ladies and gentlemen, i think we have a winner…

for the past two months, we’ve been on a search to find the best vegan club sandwich in los angeles and i think our search has finally ended. i thought to myself that the contest was over when i tried the incredible club at m cafe….but surprisingly the real food daily club has it beat!

the club triple decker: seitan tempeh bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, vegenaise, sour dough bread. served with tossed house or caesar salad. $13.75

the club sandwich at real food daily is beyond awesome. first off, it’s huge…and it comes with this thick breaded seitan that’s moist in the middle and crispy on the outside, along with large strips of salty tempeh bacon. what really makes this thing though, is the bread. it’s soft and fluffy with just the perfect amount of chew. agh, so good! add to that fresh produce and creamy vegenaise, and this sandwich is a mixture of purely delicious flavors and textures.

i’m not gonna lie, there is a down side. the club at RFD is expensive as hell. i mean almost $14 for a sandwich and a small side salad?! that’s practically highway robbery. the thing is just so damn good though, i’d be lying if i said it didn’t deserve to win. it’s also worth noting that i got my sandwich to go, as eating in at real food daily can be an extremely unpleasant experience.

Real Food Daily
414 N La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 289-9910

and

514 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-7544

so what do you think? did we miss any amazing club sandwiches? do you agree with the winner?

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we are on a mission to find the best vegan club sandwich in los angeles, and the offering at hugo’s restaurant is nothing to scoff at.

like most of the items on their menu, their standard club option is vegan-friendly as long as you order it with grilled tofu and vegetarian bacon (yeah, the vegetarian bacon is vegan as well….i checked with the staff!).

vegan club: grilled organic tofu, vegetarian bacon, guacamole, tomato, lettuce, and black pepper vegenaise. served with a choice of crispy fries or organic mixed greens. $12.85

hugo’s vegan club comes on a wheat ciabatta roll, with a healthy portion of organic tofu, fakin’ bacon, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, and vegenaise. it’s not a double decker sandwich, like many of the other clubs we’ve reviewed…but what it lacks in layers, it makes up for in taste and guacamole. the tofu is firm and chewy, the bread is soft, and the guac is ridiculously creamy.

at $12.85, hugo’s club is on the more expensive end of the spectrum, but it comes with a side of greens or fries PLUS the guacamole is no extra charge. i really can’t complain. in this instance i opted for the healthy salad which was fresh and tasty….but if you are in a careless mood, i highly suggest you go for the newly vegan french fries!

at this point, i am thinking the winner of the club club would still be m cafe—but hugo’s offers a damn worthy sandwich that you should try.

so which other vegan clubs in los angeles am i missing?

hugo’s restaurant
8401 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993
and
12851 Riverside Drive
Studio City, CA 91607
(818) 761-8985

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as you probably already know, the club club is an ongoing series of blog posts where we ruthlessly attempt to seek out the best vegan club sandwich in los angeles. so far we’ve hit up follow your heart, flore, casa de tree, and mani’s bakery…all of which boasted quite impressive double-decker sandwich offerings. tonight’s sandwich comes to you from m cafe, and i am pretty sure if we had to declare a winner right now, this would be it.

california club: a triple-decker of savory tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, carrots, sprouts, and soy mayo on your choice of bread. comes with one deli salad. $11.25

granted the m cafe club is a bit on the expensive side, and clocks in at over 11 bucks…but the taste and quality of this thing can not be beat. it’s much lighter than the other clubs but comes packed with the finest and most memorable ingredients. the avocado is always soft and creamy, the carrots are paper thin, and the other vegetables are fresh beyond belief. add to that some completely spongy yet lightly toasted bread and the best tempeh bacon i’ve ever had….whoa!

plus each sandwich comes with a side of your choice (not pictured), and the deli salads at m cafe are amazing. depending what’s in season, there are usually tons of good options, but i can never stray from the epic peanut kale (ask anybody who has tried it—-it is insane!).

as you can tell, i’m a little blown away by the m cafe club sandwich…..and i have been since the day i’ve tried it. but this contest IS FAR FROM OVER! leave your favorite vegan club in the comments section and we will be sure to review it. it’s a tough job, but that’s why i’m here.

m cafe de chaya
check them out on melrose, in beverly hills, and in culver city!

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in this week’s edition of the club club, we have a look at the vegan club sandwich from mani’s bakery on fairfax.

mani’s vegan club is pretty impressive: it’s massive with slabs of breaded seitan, tempeh bacon, and even vegan cheddar (even though the cheese they use is follow your heart, which i’m not a big fan of).

the vegan california club: breaded seitan with tempeh bacon, layered bread, vegan cheddar, lettuce and tomato. served with your choice of side. $12

at $12, it’s definitely one of the more expensive clubs we’ve reviewed…but it definitely makes up for the hefty price with its hefty size. the thing is huge, basically the size of 2 sandwiches, and even comes with your choice of side. it’s pictured above with a kind of boring salad, but if you wanted to go all out, you could easily order it with steamed kale, french fries, or roasted potatoes.

what really sets mani’s club apart from the others is the crispy on the outside/chewy on the inside breaded seitan. it’s very fried chicken-y and super tasty. the fake meat in this thing may be better than the stuff in any other vegan clubs in los angeles. but for some reason though, i’m still leaning towards flore’s sandwich as the winner. maybe it’s the amazing bacon that flore uses, or the fact that mani’s uses FYH cheese.

either way, mani’s club is delicious, and definitely worth checking out. as usual, leave a comment on this post with your favorite club sandwich in LA…and i will be sure to throw it into the mix.

mani’s bakery
519 S. fairfax avenue
los angeles, ca 90036
(323) 938-8800

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as you probably know, we here at quarrygirl.com are on a mission to try every vegan club sandwich in los angeles and review them all for you fine readers.

sadly yesterday was casa de tree’s last day of business before shutting down, and we were able to get in there just in time to try their double-decker sandwich.

Casa De Tree Club Sandwich: tempeh (organic soy protein), avocado, alfalfa, lettuce, tomato, vegan mayo. $8.95

the other two clubs we have reviewed (from flore and follow your heart) both contained some type of faux meat along with a layer of bacon. casa de tree’s, however, only came with tempeh bacon, no fake meat to be found. this club was also a lot smaller than the others, although it did come with some green leaves and a side of your choice from the salad bar. i went with the curried cabbage, which was excellent. everything was tasty and fresh, and while it wasn’t my favorite vegan club in LA, this sandwich was damn good. oh, and it got bonus points for coming with avocado (which is an extra charge at follow your heart).

who cares though...it’s all academic, really, considering casa de tree has now closed down.

while the club sandwich may not have been the best in town, casa de tree truly was an amazing restaurant with a 100% vegan menu as well as a pay-by-weight salad bar.

we miss you already, casa de tree. hope you return someday. xo

P.S. PLEASE COMMENT with your FAVORITE VEGAN CLUB in los angeles! i want to be sure to include it.

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as you may know, we here at quarrygirl are determined to eat all the good vegan club sandwiches in los angeles and compare them for you readers. this week our club comes to us from flore vegan in silverlake, and i must say it is a damn fine contender for the #1 spot.

club sandwich: battered baked tofu, tempeh bacon, tomato, avocado, lettuce, daikon sprout and eggless mayonaise on sourdough bread. served with choice of potato salad, side salad, or fruit. $9.95

flore’s club sandwich is pretty hefty and comes stacked with baked tofu, tempeh bacon, tomato, avocado, lettuce, and daikon sprouts. it weighs in at $9.95, which is nearly a buck 50 more than the club at follow your heart, BUT this one comes with avocado (which is an extra charge at FYH) AND a hefty side salad.

i would definitely say flore makes one of the best vegan clubs i’ve ever tasted. maybe it’s because the succulent tofu is battered and then baked, so it has all kinds of flavor goin on…or maybe it’s because the strips of tempeh bacon are extra thick and smoky. or maaaaybe it’s the way the slightly toasted bread mixes in with the creamy avocado and juicy tomato. i dunno, but everything about it is just so…perfect.

when ordering any sandwich or burger at flore, i always opt for the potato salad as my side dish. it really can’t be beat, and a side of leaves or fruit just doesn’t come close. trust me, this stuff is awesome.

so there you have it, flore’s delicious club sandwich may just be the best in all of LA. there are still so many to try though. be sure to comment with your favorite.

flore vegan
3818 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 953-0611

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UPDATE 1/7/10: ok, so i got an email from the staff at follow your heart saying the wheat bread is VEGAN. they also said the burger bun is the only bread-type-thingy with honey in it. so do with that info what you will!

UPDATE 1/6/10: i have heard from a couple people that the wheat bread at FYH contains honey (not vegan, duh)! although i have been told twice by servers that it is vegan. since FYH has a sketchy honey policy, i would definitely avoid the wheat bread. be safe and get rye, yo.

so…since we have declared what appears to be an undefeatable winner in the vegan reuben wars, maybe it’s about time we move on to another sandwich, eh? and what could possibly be better than the vegan club? the traditional double-decker sandwich comes layered with several pieces of turkey meat and vegetables between 3 slices of bread, and is so big that each quarter of it has to be held together with cocktail sticks.

los angeles, being a great town for vegans and all, has several restaurants that offer animal-free versions of the meaty sandwich. we set out in an effort to try all of them, and first on our list was follow your heart.

Club Sandwich: The Classic Triple Decker on Toasted Whole Wheat Bread with Turkey-Style Wheatmeat, Vegetarian Bacon Bits, Lettuce, Tomato, Thousand Island Dressing, and Vegenaise. $8.50

the all vegetarian restaurant in the valley is known for its massive unconquerable sandwiches, and the club is no different. basically two meals in one, it comes with double layers of seitan, wheat bread, green leaves and fresh tomatoes. unlike most clubs this comes with bacon bits instead of sliced bacon, but it’s surprisingly good!

at $8.50 it’s reasonably priced and too big to eat in one sitting. by default it arrives with a side of carrot chips, but you can upgrade to fries for an extra charge…and you can also add avocado to your club, which i’m totally gonna do next time.

as with everything at follow your heart, be sure to specify you want your sandwich vegan. while they don’t serve any flesh at this restaurant, if you aren’t careful you may end up vegetarian animal products. i always just tell the staff i am vegan to avoid any slip-ups.

so there you have it, a damn good sandwich. so far, so good. who will be next to join the club club? wait and see.

Follow Your Heart
21825 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
(818) 348-3240

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