UPDATED. scroll to the bottom of this post for new hours.

recently i was surfing the forums over at vegan-la, and ran across something that sounded REALLY interesting: vegan soul food right here in hollywood. a taste of life divine vegan foods restaurant is an entirely vegan eatery at fountain and vermont that serves up steamin’ hot soul food and is open late. of course i had to check it out.

after reading the review in the forum, i had my heart set on ordering the kale, but unfortunately they were all out when we went. so instead, we had to settle on an epic feast consisting of a tofu filet sandwich, a falafel sandwich, and a huge side of mac & cheese. we ordered food to-go, and we had to wait ages for it in a pretty sketchy area, but at the end of the day it was totally worth it. all sinfully delicious.

vegan mac & cheese side order. $5

falafel sandwich. $5

tofu filet sandwich. $5

the tofu filet sandwich was split in half and polished off immediately. both the husband and i really loved it. deep fried and slathered in the most amazing vegan cheese, there was nothing healthy about this baby. a few fresh vegetables were sprinkled on to add some flavor, but this sandwich was really all about the tasty tofu soul food. with each crunchy bite, the breaded tofu leaked more & more delicious vegan grease. to be honest with you, i kind of ordered this sandwich hastily because i was confused by the menu when i stepped up to the counter. when i was waiting for my food, i started to think of all the things i maybe should have chosen instead. well, while i will definitely try something new next time, i in no way regret giving this a whirl. the filet was fried up in a perfect blend of spices and the creamy slightly melted vegan cheese made every bite so much better. definitely not your average tofu burger.

the falafel sandwich was equally impressive. i’m a HUGE fan of falafel, so at first i regretted ordering this as well. i thought, why the hell did i order falafel HERE, at a soul food restaurant that can’t possibly compete with my favorite places in the valley?! again, a taste of life proved me wrong. this falafel was up there with the best of them. it didn’t even encroach on the valley’s territory—instead a taste of life totally reinvented the falafel. these balls were huge, twice the size of the falafel i’m used to, and seasoned much more mildly. they were deep fried for longer, it seems like, and had a thicker & juicier skin. inside they were a lot less cooked, but still just as delicious. this sandwich didn’t come on a bun, but in a whole wheat pita pocket, making it slightly harder to share. we managed though and were both blown away by the quality. like the filet sandwich, the falafel pocket came filled with melty-licious cheese that made a beautiful gooey mess. i highly recommend this sandwich, it’s scrumptious and a total steal for just $5. plus, it’s great to experience a new take on the classic falafel.

slightly crispy pocket, juicy falafel and luscious vegan cheese.

saving the best for last, my favorite dish at a taste of life was of course the vegan mac & cheese. the noodles tasted fried and were coated with big clumps of sharp flavorful fake cheese. i don’t know what they use to make this vegan version, but i can tell ya, the real mac ‘n cheese has got NOTHING on this stuff. it was rich and oily to the very last bite, and the fake cheese had an authentic & delicious slightly sour taste to it. my all time favorite vegan mac & cheese, without a doubt.

so the food at a taste of life is definitely nothing to be scoffed at. everything was great, and i didn’t even TRY all the stuff that sounded the best on the menu.

you see, i get menu anxiety, and like to plan my order in advance, but unfortunately when i went to a taste of life, there was no menu available online. i guess they started out as a stand at the hollywood farmers market and haven’t updated their site yet with their new location and menu. so i will go ahead and take care of it for you.

here you go, scanned from the card i picked up from the coutner. the menu from a taste of life divine vegan foods. oh, and also, here is a snazzy little card with their phone number, hours, and address.

[googleMap name=”a taste of life divine vegan foods” description=”excellent vegan soul food” width=”570″ height=”320″ directions_from=”true”]4718 fountain avenue los angeles ca 90029[/googleMap]

now before you get all caught up drooling and rushing over to try this amazing food, i must caution you, the restaurant has its downsides. because i am nice, and i want you all to know how much i loved the food, i will save my bitch session for after the jump. only click on the more button if you wanna hear some good, old fashioned complaining. if you don’t, then go grab some incredible soul food. whatever shit you encounter will be worth it.

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