beer beer beer. on tap.

it’s no secret that pure luck is one of the best vegan restaurants in los angeles. the small eatery has an inventive menu with lots of mexican-style cuisine and sandwiches and also boasts a great selection of micro brews at a reasonable price. i’m talking 16 ounces of stone ipa and pliny the elder for $5! best deal in town!

i wanna just take a minute to show you some of my favorite things i’ve ever eaten at pure luck. i hope this gets you drooling.

you are not allowed to eat at pure luck without trying the jackfruit. they make the most insane “carnitas” tacos out of marinated jackfruit that impresses every omnivore i know.

taco combo plate: 2 tacos with rice and pinto beans, or side cesar salad. $8

they can also throw those carnitas in a mexican sandwich called a torta with tomato, onion, avocado and vegenaise. made on soft, fluffy la brea bakery bread, this is one of my favorite items on the menu.

jackfruit torta: sauteed jackfruit “carnitas”, plus pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, tomatillo salsa, sliced avocado and vegan mayo on a grilled rustic roll. $9

other amazing sandwiches include the tofu pesto…

tofu pesto sandwich: grilled tofu and fresh basil-spinach pesto on a rustic roll, with romaine and onions and vegan mayo. $8

and angelica’s garmabanzo salad sandwich (think tuna sandwich, but way better)!

angélica’s garbanzo salad sandwich: Need a comfort food fix? You won’t be disappointed by our Garbanzo salad. Served on a grilled rustic roll with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and pickles. $7

as a side dish, i highly recommend the vegan soup of the day.

vegan soup? yeah!

or some potato pals! just ask your waiter or waitress for these and they will hook you up…even though the pals aren’t listed as a side on the menu.

POTATO PALS

the salads at pure luck are pretty damn good too. they make the best vegan ceasar that i’ve ever tasted.

cesar salad with tofu: romaine lettuce topped with grilled tofu, sliced avocado, onions, croutons and our lemon-garlic César dressing. $8

just look at that juicy little bite of marinated tofu. i wanna kill it!

doesn’t that all look delicious?! don’t get me wrong…pure luck has some annoying flaws that have to be mentioned. let’s go through this very quickly:
1.) the food is inconsistent. somedays it’s better than others.
2.) the soy fish at pure luck may contain casein. (i avoid it just in case)
3.) pure luck used to have really comfortable seating and then they replaced most of it with high tables and bar stools that nobody wants to sit at. there are still a few decent seats though.

even after those gripes, pure luck is one of the best restaurants in los angeles. so there you have it: i am totally butt-crazy in love with pure luck. if you like vegan food, beer, or awesomeness, you should eat there as soon as possible.

pure luck
707 N Heliotrope Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 660-5993

open 11am to Midnight, Mon – Sat
closed Sundays

it seems like everyone is jumping on the twittering taco truck/food cart craze here in los angeles, and the border grill is the most recent restaurant to join the trend. one glance at the truck’s menu filled with things like pork, beef, fish & cheese, and there doesn’t appear to be much for us vegans to eat. however, luckily for me brittany from the vegan blog sick of lettuce got wind of some vegan offerings at the border grill truck, and invited me along to check them out.

we went to the melrose trading post, where the truck camps out every other sunday and brittany kindly paid our $2 per person admission into the flea market. as you can see, we were VERY curious about the border grill’s vegan options, enough to pay a premium just to get close to the truck. (thanks, britt).

it turned out that the only real vegan item on the menu (other than rice, beans and guacamole), was a vegetarian item that had to be modified: the avocado taco. the girl working at the truck was pretty knowledgeable and accommodating and said she could prepare the taco vegan by cooking the avocado separately and omitting the dairy from the corn relish. awesome. what we ended up with were tacos filled with avocado, quinoa, black sesame seeds, chipotle salsa, corn relish and pickled onion.

avocado tacos (VEGANIZED!): chipotle salsa, corn relish, pickled onion, quinoa and avocado.

i’m really glad i went and checked this place out, because the tacos were uniquely delicious. i don’t think i’ve ever had a quinoa stuffed taco before, and certainly not topped off with pickled onion. you can tell a lot of thought went into making this taco different, and combining unusual flavors. it all worked really well together. i also got a side of rice, black beans and guacamole (yeah, we checked all of it was vegan) to round out the experience, and everything tasted great.

so if you happen to be around town and see the border grill truck, stop by and get a vegan avocado taco. just be sure to specify you want the taco to be made vegan, because under normal circumstances, it’s just vegetarian. and another heads up, avoid the cumin fries at this place, they are cooked in the same fryer as the fish. ew.

follow the border grill truck on twitter for more info.
and you can check out brittany’s review of the tacos here.

next time you are looking for a big hearty mexican meal that’s not laced with lard and filled with chicken stock, look no further than highland park. head over to cinnamon vegetarian, a completely meat-free mexican restaurant where nearly everything on the menu can be made vegan.

mushroom cocktail: mushrooms, tomato, cilantro and cucumber. $6.25

we hadn’t been to cinnamon in nearly a year, but when we hit up the modest eatery over the weekend, we were blown away by how good everything was—i don’t know why it took me so long to go back! we started with the mushroom cocktail (pictured above), which was a glass filled with a thick tomato-y liquid, spices and chopped vegetables. everything was fresh, chunky, and all around delicious. i would recommend this as an appetizer if you are looking for something light. alternatively, if you wanna go all out, they also have a selection of vegan empanadas and flautas.

2 tacos: 1 chorizo, 1 tofu. $4.75

for my entree, even though it’s on the appetizer menu, i ordered tacos…one vegan chorizo, and one tofu. these tacos were absolutely enormous and incredible. stuffed with soy meat and tofu, and completely overflowing with greens, cabbage, and creamy guacamole. the tofu taco was my favorite, because the tofu was lightly covered in a delicious pesto-y flavor sauce. it was green, spicy, and insanely delicious. don’t be fooled by the small price tag, these tacos were massive and definitely enough to make a meal for one.

my husband ordered the garden salad with tofu, which was a huge plate of dark mixed greens, fresh vegetables, and the same wonderfully marinated tofu that was in my taco. i was a little skeptical when he ordered a “garden” salad at a mexican restaurant…i was expecting it to be low-grade ice berg lettuce with a couple tomato chunks. instead he got a huge appetizing dish with fresh ingredients and mounds of protein. it actually made me kinda jealous.

garden salad with tofu: lettuce, cucumber, carrot, red onions, beet and alfalfa. with tahini dressing. $8.20

overall, everything we ordered at cinnamon was top notch and very tasty. i give this place an a+ and suggest you check it out asap. supposedly almost anything can be made vegan, but you may wanna ask to see ingredient labels for the vegan cheese and soy chicken. just sayin…i haven’t tried it.

cinnamon
5511 North Figueroa St.
Highland Park, CA 90042
Monday, Wednesday & Thursday | 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM
Tuesday | Closed
Friday & Saturday | 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Sunday | 9:00 AM to 8:00 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

every monday, malo in silverlake serves $1 tacos all night and offers three different vegan options! i first read about the vegan-friendly taco nights on LAist about 6 months ago, and i don’t know why it took me so long to get my ass over there. i was really missing out!

soyrizo soft tacos w/ onion and cilantro, hard shell eggplant & potato taco w/ guacamole (no sour cream) $1 each

i finally hit up malo on monday and was happy to see that of the 5 $1 taco options, 2 were already vegan and 1 could be made vegan by omitting sour cream. the vegan selections included a hard shell eggplant and potato taco with guacamole (hold the sour cream), a grilled and marinated vegetable soft taco, and a soyrizo soft taco with onions and cilantro. you can check out the menu here. i skipped the vegetable taco because it came full of bell peppers (which i hate) and went for 2 soyrizos and 1 potato and eggplant. seriously, i don’t think i’ve ever eaten so well for 3 bucks!

the hard shell potato & eggplant was beyond delicious. it came rolled up in a fried shell with squishy warm insides and a dollop of creamy guacamole (malo’s guac is AMAZING). the soyrizo tacos were a little lighter and just as awesome. spicy fake meat topped off with crispy onions and fresh cilantro. i love the way they cook up the soyrizo at malo, it was super hot and bright orange…someone definitely has some skillz back there in the kitchen. the whole plate came with a radish garnish and extremely tasty hot sauce. damn good all the way around.

so vegans, i implore you to head to malo on a monday for $1 taco night as soon as you get a chance. don’t do what i did and wait around for 6 months. it’s a recession, people. take advantage of this shit.

malo
4326 W Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90029
(323) 664-1011

$1 taco night! mondays 5pm-10pm

if you follow this blog, you probably read about the vegan dramz that occurred a few weeks ago in regards to the kogi taco truck. the korean/mexican-style bbq is definitely the latest food fad to hit los angeles, and there can be up to two hour waits and a shortage of grub wherever the trucks decide to make an appearance. i queued up for like 45 minutes just to get a tofu taco which i assumed was vegan, only to find out that it almost was….other than “traces of lard” in the corn tortilla…after i’d already eaten it.

i wrote a post about my kogi experience, which kicked up a minor stir…but it didn’t stop the la vegan drinks crew from organizing a meetup at the alibi room in culver city, the new brick and mortar home to the kogi taco truck cuisine. vegan drinks were arranged for saturday, march 28, with the selling point being that the word “vegan” is in fact on the kogi menu at the alibi (they offer a vegan taco wrapped in a leaf), plus the chef promised to create a “vegan special” just to appease our crew. i gotta admit, it was a pretty ballsy move on the part of vegan drinks. afterall, “kogi” means “meat” in korean and this is a place that has been known to have conflicting stories about the contents of their food. on the other hand, kogi is the latest culinary craze sweeping the town…why shouldn’t we vegans get to enjoy it as well? plus the alibi room is a hip bar with tons of vegan beer and a parking lot. having the vegan drinks meetup revolve around this controversial cuisine was obviously a good idea, because like 80 fucking vegans showed up!

the place was jam packed, with vegans and meat-eaters alike…you could tell the alibi must fill to capacity even without a huge vegan party taking over the place. when we left, there was seriously a wait to get in. what is it with la and these bloody fads…once la foodies get wind of one, there really is no stopping them! anyways, on to the food!

vegan sesame leaf tacos with tofu and asian pear. $5

we started with the one and only main dish on kogi’s alibi menu that comes vegan as is: the vegan sesame leaf tacos. these tacos aren’t listed on the mobile kogi taco truck menu…but who knows, maybe they could make them for you if you ask. either way, they are always available at the alibi. they tasted pretty similar to the normal tofu tacos wrapped in lard, except these were wrapped in a delicate shiso leaf instead. the insides were a little bit sweeter than the normal tacos, and there was just a hint of hot sauce. they were pretty tasty, i just gotta admit i’m not a huge fan of eating tacos or burritos wrapped in leaves. i would have much preferred these to come in vegan corn tortillas, but oh well.

vegan special of the night and tofu burrito after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

born and raised right here in socal, i can say mexican food is one of my all-time favorite cuisines. it’s tough being a vegan, because so many mexican joints use lard in their beans and chicken-meat-juice in their rice. it’s really tough to know what’s safe to eat, and what has been rubbed around with animal parts…plus in many of these restaurants, the staff aren’t knowledgeable about vegetarianism, let alone veganism! that’s why i was so thrilled over the weekend to try out taco spot in eagle rock for the first time. i found that they serve up huge portions of cheap(ish) and delicious authentic-style mex…with several clearly marked veganizable items on the menu.

taco spot’s menu has so many vegetarian options, all of which can be made vegan by omitting the cheese and/or sour cream. and i’m not just talking rice and beans here, they also have fun protein choices like grilled tofu and soyrizo. for some grubby mexican food on the east side, i think i’ve met my perfect match.

we hit up taco spot over the weekend and were super impressed with the quality of the food, the authenticity, and the value. good shit all around. starting with the tofu tacos.

tofu tacos (no cheese!): 3 soft tacos with marinated tofu, cilantro, onion and guacamole. served with rice and beans. $6.95

the tofu tacos are entirely vegetarian, but they normally come with cheese (as do almost all the meat-free items on taco spot’s menu). it’s ok though, because when you leave off the cheese, these suckers are completely vegan. and i can tell you, they are so good, i don’t see why anyone would want to order these with dairy. the tofu was so succulent, and the cilantro and onions were ridiculously fresh. the guacamole was rich and creamy as well…not to mention the fluffy vegetable-filled rice and lard-free beans. so damn awesome. and taco spot doesn’t slack off on the tofu, either. they piled it on, and it was grilled perfectly…all high-quality delicious.

my husband ordered the vegetarian burrito and added tofu. that was also spectacular.

vegetarian burrito (no cheese, plus tofu): black or refried beans, rice, guacamole, and lettuce. $8.75

my one gripe about this burrito, although it tasted damn good, was that to add tofu was an additional 2 bucks. the burrito started off at $6.95, but once we got rid of the cheese and added a bit of protein, it came in at just under nine dollars. i’m convinced that through some menu modification/order fuckery, we could get this same burrito at taco spot for under $7. does that make any sense? i think i ordered the wrong thing and the extra tofu charge was high, especially considering i left off the cheese. there has to be a way around that. ANYWAYS, the burrito was downright excellent. it tasted like scrappy gutbomb mexican food in a really good way, and it was all guaranteed vegan. i could totally eat at taco spot every day.

i bet right now you are just thinking about how awesome the vegan entrees are at taco spot, and i haven’t even mentioned the best part! taco spot has a full-on slap-up salsa bar with everything from little radishes to carrots and chillies, to spicy pico de gallo and salsa negra. this bar has got it all and it’s FREE…and you can get as much as you want. dude, i would pay 4 bucks a head just to eat this salsa.

epic salsa bar. i love you.

as you can guess, we took advantage of the salsa bar at least 3 times. total spicy, vegetable gluttony. a decent salsa bar will always bring a restaurant up to the next level, and this shit was crazy good.

fresh vegetables and awesome sauces from taco spot's salsa bar.

so all you vegans and vegetarians out there, who like hanging out on the east side and are jealous because you’ve been watching your omni-hipster friends shoving carne asada burritos into their faces like there’s no tomorrow, have no fear! go eat at the taco spot! they have a billion vegetarian and vegan options, plus that greasy/homemade mexican food taste, so you won’t feel like you’re missing out.

i suggest you start off the day with some beers in highland park at the york, then grab some spicy mex for dinner. with awesome options that won’t break the bank, and located in a some-what sketchy part of town, taco spot is enough to make us vegans feel like normal people. we deserve guilty mex meals as well, dammit!

taco spot. do it.

taco spot
2006 colorado blvd.
eagle rock, ca 90041
323-256-7001

open 7 days a week
11am-9pm

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

if you read my blog, you probably know i’m pretty nuts about follow your heart. i’ve had a few breakfast items, as well as their signature burger, and everything has been memorable. fyh is a tiny little vegetarian restaurant in the valley with heaps of tasty food and a real hippie vibe, shoved into the back of a natural foods supermarket. while a lot of menu items contain dairy, virtually almost anything on the crazy-long menu can be made vegan with the help of their own brand of nondairy cheese.

on my most recent visit, i decided to steer clear of my beloved follow your heart breakfast menu, and opt for one of the lunch entrees…the braised tofu soft tacos. omg, they were awesome. i really wonder what else is hiding out in that thick encyclopedia of a menu that i haven’t gotten around to sampling yet.

braised tofu soft tacos: organic corn tortillas filled with braised tofu, vegan cheese, diced tomato, lettuce and cilantro. served with black beans, spanish rice, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. $11.50

at follow your heart, they just don’t fuck around. if you order an entree, you get enough food to feed you and 3 of your friends. i mean, just look at the description. you get 2 tacos, a side of black beans, a mound of rice and a big scoop of guacamole for under $12. i am repeatedly blown away by just how much they give you at follow your heart and just how good it is.

all the sides were very tasty, and the main dish was absolutely insane. the braised tofu was a whole new experience for me.

according to wikipedia, braising “is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavour.”

whatever that means, it turned the tofu into a whole new deal. by the time they were done with it, it didn’t taste or look like tofu. instead, it reminded me of a really good tvp or seitan meat substitute. you really oughta try it.

so count on follow your heart to provide surprisingly great meals time after time. from breakfast to lunch, scramble to burrito, this place has got it nailed.

for so long i have been on the hunt for vegan soft serve. when i was 12 years old, i took a 2 week trip to the uk and lived off a glorious and ubiquitous brand of ice cream called mr. whippy. at least two cones per day maintained my mandatory 7th grade sugar high and kept me happy & full of energy. it was similar to mcdonalds soft serve, but 1000x better. creamy and sweet, white frozen matter swirled into a magical and delicate-about-to-melt dessert. totally heavenly. since becoming a vegan 4 years ago, i have found nothing that comes even close. sure, we have soy dream, tofutti and the marvelous scoops. but none have that good old-fashioned soft serve quality.

that is…until now. thanks to my trusty tipsters liz (¡yo soy!) and sunny, i found that hugo’s tacos in atwater village offers a vegan soft serve that can scratch my itch. rich, creamylicious, and double-flavored, this chocolate-caramel soft serve makes me feel like i’m eating that old familiar fast food ice cream.

caramel and chocolate vegan soft serve.

the soft serve at hugo’s tacos was nothing to be scoffed at. rich and decadent, flavorful and tasty; i couldn’t ask for much more. they shun the classic vanilla flavor for the more adventurous caramel, but other than that, this treat is just the way you remember it. the choice between 2 flavors, or a decadent swirl means i WON’T be disappointed! PLEASE NOTE, this freez-a-licious awesomeness is only available at the atwater village location. sorry valley-dwellers, you will have to make the trek to hipsterville for this treat.

next up, hugo’s tacos offers up more for vegans than just ice cream and mexican food. they also have the newly-introduced burger. while it’s nothing to get too excited about, the hugo’s tacos burger is a fucking steal for the price. juicy, flavorful and filling, it is incredible…albeit a bit on the small side.

veggie burger: griddle-cooked and finished. served with lettuce, tomato and special sauce. plus french fries...not much extra $!

now, strict-ish vegans like myself beware: the veggie burger by default comes with a chipotle honey sauce. opt for it without the sauce if that offends you, and the burger is every bit if not EVEN MORE tasty. for a crappy, under 5 bucks with fries “taco stand” burger, i was quite impressed. this dish doesn’t look like much, but it actually tasted pretty fucking nice. good sauce and a well-grilled patty on a scrummy bun—what more do i need? considering the hours and price of this joint, my fellow vegans, you couldn’t do much better.

lastly, let’s not forget the actual TACOS at hugo’s tacos! modest little corn tortillas layered and topped with incredible vegan offerings and freshly made salsa. yum! this time i got the soyrizo filling with the salsa negra. super hot, smokey seasoning along with delectable fake mexi-meat made this a taco to be remembered. yeah, it was small…but the crazy flavors made up for it. plus, this taco clocked in with tons of taste at under 3 bucks, and at the time, i was at the time saving myself for the more exciting and more difficult-to-come-by soft serve.

taco with soyrizo and salsa negra. $2.75

the mini taco was small, yet savory. considering you could get a portion for six bucks large enough to feed a horse, i was quite happy to settle on the little size. i left hugo’s feeling full and glad to have been there, not stuffed and remorseful. at under $12, this 3 course meal for 2 (although we shared a bit) proved to be good food for good prices, without a shred of regret.

not to mention the outdoor seating and kickass friendly service. if you haven’t been, you need to check out the hugo’s tacos in atwater village. this HT beats it’s sister stand in studio city, purely because of the vegan soft serve option. they seem to have a bigger menu as well, although i could be wrong because maybe the valley branch has expanded and i just don’t know about it.

hugo's tacos in atwater village.

some ungrateful hipsters have torn this place to shreds on yelp, but seriously, pay them no heed. they are only bitching because hugo’s costs maybe a buck more per dish than the scary roach coaches filled with lard that they are used to. imho, hugo’s tacos is WELL WORTH IT.

long story short: haul your ass east and get some fucking great vegan mexican food, burgers, fries, and soft serve. your inner-junk-food fiend will LOVE you for it!

not long ago, i was blogging away and bitching about things that had been taken off the menu at my all-time favorite restaurant, pure luck (namely the curry fries). a couple days later, a dude who i assume was the owner, ben, was kind enough to leave a comment on my post detailing why certain items had been deleted from the menu, and describing some of the tasty new additions that they had made way for.

of course, i took it upon myself to get over to pure luck several times over the past few weeks and try all of the new dishes they had to offer so i could report back to you all. the additions ranged from awesome, to meh, to sucky…and i’m bringing you pix and descriptions for each one. overall, i think it’s great that pure luck expanded their menu, and i highly urge you to head over and get some of the new shit.

first, check out ben’s original comments to set it all up.

on why he abolished things like my beloved curry fries:

The short answer is that the kitchen at Pure Luck is probably smaller than your bathroom. Really tiny. We had a bunch of new stuff we wanted to put on the menu, so we had to remove a few things.

on the new menu deets, stuff that’s gone, and stuff that’s gone that they can still make:

New stuff:
1. Fire Grilled Beet Salad. My new favorite.
2. Quinoa Paloma. I won’t bother trying to describe this one, because when I do, it sounds like diet food. It is super healthy, but more importantly, it’s tasty. Ask for a sample.
3. Vegan Fish tacos and burritos.

R.I.P.:
1. All pasta and gnocchi dishes.*
2. Curry fries.

Note that we still have gnocchi on the menu in the form of “Potato Pals” (fried gnocchi) and we still have fresh pesto for the Tofu Pesto Sandwich, so we can still do the pesto gnocchi from the old menu.

thanks, ben. all very good to know. we here at quarrygirl sincerely appreciate your comments, and i’m sure i speak for the readers as well.

obviously ben had some good reasons for changing up pure luck’s offerings and left some mouth-watering descriptions of what the new menu has to offer. i was immediately compelled to chow down every new dish and bring it back home to you guys. here’s what i found:

baja taco combo: 2 of our delicious veggie "fish" tacos with your choice of side. $10

first up, whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA, the baja taco combo is off the bloody hook. whatever pure luck has done to re-invent fish is the same thing they did to re-invent carnitas. jackfruit has got nothin’ on this battered-tofu-fish substitute. wowie. unfortunately, i imagine it’s a harder sell “fish” than “carnitas” or “pulled pork”, though. for some reason, vegans and omnivores alike seem repelled at the idea of fake fish, myself included! to this day, i’ve never had a soy shrimp because the thought of it scares the fuck out of me. i was even reticent to order these succulent tacos, but i did it for you guys so i could write about it. lemme tell ya, it was best gustatory decision i ever made. i wonder what else i have been missing out on by being afraid of faux-fish and other meat impersonators. these tacos were INSANE. some maddening tofuey concoction was lightly breaded and fried into the perfect crunchy but juicy protein source, oozing with flavor and complete scrumptiousness. nothing was “too fishy tasting” and nothing was gross about it. plus, there was this crazy-good creamy white sauce, i guess it was a tartar-inspired condiment (though i don’t remember what the “real thing” tastes like). all i know is this goes great with crunchy tofu, hot sauce, and fresh vegetables. vegan perfection! i think this is the most genius dish pure luck has ever come up with…BETTER THAN CARNITAS…and man i love me some jackfruit. i even gave a bite to my husband who abhors any fake fish, almost as much as the real thing, and he was offering to finish my tacos for me two minutes later.

the rating for the baja tacos is AWESOME RADICAL beyond belief. order them, and under all plausible vegan circumstances, you will not be sorry.

ben, dude, you should have talked this dish up more in your comment, or provided a description. it is legendary! i still know people who are too freaked out to order fake fish, and if any of you are reading this, shut the fuck up and try these tacos!!!!!!!!!!!!

second on deck, a much-needed new addition to the salad family at pure luck, the quinoa paloma. what self-respecting vegan doesn’t bust a nut over quinoa, right? it’s healthy, it’s full of protein, it tastes great and it has less calories than rice or noodles. quinoa rocks. this salad had potential written all over it, and it….um…kind of delivered. it was OK. ben described it as “super healthy, and more importantly, tasty.” i’d describe it as “healthy, and more importantly, more expensive” than the old favorite salads. this salad wasn’t bad…it just wasn’t great. i was really missing some of that protein that pure luck is famous for. some of the incredible grilled tofu from the fresh noodle salad (i still can’t figure out how they do it!) or some of the notorious jackfruit from the spinach salad. the quinoa paloma had none of this. PLUS, it cost 2 bux more than the other salads. hmmm. it was definitely good, just missing that UMPH. oh, and it came with unadvertised almonds (such is the consistency of pure luck), that i only assume added more calories, fat, and un-healthiness to the salad than i expected. see for yourself. again, not a bad salad. just not as good as the other offerings.

overall rating: meh meh meh meh meh, probably really neato if you like quinoa and cilantro. nice dressing.

quinoa paloma: quinoa, steamed with a savory mushroom and onion mix, and topped with a tart and refreshing red cabbage dressing. $10

next up, the salad i had been anticipating, ben’s new favorite, turned out to be quite a disappointment. the grilled beet salad…well…i’m hoping i got it on a bad day. i feel it just isn’t right to utter a bad word about pure luck, especially since they are the OMG BEST restaurant of all time, but ben’s new favorite was totally icky when it arrived on my table. the fire-grilled beets tasted like beety wood chips. i don’t know if they were cooked or burned, or what. they were thick, hard and chunky. i had to chew through them steadily before they were swallow-able. eventually i gave up and left about half of them in what looked like a blood-soaked bowl. to pure luck’s…er…defense?…the chefs are chronically inconsistent. i mean, i’ve gotten the fresh noodle salad with no noodles, the soup has been cold, the potato pals have arrived with the wrong sauce, etc. i am hoping that on this one occasion, the beet salad tasted like total ass because someone screwed it up upstream. it may be ben’s new favorite, but the one i got was pure uck. go eat it for yourself though…chances are, i coulda easily had it on an off night. with so many other fantastic things on the menu, though…i don’t see the point, myself, in ordering it again.

i give it a sucky rating from my one experience. hopefully i’m wrong.

grilled beet salad: fire grilled beets and onions over a bed of fresh spinach, topped with our homemade orange-beet dressing, and toasted almonds. $10

lastly, i bring you the burrito of all burritos: the baja! this meal, like the baja tacos is too fucking great to describe. better than all the other pure luck burritos combined, this takes the amazing tofu “fish” and throws it in with a tad of spanish rice, hot salsa, decadent creamy sauce and thick vegetables. most restaurant burritos are just way too massive and intimidating, but this one was the perfect size and full of pure awesome shit. i got it with the side salad, but i’m sure some sweet potato fries would make a great partner as well.

baja burrito: our veggie "fish" wrapped in a flour tortilla with rice, cabbage and salsa. served with your choice of side. $10

a little heartier than the tacos, this burrito makes for the perfect meal when you are feeling extra hungry. i love how pure luck double grills the tortillas of their burritos making them easy to hold and a little crispy around the edges. again, all you people who are intimidated by fake fish, put your fears aside and EAT THIS. it is soooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOo good.

overall rating on the baja burrito is off the fucking hook scrumptious. i am making myself hungry as i type.

of course, pure luck still has the same impressive draught beer selection. however, they now offer 18oz servings of premium brews for just 5 bucks. their variety of craftsman, stone, and other selections at such a low price is unmatched in los angeles. most self-respecting bars will charge $6-$7 for beers this big and this good.

in other news, pure luck now has a back patio with some cute and comfy looking furniture. i’ve not sat out there since they re-did it, but the outdoor area is usually bustling and appears to be quite pleasant. as the weather cools down, it becomes a more and more appealing place to sit. well done, pure luck!

overall, the new menu at pure luck is a very welcome change. i will always miss the curry fries, such is the luck with subjectiveness. maybe they weren’t selling or something. and i support the new menu items, although they are across the board $10, 2 bucks more than comparable older items (don’t think we didn’t fucking notice THAT, pure luck!!!!). the menu changes are overall super cool, and while i don’t really love the new salads, it is nice to see more healthy crap on a menu overflowing with fried appetizers and massive sandwiches. i never thought i’d say this, but the fake fish makes it all worthwhile. a completely new taste, i can’t really describe it or urge you enough to check it out.

go go go go go 2 pure luck!

are you sick of reading about pure luck already? too bad! because until i’ve tried everything on the menu…i’m gonna keep writing about it and providing you with pictures.

carnitas taco combo plate: soft corn tortillas filled with jackfruit “carnitas”, topped with diced onions and cilantro, and our fresh tomatillo salsa. $8

fresh noodle salad: cold rice noodles on a bed of fresh spinach, topped with tofu and peanuts, bean sprouts, basil, onions and a sweet cilantro-lime dressing. $8

well, i went back to pure luck this weekend, and let me tell you, they didn’t disappoint! the service was great and i finally got to try the much-talked-about “carnitas” made from jackfruit. sounds weird, i know, but it was wonderful. it will be very hard moving forward in my quest to try everything on the menu, not to back out and just continue ordering the carnitas tacos.
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