it looks like i’m a little bit late to the game on this one, but apparently there’s a weekend pop up event going down at the shuttered fatty’s in eagle rock for the rest of the month! “charlie puffer at fatty’s” takes place on friday, saturday, and sunday evenings through august and features fancy cuisine and wine pairings by chef jonathan harootunian.

photo credit: charlie puffer’s posterous

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this is the moment i’ve been waiting for…finally, a vegan secret supper club in los angeles! “a moveable feast” is a limited seating, gourmet, underground dinner series created by kim garr of c’est la vegan/c’est la v bakeshop and alix bannon of cute and delicious/vegan bake sale that takes place once a month at a secret location. they implement a “pay what you want” policy, with the suggested amount being between $75-$125. for that you get a stunning 5 course meal along with a signature cocktail (non-alcoholic version available) in an intimate speakeasy setting. their next dinner, which will feature mediterranean cuisine, is scheduled for july 9th at 7pm somewhere in studio city. you can make reservations via email, but there are only 6 spaces available, so act fast!

i was lucky enough to attend the inaugural movable feast last month, and i can honestly say it was one of the finest meals i’ve ever eaten. six guests gathered around a long dining table, made friendly conversation, and enjoyed course after course of incredible vegan food for over three hours. here’s a look at what we ate. special thanks to little vegan planet…who took all the amazing photos in this post, except the one of the lemonade!

homemade lemonade, served alcoholic or non

upon arrival, guests were served a glass of homemade lemonade with or without alcohol. i ordered mine sans the booze, and it was absolutely lovely. cool and refreshing, perfect for a warm evening.

course #1: home baked bread served with mushroom lentil pate, vegan goat cheese and artichoke pesto

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In a way, I feel sorry for Millennium restaurant in San Francisco. I mean, just about every vegan or vegetarian (and omnivores on occasion too) will say that Millennium has some of the best vegan cuisine in the world, and is probably North America’s finest vegan dining experience.

Having enjoyed amazing meals at fine dining establishment Sublime in Fort Lauderdale, and the incredible Madeleine Bistro in Los Angeles, I had stratospheric expectations when I reserved a table for two at Millennium. Although the experience didn’t meet our very high expectations on a number of levels, we did have a thoroughly nice time dining on some of the most special food I’d ever eaten.

It’s critical to make a reservation, as the place fills up hot and fast most evenings. As with anywhere this popular, you’re going to find the proprietors drawing a very fine line between retaining a pleasant environment, and packing people in like cattle. Sadly, Millennium crowds its patrons into small two-top tables, close together. There are a couple of larger booths by the entrance, but I bet you have to be Alicia Silverstone or Natalie Portman to get seated in them.

Once you get over the cramped experience (you can literally hear every word uttered by both adjacent tables, as well as smelling the food they are eating), the menu hits you right between the eyes: on the night we were there dishes from France, Germany, Spain and Italy. And I’m not talking about paella and vegan sausages here, but full-on inventions, based on familiar European dishes, all prepared entirely vegan, non-GMO and organic.

grilled flatbread: spring onion confit, black olives, "gorgonzola" cashew cream, dried chile flake & oregano., radicchio salad. $10.50

To start with, we ordered the Grilled Flatbread which was a scrumptious rendition of crispy bread, pizza-style with cool raddiccio salad, olives and a pungent, gorgonzola-style cheese. Although the tastes were interesting, this was the most unimaginative dish we had: it looked like somebody threw some vegetables on flatbread and plopped it down on the table. It reminded me of what I usually get when I order a vegan pizza from an omni pizza parlor: a selection of vegetables with no sauce or cheese on a crispy crust.

sesame crusted oyster mushrooms: lemongrass-grapefruit-chile sambal, watermelon radish relish. $10.25

Moving on, we ordered the Sesame-encrusted Mushrooms, which were much more up our street. This dish has been described as “the vegan calamari”, and I’m told (by people who have eaten calamari) that it mimics the taste and texture pretty well. I can’t vouch for that, but I can tell you it was the greasiest, oiliest and most scrumptious thing I’d eaten in a long time. While it might be organic this and non-GMO that it was anything other than healthy due to the thousands of calories of oily delicious madness.

So, awash with flatbread and oil, our entrees arrived very, very quickly, leading to a theme I note about us feeling somewhat rushed. Cramped in + rushed = more $ for the proprietors…. Just sayin’. Oh and talking about that, Millennium charges $1 per person for a glass of tap water. That’s plain greedy!

almond and black pepper crusted portobello: sesame, sea palm & scallion barley cake, saffron, IPA & french lentil sugo, seared jerusalem artichokes, carrot & escarole, spring garlic-sage tahini cream, parsley-meyer lemon salad. $23.95

As luck would have it, I am also greedy, otherwise there’s no way I could have polished off the entrees. I plumped for the Almond and Black Pepper Portobello, a dish which took rather uninteresting (but sexily named ingredients) and delivered an intersection of tastes that were downright amazing. I found myself picking at bits of the food so I could enjoy each texture and flavor in and of itself, then scooping up a cross-section of the goods to get the mashup to my taste buds as fast as possible.

mushroom and walnut strudel: flaky pastry crust, green garlic mashed potatoes, seared asparagus, herbed green peppercorn cashew cream, blood orange and black olive relish. $23.9

Our other entree was Mushroom and Walnut Strudel, a sort-of pastry chimichanga crammed full of walnuts, mushrooms (yeah, pretty much everything on the menu was based around mushrooms) floating in a cashew cream sauce with an incredible olive and mushroom relish. Seriously, this is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten: crispy, decadent, filling. Words really defy this dish, other than it had more of the consistency of a dessert, like a cannoli, but without the sweet.

Talking of dessert, as our tubby tummies were about to explode we made a pact NOT to order dessert UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Well, that was until the people NEXT to us ordered dessert. Once I laid eyes on what they had, I knew I had to have it. I feebly muttered: “errr, one of those, please….” as I pointed to the next table when the server asked if we were ready for the check (like I said, they were rushing us).

vegan chocolate midnite pie

Within about 11 seconds, something called a Chocolate Midnight Pie arrived on our table and was gone in not many more seconds. I can’t really describe its creamy chocolatey taste in any words, so I’m going to let you look at the picture, and can reinforce that the dish was at least 14X better than it looks.

After the obligatory bottle of organic wine, our bill was well into car payment territory, but we felt that it wasn’t quite worth every penny. The obvious intent to turn many tables quickly really spoiled what would otherwise have been a perfect dining experience. The menu combines the exquisite with the mundane, and the descriptions really don’t give you much of a clue about what you’ll actually get. Add to that some rushed servers, and this place isn’t too friendly.

Also of note is that Millennium is in the lobby of a Best Western hotel, on the edge of Tenderloin: basically, Downtown San Francsico’s Skid Row. If you go West or South from the restaurant you’re walking through some pretty bad urban decay complete with all the trimmings: aggressive homeless people, syringes, toothless crackheads and all sorts of bodily ejected solids in your way.

It was just our luck that we walked to Millennium from the south and west, so we were treated to several interesting run-ins with street-folk, and as we approached the restaurant watched somebody taking a noisy shit against the wall on the west side. After ducking into the restaurant, I was half-way through my meal when I realized the defecating gentleman (or his defecation, at least) was within about six feet of where I was eating.

Millennium will risk your life with a dodgy journey, fleece you for every penny it can get from you, and pack you in like vegan sardines in a recycled, non-GMO can. I’d probably be back there in a heartbeat, though.

Millennium
580 Geary St
San Francisco, CA 94102-1650
(415) 345-3900

if you are in london this fall, consider yourself lucky. not just because you are in the best city on the planet, but because that means you have the chance to try the amazing autumn menu at manna cuisine in primrose hill. europe’s finest and oldest vegetarian restaurant offers a fresh, seasonal menu that changes every few months and this fall, all the selections are vegan, or at least vegan-optional.

we had the pleasure of dining at manna a few weeks ago, and i can safely say it was one of the lovliest meals i’ve ever had. we started off with a side of organic bread, which is baked fresh at the restaurant daily. perfectly warm and fluffy with a side of olive oil for dipping, this really hit the spot.

fresh organic bread: a selection of breads fresh from our kitchen daily with extra virgin olive oil. ₤2

for our appetizer, we shared the quinoa and millet croquettes—pressed patties served on top of beetroot hummus with rocket salad and hazelnuts. the little cakes were beyond excellent with tons of subtle flavor and a texture that reminded me of falafel. the beetroot hummus was amazing, and also gorgeous with its bright red hue. the roasted hazelnuts were sweet and smokey, and added a perfect “holiday” taste to everything.

quinoa & millet croquette: a pressed cake of these ancient seasoned grains, served with our beetroot humous and a salad of rocket and cumin roasted carrot & hazelnut. ₤7

we decided to split two entrees, starting with the organic bangers and mash. this dish came with two sausages made of fennel and pumpkin seeds, on a bed of carrot, parsnip, and dill mash….all topped off with crispy onion rings. i have had loads of vegan bangers and mash in the UK, and i can say without a doubt that these were the fanciest and the best. the homemade sausages were made of the finest ingredients, and the seeds gave them a really wonderful earthy taste. the mashed potatoes had several distinct vegetable flavors and were incredibly creamy…and the fried onion rings made for an awesome topping. this was the perfect gourmet version of an old school comfort food dish, i would eat this every single day if i could.

organic bangers & mash: organic fennel and pumpkin seed sausages on a bed of carrot, parsnip & dill mash, seasonal mixed greens, a red wine, leek & thyme jus and onion rings. ₤13

we also shared the saffron chestnut cake, which was served in a wild mushroom ragu with pan-seared kale. this thing blew me away after the first bite….i never knew vegan food could be this unique and beautifully presented. the tender cake was filled with perfectly-seasoned grains and nuts, and was a completely new taste. the creamy ragu was rich and decadent, and was great soaked up by the soft cake and eaten with bites of kale.

saffron chestnut cake: a delicately balanced herbed grain and nut cake, served with a wild mushroom ragu, truffle oil and pan-seared kale. ₤13

for dessert we were really looking forward to trying the knickerbocker glory, an ice cream dish served with cake…but unfortunately, that was only available on the summer menu. (even though the online menu at the time still had it listed!) instead we went with the timbale, which according to the menu was a “chocolate sponge and cheesecake” combination. unfortunately, i wasn’t a big fan of this thing…it was very full of blueberries which weren’t listed in the description, and i don’t care for fruit in my dessert. oh well, i guess you can’t win them all—and the rest of our experience was spectacular.

chivu's timbale: a long time favourite daily special, a chocolate sponge and cheesecake layered combination. ₤7

on top of the food being excellent, manna has very friendly service and a comfortable atmosphere. the place is pretty swanky with small tables and moody lighting, and i hear it can get pretty crowded so i would definitely suggest you make a reservation.

on our way out, a friendly man who was unloading bags of food from his car asked us if we enjoyed our meal. we said we did, but made a comment about the knickerbocker glory not being available even though it was on the online menu. he immediately pulled out a business card and introduced himself as roger, the owner. he profusely apologized and said on our next visit we could get a free dessert. how sweet is that?! it made me even more sad that we were leaving to return to america the next day.

as you can probably tell, i just can’t speak highly enough of manna. they really take vegan food to the next level with their creative dishes, and offer the kind of gourmet meatless dining that is very hard to come by. i will be sure to visit them as much as possible when i’m in england.

manna
4 Erskine Road
Primrose Hill, London NW3 3AJ
020 7722 8028

akasha: punjabi mung beans and rice. local greens, tandoori flatbread, tomato chutney.

dineLA restaurant week! it’s all the craze! it’s when fancy-schmancy dining establishments in los angeles offer specially priced 3 course meals that normal people can afford…and it’s happening NOW (october 4-9 and 11-16)! although at first glance, the online menus of participating restaurants show almost no vegan options, don’t let that discourage you…there is plenty for us to eat!

this post comes courtesy of a very awesome quarrygirl.com reader, emily west hollywood, who started calling up dineLA restaurants and sussing out their vegan options. we now have the following list of places that have been contacted, and whether or not they can cater to us herbivores. we will keep updating this list, so tell us in the comments section if you have any more info.

here is what the restaurants had to say when asked if they would accommodate vegans for dineLA:

akasha said “no problem,” but maybe call in advance so they can make a note about dessert. (i can personally vouch for this place…i went to their dineLA week in january for lunch and it was incredible!)
bazaar by jose andres said “yes,” they will give vegans access to a tapas menu with many options. plus, they are an “all olive oil kitchen, no butter!”
bella cucina italiana said “no problem and no need to call ahead.”
bld said “yeah, they will make it happen. just call ahead and let us know you are vegan so we can get ready for you.”
border grill sure thing, “come and tell your server when you arrive.”
buddha’s belly santa monica said “yup, they can make things vegan.”
checkers downtown said “sure, no problem.”
cache restaurant and lounge the chef said that they were willing to veganize, but for the things that would be left out it might not be worth the money.
chaya downtown said “NO, we won’t change anything.” (bitches)
ciudad said “no problem at all, we would be happy to oblige, no need to call ahead.”
craft said “sure! we can adjust our menu for vegans, just call ahead and we will make a note…”
grace restaurant said, “sure. our menu can be modified for vegans. no problem.”
fig seemed to think it would be fine, but call to make sure.
ford’s filling station apologetically said “no, we usually can accommodate vegans but we actually don’t even have a veg dish on the dinela menu.”
ivan kane’s cafe was they checked with the chef and said, “he would be happy to take care of vegans. there are several things he could make.”
il fornaio said, “sure, things could be modified to be made vegan.”
la botte said “no sorry, but there is vegan stuff on the regular menu.” (i doubt this however, because i ate at la botte once and they were COMPLETE DICKS when i tried to order a dish a without cheese. they said the chef wouldn’t allow it. i shan’t return, ever.)
loteria grill hollywood said “no, we can cater to vegetarians but we will not modify the menu for vegans.”
larchmont grill said “no, but there are vegan options on the regular menu.”
le grande orange is a big NO. (pfffft…meanies)
luna park said “no,” but they were very apologetic.
the must wine bar said “yes of course we will adjust our menu, just tell your server as soon as you arrive.”
rush street said they are in, and will replace dessert with a cocktail.
susan feniger’s street said “yes! but please tell us a day in advance so we are ready.”
taste said no.
wolfgang puck bistro said no, and might i add, they were VERY CUNTY on the phone. “i don’t know if you’ve looked at the menu, but every item contains meat and/or dairy…so NO.”
xiv said “yes we would be happy to allow a dineLA vegan menu…just call ahead.” (i highly recommend you take advantage of this offer…i have had the tasting menu at xiv and it was AMAZING!!)

vegan cauliflower tempura at xiv

oooh, and just a side note about xiv: they will be offering their vegan menu after dineLA at 20% off through december 15th! you need to get over there and try it, because the food is absolutely extraordinary…and the discount makes it much more affordable.

so there you have it, your vegan-friendly dineLA options! get out there and eat at some fancy restaurants over the next week, YOU DESERVE IT. let’s support these places for catering to us…PLUS, why should omnivores have all the fun when it comes to cool restaurant discounts?!?!

to avoid hassles, be sure to call ahead for dineLA and make a reservation…and check out this post on LAist.com with tips for making the most of your experience. happy vegan eating!