there’s something for everybody at the spot in hermosa beach. whether you are looking for insanely decadent fare, or something light and healthy, the entirely vegetarian cozy beach cafe has got you covered. breakfast, lunch, dinner, beer, wine, you name it…the spot’s got it! we hit them up over the weekend, and as usual, absolutely loved our meal. plus, the spot is just a short walk away from naja’s place, one of our favorite beach area bars. nothing like a good old fashioned pub and grub.

soup of the day: lima bean! $4.95

we started our meal off with the soup of the day, which was lima bean, and it was excellent. super chunky and filled right up with chopped vegetables and hearty beans. all of the soups at the spot are extra healthy and oil-free, so i really should have gotten a full bowl of it instead of just a cup. when my spoon hit the bottom, i was still wanting more.

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i absolutely love little health food stores with vegan-friendly restaurants attached to them, and i think mother’s market may be the best one yet. the grocery mart has an impressive 6 locations in the orange county area, each one with an adjoining cafe that boasts a large almost entirely vegetarian menu (they serve real tuna for some strange reason).

gingered greens with tempeh: strips of sauteed tempeh with spinach and swiss chard in a light ginger-cilantro sauce. served over organic brown rice or udon noodles. $8.50

we hit up the huntington beach location recently, and i must say we were quite impressed with the quality and value of the food…

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it’s been 2 years since we first hit the spot in hermosa beach, and i have no idea why it took us so long to return.

the spot is LA’s oldest vegetarian restaurant and most of their menu can be made vegan. we were inspired to go back after reading this blog post about the spot’s healthy options, and lemme tell you, they did not disappoint.

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imagine the fast food restaurant subway…but with better ingredients, pita pockets rather than bread, and more vegan options…then you have the pita pit.

the quick and casual eatery specializes in (you guessed it) pitas, and fucking awesome ones at that! they have a separate vegetarian menu, and four vegan options including the garden pita, the babaganouj pita, the hummus pita and the falafel pita.

the way it works at the pita pit is, you order your sandwich from dude #1 at the cash register. he rings you up and waves you over to dude #2 who will be making your sandwich. then comes my favorite part…you get to stand and supervise dude #2 as he fills your pita up with awesomeness. they are super customer-friendly at pita pit, and obey with a smile when i stand there going, “extra hot sauce…even more than that….that’s good! no olives! a tiny bit of onions, lots of tomatoes please,” etc.

if you ask to get your sandwich filled up the way i do, you end up leaving with a massive pita the size of a baseball bat. it’s almost too much to eat, but somehow i always manage it.

vegan hummus pita filled with loads of vegetables and hot sauce. $6.25

all the ingredients inside are super fresh and crunchy, really high quality stuff. the picture doesn’t really illustrate it very well (it’s hard to bite into a rolled up pita and then take a good cross-section photo), but the thing was massive and tasty as hell.

pita pit is a huge chain, so you can find their storefronts all over the place. the closest one to LA is probably the one in hermosa beach (that’s the one in this post), or the location in valencia. there used to be a pita pit in weho on sunset, but sadly it is no more! so whenever you have a chance, head on over and get yourself a gigantic pita stuffed with hummus, falafel, vegatables, or babaganouj.

just ask this guy, he i’m pretty sure he was diggin it…

in fact, let’s have the first ever QUARRYGIRL CAPTION CONTEST! just leave a caption for that pita eating dude in the comments section, and i will pick a winner and post it on the site. 1-2-3…GO!