everyone knows that the tofurky feast is a vegan thanksgiving staple (we usually eat at least 2 of ’em over the holiday season). the delicious vegetarian turkey alternative has been around for 15 years, but this year there is even more to love about it because it comes with the decadent addition of amy’s vegan chocolate cake!

the folks at turtle island contacted me and asked if i wanted a coupon to try out this new tofurky/amy’s package, and of course i said HELL YES!

i’m happy to report that the tofurky roast was bigger and tastier than ever (they’ve upped the serving size this year!), and the amy’s cake was moist and delicious beyond belief. let’s start with the tofurky roast…

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YES! THEY ARE HERE! i blogged about these babies last month and told you they would be available at ralphs soon. well we waited and waited through delay after delay, and the vegan frozen pizzas never hit the grocery store shelves. but today we can finally say, “ralphs?! fuck that shit! these pizzas are AVAILABLE AT LOCALI!”

locali may be a bit overpriced and not entirely vegan, but they always get the cool vegan products before anyone else. they were the first in LA to carry amy’s vegan mac and cheese, and now they have the brand new tofurky pizzas with daiya cheese! GO GET SOME NOW. they are really good. read my old review if you wanna know more of my thoughts on these pizzas.

when i tried the new tofurky frozen pizza at natural products expo west a few months ago, it was seriously love at first bite. covered in stretchy daiya cheese and plump pepperoni bits, it was the best frozen pizza i’d ever tasted.

imagine my excitement then, when i got a letter from tofurky advertising their new pizza line, along with a coupon to get one for free. the only problem is, i couldn’t find a store in LA selling the pizzas yet. i had no choice but to hop on a plane and head up to the cutting edge food fight grocery in portland, oregon.

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whew! natural products west 2010 has finally come and gone, and boy was it awesome. the world’s largest natural and organic products tradeshow took place over the weekend in anaheim, and of course we were there checking out all the new animal-free products.

there was a lot of cool vegan shit there this year…so sit back, relax, and get ready for an epic photo-filled post of food porn. here we go! (i am posting stuff in the actual order we tried it, so be sure to scroll through the whole post—i don’t want you to miss anything!)

of course the first booth we had to check out was daiya. the revolutionary vegan cheese made a huge debut at 2009’s expo west, and i remember reading about it on jennshaggy’s blog and turning green with envy. now just one year later, it has completely changed the world of vegan food…

this time around, daiya’s big news at the expo was the introduction of their snazzy retail packaging which will be available in whole foods by the end of the month! did you hear that?! you are gonna be able to buy daiya everywhere…it’s official. no more paying by weight and weird deli containers full of vegan cheese…this is legit!

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for a long time, quiznos has been a place for vegans to avoid. up until very recently, all of their breads have contained dairy, making it impossible to order a vegan sandwich. all this has changed though, with the introduction of the torpedo!

vegan quiznos torpedo: guacamole, black olives, lettuce, tomato, red onions, mushrooms. (no cheese, no vinaigrette) $4

the new sleek sandwich is over one foot long, about two inches wide, and comes on baked ciabatta bread that is delicious and dairy-free. although none of the standard torpedo combinations are vegan (or even vegetarian), you can order a vegan sandwich by getting a torpedo with the the veggie sub fillings, minus the cheese and vinaigrette (which contains dairy). the end result is actually extremely tasty, and a damn good deal for 4 bucks. plus, isn’t it great to know we vegans can finally eat at quiznos?!?! i am sooo burnt out on subway.

oh, and you get extra credit vegan points if you bring in your own tofurky and add it to your sandwich. it really takes the torpedo to the next level.

vegan quiznos torpedo with some added tofurky action

so there you have it. vegan fast food for under 5 dollars. if you are ever stranded in need of a vegan meal, chances are you are probably near a quiznos. do the torpedo!

oh, and in case you were wondering…my friend double checked with the quiznos hq about the torpedo bread being vegan, and they sent her a list of ingredients in the ciabatta. click here if you want to check them out.

when i first posted on franken’s, the one and only all-vegan hot dog stand in los angeles, i vowed that i would follow them around, show up at their gigs, and get food from them every time they set up shop. since then, the frankenstand has made two appearances in la, and we were there for both of them.

the food was delicious on both occasions…but before i get into all that, i wanna remind you that the frankenstand will be serving it up in echo park this friday, march 13th at pehrspace. don’t miss it!

for more updates on franken’s, definitely stalk them on myspace and twitter.

the frankenstand

their latest appearance was a smashing success, and we were there at the front lines as they sold like a million hot dogs to hungry hipsters at the east hollywood art cycle event on february 28th. they set up shop outside la city college at heliotrope and melrose, right across from pure luck…it was a vegan’s dream come true!

the wolf and the franken

we ordered the wolf and the franken, both 100% vegan tofurky sausages steamed to perfection. i don’t know how the frankenstand makes tofurky taste so good, but it’s seriously something i can’t replicate at home. of course we took advantage of the eat-all-you-want condiment tray and sauce selection.

the wolf: this is a zesty frank you'll love to wolf down. packed with a fangtastic, chipotle pepper flavor! $3

this was my first time trying the wolf, the cheapest and definitely the spiciest of the sausages available at franken’s. for only 3 bucks it’s a really good deal, but it is considerably smaller than the other franks…so keep that in mind if you are very hungry. the chipotle pepper flavor was delicious, but i made it even tastier with tons of onions and even spicier with loads of hot sauce. i can’t tell you enough how much i love all the condiments and vegetables at the frankenstand.

the franken: this classic sausage will make you feel alive! with a monster blend of sun dried tomatoes and basil giving it a slightly sweet taste. $5

my husband got the same thing he always orders, the franken. the hearty italian-style frank is absolutely mouth-watering, with little bits of sun dried tomato chopped up inside. this sausage seems to be most people’s favorite, although mine is the witch…a tofu beer-flavored frank that costs 4 bucks.

the artists and bikers seemed to love the frankenstand—there was a pretty healthy line when we got our franks, and we were there relatively early. for more coverage on franken’s at the east hollywood art cycle, check out sick of lettuce.

we also caught up with the frankenstand at the threat fest in canoga park on february 21st. the valley crust punk crowd couldn’t have been more different from the heliotrope hipsters…but they sure loved the hot dogs just as much. i saw people going back for second, and even third servings of franken’s! you can see some pix from that event in the franken’s photo gallery and on vegan-la.com.

so those are all the franken’s adventures i have for now. stay tuned, and be sure to check out the frankenstand this friday!

the frankenstand
friday march 13th at 9pm
at pehrspace
325 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90026

if you are a vegan in los angeles, i sure hope you’ve hit up purgatory pizza by now. the already-popular new york-style pizzeria started selling awesome vegan pizzas using teese cheese from chicago soy dairy in february, and now just one month later, they are known throughout town for having the best vegan pizza around. the quality of the crust, sauce and now vegan cheese is above and beyond all competition. as far as i know, they are the only pizza joint in los angeles using teese, which is fairly hard to come by, but by far the best brand in the united states.

imagine my excitement when i learned that in just a few weeks purgatory pizza has been so successful with the vegan cheese that they have also decided to start offering fake meat toppings as well. i was even lucky enough to attend a limited tasting-party to try out the new stuff…oh what a treat! the result: tons of new fake meats atop delicious teese pizzas, ending in a food coma of epic proportions.

vegan toppings of the night included field roast sausage, lightlife pepperoni, lightlife bacon, lightlife ham, and tofurky sausage.

all the pizzas we tried are pictured below. results were varied, but my favorite was by far the field roast sausage. it had a really meaty texture and tasted surprisingly like real pizza sausage that i remember from when i was a little kid…right down to the crispy edges and embedded fennel seeds, this stuff was unreal.

vegan purgatory pizza: field roast sausage and teese cheese.

the pepperoni was decent, but in my opinion it didn’t have the wow factor of the field roast sausage. lightlife products tend to be great for what i want to make at home, but just don’t do it for me when they are offered at restaurants.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife pepperoni and teese cheese.

same again with the lightlife bacon…it was tasty, but not something i would splurge on for a pizza topping.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife bacon and teese cheese.

purgatory also tried out the tofurky sausage as a pizza topping, which was definitely a worthy field roast opponent. this stuff was really good…but it sliced up into little disks, not globby clumps like the field roast sausage. something about this wasn’t as authentic to me, although i would definitely order it if i saw it on a menu.

vegan purgatory pizza: tofurky sausage and teese cheese.

lastly, was the ham and pineapple which, i won’t lie, i didn’t even taste. pineapple on pizza has never gone down well with me…but the other folks tonight seemed to enjoy it. the ham was the lightlife brand of meat, so i assume it was similar to the pepperoni and bacon.

vegan purgatory pizza: lightlife ham, pineapple and teese cheese.

again, in my mind, the clear winner was the field roast sausage. i honestly usually don’t like fake meat on pizza, but this stuff was so good, i think i’d order it every time.

vegan pizza with teese and field roast sausage! YUM.

sorry, readers. i don’t mean to get your hopes up too early or anything…because for right now the vegan meats aren’t available at purgatory pizza just yet. whatever scored best at tonight’s tasting test will hopefully be available soon though, and i will let you know as soon as it is. i’m hoping they at least go with the field roast sausage because that was my absolute favorite!

until then, you will have to suffer through with just vegetable toppings on the best vegan pizza in los angeles. speaking of which…i brought home some teese pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes and chopped garlic for my husband, who missed out on tonight’s festivities, and the stuff warmed up and melted like a charm. turns out vegan pizza is just as good leftover as normal pizza.

vegan pizza to go! teese, mushrooms, tomato and chopped garlic. YUM.

so whether you eat in or takeaway, purgatory pizza is the place to go for vegan pizza in la. they have the meltiest cheese and a load of vegetable toppings. once they get the fake meats come, they will be UNSTOPPABLE. vegans, if you haven’t been to purgatory pizza yet, you are fucking CRAZY. put it at the top of your list.

purgatory pizza
1326 east 1st street
los angeles, ca 90033
323 262 5310

open everyday 6pm – 11pm

UPDATE: this is probably not a great place for vegans. when i ate there, i was told the buns were vegan, but a commenter wrote in today and said they weren’t…also, he said the hotdogs were cooked on the SAME GRILL as the meat, which i forgot to check on when i was there. eat here at your own fucking risk. i will be back, but only for the beer. the dogs are vegan for sure though, so if you can count on those at least. fend for yourself. beware.

yesterday marked my second day of jury duty at the metropolitan courthouse in downtown los angeles, so naturally i had to check out a new vegan-friendly lunch spot. my carnivorous coworkers have been raving about the newish sausage and beer kitchen, wurstkuche since it very first opened. after hearing their descriptions of monstrosities such as rattlesnake & rabbit, alligator & pork along with duck & bacon sausages, i assumed wurstkuche was a restaurant i would never visit. too bad, i thought, because i had a butchers at the beer list and it was pretty impressive.

my mind was instantly changed though when jona bechtolt, a vegan musician who i’m a great fan of and follow on twitter, tweeted: “Downtown Los Angeles lunch at Wurstküche (***** of 5)” what?! but jona’s a vegan, i thought, so there must be some stuff i can eat at wurstkuche! i prodded jona for more info, and he messaged me back to say there were three animal-free sausages to choose from, not to mention amazing fries with curry ketchup. as you can imagine, i had to haul ass to wurstkuche asap…and my downtown la jury service provided the perfect excuse.

vegetarian beer bratwurst - soy based, traditional flavor. $6. plus belgian fries with curry ketchup. $3.50

i ordered the vegetarian beer bratwurst, which turned out to be a tofurky beerbrat, also the same sausage the frankenstand uses and calls “the witch”. (in fact, all 3 vegan options were familiar tofurky brand links: the beerbrat, the kielbasa, and sweet italian sausage.)

wurstkuche tofurky beerbrat fo sho!

for 6 bucks you get a piping hot sausage on a fresh roll with two toppings— i chose caramelized onions and sauerkraut. i also got an order of thick, fat belgian fries that came perfectly cooked with big chunks of salt and a side of curry ketchup…YUM. everything was delicious, but the fries were definitely the highlight.

and you can’t really talk about wurstkuche without mentioning the beer. although it’s a bit pricey, they have a lineup of 24 impressive draughts including belgian, german and north american selections. i myself went with a spaten pils, and they even served it to me in the proper glass! bonus points for that, most def.

aside from having a whole ton of great tap beer, awesome fries and vegan sausages, wurstkuche is just a really cool place to hang out. it’s spacious and open with tons of seating and has an industrial vibe, with its concrete floors and brick walls, offset by brightly colored orange chairs. there’s a long bar and tons of huge wooden communal tables. this is the kind of place i could spend all afternoon drinking in…if i didn’t have to get back to jury duty.

so when the frankenstand isn’t available, fill your vegan hot dog needs at wurstkuche. sure, they charge more for the exact same tofurky dog that you would get at franken’s, but they are always open and have great fries! oh, and be sure not to leave without getting a beer. thanks, jona!!

wurstkuche
800 e 3rd street
los angeles ca 90013

213-687-4444

sunday 12pm-10pm
monday thru wednesday 11am-10pm
thursday thru saturday 11am-midnight

for us vegans in los angeles, there sure aren’t very many pizza options. a lot of places have a soy cheese option, but that usually contains casein…some places do offer vegan pizza, but the fake cheese never melts quite right. lucky for us, though, a new all-vegetarian and vegan-friendly pizza parlor has opened up just 30 miles away in cerritos, and dude, it is so worth the drive. we headed out to that’s amore over the weekend and had vegan pizza so good, it tasted vegetarian.

that’s amore is a pure vegetarian pizza kitchen with a large menu full of of entrees, pizzas and sandwiches that can ALL be veganized. seriously, it’s a dream come true. if this place were closer to my house, i’d be there several times a week. i know it sounds too good to be true, so check out there menu here:

my husband and i took a detour to that’s amore last weekend, on our way home from long beach, and seriously…the food was not to be believed. although the menu was massive and tempting, we opted for the build-your-own pizza option, and settled on a pie with vegan cheese, tofurky sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes. wow, can you believe that order? vegan cheese, vegetable toppings and tofurky sausage?!?!?! i don’t know anywhere i could get such a vegan feast, other than my own kitchen. almost all the food at that’s amore is vegan, except they do have a normal cheese option. other than that, you can close your eyes and point at random shit on the menu, order it and be fine. i can’t even express how wonderful this is to me. they also clearly state on the menu that “vegan dishes are cooked with exclusive utensils.” there ya have it: no cross-contamination worries.

our pizza came out of the oven in record time, the thing was bloody huge, and the crust was amazing. definitely the most authentic new york style crust i’ve ever tried since becoming a vegan: thin, chalky and oh so tasty.

16 inch pizza with vegan cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms and tofurky sausage.

not to mention, the VEGAN CHEESE! this shit was melty-ist, most wonderful vegan dairy-style concoction i’ve ever tasted. the super-friendly server told us they use follow your heart cheese, but i assure you, it tasted much better than that. in my experience FYH cheese is pretty stubborn when it comes to melting, but that’s amore somehow gets around the problem. maybe it’s their oven, or the way they shred it…either way, this stuff melts and has the texture of real fucking cheese. amazing.

insanely awesome melting vegan cheese. wowowowowow.

when you fill up on pizza from that’s amore, ask your sweet and helpful server about the dessert options. we inquired and wound up with an incredible, freshly-made vegan cannoli. de-lish! they should really add this stuff to the menu, it would be a tragedy for sweet-seeking vegans to leave that’s amore, never knowing they have incredible desserts.

decadent vegan cannoli!

that’s amore makes me want to move to the oc, full stop. the food is killer, it’s all meat-free, and everything can be veganized. oh oh oh, and they serve wine and beer, what’s not to like?

…well…um….ok, if i wanna get nit-picky, the ambience leaves something to be desired. it’s in a strip mall, the lighting is so bright that it’s annoying, and they play a rotation of 8 really corny italian-themed rat pack songs nonstop, turned up to 11. if i lived in cerritos, that’s amore would definitely be the perfect place to get a pizza to-go. i would only eat in because i live about an hour away, and i would rather put up with a less-than-perfect atmosphere than a reheated pizza.

overall though, that’s amore is incredible. head out to cerritos as soon as you can, and try everything on the menu. it’s gotta be the best, authentic, new york style vegan pizza i’ve ever had.

that’s amore
13349 artesia blvd.
cerritos, ca 90703
562-926-2112

it’s no secret that we don’t really celebrate xmas. to me it’s just an annoying holiday when the bars and vegan restaurants are closed. however, that doesn’t stop me from taking the day off work and filling up on holiday-themed food. it also doesn’t stop my awesome parents from buying us tons of gifts. 🙂

this year on xmas day, my husband and i attended a slap-up vegan holiday party, meaning we couldn’t have dinner with my parents until the next day. we decided to invite them around to our place on boxing day for an informal vegan celebration. we provided the main course and desserts, they brought us some side dishes and some unexpected gifts. it was awesome.

one dozen vegan twinkies from no whey vegan baking. 6 regular flavored, 6 red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

we went a little over board with dessert, and ordered 12 twinkies from no whey vegan baking. needless to say, there were tons left over and we sent my parents home with a whole container full. everyone loved them, especially my dad who has been dying to try a vegan twinkie for like 6 months. while the normal yellow cake with white frosting filling variety was well received, my new favorite is definitely the red velvet twinkie. the cake is moist and insanely decadent, and the filling isn’t frosting, but instead vegan cream cheese. absolutely delicious.

red velvet cake with a cream cheese filling

for a main dish, we cooked up a standard tofurky. although i prefer the celebration roast, which we made on thanksgiving, the tofurky was only $7.99 at the santa monica co-op. you can’t beat that price.

tofurky!

my parents brought with them some wonderful sides including the quarrygirl recipe for potato salad, and a broccoli salad that my mom veganized. you can see the original broccoli salad recipe here.

vegan broccoli salad with raisins, vegenaise, "bacon" bits and onion.

in addition to food, my parents also brought with them some surprise presents. thanks mom and dad! knowing what fans we are of veganomicon, they brought us isa chandra moskowitz’s other two wildly successful cookbooks: vegan with a vengeance and vegan cupcakes take over the world. yay!

vegan cookbooks! w00t!

they also brought us some shirts in honor of the quarrygirl.com mascot, tofu robot. check out the cool t’s they found online at spicy brown.

tofu robot clothing from spicy brown.

so overall, it was a great feast with some extraordinary vegan twinkies and some vegan gift surprises. a fine, fine holiday indeed.