holiday cheer right on your plate or sent home with you in a box—that’s what you can expect from m cafe de chaya over the next couple days.

before you ask: ….hell no, m cafe is not open on december 25th! but today and tomorrow they are running a holiday roast special that will help warm you through this dreadful 60 degree cold front, and get you ready for santa’s birthday. have i mentioned before how much i love holiday food? i ordered m cafe’s special last night to go, and while it was a bit overpriced, i loved every bite of it. you can see it pictured above in all its take-out box glory, and below i attempted to make it a little more picturesque.

holiday roast dinner: sliced seitan roast served with herbed bread stuffing, covered in homemade gravy. with rutabega mashed potatoes, ginger cranberry sauce and broccolini. $16.50

the price tag was pretty hefty on this entree, but i assure you, so was the portion size. a long sliced seitan loaf came resting on an large bed of fluffy mashed potatoes and chunky bread stuffing. the seitan itself was absolutely exquisite, just the right amount of chewiness with a slightly burnt skin. and i’m usually pretty grossed out by cranberry sauce, but i was a fan of m cafe’s. the ginger added a whole new biting dimension to offset the sweet flavor.

overall, i really can’t fault the quality of this dish. for a quick holiday meal, it really delivered. the only complaint i have, is that it was pretty expensive. i chalk that up to, “oh well, what isn’t expensive at m cafe?!” right, right? we are talking about a place that charges over 10 bucks for vegan breakfast.

anyways, i know this special is going on at the melrose storefront today and tomorrow, so check it out if you get a chance…if you like holiday food, i highly recommend this. m cafe has weird xmas eve hours, so call ahead. oh, and also call ahead if you are in bev hills or culver city…i’m not sure what the deal is w/ those locations.

may you have a happy holiday, and eat all the roast-ish type foods as you possibly can. i know i will!

m cafe de chaya
7119 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90046

Every so often in the LA vegan scene I run into somebody that says “You know, I wish I’d eaten at The Vegan Spot before it closed down”. Well, Los Angeles vegans, its successor restaurant Flore Cafe (sister restaurant to the amazing Flore) is in need of our attention once again.

Most LA vegans would put the esteemed Silverlake restaurant Flore in their top five vegan dining options in the city. An innovative menu, all-organic ingredients and incredible attention to detail in both the preparation and presentation of the food really sets it apart from places like Cafe Flourish (fast dining, limited menu). If only parking was easier in Silverlake, we’d probably visit Flore a whole lot more than we do.

Well, rising from the ashes of The Vegan Spot (my favorite ever LA vegan restaurant) just half a mile or so away from Flore is Flore Cafe. While owned by the same people as Flore, the Cafe is not entirely vegan (having eggs and milk products on the menu), but it serves many similar menu items as its sister restaurant a few blocks south – all organic, all very well thought out and all absolutely wonderfully prepared.

On a recent visit to Flore Cafe, we decided to order the Avocado and Seitan Salad and Tempeh Tu-no Melt – boy, we were not disappointed.

Avocado & Seitan Salad: Bed of mixed greens with sliced avocado, sprouts, grilled seitan, tomato and red onion. Served with choice of vinaigrette or tahini dressing. $9.95

The salad was crispy and fresh, perfectly prepared and the seitan was some of the best I’ve ever had (I don’t know how Flore make their seitan, but I wish I could make it the way they do!). In addition to the amazing seitan, all the ingredients in the salad were top notch. At first, nearly $10 seemed like a lot to pay for a salad…but when this bowl arrived overflowing with wheat meat and fresh produce, $10 seemed like a bargain. The tahini dressing was deliciously creamy as well, I couldn’t fault anything about this dish.

Tempeh Tu-no Melt: Tempeh salad, daikon sprouts and cashew cheese layered on organic seeded six grain bread grilled to warm, soulful perfection. Served with a mixed green salad. $8.95

The Tempeh Tu-no Melt was also truly outstanding – a well filled toasted sandwich with a sizable side of equally crispy salad. The melt was stuffed with a creamy and chunky tempeh salad mixture, with just the right amount of crunch. It tasted amazing all mixed up with Flore’s flavorful cashew cheese and the slightly sour daikon sprouts. Like the seitan salad, this melt was enormous. Each half was packed with a ton of tempeh; we ended up taking half of it home for a later meal.

Flore Cafe has a great menu, with tons of options, considering how small the place is. Whether you are in the mood for a full on breakfast, a hearty burger, a toasted sandwich or a burrito…Flore Cafe is your place. Here are just a few of the other things we’ve eaten there. If you are a reader of this blog, you’ve probably seen these pix before:

Smokey Seitan & Portobello Burger: served with red onion, lettuce, tomato, vegenaise and a side salad. $9.95

Flore Cafe offers 4 types of veggie burgers. I highly recommend the seitan and portobello burger—a large patty made of wheat meat and mushrooms all topped off with loads of vegetables.

Tofu Scramble: Tofu, tomato, basil, mushroom, red onion & spinach. $6.95

The tofu scramble at Flore Cafe is one of the best breakfast dishes in Los Angeles, and just about the only vegan one I can think for under $7. It comes with mounds of chunky tofu mixed with spinach and mushrooms, as well as a generous helping of tomato and avocado. Goes great with hot sauce.

Breakfast Burrito: Tofu scramble, cashew cheese, potatoes, avocado and pico de gallo ina whole wheat tortilla. Served with a side of fruit. $6.95

The breakfast burrito is also a good deal at $6.95—lots of perfectly cooked tofu, potatoes and avocado rolled up tight in an oversized tortilla.

I know we have given them flack before on this blog for serving eggs and dairy, but I’d strongly recommend visiting Flore Cafe both in the near future and on a regular basis. Like so many tiny businesses these days the economy isn’t on its side so all the help we can give Flore Cafe to remain on our list as a superb restaurant with a bunch of vegan options will, I’m sure, be much appreciated.

Let’s not lose the entire menu from Flore Cafe due to closure or reassignment of the lease to an omnivorous establishment. We’ve already seen Vegan Spot go away, as well as Flore Cafe cease offering LA’s best ever vegan breakfast deal: the “all you can eat” sunday breakfast brunch. Go pay Flore Cafe a visit… today!

Flore Cafe
3206 W Sunset Blvd (at Descanso…not to be confused with Flore at Sunset Junction)
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 667-0116

open daily 10am-5pm

Curried Seitan Bahn Mi.

Forty years ago this weekend, The Beatles walked across a pedestrian crossing outside Abbey Road Studios, London and signaled the end of the Swinging Sixties. Their iconic, final Abbey Road album was about bringing things together – after all, it begins with John Lennon’s anthem for togetherness, “Come Together”, and ends with Paul McCartney’s appropriately titled “The End”. Sometimes, the best things in life mean so much more when brought together than enjoyed on their own, just like the final recording sessions of The Beatles.

Take my favorite things: vegan food, awesome music, special beer and good friends. Bring them together, give them to me in abundance and I’ll be as sound as a pound.

I write this post replete from all of the above, following this afternoon’s visit to what is arguably LA’s best bar, The Verdugo in Glassel Park. The Verdugo is usually a late-night haunt for us, it being dark, candle-lit and having an innovative beer menu. Today, though, we were spoiled with not only some amazing beers, but the a visit from Hot Knives, the “out there” vegetarian bloggers, chefs, beer experts and all-around-cool-dudes who had brought along a streamlined, but very effective vegan food menu. They called it the Gnosh Pit, and oh boy, did we GNOSH!

The bad news is that Hot Knives has a very limited engagement with Verdugo – only two days. The good news is that you can catch all this again NEXT Sunday 16th (although the menu items may vary from what we describe here).

Let’s talk about the food. First, they approached the occasion from a tangent, offering five menu items – two entrées, two sides and a dessert. With two entrées, the good news is that you’re going to eat not one, but two signature dishes:

Vegan BBQ Bun.

The “BBQ Bun” was a force to be reckoned with – Oyster mushrooms roasted twice and soaked in sweet vinegar spiked BBQ sauce, served between a soft, seasme-seeded bun.

Curried Seitan Bahn Mi with Seeded Cole Slaw.

The “Bahn Mi” was ready to kick you in the fucking face (time and time again) with fresh green chilies, cilantro, spicy curry seitan (the best I’ve had in a long time) and crusty bread. It was HOT, TASTY, CRUNCHY and so amazing that I ate two and wished I’d taken another home for dinner.

Fresh Chips.

Yeah, and the sides were also out of this world. Taking potato chips and making them special is rather tricky, but the Hot Knives dudes made it happen. The chips were sliced thin, fried hot and fast and served with kim chi dipping sauce. They vaporized from the table in about eight seconds, if that’s any evidence of the their delectability.

The cole slaw (pictured above with the bahn mi) had purple cabbage, green cabbage and some other stuff, all served in a tangy sauce with the perfect combination of crunch and mush. These guys know how to make a coleslaw hater become a coleslaw lover.

Lambic Pop. (That's what she said!)

On to the end, the desert was out of this world. Frankly, Lambic is not to everybody’s taste – it’s like a cross between raspberry daiquiri and a hard beer. The Lambic Pops (ignoring the phallic representation) could have been a meal in and of themselves. What an amazing idea?!

The Hot Knives Dudes making our epic feast

The Hot Knives folks were so nice — after every visit (and there were many) to the food area we were served politely, told to “tell our friends” and given food and a friendly attitude to die for. I’d do this every weekend (or every day) if my work schedule and liver allowed it.

Ah, the food. Well, that’s just one item of convergence we’re talking about here – the next is music. Talking of The Beatles, as we sat down to enjoy our Fresh Chips, George Harrison came over the PA system with his eponymous “For You Blue” from the album recorded a few months before Abbey Road. Yeah, he probably wasn’t singing about the erect, blue Lambic Pops, but the music was great and the pops were cold, so who gives a shit? The Beatles were followed by Dandy Warhols, Velvet Underground and many of my favorite bands in tight rotation.

Ok, we have food and music, let’s talk about beer. In fact, after several Pliny The Elders (strangely the very first post on this site), I’m not going to talk very much about the beer, except to say that with 20+ beers on tap you can find one of LA’s best beer selections at your beck and call. Just show up at Verdudo, read the beer menu and let your designated driver take you home. Enough Said. Remember to check in advance, though, which beers are vegan. Most of the craft brews served here are, but better to be safe than carnivorous.

Outdoor Patio at Verdugo Bar

Food, music, beer, FRIENDS – yeah, what was originally a 45 minute stop over on the way somewhere became a 2+ hour chillin’ session when we ran into the awesome Foodeater of To Live and Eat in LA . We talked about friends, food, beer, and stuff we wouldn’t post in a family oriented blog (I’m serious). Upon leaving, our perspective of what’s important in life was firmly reinforced: Awesome food, great music, special beer and good friends.

For more updates about what’s going on at Verdugo Bar, follow them on twitter…. @verdugobar

loving hut is the fastest growing international vegan chain restaurant, and they recently opened up a location near los angeles in alhambra. i checked it out over the weekend with my husband and we were both blown away by the excellence of the food, the size of the portions, and the friendliness of the staff. the best i can describe loving hut’s cuisine is as asian-inspired fast food with lots of fried selections, burgers, burritos and sandwiches as well as vegetable stir frys, spring rolls and noodle bowls. the place is very affordable and everything we tried was super tasty.

golden nuggets: deep fried breaded soy protein. $5.95

we started with the golden nuggets, which were basically huge chunks of seitan coated in bread crumbs and fried. they weren’t overly oily, and the coating was surprisingly light. the seitan was extra thick and wheat-meaty, and i gotta say these were quite possibly the best vegan nuggets i’ve ever had. they didn’t mess around with that fake “chicken” taste that most nuggets do, these just had a really excellent seitan flavor. not to mention the tangy mayo-style dipping sauce they came with, which was incredible!

aulac special salad: shredded cabbage with soy chicken tossed with mint and special sauce. $6.95

my husband ordered the aulac special salad, which was a massive mound of cabbage covered in mock meat strips. the chickeny strips were delicious, and the shredded cabbage was crisp and fresh. definitely a win if you are looking for a really satisfying, yet healthy salad.

teriyaki sub: grilled sauteed soy protein on a sandwich. $6.95

i ordered the teriyaki sub, a sandwich roll covered in vegan mayo and piled high with grilled soy meat, onions and tomatoes. this thing was so tasty—the fake steak was thick, juicy, and cooked in the most delicious teriyaki sauce. what a fucking great sandwich.

the food isn’t the only good thing about loving hut; the service is quick and attentive, there is ample parking, the restaurant is clean and spacious, and everything is very well-priced. we had such a pleasant experience there, i know i would be a regular if i lived in alhambra.

one last thing. apparently, loving hut is affiliated with the “supreme master”, and i’m not even sure exactly what that means, but it has stirred up quite the conversation. they did have supreme master television playing in the restaurant, which is basically a non-stop stream of cheezily produced pro-vegan programming. while some people accuse the organization of being “cultish”, it seemed harmless enough to me, and loving hut served up damn good vegan food, so i don’t really care about any of that other noise.

go check out loving hut asap. there are tons of locations, so hopefully you live close enough to one to make the trip. and get the golden nuggets!

Loving Hut
621 W. Main St.
Alhambra, CA 91801
Tel: 1-626-289-2684
Fax: 1-775-628-8037
Open Tue – Sun (11:00 am – 9:00 pm)

Let me set the stage. One of my most critical and trusted vendors (whom my company spends a lot of dollarz with every month) invited us out for a “nice dinner in West Hollywood” with him and his wife. After I suggested a few low-end vegan-friendly places, it was clear that he wanted to take us somewhere “much nicer”. Randomly, I suggested Real Food Daily, and he said “My wife went to the one in Santa Monica and really enjoyed it. I’d love to go there!”. So, it was with much delight that we met up for dinner.

From the minute we were seated, it was clear that we were unwelcome. Each time our server approached the table she just began to ask her questions with NO preamble, loudly interrupting our conversation in such a rude way. She clearly wanted to turn the table as fast as possible, and rushed us through the ordering (clearly, we were not all ready to order). Rather than go away and come back she stood by our table looking fed up while we all placed our orders. We started with some nachos – which were pretty tasty and arrived within about 2 minutes of us ordering them (probably because they were a pre-made popular item in the kitchen).

About 5 minutes after the nachos arrived, two servers showed up with our food, and started shoving it down in front of us, moving our nacho plates out of the way or (in my case) removing it entirely, even though I was mid-bite. One guest at the table grabbed her nacho plate and was left holding it with nowhere to set it down after the entrée plates were delivered to the tiny four-top.

TV Dinner: Tempeh vegetable loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables. $13.95

While the food was “OK”, it was VERY bland. There’s not one distinctive taste in any of it, and my choice (the TV dinner) I could prepare at home for a lot less than $14. During the brief time we spent there, our server never had eye contact with us once, the environment was so unpleasant that we could not wait to leave and the food so overpriced (with necessary “extras” costing $3 or more ON TOP OF entrées that were pushing fifteen bucks. One exception was the “Taco the Town” tacos, which got rave reviews.

Tac-o' the Town: Seasoned seitan with onions, peppers, guacamole, pico de gallo, tofu sour cream, Spanish rice, black beans. $14.25

To my utter embarrassment, the person that invited us there, and paid for the meal had only a couple of bites of his food. I asked him if everything was OK, and he said “well, it seems to be all bell peppers and rice – not very good at all”.

I’ve always disliked RFD, even after giving it many, many chances to succeed for me. There are no positives in my mind, but plenty of negatives: Rude staff, indifferent service, expensive and useless valet service, expensive and bland food, cramped tables crammed together, pre-made food that arrives WAY too quickly for it to be freshly prepared, an atmosphere of omnivores “trying” vegan food with vegan/trendy/vegetarian friends and a general shitty vibe about the entire place.

I was terribly embarrassed that I suggested RFD as a dinner location for somebody generous enough to invite us out, and drive all the way from Santa Monica with his wife to spend time with us. I HATE RFD, and I will NEVER go back, EVER. Fuck their brunch, screw their servers that rudely interrupt conversation and damn to hell the fucking valet that left me standing there for 10 minutes in awkward conversation.

Real Food Daily
414 N La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 289-9910

UPDATE 9/17: as of sunday 9/20, THE VEGAN BRUNCH IS BACK!!! please go support flore cafe! we don’t want to see this brunch go away again!

UPDATE: unfortunately, due to slow business, the all-you-can-eat vegan brunch at flore cafe has been discontinued. you should still get over there ASAP though, as most of the brunch items are available on their menu.

so if you read this blog, you are probably already aware of the fact that a vegetarian restaurant called flore cafe now occupies the former space of the best vegan eatery in town (the vegan spot) and has recently started offering an awesome all-you-can-eat vegan brunch every sunday from 10am to 3pm for just 10 bucks. that’s right, probably the best vegan brunch deal ever conceived of, flore cafe provides quality vegan food in cafeteria-sized trays every week for a fixed price, and you can go up and get as many servings as you like. total recipe for over-indulgence disaster.

however this weekend, flore cafe started offering a different menu for the all you can eat brunch. today the tofu scramble and waffles were replaced with vegetable frittata and grilled “chicken” patties. both dishes were tasty, no doubt…but i can’t lie, i REALLY missed the tofu scramble.

flore cafe all you can eat vegan brunch. french toast, vegan bacon, vegetarian frittata and "chicken" patties. $10

the vegan menu this weekend consisted of french toast with berry compote, vegetable frittata, veggie bacon, grilled “chicken” patties, roasted breakfast potatoes, bread & jam along with coffee & orange juice. the french toast was delicious (as usual) and the new berry compote really added and extra wow factor, if you enjoy eating sweets for breakfast. i’d say this was the highlight of the meal, along with the “chicken” patties which are pictured above to the top left and below in the bottom center.

flore cafe vegan all you can eat brunch for $10

the “chicken” patties didn’t really taste like chicken at all, but thick seitany sausages instead. they were absolutely delicious, albeit a bit cold, and i seriously couldn’t stop going back for more. the vegetarian frittata was a bit bland and, like the breakfast potatoes, full of bell peppers…which i HATE. 🙁 bell peppers aside, the frittata just wasn’t as good as flore cafe’s tofu scramble. i don’t think i would ever spoon the frittata onto my plate again as long as other stuff was available, i’d rather just fill up on the awesome bacon and “chicken” patties.

i don’t know if this menu change is permanent for the all-you-can-eat sunday brunch at flore cafe, or if they were just trying out some new things. what i do know though, is i didn’t like it quite as much as the old menu that i’m used to. the seitan “chicken” patties and fruit compote were delicious, but they didn’t fill the hole that was left by the absence of the tofu scramble.

still though, in the end it is unlimited awesome vegan food at a fixed price and you just can’t beat that. if you haven’t been, definitely head out to flore cafe and get the sunday brunch as soon as you can. maybe put in a good word to your server about the tofu scramble if you are lucky enough to get it. 😉 believe you me, it’s the best thing they offer.

Flore Cafe
3206 W. Sunset Blvd.
@ Descanso in Silver Lake
323-667-0116

so the economy sucks and lots of people are out of work. that’s a fact. businesses are closing, personal savings are being depleted, and the unemployment rate is skyrocketing. we all know and love people who have been laid off…maybe we even are those people in some cases. but wtf mate, the tragedy has officially now come home for all los angeles herbivores and started to affect local vegan/vegan-friendly restaurants. within 2 short months we saw the shutting of the vegan spot and of doomie’s home cookin’, arguably the best 2 places to get a meat-free sandwich in la. both closures were untimely and undeserved…so vegans, please, let’s go throw our moneys at some of the local restaurants that need our help, starting with mani’s bakery on fairfax.

the long-standing los angeles institution is nearly as old as i am, and is still being threatened by the crappy economic climate. in a recent plea on their blog (which i saw via eater la), mani’s tells its customers,“Unfortunately, we face the very real possibility of not making it through 2009, unless we can modify our business to function more efficiently in today’s environment.” they go on to add, “December was the weakest sales Mäni’s has ever had. At this level we will not be able to continue.” ummm…i dunno what you make of that, but to me that sounds like some fatal-apocalyptic-scary shit meaning, buy our food if you want us to be here in the morning. well, it worked on me. i hit up mani’s as soon as i read this, and i gotta say, i will feel pretty bad and dead inside if they do go out of business. their vegan food is really, really, really good. i’ve posted before about mani’s ENORMOUS VEGAN SELECTION…and let’s just say on this return visit, i was even more impressed.

chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie. $3.50

i’m gonna work in reverse on this post because the dessert is the best thing that mani’s offers. the menu is absolutely huge, and all the vegan/veganizable items are clearly marked. almost everything can be made animal-free, and this is extremely handy when it comes to the desserts. vegan truffles, breakfast bars, almond rocas, cakes and pies are just some of the decadent treats that mani’s has in store. my husband and i split a chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie on our last visit, and we could barely finish it. it was so rich and tasty, i think any vegetarian would be fooled by it.

but not just the dessert items at mani’s are awesome…there are also tons of vegan-friendly appetizers and entrees. on our recent visit and attempt to save mani’s from bankruptcy and decline, i ordered the pesto sandwich.

the pesto: vegan pesto spread on rosemary bread with fresh mixed greens, avocado, tomato and marinated tofu. with a vegan caesar salad. $11

of course i got the vegan version (with tofu instead of meat) and everything was divine. the pesto was thick, oily, and slightly greasy in a really good way. the tofu was grilled but still soft in the middle, and it was all stacked with fresh vegetables on really soft and spongy bread.

my husband got the california club, which was also excellent. the sandwich came in neatly chopped pieces, all stacked high with vegan cheese, vegetables, crispy tempeh bacon and crunchy breaded seitan. there was nothing to complain about. i mean seriously, with the vegan spot and doomie’s both totally gone, i don’t know where else to obtain such a hearty and satisfying vegan sandwich in this town.

the california club: layered bread, breaded seitan with tempeh bacon, vegan cheddar, lettuce and tomato. $12

yeah, yeah, yeah, mani’s is a bit expensive. but so fucking what?!?! where isn’t at this point? it’s as good a deal as pure luck or m cafe, plus the menu is like 90x bigger. they also have the best vegan bakery and pastry selection in town. if they do shut, i know i will feel the same way as if a beloved relative has died—totally wracked with guilt, torturing myself over every lunchtime or coffee break i could have spent in mani’s company.

in my opinion, the vegan scene will suck a lot more hardcore if mani’s goes away. let’s ensure that doesn’t happen. please go eat there as soon as possible…um, it may be your last chance. 🙁

mani’s bakery
519 S. fairfax avenue
los angeles, ca 90036
(323) 938-8800

mani’s bakery on fairfax is a must-visit for all vegans, as far as i’m concerned. i ran across mani’s awhile back when the bakery made an insane vegan cake for my co-worker’s birthday. i went to mani’s later to check it out and realized that their vegan menu was huge compared to other restaurants in town. i mean, they even have a full-on legend at the top of the menu for vegan and vegan-optional items. on top of that, the food is pretty damn good and they have great hours, plus they serve breakfast all day long. yay mani’s bakery!

bread basket: an assortment of our freshly baked breads with 3 of our homemade spreads. $6

my husband and i hit up mani’s recently and were pretty impressed with the food. one of the vegan-optional starters at mani’s is the bread basket. being a self-contained bakery and all, mani’s definitely has the bread thing down. our basket included an impressive selection of piping hot crunchy slices, soft and chewy rolls, and thin and crispy chips. the spreads were black bean, pesto, and hummus; and each one was rich, flavorful and creamy. between me and my husband, the bread basket was way too much food to finish, but that didn’t stop us from trying.

arugula artichoke salad: marinated artichoke hearts and crisp green beans with baby arugula make this salad a green dream. served with lime-cilantro dressing and braised tempeh. $14

as a main, my husband ordered the vegan-optional arugula artichoke salad. while 14 bucks is definitely a lot to pay for a salad, this thing was pretty huge and they didn’t skimp on the tempeh. the artichoke hearts were shredded into delicate slices and marinated perfectly. the braised tempeh was amazing; why anyone would get this salad with the grilled chicken option is beyond me!

tofu scramble hash: we start with organic tofu and scramble it with asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, miso and nutritional yeast to end up with a nourishing and wholesome dish. comes with veggie bacon. $13

i took advantage of the fact all day breakfast and went for the tofu scramble hash. it was insanely delicious. the tofu was scrambled up in big thick chunks and was all mixed in in with the vegetables. the soft mushrooms, spinach and tofu went perfectly with the crispy, crunchy asparagus. i got the vegan option, which came with sliced tempeh rather than veggie bacon, and it was quite tasty. the breakfast potatoes were top notch as well. good stuff all the way around.

while the food is awesome at mani’s, it’s often crowded and dining in can be unpleasant. you will probably have to wait for a table, the restaurant is loud and cramped, and the chairs aren’t that comfortable. for the high prices, i would expect more of a dining experience rather than the quickie cafe feel that mani’s offers. fortunately for me, the food is just as delicious to go. 

breakfast wrap: the whole enchilada's wrapped up for your morning meal. black beans, guacamole, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, cilantro and vegan tofu scramble in a whole wheat or spinach tortilla. served with ranchero sauce and pico de gallo. $10

on a subsequent visit, my husband and i grabbed take-out from mani’s for dinner, and mine was every bit as tasty. i ordered breakfast again, but this time i got the wrap. the breakfast wrap is super because it’s pretty much the exact same tofu scramble as above, but it’s thrown in a tortilla with beans and guacamole. plus, it’s 3 bucks cheaper. score!

tasty scramble, all rolled up.

this time my husband ordered the classic sandwich, veganized with kale greens. it was good, but not as good as the salad he’d had in the restaurant.

the classic: like a timeless old hollywood standard. lettuce, tomato and our special-recipe tangy sauce atop breaded seitan and tempeh bacon. $11

i took a bite of the sandwich and thought the seitan was delicious, but my husband described it as “too chewy” and “glue-y.” maybe next time i will order it for meself!

so overall, mani’s bakery is definitely worth a visit. whether you dine in or take-out, the food will most likely be delicious. they have a massive menu with loads of vegan options, just remember to specify. plus, they have a whole freakin’ bakery with fresh bread and vegan desserts! cakes, cookies, even almond roca…they’ve got TONS of stuff to choose from. i’ve just always filled up on the tasty food, leaving no room for their tempting sweets. thankfully, there’s always next time!

mani’s bakery
519 S. fairfax avenue
los angeles, ca 90036
(323) 938-8800

casa de tree is a newish japanese/french organic bakery and vegan deli that’s sprouted up near the venice area of los angeles. they used to have a location in torrance with a full-on menu, but for now the los angeles storefront just offers a few specials and a long pay-by-weight vegan buffet. my husband and i checked them out a few weeks ago and filled up on loads scrumptious vegan goodness. buffet, entrees, sides, we got it all.

casa de tree buffet with vegetables, tofu, crispy seitan, dumplings and other tasty things. $8.99 per pound.

my husband made his rounds through the deli, gathering tons of appetizing vegetables, savory tofu, crispy seitan and steamed dumplings. i helped myself to his plate and everything was amazing. strangely, the large trays of buffet food that lined the walls of casa de tree were completely unlabeled, however the woman behind the cash register was more than happy to explain each dish in detail. there was so much to choose from, and it was all delicious and completely vegan—the food was much higher quality than that in the standard whole foods pay-by-weight buffet of the same price.

i decided to go with the special of the day from the blackboard above the buffet, two crunchy tacos. they were very tasty, and came with a bunch of stuff that looked familiar from my husband’s buffet selections.

casa de tree tacos with seitan, vegetables, soy sour cream and side salads. $9.75

i thought the tacos were incredible. the breaded seitan katsu was perfectly cooked, the organic corn shells were light and crunchy, and both side salads were superb. the soy sour cream was sinfully good as well. my only complaint about my meal is that it took ages to arrive, and since my husband went with the deli option, he was done eating long before my food was served.

casa de tree also offers a counter full of ready-made items and take-away bento boxes that looked very appetizing, and wide array of mouth-watering desserts. my husband and i split the tofu quiche, which turned out to be the highlight of the meal.

vegan tofu quiche. $1.75

i have had a few vegan quiches in my time, and this was the best one ever. it was warm with fluffy tofu and spinach on the inside, and slightly burned and crunchy on top. quiche perfection.

so overall, i had a pretty good experience at casa de tree. the food was not only tasty, it was all organic, vegan and nutritious. the recipes were creative as well, i loved the blending of japanese and french styles—the dishes really reminded me of stuff you’d find at m cafe, minus the dead fish. i just hope casa de tree gets a proper menu at some point in the near future. while the deli/salad bar option would be great for grabbing stuff to go, i’d rather have more choices for a dine-in experience. plus, i prefer my food to be fresh and warm as can be.

if you want a quick bite on the west side, check out casa de tree. and eat some dessert for me, because i didn’t get a chance to try any!

casa de tree
3741 motor ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310.784.0455

vegan glory is bad ass. yeah, i know if you read my blog you are probably so sick of hearing about these thai vegan restaurants with the word “vegan” in their title by now…and as you know, i’ve got a love/hate relationship with these places. i hate the fact they are so predictable, and that 70% of their menu consists of lunch specials and salty noodle dishes…but i love, love, love the fact that they are everywhere and that sometimes they offer non-thai food that rivals that of the best of the best normal vegan restaurants. case in point, vegan glory. a great little gem located on beverly, this joint has a parking lot, ample seating and some surprisingly good…mexican food? yep. strange, but oh so true.

soy chicken burrito: served with chopped romaine lettuce, beans, rice, salsa, & vegan cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla. $7.95

i was totally reluctant to order this burrito. after hooking up with flore, and then hugo’s tacos, i felt i’d be unimpressed with any mex-food that the thai-inspired vegan glory had to offer. the burrito, however was flawless. it was huge, scrumptious, and full of fake meat along with beans, vegetables and VEGAN CHEESE! ok, so it wasn’t that melty…but it tasted awesome and after 30 seconds in the microwave, it was as ooooey and gooey as ever. wrapped up tightly in a thick, stretchy and thin flour tortilla, this sucker is easy to slice in half cleanly and split between two.

the soy chicken was especially tasty—not too sweet or salty, and it had no asian flavoring what-so-ever, which made it perfect for my burrito. plus, there was a controversy a while back about some of the thai-vegan places using NON-vegan ingredients in their soy chicken. but even amidst all the scandal, vegan glory was known as one of the places to be upfront and legit about the contents of its food. so even now, i just feel a little safer eating it.

adhering to its traditional thai roots, vegan glory still offers a wide array of curries, rice bowls and salty noodle dishes. of these, i recommend the pad thai with seitan.

pad thai with seitan: rice stick noodles stir fried with pad thai sauce, bean sprouts, and green onion, topped with crushed peanuts. $7.95

the pad thai consists of juicy slices of seitan atop thick, succulent noodles with the most delicious peanutty sauce. they even put on cabbage and carrot garnishes to make it look pretty & colorful too. sometimes the seitan at these thai places tastes kind of sugary or syrupy…not this stuff. this luscious wheat meat soaked up all the flavors of the dish: soy sauce, onions, peanuts and garlic. mmm.

and lastly, to start with, i suggest the freshy rolls. other than having a really cool name, they also taste great and are extremely light…so they won’t make you too full to enjoy your entree.

freshy rolls: thai spaghetti, soy chicken, romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs, wrapped in rice paper and served with hoisin sauce. $7.95

these rolls prove that vegan glory knows how to wrap up more than just an awesome burrito. thin strips of soy chicken packed in over refreshing greens, all rolled up super tight in light rice wraps. the sauce is delicious too, although for me it needs to be spiced up a bit with some chili garlic. i suspect these would also make a pretty good, light meal if you are looking for something on the low-cal side.

yep, vegan glory is pretty awesome. i am still getting over the fact that i thoroughly enjoyed a burrito at a thai restaurant. wonder what else is hiding out in that menu…

ah yes, it’s time for another installment of vegan-thai-restaurants-w/ the word “vegan” in their title, located in los angeles. this time we bring you vegan plate of studio city.

grilled tofu burger served with lettuce, alfalfa sprouts and tomatoes on an organic bun. $5.25 (add avocado for $1)

first off, the presentation at vegan plate is great—all the food looks beautiful and appetizing. i was quite happy with my luscious tofu burger, and didn’t mind paying an extra buck for avocado, considering the dish was so cheap to start out with. two fat slices of tofu with fresh vegetables and a warm bun meant this burger tasted great, and was a hell of a deal.

you see, vegan plate is a place i avoided forever. i guess i went through that “jaded LA vegan” phase of not wanting to indulge all the similar, thai-inspired eateries that litter my stomping ground. plus, it’s located in a strip mall and just doesn’t look too inviting from the outside. however, one lunch out with my parents at CA vegan and a post about my dad’s love of fake orange chicken inspired fellow blogger foodeater to leave me a comment, stating that the best fake orange chicken around was served up by vegan plate. i had to follow up on this, and decide for myself let my dad decide if she was right.

orange chicken: soy chicken lightly battered and marinated with orange sauce. $10.95 (served with steamed brown rice)

of course i had to sample his fake orange chicken (for the sake of the blog) and decided that this was, indeed the most awesome fake orange chicken i’ve ever had. the thick, sweet, crispy battered shell wrapped perfectly around the soy-meaty insides and made each bite the perfect combination of sugary and scrumptious. my dad was a little harder to convince. at first, he missed the soft gooey texture of the orange chicken at CA vegan, but by the end of the meal, he agreed that this was better. (points off though, because vegan plate doesn’t offer it as a lunch special!)

compare to CA vegan’s orange chicken here. as you can see, vegan plate’s orange chicken is more crunchy and thick…real restaurant quality. less slimy. i would compare this to orange chicken at a fancy chinese joint, and the stuff at CA vegan to orange chicken from panda express. both have their place. this just didn’t taste, well, microwaved.

garlic pepper lunch special: sauteed garlic, black pepper, cilantro and garlic sauce on a bed of lettuce. with seitan. $8.95

also at the table, mr. meaner opted for the garlic pepper lunch special with seitan. the thick wheat meat tasted more like juicy pepper steak, and was seasoned to please the extreme garlic lover. on trips to the restroom, we could see into the kitchen and witnessed the cook chopping up whole fresh cloves of garlic to be added to the dish. when a restaurant uses the right ingredients, it really shows. nothing tasted canned or stale, all the flavors were spot on. probably the tastiest and most attractively presented lunch special i’ve ever tried at one of the many thai-vegan restaurants in los angeles. highly recommended! even though this wasn’t my meal, i claimed the spring roll as my own and devoured it. also a winner…piping hot, crispy, and just oily enough to taste great but not make me feel racked with guilt.

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UPDATE: we did an investigation on this place and found out their cheese is NOT VEGAN, but contains casein. other dishes at green leaves contain egg products. they have been lying about it for years. i highly suggest vegans do not eat here, green leaves is shady as fuck.

yes, green leaves vegan is in fact one of the numerous vegan/thai restaurants with the word “vegan” in its title. but it has got something that most of eateries of its kind don’t….a great atmosphere. light, clean and open, tall windows provide a view of hillhurst, while electric guitars and flat-screen televisions adorn the walls. i’m convinced the food is also a cut above the rest, although i haven’t sampled enough dishes off of its vast menu to have an accurate opinion.

when we went on sunday lunchtime, the place wasn’t nearly as packed as it should have been. i guess everyone was too busy lining up across the street to eat at home, which suits me! we had decided on eating healthy and passed on the onion rings appetizer (that looked SO good btw) for an order of spring rolls.

spring rolls: fresh vegetables wrapped in noodle skin with house sauce. $4.95

the spring rolls were pretty damn good, but the best thing was, they came packed with a little surprise. the menu didn’t mention anything about soy meat inside, yet they were stuffed with with some kind of protein as well as fresh vegetables! light and refreshing, exactly what you’d expect from a guilt-free appetizer. the sweet, peanuty sauce was lovely as well.

as a main course, we opted to share the seitan wrap. i’m always interested to see how each of these thai/vegan places makes a wrap, because each restaurant has its own variation. green leaves’ seitan wrap was right up there, almost as good as the one at the vegan joint. what i did like about this specific version, is that it was rolled with a flour tortilla-like lavash, rather than a wheat chapati-style bread.

seitan wrap: romaine lettuce, seitan, avocado, tomato, alfalfa sprouts served with tahini sauce. $6.45

what kinda irked me about this wrap though, is that it didn’t seem like it was filled with seitan, but rather soy chicken or some other crazy fake animal. i’m used to seitan that tastes like tough, chewy wheat meat and is dark brown. this was much softer and lighter in color. it still tasted great, just not what i was expecting. of course, i completely soaked it in a delicious mixture of tahini and chilli-garlic from the hot sauce carousel.

granted, we didn’t eat very much between us, but i was still pretty impressed when the check arrived and it was under $13. there aren’t many places you can sit in a hip little spot looking out at los feliz and finish off 2 plates of vegan food for less than a dub. i will definitely be returning to green leaves, and i hope to get something really unhealthy to make up for those fresh spring rolls. i’m thinking onion rings, a quesadilla, or some pancakes…maybe all 3.

stay tuned.

grabbing a take-out order from m café officially marked the end of the quarrygirl road trip to san francisco, and oh what a way to go out! lemme tell ya, nothing gets you through a 6+ hour drive like knowing you have dinner from m to come home to. for me, this meal meant finally trying the much-hyped bbq sandwich.

carolina-style barbequed seitan sandwich: thinly sliced grilled seitan basted with our own zesty barbeque sauce and piled high on a house-baked whole wheat bun with grilled onions, pickles, and creamy coleslaw. comes with a side salad. $11.45 (no pickles for me!)

omfg it was so good. i don’t know what has been up with my luck lately—i really looooove seitan (i love it with 5 o’s, so that means a lot) and it seems like every time i’ve ordered it within the past few weeks, i’ve winded up having the absolute best seitan dish i’ve ever eaten up to that point in time. this is true of m café’s carolina-styled sandwich—greatest seitan ever, full stop.

not only was there an enormous mound of my favorite thinly sliced wheat meat atop a freshly baked bun, but it was also dripping with the zestiest, lightest and most delicious bbq sauce. i’m used to eating big thick chunks of seitan, but these delectable slices were completely different and practically melted in my mouth.

did i mention it came with a side salad? of course i got the kale with spicy peanut sauce. i can’t bring myself to even try one of the other side salads at m. since ordering this on my first visit, i am totally hooked. i know, i may be missing out…i just can’t help it.

because it was so scrumptious, i just have to supply you with another completely gratuitous photo of my new favorite sandwich. look how big it is—it looks like it is about to eat me!

thanks, m café! places like you make me feel sooooo lucky to be a vegan during this day in age. i mean seriously, with all the crazy meatless bbq options that are popping up everywhere (from jackfruit to seitan), nobody should ever have to pull a pork again.

if you go to san francisco, i highly recommend you eat at herbivore as many times as you can, ’cause that’s what i did. the menu is massive, the food is all vegan and everything tastes amazing. we made two stops at herbivore on the quarrygirl road trip, once for breakfast and once for the most delicious lunch. we dropped in to the valencia location on a sunday at 11am and the place was already in full swing. the service was a bit slow, but the meal more than made up for it.

grilled tempeh sandwich: lettuce, tomatoes, onions & pickles on french bread w/ garlic-lemon sauce. $9.50

a tempeh sandwich has the potential to be pretty boring, but in this case it definitely wasn’t. first off, the tempeh was juicy and perfectly flavored, and there was slice after thick, luscious slice of it piled high atop the bread. the french bread itself was fresh and baked just right: fluffy and pillowy on the inside, crisp and chalky on the outside. not to mention the crisp vegetables and the runny garlicky sauce. dude! it was great.

did i mention it came with a light and tasty side salad, as well as some ridiculously good potatoes? they served ours with breakfast potatoes that were so much better than the ones we had previously at the other herbivore location. they didn’t even need hot sauce to make them flavorful…which means a lot coming from me!

next up, and definitely the eating highlight of the entire road trip, we ordered the grilled seitan shawarma. now, i’d read about this before and knew i’d love it, but nothing could prepare me for the delicious repletion it provided.

grilled seitan shawarma: with seasoned onions, tomatoes, hummus, hot sauce, pickles & tahini in a wrap, with a green salad. $7.75

i got my wrap without pickles of course, and i gotta say it’s the best meal i’ve had in a long time. each bite was a flavor explosion, oozing creamy hummus and oily hot sauce. it was so freakin’ scrumptious. the seitan was also top notch—peppery, thick and juicy.

in this case, the picture really doesn’t do the food justice. but i guess a photograph can never really capture the most savory wrap i’ve ever eaten. you will just have to take my word for it!

i’m hoping herbivore opens a location someday in los angeles. did i mention they also have a dessert menu, a full bar and tap beer? it’s about time someone gave pure luck a run for their money.

especially after eating this amazing bowl at native foods.

steamed veggies, quinoa, creamy garlic lemon sauce, peppered seitan, hummus and grilled flatbread. $9.85

i really consider myself a seitan connoisseur—i like only the best shit and i am very hard to please. i’ve never found a homemade seitan recipe that lives up to my standards, and i am super picky about the brands i buy in the store. so of course i was a wee bit skeptical when ordering what sounded like a delicious seitan bowl at native foods. luckily, they stepped up to the challenge and made the best seitan dish i’ve ever eaten. and it was smothered in the tastiest, creamiest, hummus-iest sauce. delicious.

peppery and flavorful, this seitan is gonna be very hard to beat. definitely the best dish i’ve ever ordered at native foods. and as an added bonus, the bowl comes with protein-laden quinoa instead of rice. i loved every last bite.