hey everyone, it’s time to wish a very happy birthday to the meat-free anthem that has been fueling the vegan movement for two and a half decades.
Stumble
Del.icio.us
Buzz
remember our super awesome vegan soundboard that later turned into an iphone app, with a really cool commercial?! well now thanks to kevin from veganbrew.com, the quarrygirl vegan app is available for palm pre and users as well! and it’s FREE. you can’t beat that with a stick, people!
a huge special thanks to kevin for making this app, and also to brittany from sickoflettuce.com for providing the voice!
have fun with this, kids! let the downloads begin!
14
Dec
hey everyone, our friend erik marcus over at vegan.com has written a book about animal agriculture called “meat market: animals, ethics, and money” which is for sale on amazon.com.
i haven’t read the book yet, but it seems like it is something worth reading for omnivores and hardcore herbivores like ourselves. a great review by ginny messina explains, “Written primarily for activists, this is well worth reading for anyone who cares about how farm animals are treated. It’s a super quick and easy read. That’s because Erik has a talent for distilling big chunks of information and compelling arguments into just a few pages that get the important ideas across.” sounds good to me!
due to some issues with his distribution agreement, unfortunately erik is being forced to take his book out of print in early january. to move the last copies off the shelves, he is offering some sweet ass deals if you buy 5 or more copies. “5 COPIES,” you say, “that sounds like an awful lot!” —-not really! it’s actually a great bargain, considering crimbo is right around the corner. these quickies would make perfect little stocking stuffers and gifts for all those poor unenlightened meat-eaters you still associate with. 5 copies may not be enough! check out his blog post about the situation and contact him if you wanna take him up on it.
let’s help a vegan homie out and learn some shit in the process, k?! win/win!
vegans, it’s time to get happy. field roast, the maker of some of the best artisan faux meats around have come out with a new product that is nothing short of amazing: the classic meatloaf…VEGANIZED.
that’s right…the company that brought us the best vegan sausages i’ve ever tasted, lentil loafs, and celebration roasts now has its very own take on the standard american classic. this juicy loaf of luscious plant-based protein goes down well baked with ketchup and served with vegetables and gravy…the same way you would do mom’s old school meatloaf, sans the cruelty.
the meat stands alone whether you decide to cook it up with vegetables, or throw it in a sandwich. having tried both, i can’t say i have a preference. we sauteed some slices of meatloaf, covered it with daiya cheese and shoved it between some la brea bakery bread, and it was better than almost any sandwich i’ve had in LA, even counting the stuff i’ve eaten in restaurants. field roast is really decadent, moist and tasty…unlike the boring and often chewy fake meat you can find in the deli aisle at ralphs. this stuff is really special.
so go get this field roast meatloaf and eat the hell out of it. in los angeles, so far it’s available at erewhon…but maybe if we bug whole foods enough they will stock it as well.
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
29
Aug
a taste of life soul food combo
okay, so there’s three events going on this weekend that you should be aware of. choose wisely.
1.) vegan soul food bbq
get your weekend started right with a back-to-school vegan bbq in inglewood sponsored by a taste of life. food will be served from 10am to 3pm, plus there will be live music, kids’ activities, speakers and more. if you don’t have plans today, this would be a good bet. a taste of life serves up the best soul food i’ve ever had, and some of the best vegan food in all of los angeles. for info on this event, check out their flyer or PETA’s website.
2.) rockin’ vegan breakfast
the first thing up tomorrow is a vegan breakfast concert at downtown venue the smell. the headline act is ted leo and the pharmacists, supported by davila 666 and moses campbell. the menu consists of vegan pancakes, tofu tacos, and coffee. show starts at 11:30am, it’s 8 bucks, and it’s all ages. for more info check out the announcement on losanjealous.com.
3.) vegan vietnamese and beer
if you wake up a bit later on sunday mornings, or if you are still feeling hungry after your large helping of rock and vegan pancakes…head on over to the verdugo bar for board games, beer, and (vegan-friendly) bbq. while it may not prove to be the epic 100% animal-free feast that was the hot knives gnosh pit a few weeks ago, the up and coming soon-to-be vietnamese food truck mandoline grill will be serving vegan friendly offerings including cha gio (spring rolls) and lemongrass tofu banh mi.
although the event isn’t entirely vegan, the verdugo is just about our favorite bar in town, so the fact they are offering a patio session with stuff i can eat is enough to get me down there. plus, i spoke with the person in charge at mandoline grill and they knew their stuff: no bone-char sugar in the ingredients, separate utensils, and fancy egg-replacer to boot. vegans, go check out the scene if you have a chance.
vegan food at verdugo bar this sunday
have a great weekend. let me know if you hear of any more vegan events going down. and if you go to either of the shindigs i blogged about here, let me know if you had fun.
23
Aug
this is for you vegans, because you shouldn’t have to strain your voice anymore. we’ve compiled a soundboard of all your favorite key phrases. if you use this correctly, you probably won’t even need to talk at all.
special thanks to the wonderful and talented brittany from sickoflettuce.com for providing us with the ultimate vegan voiceover.
stay tuned for more vegan soundboards. the next installment will be specific to los angeles. if you have ideas for any more vegan soundboards, feel free to leave them in the comment section.
UPDATE sunday 4:30pm: HOT KNIVES RAN OUT OF FOOD! the BBQ is over. it was so fucking good, consider yourself lucky if you got to eat there.
los angeles vegans, drop whatever you are doing today and head over the the verdugo bar where hot knives is throwing an all vegan bbq from 2 – 7pm.
on the menu, you’ll find pulled “pork” bbq sandwiches, curried seitan banh mi, seeded cole slaw, hand cut chips, and frozen lambic popsicles.
we went to the verdugo hot knives bbq last weekend, and i can tell you it was the best food i’ve had in a long, long time. for our full review and pictures of every menu item, check out this post.
don’t miss this event today, or you will be sorry.
Curried Seitan Bahn Mi.
Curried Seitan Bahn Mi.
Forty years ago this weekend, The Beatles walked across a pedestrian crossing outside Abbey Road Studios, London and signaled the end of the Swinging Sixties. Their iconic, final Abbey Road album was about bringing things together – after all, it begins with John Lennon’s anthem for togetherness, “Come Together”, and ends with Paul McCartney’s appropriately titled “The End”. Sometimes, the best things in life mean so much more when brought together than enjoyed on their own, just like the final recording sessions of The Beatles.
Take my favorite things: vegan food, awesome music, special beer and good friends. Bring them together, give them to me in abundance and I’ll be as sound as a pound.
I write this post replete from all of the above, following this afternoon’s visit to what is arguably LA’s best bar, The Verdugo in Glassel Park. The Verdugo is usually a late-night haunt for us, it being dark, candle-lit and having an innovative beer menu. Today, though, we were spoiled with not only some amazing beers, but the a visit from Hot Knives, the “out there” vegetarian bloggers, chefs, beer experts and all-around-cool-dudes who had brought along a streamlined, but very effective vegan food menu. They called it the Gnosh Pit, and oh boy, did we GNOSH!
The bad news is that Hot Knives has a very limited engagement with Verdugo – only two days. The good news is that you can catch all this again NEXT Sunday 16th (although the menu items may vary from what we describe here).
Let’s talk about the food. First, they approached the occasion from a tangent, offering five menu items – two entrées, two sides and a dessert. With two entrées, the good news is that you’re going to eat not one, but two signature dishes:
Vegan BBQ Bun.
The “BBQ Bun” was a force to be reckoned with – Oyster mushrooms roasted twice and soaked in sweet vinegar spiked BBQ sauce, served between a soft, seasme-seeded bun.
Curried Seitan Bahn Mi with Seeded Cole Slaw.
The “Bahn Mi” was ready to kick you in the fucking face (time and time again) with fresh green chilies, cilantro, spicy curry seitan (the best I’ve had in a long time) and crusty bread. It was HOT, TASTY, CRUNCHY and so amazing that I ate two and wished I’d taken another home for dinner.
Fresh Chips.
Yeah, and the sides were also out of this world. Taking potato chips and making them special is rather tricky, but the Hot Knives dudes made it happen. The chips were sliced thin, fried hot and fast and served with kim chi dipping sauce. They vaporized from the table in about eight seconds, if that’s any evidence of the their delectability.
The cole slaw (pictured above with the bahn mi) had purple cabbage, green cabbage and some other stuff, all served in a tangy sauce with the perfect combination of crunch and mush. These guys know how to make a coleslaw hater become a coleslaw lover.
Lambic Pop. (That's what she said!)
On to the end, the desert was out of this world. Frankly, Lambic is not to everybody’s taste – it’s like a cross between raspberry daiquiri and a hard beer. The Lambic Pops (ignoring the phallic representation) could have been a meal in and of themselves. What an amazing idea?!
The Hot Knives Dudes making our epic feast
The Hot Knives folks were so nice — after every visit (and there were many) to the food area we were served politely, told to “tell our friends” and given food and a friendly attitude to die for. I’d do this every weekend (or every day) if my work schedule and liver allowed it.
Ah, the food. Well, that’s just one item of convergence we’re talking about here – the next is music. Talking of The Beatles, as we sat down to enjoy our Fresh Chips, George Harrison came over the PA system with his eponymous “For You Blue” from the album recorded a few months before Abbey Road. Yeah, he probably wasn’t singing about the erect, blue Lambic Pops, but the music was great and the pops were cold, so who gives a shit? The Beatles were followed by Dandy Warhols, Velvet Underground and many of my favorite bands in tight rotation.
Ok, we have food and music, let’s talk about beer. In fact, after several Pliny The Elders (strangely the very first post on this site), I’m not going to talk very much about the beer, except to say that with 20+ beers on tap you can find one of LA’s best beer selections at your beck and call. Just show up at Verdudo, read the beer menu and let your designated driver take you home. Enough Said. Remember to check in advance, though, which beers are vegan. Most of the craft brews served here are, but better to be safe than carnivorous.
Outdoor Patio at Verdugo Bar
Food, music, beer, FRIENDS – yeah, what was originally a 45 minute stop over on the way somewhere became a 2+ hour chillin’ session when we ran into the awesome Foodeater of To Live and Eat in LA . We talked about friends, food, beer, and stuff we wouldn’t post in a family oriented blog (I’m serious). Upon leaving, our perspective of what’s important in life was firmly reinforced: Awesome food, great music, special beer and good friends.
For more updates about what’s going on at Verdugo Bar, follow them on twitter…. @verdugobar
it looks like america’s favorite pastime is becoming a little more vegan-friendly, at least in the city of los angeles. now you can enjoy a good old fashion baseball at dodgers stadium with a vegan frank in hand.
now i’m no sports fan, and i will would have never even known the stadium was offering vegan hot dogs…but luckily for you a friend of mine spotted them, tried them out, and even got some snap shots of them for your benefit.
veggie dog. $6.25
dodgers stadium uses lightlife’s smart jumbo dogs, which are completely vegan, as well as bimbo bakeries buns, which are also vegan! while $6.25 is a lot to pay for a simple veggie dog, i guess it’s pretty standard considering the fact that everything is overpriced at sporting events. now you can feel ripped off just like the meat-eaters…it’s only fair.
baseball is way cooler when vegan hot dogs are around!
these vegan hot dogs are available in Reserved level Section 4 at the Wetzel Pretzel stand, so don’t miss them.
one of the concession stands selling veggie dogs! yay!
for more information about vegetarian and vegan options at stadiums all around the country, check out this site called soy happy. it’s great to see so many sports arenas introducing more vegan options. if you do go see a game, you should stock up on vegan food and show support.
special thanks to my friend for making this vegan hot dog discovery. hopefully you will keep this post in mind next time you are watching a baseball game in LA. and remember, veggie dogs taste great with baseball, beer and pretty fireworks.
fireworks at dodgers stadium. just because.
It’s been a rip-roaring week in the no-holds-barred quarrums! From Paul McCartney debates to vigilante undercover investigations of vegan dating sites it’s all there. Here are some highlights:
Vegan Pizza Photos. The world is going nuts for vegan pizza. If we didn’t execute tissue samples on the posters of every picture here, we’d be concerned that some of these amazing pizzas might not be vegan!
vegan teese pizza posted by quarrygirl. check out the forums for pix from other users.
Vegan Thai Food Boycott? The world is also going nuts for vegan Thai food. Read about how little of this cuisine really is vegan, and the paces to frequent as well as avoid.
What did you cook today? Tons of great pictures from nutso vegans that cooked food at home.
Share your stories about perceptions others have about you being vegan. Funny observations from others here.
The undercover vegan dating site. Member jvedman went out on a limb to investigate eligible vegans in Atlanta. Read all about out here.
Finally – if you’re on Twitter, check out this topic as it’s full of cool vegan cats to follow.
Are the forums missing anything that you think people should be talking about? If so, feel free to go in and add a topic. The more the merrier!
Happy weekend!
** NOTE ** These forums are NOT necessarily the views of quarrygirl/aka Ms. Anthrope alone. Several people moderate.
After realizing there are limited vegan-oriented forums anywhere on the Internet where one can engage in frank discussion about the seamier side of vegan life, we stayed up all night and created the quarrums. Feel free to register and join in the discussion. ANYTHING GOES.
quarrygirl.com: a silly vegan blog headquartered in Los Angeles
forums: a place to go on the internet where you can debate issues and share thoughts
quorum: Noun “a gathering of the minimal number of members of an organization to conduct business”
quarrums: the quarrygirl.com forums check them out!
Do enjoy the forums, and let us know what you think. Moderation will be kept to an absolute minimum, and there are no ads or anything anywhere on them. Have at it!
9
Apr
move over kids, there’s a new vegan baker in los angeles and the goods are amazing. vegan bake sale launched just a few weeks ago and specializes in beautiful and tasty cakes and cupcakes, but cheesecakes and cookies are also in the works. alix, the talented baker behind all of this, has been teasing los angeles vegans with her treats for quite awhile on her blog cute and delicious…i was so excited when she announced that she was making them available to the general public.
coincidentally, alix launched vegan bake sale just 5 days before my dad’s birthday. what better way to celebrate than to get him a huge vegan cake…right?!?! mwahahaha.
vegan bake sale double layered chocolate cake. $45
when i contacted vegan bake sale to place an order, alix wrote back and said she could make any flavor i could dream up. that sounded like quite an opportunity, but i still went with basic old double chocolate. i mean, who doesn’t love that, right? when i picked up the cake i was shocked at the size…it was much bigger than i imagined! it was also beautifully decorated with gorgeous piping around the edges. seriously, too pretty to eat. even the smell of it in the car on the way to my folks’ house was so sweet and tempting, i am shocked i made it all the way there without stealing a finger full of frosting.
i think everyone would agree the cake was a huge hit. my non-vegan parents loved it, and so did my husband who usually won’t go near sweet foods. on her blog, alix says her baked goods “aren’t the healthy, crunchy, cardboard vegan desserts you find at health food stores, they’re the decadent, delicious treats that could fool any non-vegan,” and she is absolutely right. the cake itself was sinfully tasty, and so was the rich luscious frosting.
after eating just one slice i went into an epic food coma. i left the cake with my parents and kept getting emails from my mom about how great the leftovers were. total success.
so if you are looking for a vegan birthday cake in los angeles, or a load of vegan cupcakes, definitely hit up vegan bake sale for treats that will impress. i got an amazing vegan birthday cake from real food daily last year, and i can tell you this thing topped even that…which is saying a lot! plus, alix can not only bake “any flavor you can dream up,” she’s also a total frosting artist and your cake is guaranteed to look amazing.
check vegan bake sale’s website, blog, and twitter for more info.
7
Apr
UPDATE: just found out the dressings listed in the sweet leaf section of this post contain HONEY. if you order food from sweet leaf, get it with no sauce/dressing!
we vegans have it pretty rough sometimes. it feels like more often than not we find ourselves in places or social situations at meal times where there is almost nothing we can eat, and even then we live in fear that our salad, fries, or bread roll may be contaminated with traces of dairy. lemme assure you, coachella is not one of those places.
coachella is fucking annoying for loads of other reasons, don’t get me wrong. it’s hot as hell, it’s pretentious, it’s expensive and it’s inconvenient….but all those things aside, coachella is definitely VEGAN-FRIENDLY. this year i hear they are even going to be carrying VEGAN CUPCAKES in the vip section made by luscious organic desserts. so be sure to score a wristband if you haven’t already…you need to grab a vegan cupcake before morrissey and paul mccartney eat them all.
i went to coachella last year and took myself on a vegan tour of the festival…here is some of the stuff you can look forward to if you are headed to the desert next week.
sweet leaf organics at coachella
sweet leaf organics is a solar powered kitchen that shows up at music festivals and serves organic vegan food. kick ass. they were at coachella last year near the main stage, and if their website schedule is accurate, they will make an appearance this year as well. i didn’t spot this place until sunday last year, and i was pretty disappointed…my husband and i only got to enjoy one meal at sweet leaf, and it was easily the best food at the festival.
marinated tofu wrap with vegetables and peanut sauce. $9
the menu at sweet leaf is simple, but very appetizing. they have grilled tofu or tempeh wraps and burgers, as well as salads, stir-fry dishes and fresh smoothies. we ordered the marinated tofu wrap and tempeh burger, and were very happy with both.
marinated tempeh burger. $9
they also had vegan items in the vip section, although nothing as awesome as sweet leaf. we found a sushi stand that had vegan vegetable rolls and inari. while it was a total ripoff at 12 bucks, at least it tasted good and didn’t contain animals.
vegan sushi with a side of inari. $12
for a map of sweet leaf and the vegan sushi place, click here. and for a full review of those places, click here.
combination plate: coconut rice with dal and tomato pea curry
if you are more of a dance tent kinda person, don’t worry. there will be vegan food for you too. last year there was an entirely vegan place called bombay station near the gobi serving up a ridiculously good curry combination. anywhere serves 100% vegan food is a winner in my book, so i definitely hope this place returns. oh, and if you like to waste money, there is also a place that sells artichokes for $7.
ridiculously expensive artichoke. $7
for a map to the bombay station and artichoke place, click here. for a full review of these stands, click here.
vegan tofu naanwich. $7
if you want more indian-style food and get sick of the bombay station, there was also another place close by selling a tasty tofu naanwich. i don’t remember the name of this stand, but it had the words “vegan-friendly” posted on signs all over it. for a map to this place click here, for full review click here.
so i think it’s pretty safe to say that vegans won’t go hungry at coachella. you will probably go broke…but definitely not hungry. last year i was there with my husband for 3 days, and between the two of us we didn’t even get to try all the vegan food.
i will keep you posted on this year’s offerings as well. if you are going to attend the festival, follow me on twitter. i will tweet every time i run across vegan food. that is if i can tear myself away from the VEGAN CUPCAKES.
If you’re lucky enough to be a vegan living in Southern California — particularly Los Angeles – your favorite cuisine will, of course, be vegan Thai. From the Westside to the Southland to the Inland Empire there are over 9,500 vegan Thai restaurants, each with a totally diverse menu (except, of course, for everybody’s favorite “Cowboy Burger” and “Garlic Pepper Seitan”, which are faithfully included on every restaurant’s menu). The unique combination of fine dining, surprising menu options and incredibly attentive servers is offset to the negative by long waits (reservations at the Beverly Hills “Taste of Vegan” restaurant usually need to be made days in advance), and the famous “Vegan Tasty” in Alhambra usually has a 4-5 hour wait for a table.
vegan tasty in alhambra
Check out the new quarrygirl.com FORUMS!