UPDATE 08/09/10: WE HAVE A WINNER!

UPDATE 08/02/10: we have finalists! help choose the winning kale chip!

hey, everyone! time for another giveaway, and today’s comes to you from rawk-n-roll cuisine!

i am happy to announce that we are giving away an ENTIRE CASE of their HIGHLY ADDICTIVE kale chips. i have been a fan of these things for a long time, they make the perfect snack, and are available at most whole foods in los angeles. rawk-n-roll makes nacho cheese flavored, pizza flavored, and bbq flavored kale chips, and all 3 are fantastic. these things are delicious, raw, and totally healthy, so you are gonna want to get on this. not only do you have the chance to win this prize, but also come up with your very own kale chip flavor that rawk-n-roll will add to their menu!

here is what you need to do to win —->

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SWEET! i just received this email from the executive chef of cru (one of our favorite raw restaurants in town) regarding their stance on honey. it looks like the restaurant is going to quickly become even more vegan-friendly. check it:

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earlier this year, we were saddened when the raw vegan restaurant, leaf organics closed its doors to the public. we are happy to report now though, that as of june 18th, the eatery has re-opened its culver city location, and is serving an array of both raw and cooked vegan food! we checked out leaf on their second day back in business, and while they were still ironing out a lot of the kinks, the food was pretty good and we are feeling optimistic.

veggie chili. $6.50

the menu at the new and improved leaf is pretty impressive. they’ve got raw and cooked burgers, salads, soups, and even specialties like raw mac and cheese. when we were there, however, they were only serving about half of the menu…hopefully more items will become available ASAP. to start with, we ordered a bowl of the cooked vegan chili, which was a mix of vegetables, beans, and i think maybe a little bit of soy protein. the ordering process was pretty unorganized, and the girl behind the counter couldn’t tell us exactly what was in the chili, but we both really enjoyed it.

spicy california rolls: spicy veggie pate nori rolls. $6.50

we also shared an order of spicy california rolls, which consisted of raw vegetable pate rolled up in nori. i must admit, i wasn’t a big fan of these. first off, they came with bell peppers (which i hate), so i had to pick those out. secondly, i found the vegetable pate to be a bit odd. it tasted like mushy carrots and was kind of bland. these rolls weren’t bad…they just weren’t my thing, so definitely try them if they sound good to you.

hale kale salad: with avocado, sprouted wild rice and mung beans. $10.99

lastly, we shared a large order of hale kale salad. this raw dish came with massive amounts of fresh kale, sprouted wild rice, and mung beans, all mixed up in an avocado dressing. not only was this thing huge, it was delicious as well. all top notch ingredients with a smooth and refreshing flavor, i’d definitely order it again.

inside, leaf is relaxing and spacious with large tables and comfy seats. like i said earlier, it was a bit chaotic when were there…many of the menu items were crossed out, the staff seemed stressed, and they were even repainting the sign. i think leaf may have just opened their doors to the public a little too early, and therefore things were not running smoothly. that being said, i can’t wait to return and try more menu items. the tempeh sandwich, sloppy joe, and raw burgers are all calling my name.

hit up leaf when you have a chance and welcome this vegan restaurant back into the neighborhood. we don’t want to see them go out of business again.

leaf organics
11938 W Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066

PS: leaf’s telephone isn’t working right now, and their website has the wrong address listed. (naughty leaf!) the address above is accurate though, so go check them out.

as far as i’m concerned, cru vegetarian restaurant serves up some of the best food in los angeles.

the small, comfy silverlake eatery focuses mainly on raw cuisine, but also has a delicious selection of cooked entrees as well. their creative, healthy dishes aim to please…and i’ve never been disappointed with a meal from cru yet. cru doesn’t use any meat, dairy, or eggs….in fact, the only animal product at the restaurant is honey. my only complaint is, i wish they’d quit using SO much honey.

this is actually a pretty well-timed post, because when i ate a lot of the food i’m blogging about today, the menu items containing honey weren’t even clearly marked. then they started specifying the items with honey on the restaurant menu but not the online menu, and now, FINALLY the online menu is up to date with honey labels as well. so vegans: be careful, and just read everything twice before ordering.

now, onto the FOOD!…

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after months of setbacks that often come with being a new establishment, mooi raw vegan restaurant in echo park has finally opened its doors…and well, it’s pretty phenomenal. i ate there for the first time last night, and i must say after just one visit, i think it will prove to be one of my favorite spots in LA.

first off, the interior is stunning. a huge double decker space, mooi is furnished with lush comfy chairs, vintage lamps, and purposely mismatched tables. the layout is spacious and extremely well executed—i think the ambiance alone makes it one of the most unique places to eat in LA.

to add to the eclectic vibe, the menus aren’t presented in typical form, but instead they’re pasted into dr. seuss books…

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oh my vegan friends, the time is FINALLY here! mooi restaurant in echo park is ready to open its doors this week, and i can’t fucking wait.

they held a little pre-opening shindig last night—and while i have been a long time fan of the food, i can now say the restaurant space is incredible as well.

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UPDATE: NiceCream has changed its name to KindKreme!

after a long, long wait the day is finally here! nicecream vegan ice cream in studio city has opened its doors, and wow……this place is PHENOMENAL.

vegan soft serve topped with raw cacao nibs

today marked the very first day of business for LA’s only entirely dairy-free ice cream parlour, and of course we were there to check it out…

nicecream galore!

now before i go all crazy talking about how delicious this place was and how much enticing stuff they have on the HUGE menu, i just want to point out that nicecream is not entirely vegan—some of the flavors contain honey. at the moment, all of the honey-containing varieties are currently marked, except for “strawberry.” the owner told me that they are going to make a new sign to mark that one too, and it should all be labeled very clearly by their grand opening on saturday. she also told me that all the honey used in nicecream products is obtained through cruelty-free means at a local facility. i don’t know what your stance on honey is (i don’t eat it, and i think it’s vile and unvegan), but that’s not what we are here to talk about. glad that’s out of the way, now let’s get down to the nicecream!

what struck my eye when i first walked in, was the huge vegan soft serve machine. it is very hard to come by dairy-free soft serve in LA, so this thing was an instant matter of interest. the friendly employee behind the counter saw my excitement and immediately offered me a sample. with just one bite, this stuff changed everything i know about vegan soft serve. it was thick and flavorful, dense yet fluffy, oh man….fucking perfect. the best soft serve i’ve ever had, hands down. i’d like to install one of these machines in my house and pump its crazy-good ice cream down my throat on a daily basis. i don’t know how nicecream manages to make it all vegan, raw, and organic…but it’s totally mind-blowing.

there were many more insane-sounding dishes that i can’t wait to try out next time. milkshakes, banana splits, and ice cream sandwiches just to name a few. check out the menu:

nicecream menu: CLICK TO ENLARGE!

they also had a large selection of vegan ice cream to go…

(via nicecream's facebook page)

a counter full of delicious-looking treats…

a team of 3 lovely and helpful ladies…

(via nicecream's facebook page)

and free parking for vegan ice cream lovers…

seriously, THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! get there as soon as you can, and be sure to make it to the grand opening on 5/15.

i love the idea of nicecream in general, and their huge menu and incredible desserts make me love them even more. if only this place would switch to agave!!!!!

nicecream vegan ice cream
3701 cahuenga blvd.
studio city, ca 91604
818-308-6758

Mon – Thurs: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm

follow them on twitter!
friend them on facebook!

as we get closer and closer to the opening of mooi, a raw vegan restaurant in echo park, i am growing more and more excited. not only have i recently discovered the joys of raw food—but i have had the pleasure of trying several mooi desserts and appetizers, each one being utterly fantastic.

here are a few of the things i got to sample (let’s just say, you have a lot to look forward to!)…

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these nachos are the ultimate indulgence, and you seriously don’t have to be raw or even vegan to enjoy them.

we’ve been toying around with raw foods for a few weeks now, and this has to be the richest most extravagant meal we’ve made at home. i suggest you give it at try—it puts most cooked vegan nachos to shame!

here’s how you make ’em…

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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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one plus side of our little “going raw for a week” experiment was, we got to try some restaurants that we normally wouldn’t. better life cuisine in santa monica came to us highly recommended by some close friends, as well as several commenters on the blog. the place is entirely raw and vegan, with an impressive menu full of salads, smoothies, wraps and entrees. even after hearing such high praise for better life, i must say it completely exceeded my expectations!

to start with we ordered the tuna sushi rolls, which were excellent…

tuna nori rolls. $6.95

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when we announced we were going raw for the week, we turned to stephen hauptfuhr and his food business mooi, to help us get by. we were already huge mooi fans—the organic/vegan/raw catering company won us over long ago with their delicious ice cream and homemade cheeses, and we have been anxiously awaiting the opening of their restaurant. however, we’d never tried their entrees until just a few days ago, and only now do i realize how much we were missing out! everything was incredible, and the best news is that it’s all available to buy pre-packaged at naturewell in silverlake!

check out our massive haul…

ginger garlic stir fry with sweet 'n sour pineapple skewers: carrot, cabbage, broccoli, celery, and bok choy.

our first mooi dish was a raw vegan stir fry, which consisted of carrot, cabbage, broccoli, celery and bok choi in an extremely tasty garlic ginger sauce. it came topped with a generous amount of pineapple skewers, which added the perfect sweetness to the vegetables. i don’t know how mooi does it, but this honestly evoked all the flavors and nuances of an actual stir fry…without being cooked.

thai peanut noodles: kelp noodles with peanut sauce, broccoli and snow peas.

the next entree was by far my favorite of the four. a raw take on thai food, it consisted of kelp noodles in a rich peanut-style sauce with loads of fresh vegetables. it was so ridiculously good, i can’t possibly do it justice. the thick, creamy, and nutty beyond belief…and the soft noodles were fantastic. the normal dish comes with bell peppers, which i hate, so stephen was kind enough to leave them off for us. if you are into raw food, or just good food, you should seriously head to naturewell and pick some of these noodles up.

more after the jump…

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i know it may sound crazy coming from us, lovers of all things pizza and baked goods, but we have decided to give raw food a try….at least for the next week.

what does that mean? well it means that we are gonna be eating nothing but uncooked, unprocessed, and mostly organic food for the next 7 days. i know to a lot of you readers this is pretty normal, but to us it’s fucking astrophysics. so please, if you have any tips/advice/knowledge, please leave it in the comments section.

otherwise, keep checking the blog for tasty vegan adventures—we have lots of posts stored up for this week! <3

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today is a great day, because i get to announce that earth cafe (one of my favorite vegan dessert companies ever) is introducing a new pie to their already delicious line of cheesecakes!

life is sweet potato pie. by earth cafe. 🙂

earth cafe’s “life is sweet potato” pie is definitely one of their best creations to date. it’s thick and rich with a smooth velvety texture and packed with sweet complex flavors. the pie itself is moist and fluffy, and the crust has just the right amount of crunch. it’s seriously the perfect indulgence, because it tastes amazing, yet isn’t full of bad ingredients. everything made by earth cafe is completely raw, vegan, and gluten free with no refined sugars or hydrogenated oils.

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so sad to see yet another vegan business go under. leaf organics has already closed its sherman oaks location, and plans to shut down its culver city restaurant on february 13th at 9pm. their packaged foods will also cease to be available at local retailers. 🙁

the good news is, you still have 9 days to get over to leaf and take advantage of the discounts they’ll be offering before they close.

raw food by leaf cuisine

photo from leaf’s website.

while i’ve never been to leaf, i have enjoyed some of their ready made meals from whole foods. i definitely hope to get over to the culver city location before it’s gone for good.

here is an email forwarded to me by a reader, that leaf sent out to their newsletter subscribers:

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