at quarrygirl.com, we are always looking for new vegetarian restaurants to hit up, and last weekend we got lucky with the spot.

savory garden burrito: with garden veggies, cheese and savory sauce (all non-dairy): $8.95

guacamole burger: a homemade burger patty served on a wheat bun with guacamole and a side of almond rice: $8.95

as many of my fellow imbibers know, the hermosa/redondo/manhattan/whatever beach areas are great places to find breweries and specialty beers. what i DIDN’T know until last weekend, is they are also great places to find uncharted vegan fare.

after planning a day of drinking in hermosa beach, i decided to research some food options on the internet. one spot, a vegetarian restaurant, kept gaining my attention and outshining all the other restaurants with its glowing reviews. so of course, we had to give it a try…

the spot was original, tasty, and refreshing…albeit a tad unreasonably priced. ultimately, the food was so unique, and my experience was so enjoyable, i have no doubt i will return to the spot in the near future and spend the extra few dollars necessary for one of their satisfying vegan meals.

the burrito was ordered non-dairy (be careful, this is a VEGETARIAN restaurant, people! they know what vegan means, but you must SPECIFY!) and when it arrived, covered in white sauce and what appeared to be cheese, i interrogated the waitress regarding the vegonocity of my food. she quickly ran to the kitchen, then back to me and assured me that the huge clumpy burrito in front me was indeed vegan. oh joy.

when i dug into it i realized, as i tasted that all too familiar follow your heart flavor, that this burrito was indeed vegan and bursting with fake-semi-melted “cheese”. now, while i definitely have room to criticize follow your heart for its staunch refusal to melt in apocalyptic temperatures, in this case it didn’t bother me. the burrito also contained black beans, rice, a glorious white “savory sauce” and several unusual vegetables that don’t normally make appearances in a burrito: broccoli, aubergine, etc. thankfully there were no bell peppers! the burrito was also accompanied by a small bowl of incredibly spicy green salsa. delectable!

the guacamole burger delicious as well—the homemade patty also tasted of follow your heart cheese. i always lean towards restaurants who make their own vegan patties, and don’t rely on brands like boca burgers and other known quantities. covered with thick, chunky, spicy guacamole, all heaped on to a tasty wheat role, this healthy burger was an automatic hit.

overall, imho the spot is definitely worth a visit. as i said earlier, it’s a little pricy, but i guess that just comes with the territory of being a vegetarian restaurant. oh, also THEY DON’T TAKE CREDIT CARDS! so come with cash (unless you wanna be bitch slapped with an ATM fee). they do have bottled beer and wine, which i didn’t get a chance to try (i am more of a tap beer girl, all hail pure luck), a pleasant atmosphere and friendly, knowledgeable staff. this is a great place to go with your lacto-ovo buddies, because everyone will be happy with the wide selection.

here’s the menu i grabbed on my way out the door.

i’m looking forward to going back and trying something new…probably another burrito!

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 8:47 am and is filed under LA restaurants, follow your heart, the spot. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.