next time you are looking for a big hearty mexican meal that’s not laced with lard and filled with chicken stock, look no further than highland park. head over to cinnamon vegetarian, a completely meat-free mexican restaurant where nearly everything on the menu can be made vegan.

mushroom cocktail: mushrooms, tomato, cilantro and cucumber. $6.25

we hadn’t been to cinnamon in nearly a year, but when we hit up the modest eatery over the weekend, we were blown away by how good everything was—i don’t know why it took me so long to go back! we started with the mushroom cocktail (pictured above), which was a glass filled with a thick tomato-y liquid, spices and chopped vegetables. everything was fresh, chunky, and all around delicious. i would recommend this as an appetizer if you are looking for something light. alternatively, if you wanna go all out, they also have a selection of vegan empanadas and flautas.

2 tacos: 1 chorizo, 1 tofu. $4.75

for my entree, even though it’s on the appetizer menu, i ordered tacos…one vegan chorizo, and one tofu. these tacos were absolutely enormous and incredible. stuffed with soy meat and tofu, and completely overflowing with greens, cabbage, and creamy guacamole. the tofu taco was my favorite, because the tofu was lightly covered in a delicious pesto-y flavor sauce. it was green, spicy, and insanely delicious. don’t be fooled by the small price tag, these tacos were massive and definitely enough to make a meal for one.

my husband ordered the garden salad with tofu, which was a huge plate of dark mixed greens, fresh vegetables, and the same wonderfully marinated tofu that was in my taco. i was a little skeptical when he ordered a “garden” salad at a mexican restaurant…i was expecting it to be low-grade ice berg lettuce with a couple tomato chunks. instead he got a huge appetizing dish with fresh ingredients and mounds of protein. it actually made me kinda jealous.

garden salad with tofu: lettuce, cucumber, carrot, red onions, beet and alfalfa. with tahini dressing. $8.20

overall, everything we ordered at cinnamon was top notch and very tasty. i give this place an a+ and suggest you check it out asap. supposedly almost anything can be made vegan, but you may wanna ask to see ingredient labels for the vegan cheese and soy chicken. just sayin…i haven’t tried it.

cinnamon
5511 North Figueroa St.
Highland Park, CA 90042
Monday, Wednesday & Thursday | 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM
Tuesday | Closed
Friday & Saturday | 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Sunday | 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM

born and raised right here in socal, i can say mexican food is one of my all-time favorite cuisines. it’s tough being a vegan, because so many mexican joints use lard in their beans and chicken-meat-juice in their rice. it’s really tough to know what’s safe to eat, and what has been rubbed around with animal parts…plus in many of these restaurants, the staff aren’t knowledgeable about vegetarianism, let alone veganism! that’s why i was so thrilled over the weekend to try out taco spot in eagle rock for the first time. i found that they serve up huge portions of cheap(ish) and delicious authentic-style mex…with several clearly marked veganizable items on the menu.

taco spot’s menu has so many vegetarian options, all of which can be made vegan by omitting the cheese and/or sour cream. and i’m not just talking rice and beans here, they also have fun protein choices like grilled tofu and soyrizo. for some grubby mexican food on the east side, i think i’ve met my perfect match.

we hit up taco spot over the weekend and were super impressed with the quality of the food, the authenticity, and the value. good shit all around. starting with the tofu tacos.

tofu tacos (no cheese!): 3 soft tacos with marinated tofu, cilantro, onion and guacamole. served with rice and beans. $6.95

the tofu tacos are entirely vegetarian, but they normally come with cheese (as do almost all the meat-free items on taco spot’s menu). it’s ok though, because when you leave off the cheese, these suckers are completely vegan. and i can tell you, they are so good, i don’t see why anyone would want to order these with dairy. the tofu was so succulent, and the cilantro and onions were ridiculously fresh. the guacamole was rich and creamy as well…not to mention the fluffy vegetable-filled rice and lard-free beans. so damn awesome. and taco spot doesn’t slack off on the tofu, either. they piled it on, and it was grilled perfectly…all high-quality delicious.

my husband ordered the vegetarian burrito and added tofu. that was also spectacular.

vegetarian burrito (no cheese, plus tofu): black or refried beans, rice, guacamole, and lettuce. $8.75

my one gripe about this burrito, although it tasted damn good, was that to add tofu was an additional 2 bucks. the burrito started off at $6.95, but once we got rid of the cheese and added a bit of protein, it came in at just under nine dollars. i’m convinced that through some menu modification/order fuckery, we could get this same burrito at taco spot for under $7. does that make any sense? i think i ordered the wrong thing and the extra tofu charge was high, especially considering i left off the cheese. there has to be a way around that. ANYWAYS, the burrito was downright excellent. it tasted like scrappy gutbomb mexican food in a really good way, and it was all guaranteed vegan. i could totally eat at taco spot every day.

i bet right now you are just thinking about how awesome the vegan entrees are at taco spot, and i haven’t even mentioned the best part! taco spot has a full-on slap-up salsa bar with everything from little radishes to carrots and chillies, to spicy pico de gallo and salsa negra. this bar has got it all and it’s FREE…and you can get as much as you want. dude, i would pay 4 bucks a head just to eat this salsa.

epic salsa bar. i love you.

as you can guess, we took advantage of the salsa bar at least 3 times. total spicy, vegetable gluttony. a decent salsa bar will always bring a restaurant up to the next level, and this shit was crazy good.

fresh vegetables and awesome sauces from taco spot's salsa bar.

so all you vegans and vegetarians out there, who like hanging out on the east side and are jealous because you’ve been watching your omni-hipster friends shoving carne asada burritos into their faces like there’s no tomorrow, have no fear! go eat at the taco spot! they have a billion vegetarian and vegan options, plus that greasy/homemade mexican food taste, so you won’t feel like you’re missing out.

i suggest you start off the day with some beers in highland park at the york, then grab some spicy mex for dinner. with awesome options that won’t break the bank, and located in a some-what sketchy part of town, taco spot is enough to make us vegans feel like normal people. we deserve guilty mex meals as well, dammit!

taco spot. do it.

taco spot
2006 colorado blvd.
eagle rock, ca 90041
323-256-7001

open 7 days a week
11am-9pm

I live in LA. A 40+ mile round trip involving a canyon road, three freeways and multiple surface streets in a very high crime area of town REALLY needs some justification. To make that journey pretty much every weekend must mean there’s something very special at the destination, and I’m pleased to announce that there is. The York on York in Highland Park.

Anybody who has ever travelled out of LA and is into a bar scene will recall those large, open industrial bars with lots of beers on tap, a full cocktail compliment, friendly staff (who actually act like they are pleased to serve you) and extensive menu. Sadly, LA is NOT a bar town by any means so I’m set to drive the equivalent of half way to San Diego every weekend to enjoy a few drinks at what I can confidently call the best bar in LA.

The York on York, bathed in afternoon sunlight and cask ale....

Seriously, the York is an amazing place. It really does remind me of large brew houses in Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area etc. Although the York doesn’t actually brew anything, it seems to be in bed with some leading local breweries (Craftsman in particular) and has the very best of their products available.

In some ways, a well stocked bar can be better than a brew-pub as they can change out the beers at will, and not have to serve a bad batch of their own product from time to time. The beer list rotates slowly, so there’s usually something new to try. The bar seating area is HUGE, and there are booths at the back if you want to sit down and dine while you drink.

The Bar: well stocked, and even a beer engine for cask ale!

For me, The York is one of the very few places in LA that serve cask conditioned ale – something that reminds me of my native UK and is an increasingly welcome addition states-side. The stronger, slightly warmer and less gassy beer is just how we Europeans like it. America: stop drinking Budweiser!

Tasty Craftsman brews: Cask Ale and 1903 lager

Now, around the same time I discovered The York, a new bar opened in Hollywood at the Henry Fonda Theater. Some bright spark took the ageing Blue Palms Lounge and converted it awkwardly into the Blue Palms Brewhouse. Although I’ll be writing about this bar soon, suffice to say I’ve only had a 50% success rate in getting into the place when I’ve showed up. First, the opening hours were posted incorrectly on their website, and second the new owner had some kind of smug party where we felt as welcome as bacon butties at a bar mitzvah – so we left immediately.

The sign. So classy. Looks like it used to be a Denny's!

Enough of that… there are several things I like about The York, principally:

• AWESOME Beer selection
• CASK ALE!
• Easy street parking, often right outside
• Always somewhere to sit during the day (although I hear the place goes nuts in the late evening, especially when a DJ plays)
• CASK ALE!
• Very friendly and knowledgeable staff – they remember my order! That’s very rare in LA.
• Light and airy, music isn’t too loud and is usually pretty cool
• Clientele are pleasant (meaning probably educated, clean and smiley)
• CASK ALE!

There’s really nothing to hate, other than its out of the way location for most Los Angelinos. I’ll probably try and go there every week, even though the Blue Palms has similar beer offerings and is right on my doorstep.

Oh, and the only vegan option other than a green salad on the menu is french fries and some olive thing that doesn’t sound to appetizing. Don’t worry about that, though as Cinnamon is only a few blocks away — possibly even walkable with a buzz 🙂

The York on York. It SO WOULD have a scooter outside!