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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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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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.

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.

especially after eating this amazing bowl at native foods.

steamed veggies, quinoa, creamy garlic lemon sauce, peppered seitan, hummus and grilled flatbread. $9.85

i really consider myself a seitan connoisseur—i like only the best shit and i am very hard to please. i’ve never found a homemade seitan recipe that lives up to my standards, and i am super picky about the brands i buy in the store. so of course i was a wee bit skeptical when ordering what sounded like a delicious seitan bowl at native foods. luckily, they stepped up to the challenge and made the best seitan dish i’ve ever eaten. and it was smothered in the tastiest, creamiest, hummus-iest sauce. delicious.

peppery and flavorful, this seitan is gonna be very hard to beat. definitely the best dish i’ve ever ordered at native foods. and as an added bonus, the bowl comes with protein-laden quinoa instead of rice. i loved every last bite.

it’s true—that was me you read about on laist.com the other day, when i broke the news of the accident at pure luck.

sorry i have been a too busy to answer your countless emails recently—i’ve been overwhelmed fielding all the offers like book deals, celebrity appearances and free food. not sure what my next move will be, now that i’ve “made it”. if you want to re-live all the excitement of my major media mention, you can catch my laist feature here. and i will post the article below as well….for your sake.

JULY 22, 2008

Truck Crashes into Pure Luck Restaurant

Around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning as staff at Pure Luck were closing the Bicycle District/HelMel vegan restaurant down, a truck rammed through a window. Local vegan blogger, quarrygirl, visited for a meal later on Saturday only to find the restaurant closed. “Why does this shit have to strike at the best vegan restaurant in town. boooooo,” she blogged. According to one server, as luck would have it, no one was hurt and the restaurant is still open for business during regular hours as they work to fix the window and damage.

thanks laist, for the recognition. i know i deserve it, but it still feels great. and for all you trying to reach me to congratulate me, don’t give up!

a couple times a month, i like to hit up the los angeles farmers market, grab a few beers, and eat some fine vegan food. there’s so many little stands to choose from, and almost everything i’ve eaten there has been delicious, albeit rather expensive. unfortunately, for months, i managed to overlook one of the best vegan-friendly eateries that the food court has to offer, until reading about it on yourveganmom. singapore’s banana leaf serves fine malaysian cuisine that can be veganized upon order (woo hoo!)…and what i’ve tried tastes divine.

vegetable mee goreng fried noodles (NO EGG, please!) with tofu. $8.50

vegetable curry with tofu. $8.50

yeah, yeah, yeah, this place is pricey. especially considering the fact that you’re forced to eat your meal outdoors on plastic tables, sandwiched between “sticker planet” and a vile meaty deli. but in all fairness and with personal pet peeves set aside, i can’t expect the rest of the world to share my ludicrous “i don’t like to eat dead things that have been tortured & slaughtered” mentality. so, considering the fact that this open-air section of la’s famous farmers market is a mecca for midwest and european tourists alike, i really cannot complain about the $5 premium they add to each meal. and in banana leaf’s case, the food definitely competes with the most authentic of joints. so just close your eyes, plug your ears and ignore those loud-mouthed, overweight tourists. time to enjoy some food.

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i wish there were more places in hollywood like cafe muse. this unassuming restaurant offers quality coffee, a relaxing atmosphere and an almost entirely vegetarian menu (their only transgression is tuna). they definitely know the difference between vegan and vegetarian, and clearly mark on the menu which dishes contain dairy and/or eggs. on top of all that, and most importantly, the food is pretty damn good!

grilled tofu wrap: tofu grilled with garlic, soy sauce and red onion, with fresh tomatoes, avocado and mixed greens. $8.50

veggie burger: vegan soy burger on a whole-wheat bun, served with fresh tomatoes, red onion and mixed greens, with dijon mustard and vegan mayo (add avocado for 75¢). $7.95

this vegan burger certainly hit the spot, although i probably wouldn’t order it again. while it was tasty, it was definitely a mass-produced patty…i’m thinking it tasted like boca, but i can’t be sure. i don’t mind eating those at home, but when i go out to eat i want a vegan burger that’s special. native foods and m café come to mind. i won’t hold this against cafe muse though, because it was still delicious. especially with the light and healthy side salad.

the grilled tofu wrap, on the other hand, was incredible—probably the best i’ve had in any restaurant. perfectly marinated tofu, paired with fresh vegetables and covered in soy sauce made for an unlikely combination that tasted great. all wrapped up in a spinach tortilla and slightly grilled on the bottom, it was delectable.

i seriously can’t wait to go back and order this again. i’ve had a lot of wraps in my time, and i think the soy sauce must be what made this one so savory. yum.

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the good news is, pure luck is still open…for now. the bad news is, a truck did in fact crash into the building and cause structural damage. early early saturday morning, what appeared to be a drunk driver drove through the wall, taking out several bike racks on the way! pure luck re-opened much later that day with plywood hung up over the windows and broken wall area. despite the unwelcoming appearance (who wants to eat in what looks like a disaster zone), the place was bustling when i visited. let’s hope they can get it fixed without having to close down for very long! good luck, pure luck!

UPDATE! pure luck has re-opened for now. they have plywood over the broken wall. it’s still pretty fucked up though. hopefully they won’t have to shut down. explanation here.

noooooooooOOOOOOoooOOOOooooOOOOOo! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?! i headed down to my favorite vegan restaurant today (pure luck, as you probably know) only to find out it was CLOSED! not just closed, but the windows were smashed and the wall looked like it had been driven into by a truck or something. the place was a mess! what a tragedy. why does this shit have to strike at the best vegan restaurant in town. boooooo.

rest assured, i will be calling them constantly to find out when they re-open. for now, my thoughts go out to the mgmt and staff. not fair that such a wonderful place should encounter any mishaps or have reason to shut down, even temporarily.

meanwhile, i’ll leave you with some of quarrygirl’s fondest memories from the best restaurant in town.

potato pals - my personal favorite

jackfruit “carnitas” tacos - better than the real thing

and of course, pure luck’s amazing tap beer. craftsman 1903 pictured here.

we already miss you, pure luck!!! COME BACK!!!!!!!

if you wanna reminisce some more, see what else we ate in the past. boo hoo hoo.