quarrygirl

today’s episode of quarrygirl presents features m cafe de chaya, my favorite spot in los angeles to get decadent yet healthy food. the restaurant focuses on contemporary macrobiotic cuisine, and other than fish, the entire menu is vegan. whether you’re craving a hearty burger, a slap up breakfast, or something light like sushi or salad, m cafe has it all.  we caught up with chef lee gross to talk about healthy eating and the best dishes for everyone at m cafe. check it out!

photos by cindy choi.

this is definitely a new addition to my “OMG YOU MUST EAT THIS” list of food items in los angeles. hat tip to randy clemens from la mag for telling me about it…because i’m officially smitten with the vegan option at fritzi dog in the fairfax farmers market. it’s made from an actual carrot (can you wrap your mind around that?!)—-but not just any carrot, a special carrot marinated in special stuff and cooked in special ways. check out the la mag story for more about the process. 

technique aside, the carrot dog blew my mind. it was soft and flavorful with vegetable toppings, spicy mustard and sriracha ketchup (!), served on a fluffy bun. a word to the vegans: only the parker bun and gluten-free bun are suitable for us. the others contain egg or dairy.

get ye to farmers market and try this thing. just trust me.

i’m super excited because today’s video is on our favorite pub in los angeles, tony’s darts away. many of you are probably familiar with the numerous meatless sausage options at tony’s…but did you know about the long list of inventive rotating daily specials, most of which are vegan? we caught up with chef randy st. clair and learned how he makes traditional meat offerings vegan, as well as his favorite vegetable based dishes. if you haven’t been to tony’s darts away yet, definitely check it out. the food and beer cannot be beat.

oh, and don’t forget to buy tickets to the upcoming LA vegan beer fest that we’re throwing with tony’s and the roxy! it’s gonna be the best vegan event of the year. 

totally obsessed with this recipe. it’s super simple. all you do is dump ingredients into a bread machine and hit start, and three hours later you have delicious turkey-flavored seitan. give it a shot! 

hey guys! i just wanna make a quick little public service announcement on how to find vegan girl scout cookies. as you may or may not know, girl scouts of america get their cookies from one of two bakeries—-little brownies (which has no vegan options) and abc (which has a few vegan options). if you find girl scouts selling abc cookies, the thin mints, peanut butter patties, thanks-a-lot and lemonades are all animal free. SCORE.

for a quick and easy way to tell which bakery the cookies are from, pay attention to the cookie names. little brownies brands their peanut butter cookies as “tag-a-longs” while abc calls them “peanut butter patties”…therefore if you run into girl scouts selling “peanut butter patties”, you are good to go. however, if they’re selling “tag-a-longs”, you are outta luck.

unfortunately the girl scouts in LA get their cookies from little brownie bakers, but vegan cookies can be found just south in orange county where abc is the bakery of choice. my friend david who lives down there was kind enough to send me a few boxes of thin mints and thanks-a-lots, and i’m kinda freaking out. they’re so good, just like i remember, and i haven’t eaten girl scout cookies in over ten years. if you feel like making the trip to the OC to buy some of these babies, you can use this super convenient tool called the girl scout cookie stalker to find out where girls will be selling cookies. 

now go stalk some girl scouts and stock up on thin mints!

heyo! today’s episode of quarrygirl presents is a recipe video with one of our favorite people, local teenage baking sensation clara polito of clara’s cakes!

people may not realize it, but due to ingredients like butter and gelatin, traditional rice crispy treats aren’t vegan…or even vegetarian! in this video clara shows us how to make cruelty-free raspberry rice crispy treats that taste even better than the original using vegan substitutes like earth balance and dandies. 

watch and learn, and be sure to hit up clara’s cakes for treats next time you’re in LA.

this weekend just got a whole lot better because clara’s cakes added donuts to the menu at their sunday atwater village farm pop-up event. it has a valentine’s day theme, so you’ll be able to get heart pocket pies, chocolate caliente cookie sandwiches, red velvet cupcakes, and now…DONUTS! vegan donuts are pretty hard to come by in LA, and clara’s are incredible, so you don’t wanna miss this pop up! 

see you sunday 11am-4pm

atwater village farm, 3224 glendale blvd 

so excited about the upcoming launch of dairy tree, a brand new vegan cheese made right here in LA!

their first release is going to be bleu cheese, which makes me super stoked because i have never tasted a decent version of that. i know people who have sampled dairy tree, and i have heard nothing but rave reviews. plus the chef behind it is sara from the vegan spot, and if you guys remember that place, they had the best vegan cheese in the land. be sure to sign up for updates!!!

hey guys! today’s vegan video is on one of the very best restaurants in los angeles, susan feniger’s STREET. this is the kind of place you want to take your non-vegan friends to show them how amazing meatless food can be. from their inventive all vegetarian tasting menus to their vegan holiday specials, STREET is always pushing the limits of plant-based cuisine and coming up with new delicious experiences. we caught up with chef kajsa alger to learn about the best items on the menu and why everyone can eat together at STREET.