UPDATE: it appears the owners of muma have serious integrity issues and have completely ripped off another restaurant. please read this post before you eat there. i myself will be staying away!
hey los angeles vegans, i have some pretty exciting news for you. if you are familiar with this blog and our travels, you may know that there has been one non-LA restaurant we can’t get enough of. maoz vegetarian is an animal-free and almost entirely vegan falafel shop/salad bar with locations all over the word, and i will go out of my way for their food whenever i visit london or nyc. for years i have longed for maoz to open up a storefront in los angeles, and i think i may have finally gotten my wish.
salad muma meal: salad box with falafel balls, eggplant, hummus and salad bar, plus a fresh juice. $9.50
muma vegetarian opened up yesterday on melrose, and in every way i see it, they are identical to maoz. the logo is similar, the menu is the same, the interior design is the spitting image, and of course the FOOD is tantamount to the ridiculously delicious stuff i remember. i asked the girl behind the counter if muma was related to maoz, but she didn’t know. muma is the newest vegan food to hit los angeles, and also definitely some of the best as far as i’m concerned. i urge you to go check this place out before it gets crazy popular and crowded.
so here’s how it works. muma has a bunch of meal options, the main ones being a sandwich or a salad box. for both of these menu items, muma gives you a simple base of food which you expand on by adding whatever you want from the exceptional salad bar. hot sauce, carrots, crispy broccoli & cauliflower, cabbage, salsa, tahini and more are all at your disposal…and you can take as much as you can cram into your box.
for instance, here is how a salad box starts out…
then you go for an intense round of food shoving at the salad bar…
and you end up with this…
muma salad box (fill it up as high as you want!) $7.95
or you can make it a meal with some fresh juice…
same goes for a sandwich—it starts out really simple with some falafel in a pita…
and you end up with a massive thingy stuffed with billions of vegetables, hot sauce and tahini.
muma falafel with salad bar. $4.95 (you can also add hummus and eggplant)
it’s pretty fucking awesome. oh, and everything at muma is vegan, other than the eggs and feta cheese. so feel free to fill up on the creamy green sauces and marinated vegetables…it’s all safe. muma also offers some fine house-made beverages like the refreshing jalapeno lemonade (pictured way up top), plus a pumpkin hummus blend. i tried both of these strange concoctions, and they were completely unique and delicious. i will never get enough.
check out muma’s menu. i can recommend….everything (other than the egg and feta):
click to enlarge
in addition to incredible food and a fill-it-yourself salad bar (am i the only one who gets super excited about that?). muma also delivers and has free parking. and you never have to worry about your falafel or pita being grilled with meaty nastiness…the whole places is non-meat!
so what are you waiting for? LA’s newest vegetarian restaurant is a must visit as far as i’m concerned.
muma vegetarian
7275 melrose avenue
los angeles, ca 90046
323-936-7697
Check out the new quarrygirl.com FORUMS!
10:13 pm on July 1st, 2009
A vegan place by my work…that delivers?! Praised be the veggie gods!
10:25 pm on July 1st, 2009
I also get super excited about fill it yourself salad bar, especially when there is no weigh-in scale involved at the end.
Absolutely love Maoz from when I lived in NYC. This is great news.
10:27 pm on July 1st, 2009
That looks so good! I’m not down on Melrose much but I’ll definitely stop by there next time.
I should know better than to read your blog on an empty stomach!
But… you forgot dessert! What about the Malabi? I’ve never had it but it sounds good, and not vegan. What about the other two desserts?
10:32 pm on July 1st, 2009
I can’t wait to try the jalapeno lemonade, wow!
11:28 pm on July 1st, 2009
Now I’m fucking starving!
6:42 am on July 2nd, 2009
YUM-YUM-YUM!!!! all over this one!!!
7:36 am on July 2nd, 2009
Whoa! This seems close to M Cafe. I’ve been looking forward to trying Maoz in London, but I’ll probably hit up Muma this weekend!
Don’t know if I’d use refreshing to describe jalapeno lemonade, but if you say so. It sounds good, anyway!
7:44 am on July 2nd, 2009
Hooray! Ooh, and jalapeno lemonade? Count me in!
7:54 am on July 2nd, 2009
mmmm falafel!
8:19 am on July 2nd, 2009
Oh man, I drove past the sign that said “Go Veggie” the other day and thought a new veggie restaurant might be opening but I couldnt find it online…until now, woo!
9:58 am on July 2nd, 2009
*** PREFACE TO THIS COMMENT BY SITE ADMINISTRATOR ***
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10:03 am on July 2nd, 2009
@leaving now: we had to close comments on the operation pancake thread because the page was getting so big, that it wouldn’t load. we even included a link to our forum, where you could continue discussion there.
as far as deleted comments, we never did it. you can probably tell by all the angry comments towards us people left, that are still there for all to see.
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feel free to leave your thoughts in the forums. nothing anyone says has, or ever will be deleted.
10:40 am on July 2nd, 2009
Ever since my favorite falafel place (Wholesome Pita, next to M Cafe) closed down, I’ve been waiting for the day we’d get a Maoz. This looks close enough for me!
10:47 am on July 2nd, 2009
GOD that looks so delicious! I’m going there STAT
11:28 am on July 2nd, 2009
How does it compare to Maoz taste wise? My brother keeps going on and on about Maoz whenever he is traveling.
11:31 am on July 2nd, 2009
scvegan: it tastes exactly like maoz, as far as i’m concerned.
i am convinced it must be the same company. maybe they didn’t call it “maoz” because on melrose it’s right next door to “mao’s”, a chinese restaurant.
1:50 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Yum! Can’t wait to try this place out!!!
3:36 pm on July 2nd, 2009
My taste buds have been in Garlic heaven for two days.
I survived off of Maoz in Europe, and even wrote the company begging for a west coast location. I’m so glad this place opened.
6:10 pm on July 2nd, 2009
I have never heard of this place, but am STOKED to try it tomorrow.
Falafel without potential meat contamination?
OH HELL YEAH!!!
6:28 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Was here for lunch today. It was all tasty and exactly the same as the NYC locales I have been too. The only disappointment were the home fries. They were not so amazing and I didn’t get many. But the falafel is peerless and the staff are super friendly…
7:18 pm on July 2nd, 2009
I am totally gaga for falafel! And I am even more gaga for good salad bars!! Thanks for the tip!
10:07 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Husband and I went today. He doesn’t “love” falaffel and really enjoyed his meal. I LOVED the different sauces and the whole vibe of the place. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the fact that MUMA is Kosher certified. This is huge for me because my hubby and I only eat at vegetarian, vegan, or kosher.
The only thing I’ll do different next time is get the bowl, just not enough room to stuff extra stuff
10:26 pm on July 2nd, 2009
Are the desserts vegan?
11:23 am on July 3rd, 2009
Maoz is opening in Berkeley soon or has already opened?? I guess you’ll have to come visit!
11:52 pm on July 3rd, 2009
Melisser, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Maoz Berkeley continues to appear to be months away from opening, or at least it did when I walked past it last week. No sign of construction aside from the permit posted outside.
9:13 am on July 4th, 2009
Muma is suspicious. I went there yesterday, and asked if it was part of the Maoz chain. The manager was very evasive, and when I asked for the ‘phone number of the owners he rudely said: “Why would I give you that? What’s in it for me.”. I further enquired and he said “are you trying to sell me something?”. We have contacted Maoz corporate to see if this is an approved franchise. If everybody who goes in there would ask about Maoz and post your experiences here that would be awesome!
2:27 pm on July 4th, 2009
This place ripped Maoz off and it’s not even close to being as good
2:28 pm on July 4th, 2009
Maoz is NOT affiliated with this cheap knock off place called Muma.
8:15 pm on July 4th, 2009
I’ve eaten at a lot of Maoz in Europe, but never America: are things like radishes and broccoli normal for Maoz salad bars in America? Over here topping choices remain very idiomatic: carrots, pickled things, cukes, etc.
9:07 pm on July 4th, 2009
MEM: i have only been to two maoz locations (nyc and london). i am positive that the nyc shop had broccoli, because i can see it in my photos. i am pretty sure the london one did too, but i can’t be positive.
7:01 am on July 5th, 2009
Yes the NYC Maoz locations have brocoli. And hopefully the real Maoz will be here soon. Then this cheap knock off place can go out of business
9:07 am on July 5th, 2009
[...] soon as we got home, we posted THIS COMMENT on the original post, and sent an email to Maoz corporate in NYC to enquire about the legitimacy of [...]
5:09 pm on July 5th, 2009
maoz is better: i totally agree with you. http://www.quarrygirl.com/2009/07/05/muma-vegetarian-we-smell-trouble-ahead/
8:22 pm on October 20th, 2009
I do not know of nor have I ever heard of Moaz, but Muma is kosher so to say it is a rip off of another company is perhaps stepping over the line. First of all I do know the owners who happen to be lovely people and local people. The food is excellent, the atmosphere nice and the service is great. I do not know why you are complaining that they might be like another restaurant, so what. That is enterprise my friends, look around, falafel is universal, so is salad. It is like saying that the steakhouse down the street ripped off the idea from the one on the next block, hmm, let me think, you are trying to say there is room for only on falafel restaurant in the world. Get a grip on reality. Just be happy there is a restaurant to go to. I am. If you choose not to eat there because they are like another restaurant then you are the ones missing out. It is strange how the beginning of the comments say the food is great and then after you say it is a rip off of another place, all of a sudden the food is bad. Hope you don’t have to make too many major decisions in your lives.
8:26 pm on October 20th, 2009
@hmmm: you obviously didn’t look at the two menus. muma committed copyright infringement, stole a unique design and concept from maoz, and basically admitted it by changing everything when a lawyer told them to. go get a grip on reality.
9:54 pm on November 24th, 2009
While I’m not a big fan of copyright infringement, I’m a designer, I think that you are being too harsh on what seems to be a great lunch option for veggies in this (my) area. Their food is great, the service is awesome and the price is right.
Give them a chance, and maybe they will make enough money to hire some one to re-brand their identity.
3:59 pm on March 25th, 2010
They have a different menu and are no longer vegetarian.