today is one of those rare cold rainy days here in los angeles, and what better way to spend it than with a big bowl of warm comforting noodles? if that sounds like a plan, viet noodle bar is your place. the small minimalist asian cafe located in atwater village has long comfortable communal tables and a vegan-friendly menu. the service is friendly, the food is good, and they know what the word “vegan” means. i first learned about viet noodle bar from a positive review on cute and delicious, and after just one visit there i can tell you i’m a huge fan.

jackfruit noodle bowl: jackfruit, fried tofu, rice crackers, and noodles. $8.50

viet noodle bar has a couple clearly marked vegan items on their menu including a tofu banh mi and a tofu noodle bowl. they also have a jackfruit and tofu noodle bowl (pictured above), which the chef confirmed was vegan. as this place serves lots of dishes with fish sauce and mayo, i would urge you to be safe and re-iterate many times to your server that you are vegan. that’s what i did.

anyways, about the noodle bowl…it was absolutely delicious. i was expecting it to be all liquidy and soupy, but it wasn’t. instead it was just a huge pile of soft, thick noodles covered in hunks of jackfruit and fried tofu. plus the crispy rice crackers, fresh cilantro and little bits of onion all added to the amazing combination of flavors. at only $8.50, this thing was way too much food for one person to eat—i was seriously filled to the brim just half way through it.

if you want a big hot mess of tasty asian noodles for under 10 bucks, free of fish sauce, in a chilled out environment…well then definitely check out viet noodle bar. i know i am gonna make an excuse to go there next time i’m anywhere near silverlake.

viet noodle bar
3133 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90036
323 906 1575
Open Daily 11am to 10pm

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It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of Indian cuisine. Growing up in the UK where it is, of course, the national dish has enabled me to be quite discerning when Indian food is placed in front of me. So, I was delighted at the prospect of visiting the Samosa House in Culver City this past weekend to try their extensive vegan selection (they have seven vegan and three vegetarian entrees).

a samosa with potatoes, chickpeas, lentils, potatoes w/ long beans, bitter melon, spinach tofu and jackfruit.

Well, I can tell you that the experience started off really well. The restaurant is deli-style, where orders are placed and served from heated containers right in front of you in a very clean and orderly environment. The service is excellent – the nice man behind the counter described all the dishes, including which were vegan. We could not decide which of the seven to taste, so we ordered them all as two 3-side samplers (with rice and bread) for $7.99 each, and one side (for the odd man out, final entrée: more to come on that).

The seven dishes were as follows:

Potatoes: Pretty much as the name suggests – lightly spiced potatoes served dry in no sauce
Chickpeas: Your common chickpea curry served in a light sauce
Lentils: Usually my favorite side, lentils served in a dark, creamy sauce, of which more later
Potatoes with Long Beans: The name says it all – again, not a very saucy dish
Bitter Melon: Seemed to be small fruits in a tangy sauce. Much more of a condiment than a side, if you ask me
Spinach Tofu: Creamed spinach and small tofu chunks (although there were al most no tofu chunks in ours)
Jackfruit: Pure Luck style jackfruit in a dry curry sauce

We also had a very hearty serving of rice with each sampler (in fact, the rice accounted for around 60% of the volume of each container) and two small chapatti breads. Of course, we couldn’t help but order two of their signature samosas which were wrapped and fried right there. No microwaved samosas wrapped in foil here!

We ordered the dishes to go, and hightailed it through West LA as fast as we could to get home – largely because carrying Indian food in your car leaves a lingering odor that lasts in direct proportion to how long you carried the food for. Although our journey was only about 20 minutes, I could still smell the curry in my car the following morning — even though we carried it in the trunk!

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are you sick of reading about pure luck already? too bad! because until i’ve tried everything on the menu…i’m gonna keep writing about it and providing you with pictures.

carnitas taco combo plate: soft corn tortillas filled with jackfruit “carnitas”, topped with diced onions and cilantro, and our fresh tomatillo salsa. $8

fresh noodle salad: cold rice noodles on a bed of fresh spinach, topped with tofu and peanuts, bean sprouts, basil, onions and a sweet cilantro-lime dressing. $8

well, i went back to pure luck this weekend, and let me tell you, they didn’t disappoint! the service was great and i finally got to try the much-talked-about “carnitas” made from jackfruit. sounds weird, i know, but it was wonderful. it will be very hard moving forward in my quest to try everything on the menu, not to back out and just continue ordering the carnitas tacos.
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