• October 4th, 2011quarrygirlmore restaurants (not LA), portland

    the hungry tiger too in portland has to be one of my favorite places on earth. not only is it a bar with a pretty good craft beer selection, but it’s a full on restaurant as well with a separate vegan menu and the best biscuits and gravy known to man. why, oh why can’t we have somewhere like this in los angeles?

    we’ve been fans of hungry tiger too for a couple years now, and make it a point to eat there on every trip to portland. imagine how delighted we were on our recent visit, to learn from friends that the already giant menu had expanded to include even more vegan options! we headed over for what turned out to be one of the best brunches in recent memory. check it out:

    portobello scramble: fresh portobello mushrooms with tofu, garlic, spinach, mushrooms and nutrtional yeast. with hashbrowns and toast. $5.75

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  • August 13th, 2010quarrygirlflore, LA restaurants

    just one more reason to love weekends in los angeles: there’s a new brunch menu at flore, and it is fantastic. seriously, you gotta get over there saturday or sunday and check it out. we are talking new scrambles, waffles, and last but not least…BISCUITS AND GRAVY.

    we went last weekend for the menu’s debut, and while i knew it would be pretty good, the food exceeded all of my expectations. i ordered the biscuits and gravy (natch), and they were nothing short of epic. for under 10 bucks, i got two massive biscuits covered in white creamy gravy and topped with flore’s homemade sausage. plus, a bed of kale with tempeh bacon on top. SO MUCH FOOD.

    the menu description doesn’t even begin to do these guys justice…it doesn’t even list the fact that they come covered in seitan sausage. i was in no way prepared for how delicious they would be. honestly, everything about them was top notch—the biscuits themselves were soft and fluffy, the gravy was rich and flavorful, the sausage bits were plump and hearty, and the kale was fresh. this meal was so good, i had to take its photo from both sides, just so you could get an idea of how glorious it was.

    biscuits and gravy: two biscuits topped with vegan gravy and served with your choice of tempeh bacon, fruit, or potatoes. $9.95

    honestly, i think i am gonna go order this again tomorrow. where else can you get vegan biscuits and gravy in los angeles?! nowhere that i can think of! and the ones at flore will BLOW. YOUR. MIND. i am so grateful they added these things to the menu.

    my husband went with the traditional tofu scramble, which was also flawless. it came with huge chunks of extra firm tofu, all mixed in with extremely fresh vegetables atop a bed of kale, served with sliced bread and potatoes. breakfast perfection.

    tofu scramble: savory tofu, tomato, mushroom, red onion and basil scramble served atop sauteed kale. serverd with sliced batard and your choice of fruit, tempeh bacon, or potatoes. $9.95

    flore’s brunch menu is only served on weekends from 10am – 1pm, so don’t strut in there expecting biscuits and gravy any ole time of day. also just to clarify, these items are only available at flore in sunset junction, not to be confused with its sister restaurant the meet market down the street.

    if you don’t already have plans this weekend, i highly suggest you work brunch at flore into your schedule. the food is second to none, and the biscuits and gravy are my new favorite meal. oh, and while you are there, be sure to pick up a few croissants!

    flore vegan
    3818 W. Sunset Blvd.
    Silverlake, CA 90026
    (323) 953-0611
    brunch: weekends 10am – 1pm

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  • February 2nd, 2010quarrygirldenver, more restaurants (not LA)

    there i said it. watercourse is better than any vegetarian restaurant here in los angeles. it’s roomy and comfortable with a long bar, the menu is enormous and every item can be made vegan, and the food is really REALLY good. plus they have a whole cabinet of vegan baked goods and several beers on tap. in fact, i am planning another trip to colorado just to eat at watercourse again.

    country fried seitan: a hearty breaded seitan steak served with mashed potatoes, country gravy, and mixed vegetables. $10.95

    on our first visit to watercourse, our minds were completely blown by the country fried seitan. the massive plate of home-style cookin’ honestly defies description. it is so delicious and so hearty, it’s one of those food food items you’ll remember it forever. the plate comes with a large piece of chewy yet crispy battered and fried seitan with fluffy mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables all slathered with the best gravy i’ve ever had in my life.

    just look at that spiced and creamy gravy perfection. i can’t think of one place in LA to get a decent vegan gravy dish…and i’m seriously considering moving away for that reason.

    po boy: a crispy portobello mushroom cap on a bun topped with chipotle aioli and coleslaw. served with your choice of 2 sides. +$1 for onion rings. $9.25

    we also split a vegan portobello po boy, which came with a huge fried mushroom stacked with slaw and creamy aioli on a soft bun. watercourse does not fuck around…their sandwiches are under 10 bucks and come with not one, but TWO sides! i went with the mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as onion rings (which cost an extra dollar). that additional buck was money well spent, because the onion rings were epic. have a look:

    enormous, crispy, and deep-fried…what’s not to love? oh, and the sandwich was killer too. this place really has some of the best vegan food i’ve ever eaten; and i’ve eaten a lot.

    the atmosphere at watercouse is super chilled out, the staff is friendly, the food comes out quick…i really don’t have one bad thing to say about this place. basically, just go there if you ever have the chance. even if you are merely flying over denver, it’s worth figuring out how to make an extra stop just to eat here.

    i love you, watercourse!

    watercourse
    837 E. 17th Ave, Denver, CO 80218
    303-832-7313 / » Map
    Open Mon – Thur 7am – 9pm, Fri 7am – 10pm,
    Sat 8am – 10pm, Sun 8am – 9pm

    PS: the team behind watercourse are the same people behind city ‘o city….which we LOVE. these beautiful people can do NO WRONG.

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  • January 5th, 2010quarrygirlmore restaurants (not LA), NYC

    one thing i really hate about traveling to nyc, is that i always find a wonderful restaurant with food so delicious and lovely, it makes me sad that i can’t pack a lifetime supply and smuggle it back home in my suitcase. sure enough last week when i visited the big apple it happened again, and the one restaurant that screamed “holy shit why don’t we have this in LA?!?!?!” the loudest, was curly’s vegetarian lunch.

    curly’s vegetarian lunch is a meatless hole in the wall located in the east village, with a larger than life menu full of greasy diner food that more than makes up for their lack of square footage. to call this place vegan-friendly would be an understatement, considering ANY item curly’s offers can be made vegan (and the most appetizing of the selections are already).

    we arrived around noonish on a weekday and were welcomed in from the blustering cold by a friendly gentleman who looked like curly himself, judging by the newspaper clippings hung allover the walls. the service was impeccable; a friendly waitress immediately took our order and was always ready with a refill of hot coffee. we settled on two of the menu items that were vegan by default, the open-faced turkey sandwich and the tofu scramble.

    open-faced turkey sandwich: sage and garlic rubbed soy fillet over corn bread stuffing and toasted rye, napped with gravy and served with cranberry dressing, garlicky kale and butternut squash. $12.95

    while both dishes were great, and the experience overall i cannot fault….the one thing that keeps haunting my dreams is the FUCKING TASTY TURKEY SANDWICH. i know, i know i rave about food a lot on this blog, but please believe me…this deserves extra attention. first off, it was massive. the plate was so full of food, i only ate about half of it and i went from starving to bloated. secondly, it comes with ample servings of all the food groups we vegans crave: tons of greens, check. seitan, check. ridic amount of gravy, check. not to mention the squash, oily yet fluffy stuffing, and sweet chunky cranberry sauce. wowowow. lastly, this plate (enough to feed 3 people) was under $13….in manhattan. that is less than real food daily, and even m cafe holiday plate prices. oh, and this is offered all year round.

    seriously, so many nyc restaurants get talked up, but this REALLY WAS amazing. please put this on your ultimate, must, no matter what, to do list.

    on to the next dish! although it was a little late, it was our first meal of the day….so my husband went with the vegan tofu scramble plus added spinach. (curly’s serves breakfast all day!) this thing came fried up with mounds of yellow tofu, sauteed greens, wedges of toast and deliciously crispy curly fries. not quite as good as my sandwich, but definitely a wonderful indulgence.

    scrambled tofu: with toast and curly fries. plus spinach. $8.70

    look at all that food! eh?!?! i have been brought up to believe that you are supposed to pay more in manhattan for everything…but this was a shit ton of breakfast for under $9, and i challenge you to find a deal that good in LA!

    i cannot even stress how superb our experience at curly’s was, and i urge you to visit them whenever you are in nyc. the place is SUPER SMALL (for the LA crowd, it’s about the size of the meet market/flore cafe/the vegan spot) but they do wonders to actually transform it into a comfortable dining experience.

    i will be back for sure, because curly’s has earned a place in my heart as one of my favorite restaurants ever.

    curly’s vegetarian lunch
    328 East 14th Street
    New York, NY‎
    (212) 598-9998‎
    Mon-Fri: 11am-11pm
    Sat–Sun 10am-11pm

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  • August 21st, 2009quarrygirlmore restaurants (not LA), portland

    now i can’t really say that i’m an expert on portland cuisine or anything, having spent less than four days of my life in the city, but i can tell you that the vegan breakfast at vita cafe was one of the best breakfasts i’ve ever had, in any city.

    sloppy biscuit sandwich: fried tofu, faux turkey, vegan cheese and gravy between a vegan biscuit served with potatoes. $8

    sloppy biscuit sandwich: fried tofu, faux turkey, vegan cheese and gravy between a vegan biscuit served with potatoes. $8

    before my visit, i read a rave review of vita’s vegan biscuits and gravy on ToLiveAndEatInLA.com, so i went in with pretty high hopes. i decided to go all out fatty-style and get the sloppy biscuit sandwich complete with fried tofu, mock turkey and vegan cheese all smothered in vita’s almond gravy with a side of breakfast potatoes. this meal was so damn delicious, it exceeded my expectations and definitely lived up to the hype.

    from the description on the menu, i was expecting the biscuit sandwich to be a like a hearty mcmuffin with some gravy on the side. what i got instead was a huge mound of fluffy open-face biscuits topped with a massive slice of fried tofu, loads of mock meat and melty vegan cheese. all this was drenched in the thickest, richest, most delicious gravy i’ve ever tasted. it was waaaaay too much food for me to eat, but by the end of the meal i was straight up licking the gravy off my plate.

    everything about this breakfast was perfect—the biscuits were soft and doughy, the fried tofu was crispy and not too greasy, the mock meat and cheese were salty and delicious, and the almond gravy was out of this world. garnished with chopped green onions and accompanied by a large side of excellent home fried potatoes, this is the best breakfast i’ve ever eaten. ever. EVER. and i have eaten A LOT of breakfasts.

    vita-cafe-biscuit-sandwich-side

    my husband went with the lighter, but equally delicious vita scramble. it came with chunky tofu, stir-fried vegetables and leafy spinach with a side of breakfast potatoes and biscuits. as far as tofu scrambles goes, this is one of the best i’ve ever tried. the vegetables were fresh, the tofu was well-seasoned, and it was packed with tasty garlic flavor. a+!

    vita scramble: tofu, veggies, red onion, garlic and spinach. $8

    vita scramble: tofu, veggies, red onion, garlic and spinach. $8

    so overall, vita cafe was one of the best meals and definitely the best breakfast we had in portland. the serving sizes are huge, the food is top notch, and the almond gravy is probably the tastiest thing ever to hit my belly. there are millions of appetizing options on the menu, and almost all of them can be made vegan, so i just can’t wait to go back. in fact, when ordering, i asked the waiter if my dish could be made vegan, and he assured me that there was even a “veganize” button on their computer that would tell the kitchen to replace all the non-vegan ingredients. how awesome is that?!

    oh and one more bonus, like almost every place in portland, vita cafe has good beer ON TAP. i am definitely hitting them up for dinner and boozin’ next time i’m in town.

    vita-cafe-ext

    when in portland, vita cafe is a MUST VISIT place for vegans. i just wish they’d open up a location in los angeles.

    vita cafe
    3023 NE Alberta
    Portland Oregon
    503-335-8233

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  • November 27th, 2008quarrygirlhugo's restaurant, LA restaurants

    yesterday i had the opportunity to check out a place i’ve been meaning to try for a long time, hugo’s restaurant. hugo’s is a well-reviewed eatery with a huge menu and more vegan options than i could ever get around to trying. they also happen to be the big brother to my new favorite taco stand, hugo’s tacos. hugo’s restaurant has 2 locations, one in studio city and one in west hollywood, both of which are said to be excellent.

    yesterday, my husband treated me to breakfast at the weho outlet, and i took the opportunity to get my thanksgiving on one day early. you see, hugo’s was offering a holiday dinner meal that looked way to good to pass up, even at 8am.

    happy happy holiday feast: two new american veggie patties, with vegan, gluten-free mushroom gravy. served with mixed seasonal vegetables, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. $13.75

    happy happy holiday feast: two new american veggie patties, with vegan, gluten-free mushroom gravy. served with mixed seasonal vegetables, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. $13.75

    the happy happy holiday feast was a great way to experience hugo’s for the first time, and the perfect early start to what non-vegans make a most depressing celebration. the thoughtless slaughter of millions of turkeys per year makes thanksgiving, by far, my least favorite day of the year. i was so impressed to see that the holiday meal that hugo’s was offering up was completely cruelty-free…and damn tasty as well!

    PLEASE NOTE: if you order this, be sure to order it without the mashed potatoes, as they are not vegan. my waitress mistakenly told me that they WERE, but according to commenter foodeater, they aren’t. my advice is to be safe and order the feast with extra vegetables instead. luckily, i barely touched the potatoes…but the fact i even had a bite still bums me out. totally gross.

    anyways…the new american patties were positively delicious. they tasted like excellent mini homemade veggie burgers mixed up with traditional thanksgiving stuffing all in one. all slathered in tasty and thick mushroom gravy, this was definitely a feast by any definition of the word. i ended up taking half of it home because it was too much to eat in one sitting.

    my husband opted for the more traditional vegan breakfast, and ordered hugo’s tofu scramble. i had a taste and i gotta say it is one of the best tofu scrambles out there.

    tofu scramble: organic tofu scrambled with potatoes, green onions, tomato, spinach, garlic and mushrooms with ginger-soy sauce. $11.50

    tofu scramble: organic tofu scrambled with potatoes, green onions, tomato, spinach, garlic and mushrooms with ginger-soy sauce. $11.50

    he ordered it with normal potatoes, instead of the sweet potatoes it usually comes with. they mixed up with the tofu very well, and everything was perfectly cooked. the tofu was juicy and plump, not like the mushy stuff in your typical scramble. a very welcome change.

    so overall, hugo’s was an epic win. all the food was great, and they offered a scrumptious holiday meal that involved no murdering of animals. i can’t wait to go back and try out more of their vegan offerings.

    have a great vegan thanksgiving!

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