los angeles vegans know this very well: edible sushi usually consists of a stale avocado roll, some slices of cucumber, and if you are lucky, maybe some deep fried tempura vegetables. well that’s just not the case at tomo sushi. located in burbank, tomo sushi is your typical hole-in-the-wall sushi establishment with its cute bar, authentic menu, friendly staff, and canadian-brewed japanese bottled beer. except tomo sushi does one thing different: they offer an entirely vegan sushi selection in addition to the fish-filled standards. and i’m not talking just any old ‘boring’ vegan selection, tomo boasts over 20 entirely animal-free sushi rolls filled with vegetables, tofu, potatoes, and more vegetables that i can’t pronounce.

i hit up tomo sushi last night with my husband, and while ordering our carefully selected vegetarian rolls, we let our server know we were vegan. i think he took this info as a challenge, and insisted that he bring out some ‘chef specials’. we complied and ended up with a most amazing selection of vegan sushi. tomo pulled no stops when they presented us with the fresh garlic rolls, japanese mountain potato sushi, japanese mushrooms and chile tempura.

garlic rolls, japanese mountain potato, japanese mushroom and chile tempura.

every bite of the above was like a flavor explosion in the mouth. i don’t even think this stuff is on the menu, but it was the highlight of our meal. seriously, if you ever dine at tomo, please ask the chef to make you something vegan and special. i’m not sure how much it cost, but whatever the price tag was, it was well worth it.

cold tofu: served with ginger and green onions. $5.25

as an appetizer, we shared the cold tofu which was basically four large blocks of silken tofu topped with chilled sliced tomatoes. when it arrived at the table i thought it looked kinda boring, but when i tasted it i realized i’d forgotten how damn good simple tofu can be. this stuff was top notch, and dipped in copious amounts of wasabi and soy sauce, it tasted incredible.

kimchi roll. $7.50

we also split a kimchi roll, which was pickled cabbage all rolled up in nori and rice. i’ve never had kimchi sushi before…it was mushy, sour, and really flavorful. definitely worth a try. next we shared a caterpillar roll, which consisted of mushroom, squash, carrot, asparagus, and pickled greens rolled in rice topped with sliced avocado. the vegetables in this thing were absolutely amazing and the cool creamy avocado added to both the taste and presentation. i was a huge fan of the vegetarian caterpillar roll, tomo took a traditional sushi dish usually made with eel and created an absolutely delicious cruelty-free version. order this if you are in the mood for something decadent.

vegetarian caterpillar roll. $10.50

we also ordered the fried tofu roll—lightly fried tofu wrapped up with asparagus and scallions. this was the only one of our rolls with warm and cold ingredients, and it made for a pretty interesting taste sensation. the tofu was fried just perfectly, not too much, but enough to be crispy. i would definitely order this sucker again.

fried tofu roll. $7.50

once again proving that tomo loves vegans, at the end of our meal, our server brought us a complimentary plate of vegetables prepared by the chef. the dish consisted of cucumber slices topped with beet pate and thinly sliced shreds of japanese mountain potato. all of it was fatastic…seriously, never underestimate the deliciousness of simple ingredients when artfully prepared.

cucumber with beet pate and japanese mountain potato skins. FREE

other than shojin, the entirely vegan japanese restaurant in downtown, i’d say tomo is definitely the most vegan-friendly place to get sushi in los angeles. i know i will be back to try more of their creations such as the oshinko, mountain vegetable, & fotomaki rolls, and hopefully try some more specially-made vegan sushi from the chef. the staff is super friendly, the food is good, and the atmosphere is chill. a+!

as far as the decor goes, i guess tomo couldn’t decide what color to paint their walls, so they took $1 bills from customers hung up all over the restaurant. cuuuuuuute. most of the money has doodles or a message written on it in brightly-colored ink. i love it. i was gonna add to the wall, but i’m too damn cheap to give up a dollar.

in closing, my only gripe about tomo is, the bill can add up very quickly. the food pictured above plus two rounds of drinks ended up setting us back over 70 bucks. for stuff that leaves you feeling hungry a few hours later, that’s pretty damn pricey. oh well, i guess sushi in general is just really expensive, and this stuff was damn good so we didn’t mind paying. if you are on the hunt for some fish-free sushi that consists of more than chopped cucumber and avocado rolls, tomo is definitely your place.

tomo sushi
144 N San Fernando Blvd
Burbank, CA 91502
(818) 729-0808

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!

In English: “We’ll eat”! And so we do. Probably around once a month or whenever we get around to it. Ari-Ya is a wonderful sushi bar in the heart of vibrant West Hollywood, on Santa Monica Blvd. almost next door to Celebuhangout Pinkberry. I was a late starter to Sushi – Asian food (other than Cantonese) didn’t really exist when I was growing up in the UK, so on my trips to Japan I’d always opt for french fries at every meal.

Only after I’d lived in LA for a while did I try sushi (at the behest of a friend who insisted on it), and I randomly chose a restaurant that was very close to where we were hanging out. Back then it was called Murakami (of Murakami Salad fame), but of late it’s been renamed to Ari-Ya, yet has the same menu and some of the same staff.

The sushi spectrum runs from the incredibly exotic to grocery-store style mass produced stuff, but neither suit me very well. I like good mid-range sushi served in a relaxing environment with plenty of vegetarian/vegan options. You will not find that in LA at anywhere better than Ari-Ya.

The thing I like best about Ari-Ya is the consistently high quality of everything they serve, the quick and polite service and the best sesame tofu salad I’ve ever eaten. They have a couple of vegan options that work well, and can be surprisingly filling. We usually order the edamame to start with, which is usually a large enough portion to last through the meal along with one or two Tofu Seaweed Salads along with two orders of Veggie Maki Roll.

Veggie Maki Roll

The Veggie Maki Roll has lovely crunchy avocado, mini carrots and asparagus in just the right proportion to be readily soaked in wasabi-infused soy sauce. Two orders are a pretty healthy size.

Veggie Maki Roll (two orders)

this weekend after drinking way too many pints of premium cask ale at the newest and greatest bar in town, we decided to sober up by walking a few blocks and grabbing take-out from truly vegan (another one of the many vegan/thai restaurants with the word vegan in its name). it’s a good thing we opted to get our food to go, because the atmosphere inside truly vegan is kind of dank and depressing…especially for a saturday night. tiny tables with advertisements shoved underneath the glass line the dingy light pink walls and look out on a crappy stretch of hollywood boulevard. plus, the servers are really rude and snappy. anyways, don’t let that discourage you. the food is pretty damn good.

quesadilla: half mozzarella, half cheddar served in chapatti bread. $6

drinking good beer works up quite an appetite, so we decided to get a bunch of dishes and share them. it turned out to be a pretty stellar feast, starting with the quesadilla. one of the better vegan cheese experiences i’ve had dining out, it was perfectly melty and gooey. even after the drive home, it just needed a few seconds in the microwave to warm it up and give it the right texture.

next, we divided up an order of sushi. light, refreshing and crisp vegetables were the perfect compliment to the sinful quesadilla. this sushi was so freakin’ healthy, it didn’t even have rice in it!

sushi wrap and vegetables: wrapped in nori sheets and served with vegetables (zucchini, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, cabbage) $6.99

lastly, we split the modest soy pepper steak wrap between us. it was alright, nothing to rave about or anything. at least it came with tahini!

soy pepper steak wrap: soy pepper steak, avocado, tomato, sprouts, lettuce served in chapatti bread. $6.99

personally, i’m not a fan of whatever sugary sauce they use to flavor the soy steak. it’s way too sweet. also, the wrap is pretty small and you only get like 4 little blobs of steak. a jip at 7 bucks, if you ask me.

overall, truly is pretty solid. definitely a good bet if you want some take-out in the area. the quesadilla and sushi were on point…i’d avoid the pepper steak wrap in the future. i wouldn’t recommend eating in from the looks of the place. i’d rather eat my truly food in front of the tv then crammed into their crummy establishment. i know that sounds harsh, but it’s true.

next stop on the quarrygirl roadtrip, crazy hippie sushi from santa rosa at tex wasabi’s! what makes these sushi rolls hippie, you ask? is it organic ingredients? creed of the establishment? psychotropic drug references? nooooooooo. it’s just the names of the dishes, of course—what more could you ask for as a tourist? if the menu makes me think i’m eating hippie food, then i’m gonna buy into it.

morgan’s earthy crunchy roll: tapioca rice paper roll with sushi rice, crunchy tempura bits, avocado, cucumber, julienne vegetables, daikon sprouts served with a ponzu dipping sauce. $6.95 (double order pictured, so i will have a double amount of hippie-ness and feel twice as close to the earth)

woodstock roll: sunset mix, romaine lettuce, daikon sprouts, cucumber, avocado and topped w/ ponzu sauce. $7.95  (of course this roll reminds me of watching janis joplin, the who and jimi hendrix while under the influence of several unmentionable substances…but in sushi form. how did they capture the fantasy so accurately with just a few daikon sprouts?)

in all seriousness though, this sushi was pretty tasty albeit a bit fusion-y. the rice paper was a welcome change from the nori i’m used to…and it was nice to have a wide variety of innards in my role, rather than the standard avocado and cucumber combo. morgan’s earthy crunchy roll was the favorite at the table (good thing since we got a double order); the crunchy tempura bits blended together with the creamy avocado tasted divine.

although there’s not much for vegetarians to eat on the menu (most of the sushi has fish, and they also specialize in southern bbq) these 2 rolls are enough to please and definitely delicious. plus, the place has that chilled out rockin’ roll vibe that a lot of sushi establishments have been adopting lately. i like it.

oh, and don’t forget to start off with some edamame. it’s the root of all that’s good in the vegan diet.

eddie’s mommy (eda-mame): blanched soy bean pods, dusted with kosher salt. $4.25

seattle is sooooo the land of wonderful vegan food. if only it had better weather and an industry in which i was employable, i’d surely move there. even without those things, it’s so tempting to leave my sunny so-cal atmosphere and job stability for the rainy pacific northwest—with its overabundance of meatless eateries and brew pubs where cask ale flows (that seem to be inevitably taken for granted by locals who’ve grown accustomed to such pleasures).

EXAMPLE: while in seattle, i stumble into a random hotel restaurant for some late-night eats, and the menu happens to brag about it’s vegetarian options. it doesn’t stop there—the friendly server knows all about the difference between vegetarianism and veganism, and assures me that i’ll be taken care of. even in liberal hollywood, i’ve not seen this type of vegan acknowledgement. sure there are some la omnivore establishments that cater specifically to my kind, but other than that, whenever i ask about animal stock in my entree, i’m greeted with a completely clueless dumfounded gaze…to the point at which i don’t even bother eating at places that aren’t specifically vegan-friendly, for the most part.

but in seattle, even in the confines of a hotel bar/restaurant, i still feel completely safe, and possibly even understood. for instance, dragonfish.

tofu veggie roll: tofu, cucumber, kaiware, avocado, cilantro, and yama gobo $8

dragonfish yakisoba: soba noodles tossed with vegetables and your choice of chicken or tofu $13

this food was bloody incredible. i’m talking “11pm, late night snack, hotel bar food”…not “6 pm, i sought this really cool vegan restaurant out, and wanted to try it food.”

yeah, this shit was on-point…and hassle-free for a passing hotel-diner vegan-customer like myself. the food itself tasted good, i trusted it, and it arrived in no time. what else could i possibly ask for when my meal was pushing midnite?

plus, i’d never even tried tofu sushi before. forget that lame, boring avocado & cucumber roll—finally some sushi i can identify with! my only guff with these rolls is that they may have spoiled me; hopefully i can continue to appreciate old school sushi from here on out.

yep, dragonfish totally brings it….especially for so little $$$$ in the late night hours. if you want a post-dinner snack in downtown, or if you are a vegan dining with picky omnivores, this is definitely a spot to add to your list.

the final day of coachella 2008, sunday april 27, featured the best vegan festival food to date. yet it was a bitter-sweet victory over the past couple days, because the selection of food (and alcohol) was just TOO GOOD.

so good, in fact, that your humble narrator spent most of the day relaxing in the shade, munching on snacks, smoking cigarettes and sipping cocktails…rather standing in the heat, fighting off hipsters, coughing up secondhand weed and waiting for the “next big thing(s)” to take the stage.

vegetarian sushi with a side of inari: $12.

marinated tofu wrap with vegetables and peanut sauce: $9.

marinated tempeh burger with vegetable and tahini: $9.

that’s right, my friends…i was so seduced by the fresh sushi, crisp wrap, and savory burger, that i barely had time to enjoy any music at all. oh…and did i mention the alcohol?
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