You can probs guess by now I was slightly taken with Benito’s. But the important thing is the food. And as a very long serving vegan (30yrs), how it was served. i.e. Was cross contamination an issue?

The serving area is really well designed, and keeps things totally separate so no cross contamination at all. I like this.

Well, compared to Chipotle, someone had obviously put some thought into how the serving area was arranged. The meat and veg are totally separated. New gloves were used without asking (doubt this would happen at peak times, but the ladies said they will always change gloves if asked, and said it very, very nicely too). I went for the classic burrito, with loads of fresh coriander (cilantro) and lime rice (yup, I’ve been turned, me like now), refried beans (the black beans are also vegan), Guac, and grilled veg. I kinda noticed that they were really packing in the choices here. This was gonna be one big boy of a burrito. The smile was widening as I smelt everything…

Here’s the Big Boy of Burrito’s (my name for this beast). Truly MASSIVE ATTACK! £5 Negra Modello £3-50

As they rolled my BBB I noticed it was never going to form the traditional shape and totally enclose. Gotta say, I didn’t care. The smell of the grilled peppers, courgette in parsley, olive oil and garlic was getting the juices flowing so sod the shape. The menu online says it contains Chayote, but I didn’t see hide nor hair. Not that I was worrying by this stage. Add in the Salsa Brava with fresh habanero and I was away with the pixies. I ordered a Negra to go with it and thought.. Yup, I am gonna be very happy. Then the young lady started filling up my tray with freshly fried tortilla chips.. OK, my mouth was as wide as the moon by this stage. Time to pig out!

Now that’s what I call a Burrito. OK, I’m a rice man now too.

Biting into this baby just confirmed everything I had suspected, The tastes were superb. The courgette was pretty chunky, but cooked to perfection. Still crunchy, but not to much bite. The peppers were juicy and slightly smoky. Rice? Oh yeah. Fresh, limey (no Brits were harmed in it’s cooking ok!) and just the right bite back. Now I love coriander, and wow did they stuff it full of really fresh coriander for me.

This was by far the biggest burrito I’ve seen, and the best I’ve ever eaten in London. OK, maybe I was lucky that night (I was), but something tells me this place is about customers. While I was munching one of the owners came in, and was obviously interested to see how the place was going as it had only just opened recently. I was pleasantly surprised by his attitude. I was even happier about the burrito. I ate the whole thing in minutes, and most of the vast number of tortilla chips too. If an American ever says to me that the UK cannot “do,” Mexican food again, I’ll happily take them to both Chipotle, then here. I know who will win. Benito’s hands down. I take my hat off to these guys, well actually, gals! This is near on as good good as my version of Mexican food, and I am not being big headed there. Just honest.

So. Do I really need to summarise? Oh yes. And this is where I guess I’ll get a mouthfull of not food. Please, America, keep Chipotle. We do not need ya. The combination of Spanish staff and really good, fresh ingredients cooked to almost perfection means I will never walk through Chipotle’s doors in London again. Sorry if I offend any Americans. But I say it as I see, well, eat, it! Marks out of 10? Err.. Love to give you a ten, but mine is a 10/10. So, 9.5/10. I’m mean like that. That’s chefs for you!! If you are in London pop in and enjoy. You will, I reckon. ☺

Benito’s Hat
19 New Row,
London
WC2N 4LA
Tel:020 7240 5815
Opening times: Sun – Wed 11:30-22:00, Thurs – Sat 11:30-23:00

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

field report time! this one comes to us all the way from michigan, and is written by VeganHeartDoc. so sit back, relax, and enjoy her review of the tree house!

Hi there! I’m a huge fan of Quarrygirl and all that she has accomplished for the vegan community. She has graciously allowed me to contribute to her blog! When I’m not eating fabulous vegan food, I’m a cardiologist with my own blog, veganheartdoc.com.

My first report comes from the field – the Midwest – The Tree House in Farmington, Michigan, a small suburb of Detroit. Now, when you visit the Midwest, a vegetarian establishment is hard to come by, and the definition of a veg-friendly restaurant is “menu has a veggieburger”.

The Tree House is a health food store most of the time, but on Sundays from 1-6 pm, it becomes a vegetarian, mostly vegan and mostly raw buffet. As I was visiting my folks back home for the weekend, I was eager to check out their fare.

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hey everyone! time for another barcelona vegan field report by dadatamonkey. i gotta say, this is by far my favorite one yet…and it seems too good to be true. it’s about an ALL VEGAN CAT -THEMED BAR that serves fast food-style cuisine! go on, read all about cat bar!

Good British food and cold beer. What more could a man want?

Strolling around Barca, I came across a bar with a sign outside saying vegano. And its called.. The Cat Bar! Given I love beer, food and cats I kinda had to go in! It’s a normal bar that just happens to serve vegan food! Here’s what they say about the food: “All the food made in the kitchen is 100% vegan. Any food not made by us, ketchup, mustard etc., is served in the original package with the list of ingredients which can be read by most under 30 years olds but few older than that..” So add in a sense of humour and this place is well worth a visit!

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hi everyone, time for another vegan field report! this post is written by the talented Aj aka QueerVeganRunner, and comes to us all the way from the LBC. so sit back and enjoy her awesome review and drool-worthy burger pix…

We have new friends who live in Long Beach and so we ventured down there for the first time a month or two ago and keep going back. It seems that vegan restaurants are not plentiful in the LBC and Zephyr Café it one of the only options. That’s fine by me, because it’s great…except for the hours (only open until 4 pm on Sundays, wha-what?).

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hey everyone, time for a field report from right here in los angeles! this one comes to us from monterey park, and is the first post by our new local operative, “M-E”. check it out, and learn all about veggie world, a family owned restaurant.

I work in East LA which is an area spotted with little gems of restaurants most of which cook with animal fat- the culinary gems don’t usually leave much for the vegan to uncover. My boss is Vietnamese and while driving she saw a sign for what looked like a new restaurant, “Veggie World” and she was dying to show me the wonders of meatless Vietnamese cuisine. We went today after a rough morning in the office.

“Veggie World, Vegetarian Restaurant” is located in Monterey Park and has a vinyl sign with the restaurant name and a little lotus flower hanging out front. We entered zen, the restaurant was empty, but it was immaculate. White walls, beautiful screen dividers, glass lazy susans on the large tables and many jade statues and gold laughing Buddhas evidencing that the patrons were devout Buddhists. The menu is extensive and has $6 lunch specials which come with soup and rice.

I rarely get asian cuisine so my boss and I decided to go all out. I must admit I usually shy away from fake meats as I don’t remember or miss the taste of meat but I LOVE asian food so I was game for an adventure. We decided on a shredded lotus salad with carrots, fake shrimp and pork belly and yummy sauce. Really it was sweet, savory, crunchy and delicious and my boss swore up and down the pork belly tasted exactly like the real thing.

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