do you live in LA and wanna celebrate the 149th anniversary of the mexican army’s victory over french forces at the battle of puebla with some craft beer and amazing vegan food?!?! if you answered “yes” to that question, you’re in luck!

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UPDATE 5/6/11: due to vegans going psycho, madeleine bistro has decided to move their closing day until may 22nd! take advantage, people. they are only open 3 days a week for 2 more weeks. make it count.

well, this is quite distressing. madeleine bistro, our favorite vegan restaurant in all the land, took to their facebook page at 3am to announce their closure. say it ain’t so!

in a note titled “madeleine bistro closing details”, they wrote…

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this post is dedicated to natalie portman, who lives in los angeles and recently gave up on veganism because she couldn’t find any vegan cookies.

i have put away truckloads of vegan cookies in my time (believe me!), but now that i’ve discovered ye olde tyme bake shoppe, i can say that i’ve found my favorite.

vegan chocolate chip cookies from ye olde tyme bake shoppe

the small los angeles based operation sells their treats both online and at some restaurants in the san fernando valley. whether you wanna place a mail order or drive to the 818, whatever you need to do to get your hands on these cookies, it’ll be worth it…

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over the weekend we visited one of the few vegan restaurants in los angeles we hadn’t been to yet, juicy ladies. it’s actually more of a juice bar or take out place than a proper restaurant, with a counter to order at and seating inside for maybe 5 or 6 people. we arrived at around 11am and were lucky enough to snag one of the few tables.

juicy ladies may be small in size, but the menu is mighty with a great selection of breakfast items, salads, bowls and sandwiches. there’s also a full on juice and smoothie menu as well as a fridge full of grab and go meals for people in a hurry.

juicy special burger: black bean and brown rice patty, lettuce, pickles, tomato, thousand island dressing, grilled onions and tapioca cheese on a whole wheat bun. served with mixed greens. $10.25

my husband ordered the juicy special burger and had no complaints…

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hey y’all! today’s quick bite (aka reader review) comes to us from greg c. in los angeles. he recently checked out the valley’s new all vegetarian indian restaurant and loaded up on tons of tastiness from samosas to dosas. an entirely meatless restaurant with great food and low prices? yes, please! i am freaking dying to go here. check it out:

I was flipping though some of that junkmail w/ local businesses & coupons, and an ad for Streets of India Cafe in Encino caught my eye. The ad said “VEGETARIAN/VEGAN” ….so of course I had to check this out! I found their website, checked out the menu….and – they have DOSA!!!!!!!! Dosa’s my favorite Indian food, but not that many Indian restaurants make it. I’d go to Paru’s in Hollywood for my dosa fix, but Encino is closer to me so I was very excited.

Samosa: Crispy triangular turnover stuffed w/ veggies. $4

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since pitfire pizza started carrying daiya cheese about a month ago, it has become one of our favorite places to dine. with their amazingly crispy brick oven baked pies, nice selection of craft beer on tap, fresh healthy salads, and four locations in los angeles, there’s certainly a lot to love about pitfire.

be an artist pizza with daiya cheese, mushrooms, onion. $11.95

recently, i’ve been hitting up the north hollywood restaurant pretty regularly with my omnivore parents and they both agree that this is the best vegan pizza they’ve ever eaten…

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tony’s darts away is one of my favorite places to grab a weekday lunch. not only do they have a massive selection of craft beer on tap, but they’ve got great vegan sausages and a monday through friday lunch deal that comes with chips and salad. what more do i require?

lunch special: vegan sausage with 2 small toppings, 2 large toppings, homemade chips and a salad. $8.75

since we last blogged about tony’s, they’ve been tweaking their menu and have added even more vegan toppings including jalapenos, fresh salsa, and avocado lime puree (pictured above)…

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raw vegan lasagna at cru is no more!

hey everyone, just a quick update on the cru silverlake situation…

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it’s no secret that i’ve eaten vegan food from all over the world. from paris to london, manhattan to fort lauderdale, san francisco to los angeles—i’ve sampled the fine restaurants that numerous different cities have to offer. and after stuffing my face full of just about every type of vegan cuisine, one establishment continues to stand out as my absolute favorite: madeleine bistro.

earlier this week while most people were celebrating romance and valentine’s day (pffffft), i was celebrating nothing more than the fact that madeleine bistro was offering a seven course chef’s tasting menu. ever since experiencing the insanity of chef dave’s multi-course new year’s eve dinner just over a year ago, i have been dreaming of returning to madeleine bistro for another special holiday meal. i went there this valentine’s day with the absolute highest expectations, yet they were still somehow exceeded. i’m not exaggerating when i say that in my 26 years on the planet, this was the best meal i’ve had yet. just have a look…

lapsang souchong-cured portabella gravlax: house-made pretzel bagel, pine nut creme cheese, braised potato salad

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hey vegans, you still have until february 20th to get a 25% discount at hugo’s tacos between 5-10pm when you mention “quarrygirl”! have you taken advantage of it yet? i seriously suggest you get over there and try all the insane vegan food this taco stand has to offer.

vegan green tamales: sweet corn and spinach tamales. $2.39 with QG discount!

i’ve recently fallen in love with the tacos and green tamales…

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you probably already know by now that hugo’s tacos is offering a 25% discount on all vegan items until sunday between 5pm-10pm when you mention “quarrygirl.” if you haven’t tried the amazing vegan torta ahogada yet, this is your chance.

it doesn’t look that intimidating wrapped up all neatly in yellow paper, but let me assure you, this thing is one beast of a sandwich…

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we’ve got exciting news, people! every evening this week, hugo’s tacos is offering a 25% discount on all vegan items for quarrygirl readers!

here are the details of the deal…

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argh, i forgot that february is a short month…which means it’s almost half way over! this is just a quick post to alert you to some of the excellent monthly specials that hugo’s is offering, because they won’t be around much longer!

i am still working my way through these babies, but here’s what i’ve got so far…

Le Crostini: Crispy garlic herb toast (coated with a nut and seed spread) with red pepper hummus, blanched broccolini, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes. Garnished with roasted garlic jalapeno sauce, a marinara drizzle and chopped basil. $7.50

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heads up, readers! i just wanted to throw this out there in case you are already starting to make your dinner plans for next week: be sure to pencil in a couple evenings at hugo’s tacos.

throughout next week, the super vegan-friendly taco stand is gonna be offering a pretty epic vegan dinner deal that i’ll post about on monday morning. it’s gonna be every day from 2/14 – 2/20 after 5pm, at both locations (atwater village and studio city). details to come, but i know you’re gonna love it. i mean, have you been to hugo’s tacos yet?! they have insane vegan burritos, taquitos, nachos, tortas, tostadas, soft serve—i could go on and on—and it’s all part of the deal!

mexican food on valentine’s day? you know it makes sense. i may just need to have dinner at hugo’s tacos every day next week.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Puccini, Truffles and Chianti: Buildings, music, food and wine respectively are all synonymous with Tuscany in Italy, probably one of the most beautiful places on earth. Boasting a similar climate to Southern California with a natural beauty and centuries-old architecture and culture, Tuscany is a place that you know you’ll always go back to after you’ve been once.

I am, therefore, glad that I don’t have to travel for 18 hours to experience a little bit of Tuscany thanks to Rosti Tuscan Kitchen, a traditional Tuscan-style casual dining restaurant with two locations in Santa Monica and Encino. The owners have also taken great steps to accommodate their vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian guests, and we each have our own menu in addition to the main omnivorous menu.

Hungry for some vegan Tuscan cooking, we dropped by the Santa Monica location and were greeted by the owner, the super-nice restaurateur Kevin Goldfein who was kind enough to tell us about his restaurant concept and advise us on ordering a bunch of items from the vegan menu.

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