after having a somewhat sketchy experience recently at the taste of life divine vegan foods storefront, i decided to give their farmers market stand in hollywood a try. after all, even though my prior experience was rough around the edges, the food was absolutely incredible. plus, fellow bloggers and local vegans have been known to rave about the soul food served up sunday mornings at selma & vine. boy oh boy, lemme just say what i found was a tray full of delicious.

soul food dinner combo with kale, black-eyed peas, bbq tofu and lasagna. comes with cornbread. $12

granted, there’s absolutely nowhere to to have a comfortable, seated meal at the hollywood farmers market…so we had to enjoy our vegan soul food atop the nearest electrical transformer. what we herbivores do for a good safe lunch! …am i right?

sharing with the husband (as usual) we opted on the “dinner combo” which included our choice of 4 dishes and a slice of corn bread for $12. please note that it was only like 10am, so don’t let the name “dinner combo” fool you. it’s basically a taste of life’s way of saying, “instead of 1 awesome dish, get 4 awesome little dishes for the same price.” also, fellow stingy vegans please note that the price charged at the farmers market is less than that which is on the menu of a taste of life’s storefront location. the fountain outlet advertises a dinner combo for $15, not $12.

all bullshit and price fuckery aside, a taste of life at the hollywood farmers market is beyond wonderful. they’ve got everything ready to go in huge catering-style heated containers and serve that shit up quickly with a smile. the only thing that might hold the line up and keep you from your delicious comfort food is some know-it-all vegan who wants to hob nob with the chef or a tourist who can’t interpret the confusing menu…both violations understandable (i mysef am a smug vegan who is often on vacation).

let’s get to the food, shall we? starting with a dish i have been looking forward to forever, but was sold out when i visited the taste of life storefront on fountain. THE KALE.
people have raved about the kale from a taste of life, and every word is true. i can see why late on a sunday night (especially after a day at the grueling farmers market) a taste of life was out of the magic greens a few weeks ago. this shit is definitely something to write home about blog about. i love that the most memorable dish from the ridiculously tasty combo meal was a straight up vegetable. just plain kale rivals all the fake cheese, seitan, tofu and soy dishes in the world. obviously this stuff is in high demand, so be sure to order it. leafy greens have never been so yum.

next up, the black-eyed peas are a definite must. i feel like the first time i visited a taste of life, i wussed out because i was intimidated by the menu. i got some sandwiches and stuff, not really splurging for the real soul food. hopefully, any one who reads this can have a look at the menu and gather their thoughts before being thrust into a customer service transaction. i will definitely be ordering these again…they were so succulent and juicy. not much oil at all, but a ton of flavor. 

now, some really huge props go to the lasagna. i ordered it because i wanted to try all new things, and i’d already indulged in the delicious and unmatched mac and cheese prepared by a taste of life. lemme just say, the lasagna was nothing to be scoffed at: sheets of pasta, chopped up vegetables with clumpy and cheesy flavored tomato sauce. my only guff was that in contained bell peppers, WHICH I HATE. to it’s defense, though, this delicious lasagna was edible to me even though i abhor the bell pepper family. somehow i was, miraculously, able to pick around the peppers (which all came in big chunks) and genuinely enjoy my meal. personally, i will always prefer the mac and cheese, but this lasagna was excellent. 

lastly, even though the kale was awesome, the best thing on my plate ended up being the bbq tofu. this dish was so tasty, i was licking my fork and sopping it up with every last crumb of sinful cornbread. and even as good as it tasted, it probably wasn’t that artery clogging at the end of the day. just perfectly cooked blocks of tofu coated with a tangy and amazing runny sauce. it was all so wonderful…i wish i could tell you more about it, but it was in my stomach before i bothered to create a memory. i just know enough to recommend you don’t pass it up.

A TASTE OF LIFE DIVINE VEGAN FOODS rocked my world. you gotta check ‘em out as soon as you have the opportunity.

hmmmm….not to sound like the cynical vegan that i am, but let’s weigh the pros and cons in my experience.

store front: super sketchy at night, out of kale but tons of nice sandwiches and more expensive, possibly some tables to eat at if a someone isn’t passed out and sleeping in the seats.
farmers market stand: safe and easy, tons of kale but no custom items (like sandwiches), less expensive, and nowhere to eat except on the curb or an electrical transformer.

either way, the food is awesome. so go get it while you can. i am looking forward to my next visit.

you can check out their menu here:

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UPDATED. scroll to the bottom of this post for new hours.

recently i was surfing the forums over at vegan-la, and ran across something that sounded REALLY interesting: vegan soul food right here in hollywood. a taste of life divine vegan foods restaurant is an entirely vegan eatery at fountain and vermont that serves up steamin’ hot soul food and is open late. of course i had to check it out.

after reading the review in the forum, i had my heart set on ordering the kale, but unfortunately they were all out when we went. so instead, we had to settle on an epic feast consisting of a tofu filet sandwich, a falafel sandwich, and a huge side of mac & cheese. we ordered food to-go, and we had to wait ages for it in a pretty sketchy area, but at the end of the day it was totally worth it. all sinfully delicious.

vegan mac & cheese side order. $5

falafel sandwich. $5

tofu filet sandwich. $5

the tofu filet sandwich was split in half and polished off immediately. both the husband and i really loved it. deep fried and slathered in the most amazing vegan cheese, there was nothing healthy about this baby. a few fresh vegetables were sprinkled on to add some flavor, but this sandwich was really all about the tasty tofu soul food. with each crunchy bite, the breaded tofu leaked more & more delicious vegan grease. to be honest with you, i kind of ordered this sandwich hastily because i was confused by the menu when i stepped up to the counter. when i was waiting for my food, i started to think of all the things i maybe should have chosen instead. well, while i will definitely try something new next time, i in no way regret giving this a whirl. the filet was fried up in a perfect blend of spices and the creamy slightly melted vegan cheese made every bite so much better. definitely not your average tofu burger.

the falafel sandwich was equally impressive. i’m a HUGE fan of falafel, so at first i regretted ordering this as well. i thought, why the hell did i order falafel HERE, at a soul food restaurant that can’t possibly compete with my favorite places in the valley?! again, a taste of life proved me wrong. this falafel was up there with the best of them. it didn’t even encroach on the valley’s territory—instead a taste of life totally reinvented the falafel. these balls were huge, twice the size of the falafel i’m used to, and seasoned much more mildly. they were deep fried for longer, it seems like, and had a thicker & juicier skin. inside they were a lot less cooked, but still just as delicious. this sandwich didn’t come on a bun, but in a whole wheat pita pocket, making it slightly harder to share. we managed though and were both blown away by the quality. like the filet sandwich, the falafel pocket came filled with melty-licious cheese that made a beautiful gooey mess. i highly recommend this sandwich, it’s scrumptious and a total steal for just $5. plus, it’s great to experience a new take on the classic falafel.

slightly crispy pocket, juicy falafel and luscious vegan cheese.

saving the best for last, my favorite dish at a taste of life was of course the vegan mac & cheese. the noodles tasted fried and were coated with big clumps of sharp flavorful fake cheese. i don’t know what they use to make this vegan version, but i can tell ya, the real mac ‘n cheese has got NOTHING on this stuff. it was rich and oily to the very last bite, and the fake cheese had an authentic & delicious slightly sour taste to it. my all time favorite vegan mac & cheese, without a doubt.

so the food at a taste of life is definitely nothing to be scoffed at. everything was great, and i didn’t even TRY all the stuff that sounded the best on the menu.

you see, i get menu anxiety, and like to plan my order in advance, but unfortunately when i went to a taste of life, there was no menu available online. i guess they started out as a stand at the hollywood farmers market and haven’t updated their site yet with their new location and menu. so i will go ahead and take care of it for you.

here you go, scanned from the card i picked up from the coutner. the menu from a taste of life divine vegan foods. oh, and also, here is a snazzy little card with their phone number, hours, and address.

now before you get all caught up drooling and rushing over to try this amazing food, i must caution you, the restaurant has its downsides. because i am nice, and i want you all to know how much i loved the food, i will save my bitch session for after the jump. only click on the more button if you wanna hear some good, old fashioned complaining. if you don’t, then go grab some incredible soul food. whatever shit you encounter will be worth it.

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