the wait is finally over, and the vegan-friendly vietnamese food truck mandoline grill is ready to hit the streets of los angeles. we were at their launch party today at the verdugo, and although they are still working out some of the kinks, the food was overall bomb!

mandoline grill was supposed to start serving at 3pm today, but sadly they didn’t start taking orders until around 3:40. thankfully, the verdugo is a great bar with plenty of beers on tap and a comfortable atmosphere where you can easily lose yourself. when the truck finally began taking orders, it turned into a bit of a clusterfuck. we waited in line for awhile, placed our orders, and stood waiting about 50 minutes for our food to be ready. oh well, considering it’s mandoline grill’s first day on the job, we were definitely willing to cut them some slack.

i was with a grip of hungry peeps, so we literally ordered everything vegan on the menu. here’s a rundown of our haul (in descending menu order of course…)

vegan cha gio. $4

first up, my dining companions sitting opposite me ordered the cha gio, some fried spring rolls stuffed with fake meat and vegetables. since our last visit, mandoline grill has upped the portion size of the cha gio. this stuff is tasty, huge, fried, and cheap…win/win/win/win.

lemongrass tofu banh mi. $6

next up, my husband and i shared a lemongrass tofu banh mi. at 6 bucks, this sandwich cost a dollar more than the mandoline grill banh mi we had last time, but was a full 6 inches longer as well! the sandwich was massive, hearty, fresh, and full of some of the most amazing marinated tofu i’ve ever eaten.

rice vermicelli lemongrass tofu bowl. $6

we also got a lemongrass tofu noodle bowl, which tasted good… but not nearly as good as the banh mi. it came with the same perfect tofu that the sandwich did, but on a bed of thin cold noodles to be eaten w/ chop sticks.

cha gio noodle bowl. $6

lastly, my friend sitting beside me ordered the cha gio noodle bowl which was basically like the tofu noodle bowl, but w/ spring rolls plopped on top rather than tofu. she agreed that it was tasty, but the banh mi was better.

although we waited ages for our food today, i really want to encourage y’all to check out mandoline grill asap. they are a small food truck and almost half the menu is vegan…that alone deserves our support.

today they may have been a bit overwhelmed by the long lines…

and the spotty rain on their launch day.

best of luck, mandoline grill!!!! we can’t wait to eat more of your food.

be sure to follow mandoline grill on twitter and check out their website regularly.

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remember way back in the day, when we blogged about amazing vietnamese food from mandoline grill? well the vegan-friendly food truck is finally ready to start roaming the streets, and they are having their launch party this saturday at the verdugo bar from 3-8pm. i highly suggest you stop by and fill up on some lemongrass tofu banh mi sandwiches and noodle bowls, then wash it all down with some quality craft beer.

vegan lemongrass tofu banh mi. $5

and there isn’t just gonna be awesome food and beer at this event—but also live djs and prize giveaways. sounds like a swingin’ shindig to me!

don’t miss this. the food at mandoline grill is excellent. let’s give them a warm welcome to the food truck club.

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just when i thought it was safe to return to the verdugo bar to get my drink on, without tempting vegan food vying for valuable stomach space, mandoline grill had to show up and ruin it.

you see, verdugo bar has long been a favorite spot of ours, what with arguably the best beer selection in los angeles and a great atmosphere. but for the 2nd and 3rd sunday in august, the culinary geniuses known as hot knives took over the verdugo patio and transformed the place from an dark and cold foodless bar into the ultimate summer hang-out, complete with an all vegan menu, tons of board games, and a stellar music playlist. after two weekends of fun, the hot knives packed up their bags and i figured that for me the verdugo was back to normal—back to being a bar where beer reigned supreme without distraction.

then mandoline grill had to come along and prove me wrong. last sunday the soon-to-be regularly operating vietnamese food truck set up shop on the patio and served a delicious lunch in the heat. while their menu wasn’t entirely vegan, they did have some animal-free options that were really fucking tasty.

vegan lemongrass tofu banh mi. $5

the first was a lemongrass tofu banh mi. i am a pretty big banh mi fan in general anyway, and i can tell you that this was a really good one. the tofu tasted like it had been marinated for a long time, its flavors were intense and went all the way to the middle. the vegetables were fresh, and the french baguette was perfectly crunchy. plus, mandoline grill added a healthy amount of vegenaise to make the sandwich nice and creamy.

vegan cha gio. $3.50

they also offered vegan cha gio, fried spring rolls filled with faux meat. the rolls were pretty hearty and cost $2 each, or 2 for $3.50…definitely a decent price. the cha gio was rich, oily, and really delicious—it tasted like what i remember egg rolls tasting like but without the weird aftertaste. i would definitely order these little suckers again.

i’m pretty sure this was the mandoline grill’s first time serving food to the public, so they seemed a little stressed out and there were a couple delays. however, what they lacked in smoothness, they made up for with absolutely delicious vegan food. another great thing about mandoline grill is that they were pretty knowledgeable about veganism. they stressed to me that even the bread was vegan, and that everything was cooked separately and with different utensils. awesome. i can’t wait until they get there food truck up and running—i know i’ll be one of the first customers in line.

so let’s hope the verdugo continues to be awesome and host patio events that serve vegan food. it’s strange that my favorite bar in town is slowly becoming one of my favorite places to eat as well, but hey i’m not complaining.

for more info, follow @verdugobar and @mandolinegrill on twitter

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