• tuesday evening was pretty awesome because it marked the launch of highland park’s din din a go go, a weekly vegan-friendly truck feast in the parking lot of figueroa produce. i arrived at right at the beginning (5:30pm), and there were already tons of hungry peeps milling around, waiting to get their grub on.

    when i saw the multiple trucks lined up neatly behind figueroa produce to the right, i knew it was gonna be an epic night. all the trucks had vegan items on their menus (many added specifically for this event), so i had a pretty tough time deciding what to order. i chose my meals (yes, i ate multiple meals) depending on who was ready to serve and had the shortest line. first up, lomo arigato.

    tofu lomo saltado: tofu sauteed with onions, tomatoes, french fries, soy sauce, and red wine. served over peruvian rice.

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  • September 24th, 2010quarrygirlfresh fries, LA restaurants

    dammit, i really do love the food truck craze! LA has so many vegan-friendly twittering trucks, and now i can add fresh fries to my list of favorites. the entirely meat-free operation, headed up by 2 vegetarian foodies who promise to use only the ingredients they would use at home, specializes in quality french fries (duh!) and has loads of delicious animal-free options. fresh fries has been rolling around the streets of los angeles for awhile, and i finally caught up with their truck yesterday near the PETA office in silverlake for some damn good greasy grub.

    let’s just say that i was beyond impressed. i mean, i’ve had a lot of good french fries in my life, but these were special. very special.

    hummus fancy fries: sweet potato fries with hummus, sprinkled with smoked paprika and sesame seeds. $5

    fresh fries has several vegan offerings—from their normal fries with dipping sauces such as wasabi ketchup, to “fancy fries” with toppings including green chili guacamole and minced garlic. for info on exactly what is vegan, check out the official fresh fries response from when i questioned them via email:

    Our vegan options include: Natural Cut & Sweet Potato fries. Fancy Fries include: Vampire Repellent aka Garlic Fries, Sweet Potato Hummus Fries, (we plan on adding more!) and most of our ketchups: wasabi ketchup, chipotle ketchup, bbq, curry ketchup, etc.

    now that that’s settled…i ordered the newest item on the menu, hummus fancy fries: sweet potato fries topped with hummus, smoked paprika and sesame seeds. this dish was actually inspired by the folks at one of my favorite blogs, drink eat travel, which made it even more delicious.

    my lunch companions went with the classic (non-sweet potato) fry option. first we have the vampire repellent topped with minced garlic…

    vampire repellent crazy fries: minced garlic fries. $5

    and the fiesta fries (veganized) with green chili guacamole…

    fiesta fries (no sour cream!): green chili guacamole over natural fries. $5

    the fries themselves and toppings at fresh fries are seriously top notch. i didn’t think i’d be so smitten after just one visit to the truck, but i am. the long potato strips are the just the right width—not too thin and crispy, but also not all fat and mushy. i’m talking perfectly sized and slightly crunchy wedges. the toppings were also completely amazing. from the sauces (we tried wasabi and curry ketchup) to the hummus, it was all homemade and hand-spiced, not out of a bottle. everything on the truck is made fresh daily, and it’s obvious in the taste.

    my only guff with fresh fries is that their menu is pretty dairy and egg heavy, and it’s all stuff that could be easily veganized. i mean, come on! is anyone gonna notice if you make the chipotle mayo with vegenaise instead of the real stuff? couldn’t you carry daiya or teese for a vegan version of the cheese fries? this is a pretty small complaint, considering how much i loved the fries…but i think it’s worth it to ask. right?! it worked with frysmith, so maybe we’ll get lucky a second time.

    either way…run, don’t walk to fresh fries! they have wonderful fries with inventive toppings that you can’t find anywhere else. and how cool is it that they don’t serve flesh? i love them with all my <3.

    fresh fries on twitter
    fresh fries on facebook
    fresh fries on the web

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  • November 30th, 2009quarrygirlfrysmith, LA restaurants

    vegan chili fries from frysmith at verdugo bar

    as you probably know, there is a massive food truck craze sweeping los angeles. mobile vendors are popping up all over the place to sell pretty much every type of cuisine and using twitter to broadcast their location. the latest business to join the club is frysmith, a twittering food truck that specializes in gourmet french fries. frysmith loads fancy kennebec potatoes cooked in canola oil up with various toppings to turn the popular side dish into a complete meal. and the best thing about frysmith is, they have vegan options!

    frysmith menu

    over the weekend, frysmith was doing a stint at the verdugo bar in glassel park during their saturday afternoon patio session. the verdugo is one of our favorite spots to drink in LA, and also where we tried the awesome food of hot knives and mandoline grill, so naturally we had to go check it out.

    trying to get the truck into the lot

    trying to get the truck into the lot

    like many food trucks that are just starting out, frysmith is still ironing out a few kinks. they were supposed to start serving at 3pm, but had some problems getting their truck into the verdugo parking lot and so the food didn’t start coming out until around 4. that’s alright though, the verdugo had a great beer selection to help pass the time as well as board games and good music.

    vegan chili fries: organic tomato and mixed beans with soy chorizo and smoked paprika. $4.50

    vegan chili fries: organic tomato and mixed beans with soy chorizo and smoked paprika. $4.50

    when frysmith started serving, we got an order of vegan chili fries which were absolutely delicious. the long thin potato slices were perfectly crisp and crunchy, piled high with tomatoes, beans, soy meat and chopped onions. the portion was hearty and a great deal at under 5 bucks. i really think the frysmith is onto something because i could eat this as a meal everyday.

    if you like vegan junk food, i highly suggest you get your ass out to the frysmith and taste what they’ve got cooking. they make the best vegan chili fries i’ve ever eaten. now if only they would carry some cheddar daiya to sprinkle on top…then they’d be perfect.

    follow frysmith on twitter to find out where they’ll be next.

    frysmith

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