friday update, after the post.

if you read my blog, there are probably 2 things you know about me: 1.) i hate bell peppers and 2.) i loooOOOOoooOOOove pure luck. the very first time i ate there, i knew i had something special: fancy tap beer, the best vegan food ever, great service and a funky chill atmosphere. i often found myself relaxing at a window table, bathed in sunlight, about 1/2 way though my second pint of craftsman as a steaming hot plate of potato pals was brought to my table and lou reed’s transformer drifted through the speakers…thinking, this place is just way too good to be true.

i’m beginning to believe i was right.

torta: sauteéd jackfruit "carnitas", plus pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, tomatillo salsa, sliced avocado and vegan mayo on a grilled rustic roll. $9

ahhhh…the torta, pictured above. this photo was taken months ago, before the restaurant started going downhill. please notice: a plastic order number to the way upper left, a 20oz beer next to it, and a generous serving of potato pals with the entrée (at no extra charge, mind you)! these things have now all gone…they don’t exist at pure luck anymore, and neither does the window that’s lighting them.

you see, on july 19, 2008, a fucking truck plowed through the window and wall of pure luck, fatally wounding my favorite eatery. i was hopeful at the time that they’d get the shit repaired stat, but unfortunately since the accident i’ve seen the best employees leave, the portions reduced, and the atmosphere sacrificed. plus they haven’t even bothered to fix the window. even before that awful day, they had switched from counter to table service…a decision that formalized the once-super-chill establishment and led to many an awkward moment between me and my plastic-carrying/no-cash co-workers. (splitting the check sux.) anyways, the truck barreling through the restaurant seemed to be the last straw. pure luck jumped the shark; the shit officially hit the fan. i’m so sad. and so over it.

let’s take a look at what changed.

the first thing i noticed after that dreadful day, was the portions got smaller at pure luck and the prices (kind of) increased. i say (kind of) because, they didn’t officially. it used to be a sly trick to order the unadvertised potato pals as a side dish, and the staff would happily comply. well, after the accident, the staff still happily complied…but for a dollar more. an extra dollar, that was never mentioned, just sitting there on the bill. the portion of potato pals (or any side for that matter) also shrunk a great deal. don’t believe me? see for yourself:

angélica's garbanzo salad sandwich $7

before the truck crashed into pure luck, life was good and this sandwich was awesome! so much vegenaise and so many chickpeas! they forgot to put the tomato on, but that problem was promptly fixed when i questioned my waitress. plus, a HUGE pile of potato pals—subbed for fries, no worries, no extra $$. let’s jump forward one month to after the truck went through the window:

todd's bbq sandwich: bbq jackfruit "pulled pork" with pickles, onions and vegan mayo on a rustic roll. $9 (or $10 to my surprise with potato pals!)

totally disappointing. not only am i forced to pay a premium for my favorite side…but the quantity is reduced! both the side and the main dish are considerably smaller. i know this, because one of my insatiable carnivorous co-workers even noticed…”hey, isn’t this bbq sandwich much smaller than it was like last week?” uggggggggh. the last thing veganism needs is “the best vegan restaurant in LA” recruiting meat-eaters by serving them tiny portions at a high price in a darkened restaurant that appears to be undergoing demolitions. oh well.

…at least the beer is a good deal, right? NOT ANYMORE! first pure luck tried to spoil the fun by raising beer prices for 16oz pints AND 20oz pints, each by a dollar. then they changed the plan and stopped offering 20oz pints all together. in the old days you could get a 16oz for $5, and a 20oz for $6. now, after all the blackboard erasing and price-changing fuckery, a 16oz is still $5 and an 18oz is $6. 20oz beers are no longer available. sigh. to beer drinkers like me this is a huge setback. not to mention the selection of brew on tap is constantly dwindling, and they tend to be “out” of the better beers more frequently. i can tell you, it’s not what it used to be.

and to be fair, it’s not just the sides, or the beer…but the portions themselves are getting smaller. check out the difference in the fresh noodle salad. it used to be a plate of spinach with a mound of tofu and other good shit on top…now it’s an entire bowl full of spinach, with a skimpy amount of tofu & toppings sprinkled on. totally disappointing.

oh, and the atmosphere. yeah, that sucks now. at first, after the accident, it was charming like, “what a great restaurant, they are pulling through even though a truck smashed into them!” now a month later, it’s just annoying like, “why is this place always so fucking dark and why is there nowhere good to sit.” oh yeah, and TONS of flies get in and swarm around your food now, because they haven’t repaired the damage properly. one window went a very long way. sad. sad. sad.

pure luck window, before and after the crash

as you can see, pure luck is totally bumming me out. as if all this accident-related and price crap wasn’t enough, they fucked with the menu as well. each dish used to come with a side of fries or a cesar salad. now, they just serve your meal with a boring spinach italiany salad instead. i haven’t bothered to order it, i was pretty disappointed when i saw my friend’s wrap arrive with a tiny mound of spinach and some see-through dressing. i prefer to remember the wonderful wrap and side in their former glory:

kristen's carnitas wrap: jackfruit "carnitas" with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions and césar dressing, wrapped in a flour tortilla. $8

when i ate that wrap i wish i’d have known that it was a shrinking commodity: the new wraps are much smaller and their side salads are waaaaay boring. ugh. if only i could have the old pure luck back.

more injustice after the jump.

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In English: “We’ll eat”! And so we do. Probably around once a month or whenever we get around to it. Ari-Ya is a wonderful sushi bar in the heart of vibrant West Hollywood, on Santa Monica Blvd. almost next door to Celebuhangout Pinkberry. I was a late starter to Sushi - Asian food (other than Cantonese) didn’t really exist when I was growing up in the UK, so on my trips to Japan I’d always opt for french fries at every meal.

Only after I’d lived in LA for a while did I try sushi (at the behest of a friend who insisted on it), and I randomly chose a restaurant that was very close to where we were hanging out. Back then it was called Murakami (of Murakami Salad fame), but of late it’s been renamed to Ari-Ya, yet has the same menu and some of the same staff.

The sushi spectrum runs from the incredibly exotic to grocery-store style mass produced stuff, but neither suit me very well. I like good mid-range sushi served in a relaxing environment with plenty of vegetarian/vegan options. You will not find that in LA at anywhere better than Ari-Ya.

The thing I like best about Ari-Ya is the consistently high quality of everything they serve, the quick and polite service and the best sesame tofu salad I’ve ever eaten. They have a couple of vegan options that work well, and can be surprisingly filling. We usually order the edamame to start with, which is usually a large enough portion to last through the meal along with one or two Tofu Seaweed Salads along with two orders of Veggie Maki Roll.

Veggie Maki Roll

The Veggie Maki Roll has lovely crunchy avocado, mini carrots and asparagus in just the right proportion to be readily soaked in wasabi-infused soy sauce. Two orders are a pretty healthy size.

Veggie Maki Roll (two orders)

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this weekend after drinking way too many pints of premium cask ale at the newest and greatest bar in town, we decided to sober up by walking a few blocks and grabbing take-out from truly vegan (another one of the many vegan/thai restaurants with the word vegan in its name). it’s a good thing we opted to get our food to go, because the atmosphere inside truly vegan is kind of dank and depressing…especially for a saturday night. tiny tables with advertisements shoved underneath the glass line the dingy light pink walls and look out on a crappy stretch of hollywood boulevard. plus, the servers are really rude and snappy. anyways, don’t let that discourage you. the food is pretty damn good.

quesadilla: half mozzarella, half cheddar served in chapatti bread. $6

drinking good beer works up quite an appetite, so we decided to get a bunch of dishes and share them. it turned out to be a pretty stellar feast, starting with the quesadilla. one of the better vegan cheese experiences i’ve had dining out, it was perfectly melty and gooey. even after the drive home, it just needed a few seconds in the microwave to warm it up and give it the right texture.

next, we divided up an order of sushi. light, refreshing and crisp vegetables were the perfect compliment to the sinful quesadilla. this sushi was so freakin’ healthy, it didn’t even have rice in it!

sushi wrap and vegetables: wrapped in nori sheets and served with vegetables (zucchini, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, cabbage) $6.99

lastly, we split the modest soy pepper steak wrap between us. it was alright, nothing to rave about or anything. at least it came with tahini!

soy pepper steak wrap: soy pepper steak, avocado, tomato, sprouts, lettuce served in chapatti bread. $6.99

personally, i’m not a fan of whatever sugary sauce they use to flavor the soy steak. it’s way too sweet. also, the wrap is pretty small and you only get like 4 little blobs of steak. a jip at 7 bucks, if you ask me.

overall, truly is pretty solid. definitely a good bet if you want some take-out in the area. the quesadilla and sushi were on point…i’d avoid the pepper steak wrap in the future. i wouldn’t recommend eating in from the looks of the place. i’d rather eat my truly food in front of the tv then crammed into their crummy establishment. i know that sounds harsh, but it’s true.

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when i feel like wasting time at work, i often like to scan laist.com. it’s a great site that keeps me abreast of all the vital happenings in my city—pertinent information, like how the dodgers are doing, when/where sobriety check points are scheduled, and which indie bands i’ve never heard of are playing near me. sometimes i get really lucky, though, and they review restaurants with vegan options that drive me out of my mind. this was the case with their review of hy-mart deli. when i read it, i knew i HAD to go. i went with the highest of hopes, and even then, hy-mart still managed to exceed my expectations.

mediterranean madness!

the modest sandwich shop is small inside, with only 4 tables, a fridge full of beer & soft drinks, and an ordering counter. i went with my husband who decided to grab a seat and while i picked out two wraps for us to share. this is when i made a huge mistake.

i placed my order making sure to ask for no tzatziki, yogurt, or dairy of any kind…but in my lameness, i picked out one sandwich that was called “gyro gone wild”. it looked great—full of avocado, hummus, cucumbers and other treats…little did i know it would would also be full of MEAT. imagine my horror when i realized back at my table i was holding a wrap full of flesh. the worst thing is, my husband had already started eating it! ugh, what have i done? i called out before he could take another bite and told him to check his meal for animal bits, and sure enough, they were in there. he assured me it must be a mistake, and asked me what i had ordered. when i told him it was a gyro, he shot me an annoyed glance that made me know i’d fucked up. “but meat wasn’t listed as an ingredient!” i exclaimed, defending myself. “no shit, a gyro IS meat,” he explained, “it’s like ordering a hot dog…they aren’t going to list ‘meat’ again as an ingredient.” ugh.

i reluctantly brought the sandwich up to the counter and explained my stupidity to the friendly owner who’d made my sandwich and rung me up in the first place. i told him i was happy to buy another sandwich, a vegetarian one, as this was my mistake. but he wouldn’t have it, and insisted on making me a replacement. he omitted all dairy sauces and even threw in extra hummus in their place. he was so nice and cool about the whole situation, i couldn’t believe it. i was impressed.

i was even MORE impressed though, when i bit into what turned out to be the best falafel sandwich i’ve ever eaten in the valley, and the valley is full of falafel. it was called mediterranean madness and boy, was it mad! it wasn’t really a sandwich, but more like a huge burrito wrapped in lavash, filled to the brim with goodness. the version i got was stuffed with falafel, hummus, grapeleaves, cucumber, onions, tomatoes, tabooleh, lettuce, avocado and hot sauce. god, was it sooooOOOOoooOOOOo good! and the thing was freaking huge! i don’t think i’ve ever had so many foods i love all together in one wrap. the second sandwich (the one that replaced the meaty gyro) was filled with similar ingredients. i don’t remember the exact name, but it was scrumptious!

while we were chowing down our amazing lunch, the owner came by and tried to give me a dollar. there was a price difference, he explained, between the sandwich i returned and the new one. i couldn’t believe it! how could i take a dollar when it was my mistake all along, and he’d basically given me a FREE sandwich…what a sweet gesture. of course, we insisted he keep it.

as i rode away, completely replete and full of falafel, i thought about what i’d learned. 1.) gyro is another word for dead animal, and 2.) i CANNOT WAIT to return to the hy-mart deli to eat another perfect sandwich and to support such kind & friendly ownership.

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yes, green leaves vegan is in fact one of the numerous vegan/thai restaurants with the word “vegan” in its title. but it has got something that most of eateries of its kind don’t….a great atmosphere. light, clean and open, tall windows provide a view of hillhurst, while electric guitars and flat-screen televisions adorn the walls. i’m convinced the food is also a cut above the rest, although i haven’t sampled enough dishes off of its vast menu to have an accurate opinion.

when we went on sunday lunchtime, the place wasn’t nearly as packed as it should have been. i guess everyone was too busy lining up across the street to eat at home, which suits me! we had decided on eating healthy and passed on the onion rings appetizer (that looked SO good btw) for an order of spring rolls.

spring rolls: fresh vegetables wrapped in noodle skin with house sauce. $4.95

the spring rolls were pretty damn good, but the best thing was, they came packed with a little surprise. the menu didn’t mention anything about soy meat inside, yet they were stuffed with with some kind of protein as well as fresh vegetables! light and refreshing, exactly what you’d expect from a guilt-free appetizer. the sweet, peanuty sauce was lovely as well.

as a main course, we opted to share the seitan wrap. i’m always interested to see how each of these thai/vegan places makes a wrap, because each restaurant has its own variation. green leaves’ seitan wrap was right up there, almost as good as the one at the vegan joint. what i did like about this specific version, is that it was rolled with a flour tortilla-like lavash, rather than a wheat chapati-style bread.

seitan wrap: romaine lettuce, seitan, avocado, tomato, alfalfa sprouts served with tahini sauce. $6.45

what kinda irked me about this wrap though, is that it didn’t seem like it was filled with seitan, but rather soy chicken or some other crazy fake animal. i’m used to seitan that tastes like tough, chewy wheat meat and is dark brown. this was much softer and lighter in color. it still tasted great, just not what i was expecting. of course, i completely soaked it in a delicious mixture of tahini and chilli-garlic from the hot sauce carousel.

granted, we didn’t eat very much between us, but i was still pretty impressed when the check arrived and it was under $13. there aren’t many places you can sit in a hip little spot looking out at los feliz and finish off 2 plates of vegan food for less than a dub. i will definitely be returning to green leaves, and i hope to get something really unhealthy to make up for those fresh spring rolls. i’m thinking onion rings, a quesadilla, or some pancakes…maybe all 3.

stay tuned.

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who has time to cook breakfast during the week? we sure don’t. and since we don’t want to be forced into skipping it entirely or microwaving a frozen boca burger each morning, we make one huge tofu scramble on sunday, and eat it all week long. this week’s tofu scramble was (and still is, there’s so much of it!) awesome. probably because we based it on the kick-ass ppk recipe for scrambled tofu.

scrambled tofu (adapted from the ppk recipe!) with field roast sausages, tomatoes and sour supreme.

now i’ve eaten a lot (and i mean a lot!) of tofu scrambles in my time, and this was actually one of the best. i make them constantly at home, either with mix out of a box, using recipes online, or simply by throwing everything from my cupboard and fridge into a pan with some tofu…and this was the first one that can hold its own with breakfast from my favorite restaurants. the tofu was spot on, firm and not mulchy at all, and the spices were blended perfectly, enhancing but not overpowering. 

each morning the scrambly mixture just needs to be spooned out and microwaved for 1 minute to be the perfect breakfast again and again. we also cut up some fresh tomatoes each morning and split a chipotle field roast sausage, both fresh off the grill. and of course i cover mine with the hottest of hot sauces and garnish it with a goop of sour supreme every time, i just can’t help it. 

all hail the ppk—they rule and so does this scramble. it has been a great sunday and monday breakfast so far, so i know it will help get me out of bed and get me through the rest of the week.

adapted ingredients and more after the jump.
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well, you may have already read my last post…the one where i ventured into uncharted territory, in search of vegan twinkies. although i struck out the first time, i kept trying and eventually found them. damn, they were so worth it.

vegan twinkie from the vegan spot

you see, jenn shaggy is a fellow vegan blogger, who also bakes professionally for the latest hip vegan eatery to grace my fair city with its presence, the vegan spot. her vegan twinkies and cupcakes are so popular that they are getting tons of yelp buzz and are selling out within days of delivery. i feel lucky to have caught her twinkies when they were available.

jenn emailed me the same day she dropped off the batch of piping hot treats, and within 12 hours, they were almost totally sold out. i high-tailed it from my job in hollywood, across town, to buy up the remaining pastries. that meant 5 twinkies at 3.50 each, $17 plus tip of vegan sweets on my lunch break. with only a $20 in my wallet, i couldn’t even afford a sandwich. whatever, it was totally worth it. i just hope jenn saw her rightful share of that small fortune.

the twinkies were chilled when i got them into my car, and i couldn’t resist opening the box and digging into them then and there. oh, so much better than hostess..sweet confectionery bliss. they were crafted perfectly—tiny holes in the sponge cake oozing with frosting.

the presentation was spot on, identical to the childhood treat…but the taste was above and beyond.

goowey details after the jump.

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the east side is to los angeles as portland is to america—a vegan mecca where the restaurants (compared to other areas) seem too numerous to count, let alone eat at. maybe that’s why it took me 2+ months to finally check out the latest sandwich joint, the vegan spot since it opened in may. that’s right, it wasn’t the mixed reviews that stalled me from visiting, nor the fact that it’s located inconveniently far away from my pad—it was the fact that other restaurants needed to be tried first: flore, elf and cru, all legends in my mind. as it happened, flore is the only one i got around to eating at before the vegan spot. a love of twinkies took me there prematurely when i read on jenn’s blog that she was officially baking homemade vegan versions of the hostess treat especially for them. unfortunately (and let it be a testament to the twinkies), they were totally sold out when i got there. so my accomplice and i had to settle for some sandwiches, no dessert. damn.

"roast beef" & "cheddar" sandwich, comes with coleslaw. $8.95

the “roast beef” and “cheddar” sandwich was a must order. it’s the most reviewed menu item on yelp…and when googling the restaurant, it’s the one item i saw repeatedly mentioned. was it worth the hype? sure, i think it was. the sandwich was hot, the vegan cheese was deliciously melty, the fake meat was tasty and juicy, and the onions topped it off perfectly. the portion itself was small though, and it came with a kind of pitiful side of purple coleslaw. i will definitely be ordering it again, i just fear that it may turn off non-vegans, ’cause it’s not a great value. it’s so weird how places like m café can get away with it, but with the vegan spot it seems irrational. location, ingredients and atmosphere are everything. i guess that’s why i feel it’s justified to pay $12 for a homemade big macro with an organic side salad, but feel skeptical forking over $9 for a fake beef and cheese with slaw. hmmm. anyway, you’ve read the logical bit…now think with your taste buds and just know you’ve gotta at least try this.

soooo tasty. on to the club. this also came with a side salad of slaw.

club, with coleslaw. $9.95

a tad meh. i hoped because it was more $$$ than the beef and cheddar, that it would be more satisfying. i was wrong. i shared both sandwiches with mr. meaner, and found myself always looking for an opportunity to swipe an extra bite off the beef and cheddar. weird that this sandwich was a dollar more. cold on normal white bread, it had nothing on it’s melty-licious rival. that being said, it still tasted great….about $8 great.

while $8 great is pretty impressive (especially for a cold sammy on store-bought bread), it isn’t $10…which is what i paid. not to dwell on m café…but if you are gonna overcharge me, give me a guilt-rackingly decadent side. organic kale, soba noodles, chickpeas with protein are perfect—not shredded slaw. this dish was tasty, but not so tasty that i didn’t covet the hot sandwich that cost less.

i know the vegan spot is brand-spanking-new. the food is good and the annoyances are forgivable. that being said, i can’t wait to go back and get my VERY OWN “roast beef” and “cheddar” sandwich, along with some vegan twinkies. i will savor bite after expensive bite.

thank god (or whatever) for silverlake. may there be many more entirely vegan establishments for me to love, hate or be ambivalent about. good or bad, restaurants where i can eat anything on the menu are few and far between…and they make me feel slightly more like a human.

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Sometimes, I think I’m the luckiest guy on earth. Realizing our then-apartment in West Hollywood was a five minute walk from one of LA’s premier vegan restaurants: Real Food Daily. This place has such cachet that everybody from Moby to Nicole Richie have chowed down on its much-hyped, overpriced and bland food, served in about the most unfriendly environment possible.

But, the arrogant owners and servers here don’t care — why should they? The place usually has a 15-20 minute wait at peak times and at the prices they charge probably brings in a tidy profit due to all the fashionable faux-vegans that frequent the place.

The restaurant is full of people who take a million years to order (if you’ve never been to a vegan restaurant before, it can be confusing ordering a protein that hasn’t been butchered to death). Actual quotes I’ve heard from patrons are:

• “Does the burger actually taste like a real burger?”
• “What is Satan?” (sic)
• “What do you have that will remind me of a chicken salad?”
• “Is that, like, soft tofu? Like in Pho?”

 
Seriously. This is Hollywood. You’re in an ‘in’ place that people will go to out of pure curiosity value, and because the renewed social focus on being outwardly environmentally friendly is all the rage (leave your Range Rover in the garage, and derive your Prius to RFD, please!). The beef I have with RFD is on multiple counts. First, the tables are cramped and waaaay too close together. How do you think I picked up those juicy quotes above? Second, the staff are usually dismissive and nasty and will absolutely REFUSE to seat two people at a four-top table, even when the place is next to empty.

Also, I once put my name on the list for a table and was asked to “Wait outside”, while others came in after me and were encouraged to sit at the bar while waiting for their table. I hate that! Also (and, yes, food comments coming up after the jump) I’ve been there four times in my life, and each time the bathroom has had no soap in the dispenser… each time I’ve told my waiter and NEVER has it been replenished.
 
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last weekend marked my first journey into highland park. while i actually went there (2 days in a row) to check out an amazing bar, i also found myself at a damn good vegetarian restaurant: cinnamon. yeah, it is a bit of a trek. but cinnamon is a great place that deserves a visit if you love authentic mex cuisine, but think chicken stock is no bueno. word of warning: highland park is at the intersection of “cutting-edge hippsterville” and “i don’t feel safe walking around at night”. so come prepared (in the daylight if you happen to be a pussy like me) for good food, good bars and good times in the least expected areas.

we (mr. meaner and i) found ourselves dining at around 11am. it was the real sweet spot of times, during that window where breakfast and lunch are both being served. i opted for breakfast, he chose lunch. both ruled.

tofu scramble with mushroom & spinach. $6.95

tofu burrito. $5.95

the tofu scramble was delicious. next time i want to order something a little more adventures, something really authentic sounding that i can’t pronounce—but this time i was a tad hung-over, a little worse for wear and just wanted a safe, comforting breakfast food with lots of tofu. and that’s just what i got. a mound of tofu, super tasty mushrooms and heaps of spinach all mixed together with a blob of beans and rice on the side. drown it in hot sauce, and i’m happy. nothing wrong with this dish.

the burrito was equally impressive. lettuce, green sauce, some other vegetabley things, tofu, rice and beans all rolled into a massive wheat wrap. oozing with flavor and scrumptiousness. chipotle’s got nothing on this sucker. it tasted like an old school mexican burrito, the dangerous kind with refried beans and god knows what in the rice…yet it managed to be creative at the same time with the wheat tortilla and vegetable variety. perfect.

cinnamon is a pretty sweet place. let’s review: vegetarian, check…huge menu, check…affordable, check. not bad. the service on the other hand, is a little slow and strange. over friendliness was followed by indifference, then again by more friendliness. and the complimentary chips suck, not only are they out of a bag, but they are ROUND. round chips are not cool. but, whatever, the hot sauce rocks and the atmosphere is lovely…with big windows that let the sunshine in to cover the cozy albeit cramped tables.

cinnamon could definitely improve in some areas, but the food rocks. and that’s all that matters, right? the food rocks.

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don’t be scared when you see a ragged building on a shady stretch of sunset blvd. that looks more like a bails bond office than an eatery. after they buzz you through the creepy-looking door, you find yourself in a dimly-lit, cozy indian restaurant, where the waiters are well-dressed and the decorations are traditional. it’s like stumbling into an eerie cave and finding a perfect, warm hideaway. i avoided paru’s vegetarian for ages, and little did i know that i was completely missing out on the loveliest curry house in all of la.

i can’t wait to return and get a full-on slap-up dinner, because on this particular visit we just opted to split a few sides…all of which were amazing.

cauliflower with potato $7.95

spinach with lentils $7.95

sambar lentil gravy $1.95

the food at paru’s is a welcome change; much different to the indian food i’m used to eating. you see, i’ve been getting a little fed up with curry restaurants in la. none of them compare to london establishments, and since i have been spoiled by the best curry ever at home, i’ve had no reason to eat it when i’m out. so paru’s is officially the first indian restaurant i’ve been to since i got back from a vacation in the uk…9 months ago.

and it did not disappoint! paru’s totally redefined curry in my book. while my favorite dishes are usually full of oil and on the very saucy side, paru’s food was very light, a bit dry, but still full of flavor. paru’s really puts it best on their website when they state, “we specialize in the cuisine of South India, where cooks typically use rich spices and aromatic herbs to transform intricate conjurations of vegetables, lentils, and rice into tasty meals that are as fulfilling as they are filling.” i left completely satisfied and feeling energized. yum.

the cauliflower and potatoes were fantastic, but my favorite dish was the spinach and lentils. it went down perfectly with a side of pulau rice that was littered with peas and carrots. the paratha was also delicious—fluffy and warm, great for scooping up little bits of curry. i didn’t quite know what to expect from the sambar, and what i thought would be a gravy sauce turned out to be more like a vegetable soup. in any case, i loved it. we just passed the dish back and forth and ate it with a spoon until the bowl was dry.

the best thing about paru’s, for me, is that they are a 100% vegetarian restaurant, and definitely know the meaning of the word vegan. our waiter told us exactly which dishes contained dairy before we even ordered, so we knew just what to avoid. i highly recommend you go and support this place. they sure deserve it…even if their exterior makes me a little uneasy.

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It had to happen. PF Chang’s was destined to fall in to the lower quartile of about-to-be-over midscale dining establishments. You can always tell a restaurant on its way up. Usually they’ll have a decent bottle of wine for under $20, and the portions will be hearty, the service will be snappy and the entire establishment will be clean, calm and collected.

How things have changed from when PF Chang’s China Bistro fitted into that category. I recall waiting, on a regular basis, for 90 minutes outside an outlet in Denver. The wait used to be so long that I could get my name on the list, then go to the nearby Park Meadows Mall, drink a beer or two and then return (with bleeper stuffed into my overtight hipster jeans) to the restaurant in order to wait…. and wait…. and….z….zzzzzzzzz.

Well, that was in 1999, and this is now. The PF Chang’s at the Beverly Center in LA is usually half-empty on a Saturday night. The tables that used to be so clean and polished have now lacked the luster — some even have carved in graffiti that’s been there forever. And, over the past year or so, the margin-enhancing, cost-cutting measures have kicked in earnest. Let’s start with my favorite dish: Ma Po Tofu.

This dish is now very small. Sure, enough sodium and fat to keep me in heart disease and obesity (respectively), but a far cry from the Ma Po Tofu of old. You can see in this one that the tofu pieces are larger (but far less) and there’s less sauce and broccoli than there used to be. AND IT GETS WORSE.

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There’s a Piazza in Rome with a small pizza house in it called “American Pizza Company”. It always makes me chuckle whenever I walk by - the terms “ice to eskimos”, “coal to Newcsatle” and “pizza to Roma” all imply the duplicative, perhaps unwanted and inferior activity of taking something to somewhere where there’s already plenty of it there.

Now, while Americans don’t (Chicago pizza aside) have much to teach the Italians about making pizza, they did invent an interesting variation called a “Calzone”. When we in the west adapt a food item from another culture we instantly give it an overly authentic name, hence “Calzone” - can’t sound more Italian than that. We British did the same thing with Vindaloo - a fictitious “Indian” curry based upon, of all things, a Portuguese recipe.

Anyway, while there are plenty of vegan pizza recipes around I thought it would be fun to set about creating a vegan calzone recipe, in honor of the American Pizza Company which serves a damn good, albeit non-vegan calzone.

A calzone is basically a pizza folded in half with lots of extra ‘toppings’ tucked inside. The secret to a properly prepared calzone is to get the crust just right, and then shove in as many toppings as  you can without the thing bursting or leaking while it’s being baked.
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i’m really diggin’ the food at follow your heart. it’s one of those places that serves a huge menu of dangerously delicious vegetarian dishes, almost all of which can be made vegan. plus they have a great selection of hot sauces. what more do i require?

i think i may have to keep going back until i’ve tried everything on the menu. too bad it’s located pretty bloody deep into the valley and is usually packed on the weekends, which means a long drive and a wait for me if i want to get breakfast on a sunday. oh well, the food definitely makes up for it.

bob's breakfast (veganized): 2 corn tortillas covered w/ black beans, tofu, sauteed in a mild salsa verde. served with spanish rice, guacamole and grilled bananas. $9.95

i don’t know who bob is, but his breakfast is off the hook! you gotta try this out if you visit follow your heart. when i was a vegetarian, one of my weekend traditions was ordering huevos rancheros for breakfast. this definitely scratches the same itch, but uses tofu instead of eggs, which we all know is a lot kinder and also ended up being a hell of a lot tastier.

the tofu was firm, flavorful and covered in the yummiest green salsa. there was also some kind of fake cheese sprinkled all over my plate that was quite melted, but it sure tasted good. the grilled bananas were perfectly cooked and went down well with half a bottle of brother bru bru’s hot sauce. top that off with a huge mound of rice and a ball of guacamole, and you’ve got a great breakfast and good value for just under 10 bucks.

ahhhh. so replete. yes, i will be back.

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grabbing a take-out order from m café officially marked the end of the quarrygirl road trip to san francisco, and oh what a way to go out! lemme tell ya, nothing gets you through a 6+ hour drive like knowing you have dinner from m to come home to. for me, this meal meant finally trying the much-hyped bbq sandwich.

carolina-style barbequed seitan sandwich: thinly sliced grilled seitan basted with our own zesty barbeque sauce and piled high on a house-baked whole wheat bun with grilled onions, pickles, and creamy coleslaw. comes with a side salad. $11.45 (no pickles for me!)

omfg it was so good. i don’t know what has been up with my luck lately—i really looooove seitan (i love it with 5 o’s, so that means a lot) and it seems like every time i’ve ordered it within the past few weeks, i’ve winded up having the absolute best seitan dish i’ve ever eaten up to that point in time. this is true of m café’s carolina-styled sandwich—greatest seitan ever, full stop.

not only was there an enormous mound of my favorite thinly sliced wheat meat atop a freshly baked bun, but it was also dripping with the zestiest, lightest and most delicious bbq sauce. i’m used to eating big thick chunks of seitan, but these delectable slices were completely different and practically melted in my mouth.

did i mention it came with a side salad? of course i got the kale with spicy peanut sauce. i can’t bring myself to even try one of the other side salads at m. since ordering this on my first visit, i am totally hooked. i know, i may be missing out…i just can’t help it.

because it was so scrumptious, i just have to supply you with another completely gratuitous photo of my new favorite sandwich. look how big it is—it looks like it is about to eat me!

thanks, m café! places like you make me feel sooooo lucky to be a vegan during this day in age. i mean seriously, with all the crazy meatless bbq options that are popping up everywhere (from jackfruit to seitan), nobody should ever have to pull a pork again.

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