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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8:22 am on August 13th, 2008
I enjoyed my Cinnamon experience, as well, and completely agree with you. I’d not want to be in that neighborhood in the dark. The problem we had with the service is that the waiter (who we think was also the owner) didn’t seem to know the nuances of veganism, which made things difficult. The food was delicious, though! Oh, and I LOVED the salsa, so the chips didn’t bother me. They were really just a vehicle for the salsa anyway.
10:07 am on August 13th, 2008
Haha… I came here to say exactly what Vegyogini said but she beat me to it, which makes sense since we ate there together
Loved the food, didn’t love the fact that the waiter/owner didn’t have a clue what we were talking about when we asked if the cheeses and meats were vegan. That aside, there’s a number of things to order that don’t contain either if you want to be 100% sure (like for example the tofu scramble you got). I loved what I ate, the chicken mole (very cinnamony!), and can’t wait to go back (espicially since I figured out it’s right near one of the stops on the Metro gold line!).
11:53 am on August 13th, 2008
Glad to see this review. My girlfriend and I have been skeptical after reading mediocre reviews on HappyCow.
I just learned about this one, you may wish to put it next on your list: http://stuffieat.com
I haven’t been there myself.
11:53 am on August 13th, 2008
looks like I can’t post http links in comments. the restaurant is called “Stuff I Eat” and it’s in Inglewood.
5:34 pm on August 13th, 2008
vegyogini and foodeater, thanks for the warning! i will keep that in mind and avoid stuff like soy cheese until i get a straight answer. ever since i got burned at zpizza, i tend not to trust soy cheese unless it’s served in a hardcore vegan restaurant.
jason, i haven’t heard of that place. i will definitely check it out. going to the site now. thanks for the heads up…
8:06 am on August 18th, 2008
[...] 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 [...]
6:32 pm on September 9th, 2008
[...] some olive thing that doesn’t sound to appetizing. Don’t worry about that, though as Cinnamon is only a few blocks away — possibly even walkable with a buzz The York on York. It SO [...]
8:14 am on September 22nd, 2008
[...] food that’s new and different. so when a commenter named jason mentioned (original comment here) that i should try stuff i eat, a healthy animal-free eatery down in inglewood, i knew i just had [...]