sooooooo….5 months ago we reported that nite moon cafe, one of our favorite hollywood vegetarian spots, was moving down the street to a new location. that’s right, from de longpre right behind the arclight all the way over to highland and de longpre. well apparently their new restaurant/yoga studio is up and running, and vegan scraps sent us a quick bite report to prove it. she sampled a plethora of vegan baked goods, all of which were apparently awesome. i can’t wait to get over to nite moon and try all this stuff, plus eat some food off their normal menu. check it out, folks:

After a delicious vegan lunch today in West Hollywood, I was left craving vegan goodies…Nite Moon Cafe came to mind! Let me start off by saying that this review is all about the vegan baked goods at Nite Moon. I had never been there, but I gave them a call and they told me they had tons of vegan baked goods, so my decision was made.

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heads up, angelenos! BOTH pizza fusion locations in town (hollywood and santa monica) will be offering a 10% discount on saturday 1/29/11 when you mention vegan pizza day. hell yes—time to get your vegan pizza on at a reduced price!

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because i love you, i am letting you know this…

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what happens when a skilled gourmet pastry chef gets access to the place that makes the best vegan home cookin’ known to man? fancy desserts at doomie’s!

new orleans red velvet with buttercream frosting and whipping cream

to contrast the fried oreos and ice cream they normally offer, doomie’s has enlisted the help of a super high class treat maker to design a dessert menu that will blow your mind. they were testing the menu this weekend and some people i know personally said the new goods are INCREDIBLE. check out the pix that doomie’s just posed to their facebook. all this stuff is available NOW.

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not sure if you’ve been keeping track of the dramz, but the hollywood farmers market (home of the beloved taste of life breakfast sandwich) is being threatened.

la film school is trying to shut down the market, and we CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN. seriously, this would be a huge blow to the vegan community considering how many vegan-friendly stands and vendors operate there.

check out the article on LAist.com about how you can help TODAY, before the meeting with city officials tomorrow. PLEASE DO YOUR PART!

i think it’s great when huge chain restaurants make the effort to have vegan-friendly items on their menu, and that’s exactly what california pizza kitchen has done. we checked out cpk at the beverly center recently, and i’m happy to report that it was super easy to order a ton of animal-free food, and everything we ate was delicious.

i can imagine that for people who live in some parts of the country, cpk is a godsend…not every city is like los angeles, with a vegan restaurant on every corner. cpk has hundreds of locations all over the country, and they’ve clearly posted their vegetarian and vegan information online for everyone to see. i love that they’ve done that! it saves all the guesswork of quizzing the waiters and/or emailing the corporate office.

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the wait is over! doomie’s home cookin’ is officially open for business. right now their hours are tuesday through sunday from noon to 10pm, and at the moment they are cash only…so go prepared. we checked them out over their opening weekend, and as usual the food was insane. have a look at what we ordered, and scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full doomie’s menu.

deciding what to eat was a challenge, because everything at doomie’s sounded so damn good. the appetizer selection was ridiculous…from jalapeno poppers, to buffalo legs, to chili cheese fries…i wanted it all! we practiced some restraint though, and decided to split just two main courses.

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hey everyone, just a reminder that doomie’s home cookin’ is opening up in hollywood this weekend…and you are gonna need a reservation if you wanna get in. we checked them out last weekend during their test run/soft opening, and i can promise you the food is amazing.

chili cheesebuger: smothered in homemade chili with real or vegan cheese. choice of side. $8.95

of course we ordered way more than we could eat, starting with the chili cheeseburger and onion rings…

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hey everyone! just a heads up that you are gonna need reservations if you want to eat at doomie’s on their opening weekend (december 11th and 12th)…so i suggest you book NOW.

opening weekend they will be open from noon to 10pm, so let them know what time you wanna come. give ’em a call, hit ’em up on facebook, do whatcha gotta do.

they are probably taking reservations so they can deal with the insane demand for their amazing food. so just book early and don’t miss out. TRUST ME.

to read more about how crazy good doomie’s is, check out our post on their all you can eat brunch, and the first time we ever ate at their old location.

the pre-opening doomie’s home cookin’ all you can eat brunch went down on saturday, and while the lines were long and the place was packed, the food definitely didn’t disappoint. in fact, it was one of the best meals i’ve had in quite awhile and after this weekend i’m even more excited (if that’s possible) about doomie’s opening next month.

the brunch was scheduled to start at 10am, but the kitchen was running a bit behind. one thing about doomie’s is, they can be unpredictable. at their worst, they might be running late or running out of food early…but one thing’s for sure, the quality of the food never suffers. EVER. on saturday at 10:15, doomie’s still hadn’t started serving, but there was already a huge crowd ready to eat. seriously, vegans were excited about this place, and with good reason…

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It’s no secret that Korean BBQ restaurants are the most vegan unfriendly places on earth. There’s never anything vegetarian (let alone vegan) on the menu, and the ritualistic cooking of meat at the table in front of you can be quite disconcerting, especially if one goes with omnivorous friends who are chowing down on ribs, wings and all sorts of unspeakable animal parts.

Vegan Korean BBQ

Shin BBQ in Hollywood, though, has reached out to its vegan customers and offers an outstanding set of vegan options all carefully cooked separately in the kitchen. And I’m not talking about the usual mainstay of vegan Korean BBQ dining: Vegetables and rice. No, I’m talking about a full-on Korean BBQ experience where an incredibly tasty marinade is burned on to succulent proteins, combined with delicious sides to be enjoyed in an environment of relaxed, classy attention preferably with alcohol served intravenously (the best way to consume Soju, trust me).

After being lobbied by a couple of vegan friends we opened up Shin BBQ on a sunny Saturday afternoon to check out the vegan offerings. We emailed in advance, though, to make sure that we could eat the food without it being marinaded and BBQd in meat juices. Within a few minutes of our request, we received the following reply from Mr Shin himself:

Well, we checked again upon arriving and our server “Dan” (more on him later) was quite positive about the whole vegan thing: “Oh, yes, we have a kitchen policy for our vegetarian and vegan customers. Everything will be cooked separately – we take that very seriously.” So, we were stoked to say the least, to begin ordering vegan Korean BBQ for the first time ever. There were three firmly vegan things on the menu, and we couldn’t help but get one of each.

Tofu Steak: Firm tofu pan-seared and served with kim chee and salad. $10

First up was the “Tofu Steak”, a chunk of extra firm tofu that had been flash charred with marinade (making it deliciously crispy on the outside, and surprisingly flavorful on the inside) served with diced kimchi and a luscious green salad, pickled beets and spicy bean shoots. Despite the size of this dish it was gone in about 5 minutes, such was the amazing tasty tofu, perfectly cooked and served.

vegan sides

pickled beets, cucumbers, kimchi and bean shoots

Next up we had the signature vegan dish, “Veggie Bulogi Seitan” which I’m telling you was out of this world.

seitan bulgogi (vegan): vegan seitan served in shin's secret marinade. $18

Small seitan slices and onions had been marinated and barbecued in a cast iron dish, and arrived at the table still cooking and steaming right in front of our faces. Despite the fact we’d just eaten one entree, we fought over every last piece of seitan, and yet another side of kimchi, sprouts and beets arrived to help satiate our rapidly waning hunger.

vegetable plate: a bright assortment of seasonal vegetables. $18

Seconds after the Bulogi Seitan arrived, the most enormous plate of grilled vegetables known to man or beast arrived at the table. Layer upon layer of squash, asparagus, king oyster mushrooms and carrot were perfectly grilled and spiced for our enjoyment. And enjoy them we did. Mouthful after mouthful of seitan, tofu, vegetables and the sauces and tastes of traditional Korean BBQ rushed on in and were very much welcomed.

Our server, Dan, was beyond perfect. He was not only knowledgable about the vegan offerings, swift on the delivery and just the right about of attentive, but he occasionally stopped by to ask how things were, and we could tell that he really cared about our experience.

The location of Shin BBQ is very convenient, located in between Sunset Blvd. and Hollywood Blvd. and just steps away from all the fun stuff that Hollywood has on offer. Now, despite the amazing food and service, a word of caution on Shin BBQ: It is a KOREAN BARBECUE, and the majority of the customers will be eating meat, much of which will be cooked at the table in front of them. If you’re squeamish over the sights and sounds of meat preparation, be warned!

Shin BBQ
1600 N. Wilcox Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323-464-4100

6pm -12am Tuesday – Friday
5pm – 12am Saturday
5pm – 10pm Sunday
Closed Monday

pizza fusion is awesome. it’s the only place i can think of in LA where i can relax with some friends and eat daiya-covered pizza, while enjoying beer after beer on draught. as if that isn’t reason enough to head over there ASAP, now the hollywood location is offering some amazing giveaways in honor of “earth month,” to provide some extra incentive…

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so, i walked into lifefood organic with very high hopes…yet after placing our order, i was disillusioned and determined not to like the place. what i expected to be a proper restaurant, was just a take-out counter with pre-packaged foods. no plates, not much seating…just a deli case full of prepared meals and some napkins with plastic cutlery. to make matters worse, i tried to order item after item from the menu and was thwarted again and again.

greek salad? “not vegan!” sandwich? “not raw.” corn tamales? “we are out.” falafel and hummus? “none left!” ugh. chili burger? “nope…oh wait, there are no chili burgers but we could make you one…i think.” ok.

after a long exchange with the dude at the counter, we settled on the makeshift chili burger and a kelp salad. $20 later, this is what we received:

totally underwhelmed by the portion size and the ordering experience, i naturally expected the food to be crap. boy, was i wrong! the burger was straight up phenomenal…

LFO chili burger $15

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you gotta love the a taste of life booth at the hollywood farmers market. as if the breakfast sandwich (one of the top ten vegan items to eat in los angeles) wasn’t enough to get you out of bed early on sunday…

vegan chocolate chip cookie. $1

now you have their homemade chocolate chip cookies to tempt you as well.

these things are baked freshly, are super fluffy and moist, and will only set you back $1. this is the kind of cookie that you bite into and it starts immediately melting all over…in a good way! it’s cakey and juicy all at once and just oozes with rich creamy chocolate. mmmmm.

and while you are at the taste of life stand, you would be a FOOL to leave without buying one of their breakfast sandwiches. i know i go on and on about these, but they are WORTH THE HYPE.

vegan breakfast sandwich. $5

moist biscuit, melted cheese, succulent sausage, grilled tofu…all smashed together, ALL VEGAN. like an egg mcmuffin but way better and tastier. oh, and as you know a taste of life also makes the best vegan soul food in town…so stock up on some mac and cheese and bbq tofu while you are there as well.

see you sunday!

a taste of life
hollywood farmers market
cross street of ivar and selma
every sunday
8:00am – 1:30pm

PS: thanks to @havingmysay for telling me about these awesome cookies!!

just a few days ago, we were lamenting that there’s not enough vegan-friendly eat-in pizzerias, where one can relax with a bottle of red wine and a tasty pizza in a comfy dimly-lit environment. well, pizza fusion hollywood has come to the rescue.

pizza fusion hollywood has been open for a while, but up until yesterday the only vegan cheese they offered was follow your heart. after being spoiled by the countless places to get daiya in LA, i vowed to never eat FYH again…and even wrote an open letter to pizza fusion hollywood begging them to carry daiya. earlier this week, they sent me an email saying they would finally be introducing daiya to their menu (in addition to FYH), and inviting me over for a pizza tasting. of course my reply was, hell yes!

i hit up pizza fusion hollywood along with brittany from sick of lettuce, to try out their daiya-covered pizzas, and i must say the whole experience was pretty wonderful. when i arrived i was floored by how inviting and cozy the restaurant was. i’d been to pizza fusion in santa monica before, but the hollywood location is much more my style. it’s smaller and more intimate, but with a pretty big bar, and cute tables looking out on sunset blvd. our server was extremely friendly and brought us a drink list with all the vegan options clearly marked.

we ordered a glass of beer and wine and spent a while poring over the menu, deciding what we could veganize. ahhh, this is so the pizza experience i have been looking for! tap beer, wine, and all the time in the world to just hang out and chill.

we started out with the flatbread and dip trio appetizer, which is not vegan by default, but can be made animal-free by omitting the artichoke spread and olive tapenade.

flatbread and dip veganized: served with marinara and olive oil.

they brought it out with extra marinara sauce and olive oil for dipping, and the whole thing was downright delicious. the portion was huge, but we had no problem polishing off every last triangle. the bread was moist and covered in delicate seasonings, and the sauce was rich and flavorful.

very vegan: crimini mushrooms, roasted garlic, tomato sauce, and daiya cheese.

the first pizza we tried was the only one that is vegan by default: the very vegan. it came with mushrooms, garlic, tomato sauce and daiya cheese. i’ve had this pizza before with follow your heart, and i must say this was a huge improvement! they didn’t put too much cheese on the pizza, but rather just the right amount, so it wasn’t overly gooey. mushrooms and garlic are pretty much my two favorite pizza toppings anyway, so this was right up my street.

vegan bbq chicken pizza: bbq sauce, roasted red onion, fresh garlic, basil, daiya cheese.

the next pizza we tried was the bbq chicken pizza, with daiya and vegan chicken strips. this thing was awesome, and the faux chicken was soft and chewy. it was pretty light and healthy tasting too, again pizza fusion didn’t overload the thing with cheese and soy meat. sweet and tangy with a kick of garlic, this pizza was perfect.

farmer's market vegan: roasted artichoke hearts, red onion, zucchini, roasted portobello, tomato sauce, and daiya.

the last pizza we sampled was a vegan version of the farmer’s market, a pie loaded with roasted vegetables. pizza fusion did not skimp on the toppings one bit; there were huge chunks of everything from portobello mushrooms to zucchini to artichokes. while we chose the white crust option for the first two pizzas, we got this one with multigrain crust. i’m not gonna lie, i like the white crust better, but the multigrain one was pretty good as well.

just when i thought i was gonna explode, they brought out some brownies and ice cream for us to try as well. the brownie was vegan and gluten free, and while i’m used to more decadent desserts, it was definitely great for a GF item. i’d had a pizza fusion brownie before at the santa monica location, and this one was much better and softer on the inside. the real star of the dessert plate though, was the vegan strawberry ice cream. completely rich and insanely delicious.

overall, our experience at pizza fusion hollywood was lovely and i can’t wait to return. the food was good, the vibe was chill, the staff was nice, and the beer was on tap. plus the place is really easy to get to, close to my house, and validates parking for up to an hour. for convenience and atmosphere, pizza fusion hollywood has everywhere else in town beat.

so check this place out when you have a chance. get some vegan pizza and take your pick of either daiya or follow your heart. isn’t it great to have all these options?

pizza fusion hollywood
7950 W. Sunset Blvd.
Suite 104
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Phone: 323-375-3390

Sun–Thur 11am – 10pm
Fri–Saturday 11am – 11pm

PS: the pizza fusion in santa monica also carries both daiya and follow your heart. yay!