mendocino farms finally opened up in west hollywood last week, and i wasted no time in getting over there. i hit them up on saturday for lunch, and like every meal i’ve had at mendo, my sandwich was predictably awesome.

Vegan Shawarma: Mediterranean chickpea shawarma, with a bean puree, vegan tzatziki, red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and shredded romaine on a grilled honey wheat tortilla wrap (vegan tortilla available on request) $9.25

there were 3 vegan sandwiches to choose from: chickpea shawarma, a spicy soyrizo wrap, and an indian dosa. i went with the shwarama (sauce on the side), and loved every bite. just be sure and specify that you want a vegan tortilla, because the wheat ones at mendocino contain honey. super fresh ingredients and a light falafelly shwarama that wasn’t too meaty…

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this is all kinds of exciting! mendocino farms, my favorite LA sandwich shop, is launching a new location in my hood on november 3rd and they’re letting me send FIVE readers (with their +1’s) as guests to their private complimentary pre-opening event this tuesday from 6:30-8:30pm.

one of the many insane vegan sandwiches on mendocino farms' rotating menu

while the restaurant isn’t exclusively vegan, at the party they’ll be serving up tempeh club sandwiches, wheatberry fingerling and fingerling potato salad, israeli cous cous, and possibly a vegan potato salad as well…all cocktail style! the latest mendocino farms shop (they’ve already got locations in downtown LA and marina del rey) will be at 7100 santa monica blvd, right next to target. i am super stoked that they’re opening this week, and look forward to consuming many many many vegan sandwiches in the future.

so who wants to go to the pre-opening party with a guest and eat free food?! we’re picking 5 winners, so the odds are better than ever. the rules are simple…

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so exciting! los angeles has a new super vegan-friendly restaurant with a huge menu full of specialty pizzas, salads, wraps, inventive appetizers, wine and craft beer. EVO kitchen opened up its doors last week in the old hollywood/weho pizza fusion location, and we’re already huge fans. it focuses on organic, locally sourced ingredients, and is family owned by the same folks who ran the previous restaurant. with the re-branding, the menu still includes our favorite items (what up, beer floats and wraps!) plus it has grown to include even more vegan (and gluten-free if you care about that) options, and the food is even better than before.

we hit up EVO for a slap up feast this weekend, and sampled as many vegan dishes as we could. we still didn’t get through half of them though—i guess that means another visit is in order! check out what we ate:

vegan garlic cheese bread with marinara dip. $4.99

we started off with a slew of appetizers, the first of which was the vegan garlic cheese bread. as with all vegan cheesy items at EVO kitchen, this came with a choice of soy cheese (follow your heart) or daiya. we opted for the soy cheese in this case, and the daiya cheese for other dishes (more on those later!). the cheese bread was phenomenal—crispy and pipin’ hot, dusted with herbs, and served with a pot of tangy marinara.

mini vegan bbq burgers: portobello mushroom with vegan soy or daiya cheese, roasted red onion and bbq sauce. $6.99

next up, one of my favorite dishes of the evening: the vegan mini bbq burgers. SLIDERS…

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usually quick bites are submitted by readers, but today i have one of my own. friday was the six year anniversary of my husband and i’s first date…and we decided to celebrate in true QG style: by hitting up a bar and a restaurant. we started off at our favorite local pub, the surly goat, and then took a 15 minute stroll down the road to hugo’s for some eats. i’m happy to report that everything was lovely.

New American Veggie Burger: an outstanding combination of organic sprouted mung beans, organic brown rice, assorted fresh vegetables, mushrooms, pumpkin & sunflower seeds, herbs and spices fried crispy. Served with onion, lettuce, tomato, Vegenaise and your choice of any burger toppings. $12.60

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looking for an excuse to be gluttonous and charitable at the same time?

the perfect indulgence

look no further than veggie grill on sunset this thursday…

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heads up! gourmet mashed potato company bangers and smashed will be serving up food at the surly goat on monday night, and they’re coming equipped with vegan options!

Bourbon Pecan Smashed - In the Southern tradition, yams blended with Jack Daniel's and spice

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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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over the past couple years, we’ve seen west hollywood grow into quite the little vegan mecca. santa monica boulevard, west of la cienega specifically, has been just blowing up with options lately—from zpizza, to tender greens, to millions of milkshakes, to o!burger—everyone is serving up cruelty-free cuisine. the latest addition to the list is fresh east, a quick casual asian eatery that specializes in healthy fare with loads of meatless options.

after scoping out the menu online, we decided to check out fresh east for a fast weeknight dinner. when we walked in, i was immediately smitten by the bright, clean interior—colorful yet simple with lots of comfy seating.

we approached the counter to place our order, and i noticed that fresh east’s menu was even more vegan-friendly than i thought. there’s a little V symbol next to each item that can be veganized, including several dishes where tofu can be subbed for the meat. unfortunately the vegan symbol isn’t shown on the online menu right now, but trust me, there are loads of options.

after much deliberation, we decided to share a noodle and a curry dish, both of which were exceptional…

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it’s a great time to be vegan in los angeles! this week hugo’s restaurant is introducing tons of new animal-free options, and i can say from personal experience that they are beyond delicious. they’ve permanently brought back and improved some of everyone’s old favorite monthly specials, as well as added some extra good stuff.

the new menu will take effect in studio city today, and in west hollywood tomorrow. here is what you have to look forward to…

vegan carbonara: mushrooms, veggie bacon and garlic sauteed crisp. deglazed with white wine and finished with scallions, vegan cream sauce, and italian parsley. $13.85

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heads up, angelenos! BOTH pizza fusion locations in town (hollywood and santa monica) will be offering a 10% discount on saturday 1/29/11 when you mention vegan pizza day. hell yes—time to get your vegan pizza on at a reduced price!

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vegan pizza day is just one week away, and zpizza is helping everyone get into the mood with vegan slices and a great giveaway!

here is the info:

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…well, almost all vegan! this week chili addiction rolled out a brand new “vegan menu,” although there are a couple clearly marked real-dairy-vegetarian items on it including mac n cheese and cornbread muffins. other than that though, it looks epic! the lists of vegan dogs, burgers, and sausages are HUGE compared to what they used to be!

quarrygirl: our fantastic vegan burger topped with homemade sauerkraut. $10

a few of the new vegan items include the quarrygirl burger (pictured above) which was a previous special, the buffalo wing dog, and the jalapeno magic sausage. i can’t wait to go try all this stuff. check the new menu here.

i am always a huge fan of the monthly specials at hugo’s restaurant, and this month is no different. you must (MUST!) get over there and try out the roasted vegetable enchilada burrito before january ends.

Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Burrito (vegan): A blend of diced roasted vegetables (butternut squash, carrots, broccoli, potato, onion), chopped spinach, brown rice, a black bean cake and avocado. Rolled in an organic whole wheat tortilla and topped with enchilada sauce, Daiya vegan cheese and cilantro. Served with slow cooked organic black beans in a roasted tomato-chipotle sauce and garnished with a lime cabbage-vegetable slaw. $12.50

first off, this thing is a beast. it’s huge and stuffed with so much good stuff, you won’t be able to eat it one sitting.

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in celebration of the upcoming vegan pizza day (which you should all be spreading the word and blogging about), i’m gonna make an effort to post more about pizza on the blog throughout january…which shouldn’t be hard, because we eat a lot of it!

berkeley vegan: marinara sauce, vegan cheese, veggie burger crumbles, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions. (no bell peppers)

there are TONS of vegan-friendly pizza joints in los angeles, and we think zpizza is one of the best. we even added their amazing tuscan pizza to our vegan bucket list, it’s that damn good. another awesome thing about zpizza is, they’re a national chain and every location offers vegan pizza! so even if you aren’t in LA, you may very well have a zpizza near you.

recently we had a little zpizza shindig with us and the team from clara’s cakes, which meant not only was tasty pizza involved, but also mouthwatering desserts…

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we already told you about the new year’s eve shindig over at tony’s darts away, and we just got wind of some more epic gatherings you should know about at rahel ethiopian and surly goat. these parties go from early evening until after midnight, and are pretty close to each other geographically…so we are thinking you should attend at least one of these, if not both. here are the details.

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