i’ve got good news, los angeles! it is with great pleasure that i announce there is yet another vegan baker on the scene, and i can vouch for the goods. sugar plum vegan is bakery from sacramento that was selling treats to the local whole foods and co-op up there. lucky for us, they recently moved to LA and are in the process of getting food available in stores around town.

assorted treats from the sugar plum vegan bakery

over the weekend, i was fortunate enough to sample several of sugar plum vegan’s creations, and they were all excellent. pictured above, starting at the back with the cookie and going clockwise, we have the peanut butter creamie, an orange goji scone, a cinnamon bun, a sticky bun, gluten-free carrot cake, the entertainer, and in the middle is a red velvet cupcake.

sugar plum vegan peanut butter creamie

the peanut butter creamie was one of my favorite things i tried from sugar plum vegan. the sweet sandwich was made of two chocolate chip, chocolate dipped cookies with peanut butter frosting in the middle. this thing was rich and decadent, and didn’t taste vegan at all. the soft cookies and smooth chocolate went great with the thick and creamy frosting. five stars.

sugar plum vegan sticky bun

my other favorite treat was the sticky bun, a delicious breakfast pastry with a caramel nut topping. the bun was filled up with gooey sugary goodness, and the nuts on top were so sweet, they tasted like candy. once i took a bite of this thing, i couldn’t stop.

all the other sugar plum baked goods i tried were great as well—the cupcakes were moist and flavorful, the cinnamon bun was soft and covered in delicious frosting, and the goji scone was perfectly fruity. oh, and the gluten-free carrot cake didn’t taste gluten-free…or vegan for that matter.

for info on how to order these goodies for yourself, contact sugar plum vegan through their website. and starting today, you can also find some of sugar plum vegan’s goods for sale at locali. melissa sugar, the baker behind all this, tells me locali will be offering the following items: the entertainer cupcake (a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese filling), gluten free carrot cake, sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, and gluten free/soy free pumpkin chocolate chip walnut muffins.

so try some sugar plum vegan stuff when you have a chance, it’s all really tasty. damn, we are getting spoiled in los angeles with all these talented vegan bakers popping up!

sugar plum vegan
916-706-8100

UPDATE: it appears the owners of muma have serious integrity issues and have completely ripped off another restaurant. please read this post before you eat there. i myself will be staying away!

hey los angeles vegans, i have some pretty exciting news for you. if you are familiar with this blog and our travels, you may know that there has been one non-LA restaurant we can’t get enough of. maoz vegetarian is an animal-free and almost entirely vegan falafel shop/salad bar with locations all over the word, and i will go out of my way for their food whenever i visit london or nyc. for years i have longed for maoz to open up a storefront in los angeles, and i think i may have finally gotten my wish.

salad muma meal: salad box with falafel balls, eggplant, hummus and salad bar, plus a fresh juice. $9.50

muma vegetarian opened up yesterday on melrose, and in every way i see it, they are identical to maoz. the logo is similar, the menu is the same, the interior design is the spitting image, and of course the FOOD is tantamount to the ridiculously delicious stuff i remember. i asked the girl behind the counter if muma was related to maoz, but she didn’t know. muma is the newest vegan food to hit los angeles, and also definitely some of the best as far as i’m concerned. i urge you to go check this place out before it gets crazy popular and crowded.

so here’s how it works. muma has a bunch of meal options, the main ones being a sandwich or a salad box. for both of these menu items, muma gives you a simple base of food which you expand on by adding whatever you want from the exceptional salad bar. hot sauce, carrots, crispy broccoli & cauliflower, cabbage, salsa, tahini and more are all at your disposal…and you can take as much as you can cram into your box.

for instance, here is how a salad box starts out…

then you go for an intense round of food shoving at the salad bar…

and you end up with this…

muma salad box (fill it up as high as you want!) $7.95

or you can make it a meal with some fresh juice…

same goes for a sandwich—it starts out really simple with some falafel in a pita…

and you end up with a massive thingy stuffed with billions of vegetables, hot sauce and tahini.

muma falafel with salad bar. $4.95 (you can also add hummus and eggplant)

it’s pretty fucking awesome. oh, and everything at muma is vegan, other than the eggs and feta cheese. so feel free to fill up on the creamy green sauces and marinated vegetables…it’s all safe. muma also offers some fine house-made beverages like the refreshing jalapeno lemonade (pictured way up top), plus a pumpkin hummus blend. i tried both of these strange concoctions, and they were completely unique and delicious. i will never get enough.

check out muma’s menu. i can recommend….everything (other than the egg and feta):

click to enlarge

in addition to incredible food and a fill-it-yourself salad bar (am i the only one who gets super excited about that?). muma also delivers and has free parking. and you never have to worry about your falafel or pita being grilled with meaty nastiness…the whole places is non-meat!

so what are you waiting for? LA’s newest vegetarian restaurant is a must visit as far as i’m concerned.

muma vegetarian
7275 melrose avenue
los angeles, ca 90046

323-936-7697

stop eating animals…and start eating vegan sausages!

franken’s, the only vegan food cart in los angeles, will be out in full force this weekend selling vegan hot dogs on saturday at the apartment 3 vintage yard sale in hollywood. drop whatever you are doing and get out there between 1 and 6pm—there will be shopping, djs, beer and most importantly, 100% plant-based franks from the frankenstand! whooooooooosh! don’t miss it!

if you’ve never tried franken’s before, you are in for a real treat. we are big fans of the frankenstand here at quarrygirl.com, and we just can’t get enough of of their gourmet franks! show up hungry, that way you can try both the witch and the franken!

i have been a fan of paru’s indian vegetarian restaurant for quite some time. the entirely meat-free establishment, located on sunset in hollywood, specializes in south indian cuisine and cooks up some of the best curries i’ve had on this side of the pond.

i have raved about them before, and as i said in my earlier post, don’t be alarmed by how sketchy this place looks on the outside; once you get buzzed in through the metal gate, the restaurant is absolutely lovely. although i have had many pleasant and delicious visits to paru’s, my meal there last week left a lot to be desired. if you haven’t been to paru’s, i still suggest you check it out, but maybe i can help you with what not to order.

bonda: 2 spicy potato balls. $4.50

for our recent dinner, my husband and i started with the spicy potato balls known as bonda. although only one is pictured above, the order came with two and the balls were pretty sizable. the appetizer was absolutely delicious, i have nothing to complain about here, as it ended up being the high point of our meal. super crispy and fried on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and littered with little chunks of spicy jalapeno. plus, the dipping sauce the ballz came with was insane. paru’s is very knowledgeable about veganism, and when we told them we were vegan they said they would take care of us. however the green sauce the potato balls came with was so delicious and creamy, i was convinced it was dairy-based. our friendly waiter laughed when i questioned him, assuring us it was coconut milk, and that that almost all of paru’s dishes were dairy-free. phew.

punjab glory: poori, vegetable curry, peas & rice, papad, (no raitha). $12.95

as a main dish, my husband got the punjab glory, which was basically 3 little pots of curry with a tray of breads and a huge mound of rice. knowing we were vegans, they kindly left off the side of raitha. you see, this dish was pretty good, but for $13 it just seemed like an awful lot of carbs. we are used to getting a few side orders which are 8 bucks each, and then splitting a side order of rice. while that can turn out to be a little more expensive, at least you get a lot of curry. i mean, look at the picture, do you see how much rice, bread and sauce that is? the actual curry only took up about 25% of the plate. at the end of the meal, all the curry was gone (there being about 5 or 6 bites of each of the 3 types), and almost all the rice and bread were left over. i think we will definitely stick to ordering side dishes in the future, like we did in my more complimentary post about paru’s.

yogi's delight: indo-American combination bringing you chickpeas curry on a bed of beans and sprouts, topped with onions, tomatoes, cucumber, and other vegetables, plus paratha. $12.95

my main dish is where it all kind of fell apart. i ordered yogi’s delight, which appeared from the menu description to be a light chickpea curry with vegetables and bread. imagine my shock when it arrived and was just a huge ice berg lettuce salad. ummm…the menu description didn’t even mention lettuce!! i thought i was getting a chickpea curry on a bed of beans, topped with onions. instead i got a bed of lettuce with cold chickpeas on top. there was nothing ‘curry’ like about this thing. even for a salad, it wasn’t good. oh and here’s the real kicker: it was also filled with unadvertised bell peppers, which i absolutely hate. gah! and for $13?!? talk about adding insult to injury. i managed to pick around and eat some of the chickpeas off, plus i helped myself to my husband’s never ending supply of rice and bread.

so there you have it, go eat at paru’s because some of their stuff is absolutely amazing. just avoid yogi’s delight like it’s the plague, and be sure to order side dishes if you want a decent amount of curry. i hear the dosas are great too, but i have yet to try them. when i do, you’ll be sure to hear about it.

paru’s indian vegetarian restaurant
5140 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 661-7600

i have been looking all over the place for vegan tiramisu in los angeles, and the whole time it was right under my nose.

vegan tiramisu from m cafe. $6

in my search for the cheese and egg-filled dessert, i never thought to look at m cafe de chaya on melrose, which happens to be right down the street from my office. the macrobiotic restaurant is almost entirely vegan (except for a few dishes containing stinky dead fish), and has an entire case filled up with cakes, muffins, cupcakes…and little dishes of tiramisu. while the vegan tiramisu from m cafe comes in a cup and is kind of parfait-style with the lady fingers mashed up, i can tell you it is extremely delicious and authentic. right down to the espresso infused cream mixture and the cocoa sprinkles on top, it tastes just as good as the original.

i have heard some people complain that m cafe’s deserts are too ‘healthy-tasting’ and not decadent enough, but that’s just not true of their tiramisu. they perfectly mimicked the texture of something made with eggs and creamy mascarpone, all mixed up with chocolate, coffee and cookies. if you, like me, have been missing tiramisu…no need to look any further. m cafe has got it down.

right now i don’t know of anywhere else to get vegan tiramisu in los angeles. if i am wrong, holler at me.

m cafe de chaya
7119 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 525-0588

over here at quarrygirl.com, we have been fans of sante la brea for a long time. the large elegant restaurant offers 3 separate menus of world cuisine, and every item can be veganized with soy meat and/or tofu cheese. i am a huge fan of their breakfast selections, salads, thai food, and desserts, and have never eaten one thing at sante and been disappointed.

however, on my last 3 visits to sante, the wait to get food after ordering has been a little much. my husband and i went there over the weekend and ordered a salad and tofu rancheros, which took 40 minutes to arrive at our table. it’s strange because the wait was so frustrating, and i worked myself up into quite a state, but when my food was finally in front of me, it was so fucking good i nearly forgot about all the hassle.

house salad with tofu: romaine, tomato, cucumber, shredded carrot, hummus, red quinoa, brown rice and wheat pita. choice of dressing: tahini, balsamic, cilantro lime, or citrus vinaigrette. $9

sante offers a great selection of salads, and even the simple house salad with tofu is out-of-the-park exceptional. the least exciting salad at sante comes with loads of vegetables, a mound of hummus, fluffy quinoa, rice and pita…plus your choice of several rich or light vegan dressings. it’s all beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. definitely a steal for 9 bucks.

vegan huevos rancheros. $8

the breakfast items at sante are similarly impressive. the vegan tofu rancheros come with fluffy scrambled tofu mixed with broccoli and carrots covered in chunky salsa with a generous helping of black beans, grilled breakfast potatoes, and soft corn tortillas. one of the best breakfasts in town.

when it comes right down to it, i can’t fault the food or value at sante la brea AT ALL. the place is downright outstanding. the only thing i have to complain about is the long ass wait…and it’s a damn valid complaint! i recommend calling way in advance and getting your food to go, or dining at sante when you have a lot of time on your hands. maybe throw back a bottle of wine while waiting, or spend sometime chatting with a large group of friends. don’t visit if you are in a rush. i know i’ll be back regardless…i can’t keep myself away from the excellent food.

sante la brea
345 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 857-0412

yo yo yo los angeles vegans, if you are in town tonight, be sure to hit up the frankenstand! the all-vegan hot dog cart is one of our favorite places to eat, and they will be out in full force this evening from 5:30pm for vegan drinks at the little bar!

Read the rest of this entry »

i’ve got some good news for y’all los angeles vegans: cafe muse in hollywood is now offering soy cheese! woo! if you’ve never been to cafe muse before, you should definitely check it out. the modest little coffee shop/restaurant serves up an almost entirely vegetarian menu and has loads of vegan offerings. they help you identify the vegan items on the menu by putting a little star * next to all the stuff that contains dairy. well now, vegans can eat most of the starred menu items as well, by substituting vegan soy cheese for normal cheese. that’s right…the pizza, quesadilla, nachos and chili cheese fries are no longer off limits!

i celebrated yesterday by hitting up cafe muse and ordering a vegan grilled cheese sandwich. they use follow your heart for the vegan cheese, and as you can see they don’t have the melting technique quite down yet. while the grilled cheese sandwich was decent and i appreciated the fact it had both mozzarella and cheddar inside it, the fake cheese was just a little clumpy for my taste. i wish cafe muse would start carrying teese from chicago soy dairy, because i’m pretty sure that’s the best vegan cheese that’s readily available here in los angeles. oh well.

not your mama's grilled cheese (vegan-style): made with two types of vegan soy cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. $7.95

despite being called a grilled cheese sandwich, which sounds really decadent, this meal was pretty light and healthy-tasting. there wasn’t much cheese on the sandwich, and the whole thing tasted toasted…not grilled in a butter substitute or anything like that. it came stuffed with little sun dried tomatoes which gave it a slightly sweet and tasty flavor. i was expecting the sandwich to be much more unhealthy, so i got it with a side salad instead of sweet potato fries. all together, it was a pretty good meal….albeit expensive at 8 bucks.

i don’t think i will order this sandwich again, although i definitely want to test drive the vegan cheese on the nachos and pizza. i will let you know how that turns out. in the mean time, if you want a healthy meal that will not disappoint, grab one of cafe muse’s make your own salads. for under ten bucks you can get a f-ing HUGE bowl of salad with any fixins you desire. my favorite combo is the grilled garlic-soy tofu with vegan ranch, although they also offer four varieties of soy chicken as well. you can’t go wrong.

make your own healthy salad with tomatoes, mushroms, onions and added tofu. $9.50

so check out cafe muse if you haven’t already, and support their decision to carry vegan cheese. maybe it will be more melty on the other menu items.

cafe muse
6547 Santa Monica Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90038
323-464-6873

for vegans in hollywood who are looking for some quick, cheap and decent fast food…astro burger is your place. located on the corner of melrose and gower, the legendary burger joint has been around since the 70’s and has a really impressive vegetarian menu, with vegan items clearly marked.

i hit up astro burger for the first time with one of my vegan homies, and we both left stuffed and feelin’ happy. most of the vegan items at astroburger are provided by gardenburger; they offer several of their products including the chik’n grill, bbq riblets, flame grilled burger and more. while the food is mass-produced store-bought stuff and isn’t exceptional, it’s really well-prepared at astro burger and pretty inexpensive. (everything costs around 5 bucks)

chik'n grill vegan sandwich with no bbq sauce, + mushrooms, + onions, + avocado

my friend ordered the chik’n grill sandwich and (being the astroburger pro that she is) got it modified with from average to delicious by adding extra toppings. she shared some with me and i was wishing i had ordered this for myself as well. the chik’n grill normally comes with lettuce, tomato and bbq sauce…but she got it without the sauce, plus grilled onions, mushrooms and avocado. absolutely wonderful. the chik’n patty was really thick and juicy, the onions and mushrooms added tons of flavor, and the avocado provided a cool and creamy texture that complimented the cooked vegetables perfectly. it may have been falling apart, but it was one of the better vegan fast food sandwiches in los angeles, for sure. it would have been much more boring with just lettuce and tomatoes on it.

flame grilled vegan gardenburger

i ordered the vegan flame grilled burger which came with lettuce and tomatoes, and tasted like a standard store-bought gardenburger. not much to really describe about this one, it was lightly grilled and didn’t have much flavor…next time i am totally gonna add some onions and mushrooms.

vegan chili fries

we also split an order of vegan chilli fries, which were excellent. i was expecting the chilli to contain fake meat and probably be out of a can, but instead it was just beans with a really thick sauce, sliced round carrots, and huge chunks of chillies. the crispy fries were absolutely covered with it, and it was all topped off with a load of fresh chopped onions. i really, really dug the chilli fries and would definitely order them again. between the two of us, not a single fry or bean was left behind.

so there you have it, astro burger is definitely a place to grab some vegan fast food if you are hungry in the hollywood area. they have a parking lot and a drive thru, which is super convenient but they are cash only, which is not so convenient. they also have an atm inside the restaurant if you don’t mind paying a buck fifty surcharge in order to buy a burger.

oh and don’t get this astro burger on melrose and gower confused with the one in weho on santa monica blvd. i think they are owned by the same people, but the vegan menu at the melrose/gower location is much more extensive. and yes, the vegan items are cooked on a separate grill with separate utensils, it even says so on their website. enjoy!

astro burger
5601 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 469-1924

let’s just set the record straight on what us vegans can eat at the kogi truck…because the information presently available is confusing to say the least. here goes!

if you live in los angeles, i’m sure you’ve heard of the latest food craze to sweep the city…the kogi bbq truck. kogi serves up korean/mexican fusion food on the cheap with a menu full of tacos, burritos, and daily specials. the little truck has gotten so popular in just a few months, that it has been known to draw crowds of hundreds and even run out of food. i have been wanting to try their tofu tacos since forever…so imagine my excitement when i saw on vegguide.org that they were in fact vegan.

kogi truck roja!

i ate the tacos and pretty much raved about them in a review i posted this morning. my party was ruined, however, when a very informed commenter named louise left the following in reply to my post:

Sorry to break it to you, but you just ate a mouthful of pork fat. The tortillas Kogi uses have manteca (lard) in them. That’s one reason why the BF (vegan) never eats their regular tacos. The only vegan one they have is the one wrapped in shiso leaf.

um…so the tofu tacos aren’t even vegetarian? that can’t be right. i messaged the kogi truck (who knew about my blog post) via twitter telling them i found out that there was in fact lard in the tortillas. they immediately replied, “U are mistaken. Im the roja manager steve. Come take a look anytime. We use canola oil” and i was like, “are you sure there’s no lard in them?” and he said, “yes.”

to follow up on the matter, we emailed the chef and told him we’d been hearing conflicting stories about the lard, and that the truck manager was saying the tacos were vegan friendly. it’s then that we got the sad, sad news from the kogi’s very own chef roy:

our tortilla itself contains hints of Manteca although we use canola oil…but we have a vegan taco with sesame leaf as the “tortilla”

alright dude, thanks for being honest. but that’s fucking so nasty that i ate something containing “hints of lard”. almost immediately after i received that email, the kogi twitter account deleted its tweets saying that the tortillas contained no lard, and sent me a direct message via twitter:

aLL the homemade corn tortiLLas are made with a touch of Manteca. The fLour tortiLLas aren’t. Hey! You can order an eggLess burrito! ^__^ (and cheeseless)

so that settles it. what a shame. those delicious fluffy tofu tacos topped with sesame-chili salsa, romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in korean chilli-soy vinaigrette, and cilantro-green onion-lime relish were wrapped in a tortilla contaminated with piggy fatz. as louise put it in an email to me, “It’s kind of stupid that they don’t make it a point to tell you. I don’t see the point of a tofu taco if it’s wrapped in lard. The tofu taco would have been a great option for vegetarians, but now it’s just, ‘Haha, just kidding guys. No tacos for you.'”

sad tacos. they taste so good and vegan in the middle, but are wrapped in lard. 🙁 🙁 🙁

so to take something good from this situation, at least we now know kogi does have some stuff that is vegan-friendly. i will definitely return to check out their lettuce-wrapped tofu taco, as well as their tofu burrito…minus eggs, cheese, and anything else unvegan.

for those of you vegans who aren’t phased and want to give this inventive cuisine a try…but don’t feel like queuing up and want to drink alcohol while you eat your korean/mex, kogi has taken over the kitchen at the alibi room in culver city monday-saturday from 6pm to midnite. their vegan stuff is available there as well, and if you call in advance, they say they can whip you up some extra vegan specialties.

in fact, lex over at vegan-la has talked to the chef and even arranged a “vegan drinks” session with alcohol and loads of kogi food at the alibi on march 28th. for more info on that, check out the vegan drinks site.

the way kogi seasoned their tofu tacos was nothing short of incredible…they truly blend flavors to create a really unique and delicious taste. i’m willing to bury the hatchet and try something that i know is vegan for sure, from the chef’s mouth.

for up to date times and locations of the kogi trucks, and for just some all around entertainment, follow kogibbq on twitter. also check out their website for more info.

hit up kogi when you can, and get there early to avoid the lines! i know i will be back. just don’t eat any fucking corn tortillas!! YUCK. oh, and don’t believe everything you read on vegguide or on twitter.

basically any foodie will tell you that THE place to get a pizza in los angeles is pizzeria mozza. the sister restaurant to the upscale italian eatery osteria mozza has been open for years and it is still nearly impossible to get a reservation. mozza’s thin-crusted and crispy italian-style pizzas are so popular that every day before the restaurant even opens, several wannabe customers line up outside, hoping to grab a seat at the bar.

being somewhat obsessed with pizza, of course i’ve always had an interest in trying out mozza. but the thought of fighting with the crowds and dealing with the whole scene for some “highly modified to be made vegan” pizza was a bit of a turn off. plus, i’m just so used to big, take-out, new york style pies. the personal-sized expensive pizzas served at mozza with toppings i can’t pronounce all seemed a little to fancy for my comfort zone. luckily, i was jolted out of my reticence by my vegan friend and fellow pizza fiend who called me one day and exclaimed, “holy shit, dude! we gotta go to mozza! i have been dying to try that place and i just got confirmation their sauce and crust are vegan! what are you doing tomorrow?” we headed over to mozza the next day, lined up outside 15 minutes before they opened, and just managed to get a seat at the bar. what followed was epic pizza.

rapini, cherry tomatoes, olives & chiles $14 (no anchovies or cheese!)

we ordered a couple pizzas and then swapped slices, and my friend definitely chose the better of the two. she got the rapini, cherry tomatoes, anchovies, olives & chiles…sans anchovies and sans cheese. when the bartender heard her modifications, he asked if we were vegans and then assured us our food would be handled with different utensils. excellent.

the pizza tasted delicious without cheese and came with so many fine vegetables, the mozzarella wasn’t missed. the succulent rapini and and tiny tomatoes were perfectly prepared and sitting on top of the most amazing crisp yet tender crust. thin in the middle and bubbly on the edges, the crust was seriously out of this world. baked in an italian-inspired wood-burning oven, it’s miles away from any pizza i’ve ever tried.

tomato, extra virgin olive oil & sicilian oregano $10

the pizza i chose was a bit more boring, but i loved it all the same. oddly enough the pizza you see pictured above came as is, with no modifications. it’s naturally cheeseless and topped with only tomato, extra virgin olive oil and sicilian oregano. the oregano was phenomenal, but i couldn’t help but laugh when the waiter plunked the plate down in front of us and my friend was all, “DUDE! it looks like there’s WEED on your pizza!” and indeed it did. haha, it tasted great though…nothing like marijuana, i swear! the lack of toppings gave me the opportunity to really taste the amazing crust on its own and reaffirmed my feeling that this is the best fucking crust i’ve ever eaten.

while the seating at the bar is kind of tight, it was rather enjoyable. i would definitely go to mozza again and line up for 15 minutes to snag a spot. they only have one beer on tap, but it’s a damn good one: moretti. if i didn’t have to get back to work, i could have definitely thrown back a few pints of this stuff.

insalata mista. $8

we also shared a small salad and while mixed greens tend to be kind of boring, in true mozza fashion this was exceptional. the leaves were perfectly coated with salt, pepper, and a light tangy dressing, making for total salad awesomeness. the bartender also brought us some complimentary long and crunchy bread sticks, the perfect accompaniment to damn good salad and beer.

because the pizzas are pretty big, way more than enough for one person, i ended up with half a pie to bring home with me. when i went to heat up my barren, tomato sauce covered crust that evening i decided to throw on some vegan cheese to see how it tasted. because this pizza crust was so special, i decided to use some of my all-time favorite vegan cheese on top…CHEEZLY. cheezly (winner of the best vegan cheese pizza challenge) is so hard to come by, and it’s expensive as fuck. i order online at veganessentials.com and use it only on special occasions. but hey, what is more special than having a pizza from mozza to reheat?

pizza from pizzeria mozza with melted cheezly!

mozza crust with melted cheezly on top is so amazing, i can’t even describe it to you. since becoming vegan, i’ve never tried anything that tasted so much like real cheese pizza. you are probably looking at 6 bucks worth of pizza in that picture, just for a tiny slice…but man oh man it was worth it. vegans, if you miss pizza, seriously give this a try. go to mozza, get the plain pizza to go, and cover it in cheezly when you get home. just a few seconds in the microwave got the cheese melted all over the crust, and it tasted in-fucking-credible.

thank you mozza and cheezly for returning the joy of pizza to my life.

and i also highly recommend dining in at pizzeria mozza. get there a little bit before they open, or a little bit before they close and you should be able to grab a coveted bar seat. seriously, this place deserves all the hype.

pizzeria mozza
641 n. highland avenue
los angeles, ca 90036

323-297-0101

open everyday
12pm – 12am

UPDATE!!! PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT DEE’S DONUTS BEFORE EATING THEM.

locali conscious convenience has been a favorite of ours over here at quarrygirl.com, ever since they opened in january. i’ve been hitting them up weekly for their soy feta, lunch specials, and vegan frozen goods for over a month. it wasn’t until tonight though, that they had their “grand opening” shindig, serving up tons of free vegan-friendly samples and welcoming the community to find out what a kick-ass place locali is.

locali grand opening!

tons of our favorite local faces were there, handing out awesome food for the community to sample. the total rundown and more pictures after the jump….

Read the rest of this entry »

finally, finally, finally, there’s high end vegan dining available in los angeles. in a city with so many options, vegans are used to real food daily being a “fancy” place with its small portions and $17 burgers. now thanks to celebrity chef michael mina and restaurant group sbe, la vegans can dine amongst the affluent and enjoy a 5 star meal off an entirely animal-free menu at xiv on sunset boulevard.

xiv offers a tasting menu experience, where everyone at the table orders the same thing, and several small plates are served throughout the evening. each individual plate is $8, so the bill adds up quite rapidly. like most other upscale restaurants, the xiv menu contains unspeakable dishes such as caviar parfait, crispy pork belly and even foie gras terrine. however for herbivores, xiv offers an entirely separate 100% vegan menu with 27 courses to choose from. the vegan menu isn’t available anywhere online (until now) and they only present it upon request. i don’t know why they keep it so hush hush, because it’s absolutely amazing. as of now, i think it’s la’s best kept vegan secret.

while it’s not a habit of mine to eat at restaurants that serve the disgusting meat items mentioned above, the vegan menu at xiv is so impressive that i had to give it a try. plus, i really would like to support whole-heartedly any elitist eatery that puts such an effort towards creating an animal-free menu. my husband and i decided to hit up xiv last weekend, along with another fine couple, lex and kristin of vegan-la, who had already been to the restaurant and could show us the ropes.

after some incredible ginger beer and hendrick’s cocktails, our table of four started with the japanese mountain caviar, which looked so much like actual caviar that lex had to assure me that it was in fact vegan.

japanese mountain caviar. shaved radish, onion caramel. $8

i’m still not sure exactly what japanese caviar is made of, but it’s one of the tastiest and most unique vegan dishes i’ve ever tried. it looks eerily like fish and even has a salty taste, but it’s so light and fluffy, i swear it will win you over. the plate was both delicious and well-presented and came garnished with delicate and fresh asian vegetables.

cauliflower tempura. passion fruit, edamame, almonds. $8

for a second course, we chose the cauliflower tempura, which really was incredible. it had a very distinct taste that none of us could put our finger on, until kristin exclaimed, “oh my god, this tastes EXACTLY like cheetos!” sure enough, she was right. that old-school cheesy flavor came rushing back to my brain and i tasted it in a whole new way. these were like fancy little fried califlower cheetos. totally insane.

salt & pepper bok choy. glass noodles, carrots, sprouts, ginger. $8

next up was the salt and pepper bok choy. that maybe seemed a bit boring by the description, but i gotta tell you it was unbelievable. the baby bok choy was light, fragile and seasoned to perfection atop the thinnest and most delicious glass noodles.

pine nut terrine. cranberry, cardamom, flatbread. $8

the next course, and quite possibly my favorite, was the pine nut terrine. this dish consisted of a small nutty block along with crisp sheets of flatbread and a cranberry sauce. a high-class pb & j sandwich, if you will.

sushi cake with greens (in place of grilled fennel) $8

our next dish was supposed to be the grilled fennel with curry and sea beans. unfortunately, they were out of that but supplied us instead with a delicious broccoli sushi cake with chillies and greens. the little rice patty was incredibly tasty, and the sauteed chillies added a definite punch of heat.

hen of the wood mushrooms. broccoli, macaroni pasta. $8

we next ordered the hen of the wood mushrooms. this was absolutely divine! the mushrooms, broccoli, and fried little bits of god-know-what-were all cooked absolutely perfectly.

stuffed brussels sprouts. onion, shitake, huckleberry. $8

for our last course we had the stuffed brussels sprouts. these came with a fine mix of vegetables, and were stuffed with some truly incredible and savory insides. you can’t really see it in the picture, but the little brussels sprouts were absolutely tiny and so perfectly filled, so much skill must have gone into the preparation.

chocolate leather dessert. $8

when it came time to order dessert, we really didn’t care for the options advertised on the menu. the two choices consisted of mostly fruit, and we were in the mood for something a bit more decadent. lex asked the waiter if the chef could make us something vegan and extremely chocolatey. of course xiv came up with some of the best sweet-tooth-satisfying stuff i’ve ever had.

the chocolate leather consisted of long strips of luscious confection sliced into thin and malleable sheets. this was all drizzled with creamy caramel sauce and garnished with a thick chocolate ball that burst out with flavor the moment it was crunched. seriously. one of the best fucking desserts i’ve ever tasted.

the food at xiv is absolutely mind-blowing, so naturally the prices are as well. our 8 course vegan meal along with cocktails ended up costing the four of us a whopping $360. while that may sound like a lot, i can tell you it was definitely worth it. i mean, just have a look at the menu:

to all my los angeles vegan friends, i really can’t recommend xiv highly enough. the quality and ambience are completely unmatched. such skill goes into preparing each dish, and the food is created by a truly masterful chef. the atmosphere and service are also incredible, as you would expect from an extremely high end sbe establishment.

so make a special occasion out of it, throw caution to the wind, and head to xiv for an extremely high caliber vegan tasting session. now we too can finally enjoy a 5 star dining experience like all our meat-eating friends.

sante la brea, one of our favorite vegan-friendly spots in town, has recently undergone a complete make-over. not only has it added a brand spankin new vegan thai menu in addition to its own, but it has brought on a new chef, george tigre, who has come up with even more vegan options to impress the los angeles herbivore community. my friend and i hit up sante today for lunch and we seriously felt like guests in tigre’s own personal dining room. the food alone is enough to make me want to return to sante, but the level of service and the all-around experience makes me want to go back asap!

first off, the straight up food we ordered was absolutely incredible. i chose from the traditional sante menu, while my friend opted for some thai food from the vegan mama-z menu.

vegan mushu: unchicken, mushroom, cabbage and carrots in flatbread. $7

my meal of vegan mushu was perfect. soy chicken bits well marinated and chopped with the finest of vegetables, all rolled tightly into fresh flat bread and garnished with an excellent salad. i highly recommend it.

on a vegan thai note, my friend ordered the papaya salad and chicken satay.

chicken satay: served with peanut sauce and cucumber. $6

papaya: green papaya, carrot, green beans, tomato, lime juice, chili and peanut. $8

i tried a taste of the papaya salad and it was in-fucking-sane. my pal is a huge connoisseur of vegan thai food, and she said that this was by far some of the best.

it appears that sante truly has become two great restaurants under one roof. you’ve got the incredible healthy sante fare, almost all of which can be veganized…as well as a whole vegan thai menu, that trumps most other vegan thai places in town. but wait, i haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.

the new chef tigre came over to our table, and during our chat he learned that we had missed out on the vegan-friendly “preview nights” that sante has been holding to promote its new menu. he then insisted on bringing us some complimentary samples, after all, that is the same kind of treatment we would have received on a preview night, had we actually attended. so there we were, two vegans faced with tons of free awesome food. even though it was more than we could handle, it was all so delicious that we couldn’t say no.

tigre started off the samples with an amazing bowl filled with pate and chips for dipping. consisting of roasted pumpkin seeds, walnuts and mushrooms, this was a total delicacy.

following the pate, the chef stocked our table with some premium sushi. organic brown rice, avocado and red bell peppers are what these little rolls were all about.

if you know anything about me and what i eat, you probably know i bloody detest bell peppers. seriously, the hatred for them is so intense, i took one look at these rolls and nearly bolted. however, i decided for the sake of adventure to pick around the bell peppers and try the roll anyways. even though i left some sliced b-pepps discarded on the plate and the chef probably thought i was being completely rude, i actually quite enjoyed this sushi. the brown rice was a bit odd and “healthy” tasting, but the dish overall was very delicious and satisfying.

but it wasn’t just food that chef tigre showered us with. he also provided us with a sante green drink. an awesome elixir that intersected at taste and health. so fucking refreshing!

sante green aid: alkaline water, agave nectar, lime juice & chlorophyll

this juice was completely addictive and tasted just like gorilla life. i give it two thumbs way up, and couldn’t believe when the chef himself kept returning to our table to refill it. talk about service, i’ve never seen anything like it.

lastly, as we were on our way out, chef tigre ran to the table and offered us some dessert options. i was already in a hurry to get back to the office, but we just couldn’t decline, so he brought us two very special parfaits.

blueberry banana cheese cake parfait and almond peanut butter cookie crumble parfait

these parfaits were CRAZY AWESOME WOWOWOWOW SUPERB. although we were too full to finish them, i can tell you each one was spectacular; i really suggest you try them both. my favorite was the almond peanut butter cookie crumble one, though. tons of either chocolate or carob with creamy insides and crunchy layers combined; i’ve never had anything quite like it. next time you go to sante, be sure to request the tigre desserts; they will blow your freakin’ sox off.

parfait perfection from sante.

overall, i gotta say that sante la brea was a home run. my friend and i got amazing food off of two totally separate menus, plus a very generous sampling of food from the new and talented sante chef tigre. VEGANS: hit up this place as soon as possible. order the pate, the sushi, the desserts and ANY of the easily veganized items on the huge menu. you won’t be sorry. and just drop the fact that you are vegan looking for some good food; i promise you will be treated like royalty.

oh, and be sure to add sante la brea on facebook. that way you can be updated on all the deals and kick ass events this place has to offer. sooner of later, i’m sure i’ll see you there!

almost any los angeles vegan knows that a taste of life is the best place to get vegan soul food. delicious, quick, rich junk food on the cheap has given the tiny 100% vegan restaurant an incredible reputation amongst herbivores and omnivores alike. it’s a place where we can get shit like macaroni and cheese, black eyed peas, greasy kale…all with that home cooked taste…all without animal products.

a taste of life has a farmers market stand set up every sunday in hollywood, as well as a newish store front on fountain and vermont. i’ve eaten there several times and can say that the food is all fucking fabulous.

the last few times i’ve gone, a taste of life has had this menu out on the counter, but after talking to the dude who works there, i found out they offer tons of stuff that wasn’t even printed on the menu. 4 different kinds of burgers, pot roast, breaded pot roast, gyro meat and so much more. since then, a taste of life has revamped its website and added some of the secret items, but they still aren’t all on there. i suggest you call and ask what about their options. there is so much stuff i am dying to try.

a tasted of life lentil burger $5

we tried out the lentil burger and it was awesome. it stands right up there with all the best vegan burgers in town, and makes for a great option if you want some greasy tasting junk food.

we also tried the pot roast, which isn’t on the menu, and it was some of the best wheat meat i’ve ever had.

a taste of life pot roast. incredible!

when i raved about the pot roast to the guy working there, he told me they also do a fried breaded version of it, and he gave me a free sample. this was so ridiculously good, although eating an entire portion of it would probably kill me.

a taste of life fried pot roast. mmmm.

they can also make you a side of gyro meat, which is similar to the pot roast but not quite the same. i suggest you try both and decide what you like best…they are both tasty as can be.

a taste of life gyro meat

for those of you who don’t like fake meat, a taste of life has several options to please you. grab a dinner combination with mac n cheese, black-eyed peas, kale and bbq tofu. the mac n cheese is known to be the best vegan mac in los angeles, i mean even whole foods stocks it…it’s that damn good.

mac n cheese, black-eyed peas, kale and bbq tofu

they’ve also got like a million soups, and even some of those aren’t on the menu! on my last visit i got some chicken noodle and loved it.

a taste of life chicken noodle soup.

there is seriously so much to choose from at a taste of life, and so many secret menu items, i doubt i could ever try all the food they have to offer. plus the dishes are all so decadent and ridiculously delicious…now when i go there i have a really hard time trying new stuff, because the old stuff is all so good! oh, why do you do this to me, a taste of life?! …and i haven’t even tried their shakes or raw items yet!

if you haven’t been to a taste of life, you sure are missing out.

a taste of life
4718 fountain avenue #D (upstairs)
los angeles ca 90029
323-669-0784

closed monday
9am-10pm tues-thurs
9am-2am fri-sun