quarrygirl eats nyc continues! more vegan-ness from our recent trip to manhattan.

franchia is a fancy schmancy 100% vegan korean restaurant in manhattan, which is a sister restaurant to the even fancier schmancier gourmet restaurant, hangawi. judging by the prices at franchia alone, you’d never guess that this was the lower-rung, cheaper of the two (my entree alone was $18). but the food was delicious and healthy tasting, the atmosphere elegant & traditional, yet clean & modern, and the service was beyond attentive. plus, it’s located on park avenue, which i’m sure drives the prices up. overall, the extra bit of money was well spent and we left feeling perfectly replete and re-energized at the same time.

when we arrived at franchia, the husband and i were full of three beers each from a local irish bar and feeling the drag of our recent 5 hour flight and various airport delays. we were thrilled when we peered through the windows and saw the vast, relaxing, beautifully decorated tea house beckoning us. we were escorted upstairs by a very kind host and seated at a quiet table in a dimly-lit section of the restaurant.

needing food immediately, we quickly ordered the vermicelli spring rolls, which proved to be an excellent choice.

vermicilli spring rolls: $8.95

as you probably know, great dinner ambiance usually makes for shitty photos. the food doesn’t have a chance of coming out in focus with all that moody lighting goin’ on. so bear with me and trust that it was amazing. the spring rolls came in a set of four with a tangy dipping sauce and a beautiful little radish cut up to look like a flower. although these were fried, they were still quite light. the skin was very delicate and thin, and the innards consisted of silky soft noodles and tender vegetables. they were just what we needed after the day we’d had!

my husband, being a noodle and broccoli fan opted for the spicy franchia noodles. we both agreed that they were pretty tasty.

spicy franchia noodles: $14.95

the spicy noodles weren’t actually that spicy, but then again i drink hot sauce by the bottle, so the fact i needed to ask for some extra shouldn’t be a surprise. the portion was small and dainty, especially for $15, but the quality of the ingredients made up for it. the noodle dish was covered in fresh, beautiful-tasting vegetables such as thick broccoli, succulent mushrooms, and even juicy tomatoes. the perfect blend of flavors and gourmet taste justified the price and puny-ness. for all you la-ers, this place totally reminded me of shojin, a fancy japanese vegan restaurant located in downtown los angeles. if you dig shojin, you’ll love franchia.

i opted for something a little more saucy and full of fake meat: the vegetarian curry hot pot. this turned out being by far the favorite dish on the table, and that’s a good thing because there was plenty to share with my husband.

vegetarian curry hot pot: $17.95

the hot pot was a scrumptious dish in a big stone container that was still sizzlin’ and bubblin’ away when it arrived at our table. filled to the top with the most rich and delicious curry sauce, it also boasted numerous vegetables and tons of protein, including both fake chicken and tofu. spooned out on top of a fluffy plate of white rice, this dish was absolutely divine. thick vegetables, tons of chunky chicken, soft tofu and incredible creamy sauce…it couldn’t get much better. the sauce was the perfect combo of hot spicey-ness, curry flavor and tomato undertones. i think it’s safe to say this is the best non-indian style curry i’ve ever had. our meals also came with a plate of kimchi for the table, which was so delicious, i forgot to get a picture of it! oops.

so, the bottom line is: for upscale dining in nyc, franchia definitely delivers. you won’t leave this place feeling stuffed or guilty, you will just leave feeling relaxed with some delicious quality food in your belly. you pay a little extra for fancy atmosphere, central location, and awesome ingredients. in my opinion, it’s well worth it.

sweet table at franchia. we opted for the more traditional chairs, but i still thought this was lovely.

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vegan glory is bad ass. yeah, i know if you read my blog you are probably so sick of hearing about these thai vegan restaurants with the word “vegan” in their title by now…and as you know, i’ve got a love/hate relationship with these places. i hate the fact they are so predictable, and that 70% of their menu consists of lunch specials and salty noodle dishes…but i love, love, love the fact that they are everywhere and that sometimes they offer non-thai food that rivals that of the best of the best normal vegan restaurants. case in point, vegan glory. a great little gem located on beverly, this joint has a parking lot, ample seating and some surprisingly good…mexican food? yep. strange, but oh so true.

soy chicken burrito: served with chopped romaine lettuce, beans, rice, salsa, & vegan cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla. $7.95

i was totally reluctant to order this burrito. after hooking up with flore, and then hugo’s tacos, i felt i’d be unimpressed with any mex-food that the thai-inspired vegan glory had to offer. the burrito, however was flawless. it was huge, scrumptious, and full of fake meat along with beans, vegetables and VEGAN CHEESE! ok, so it wasn’t that melty…but it tasted awesome and after 30 seconds in the microwave, it was as ooooey and gooey as ever. wrapped up tightly in a thick, stretchy and thin flour tortilla, this sucker is easy to slice in half cleanly and split between two.

the soy chicken was especially tasty—not too sweet or salty, and it had no asian flavoring what-so-ever, which made it perfect for my burrito. plus, there was a controversy a while back about some of the thai-vegan places using NON-vegan ingredients in their soy chicken. but even amidst all the scandal, vegan glory was known as one of the places to be upfront and legit about the contents of its food. so even now, i just feel a little safer eating it.

adhering to its traditional thai roots, vegan glory still offers a wide array of curries, rice bowls and salty noodle dishes. of these, i recommend the pad thai with seitan.

pad thai with seitan: rice stick noodles stir fried with pad thai sauce, bean sprouts, and green onion, topped with crushed peanuts. $7.95

the pad thai consists of juicy slices of seitan atop thick, succulent noodles with the most delicious peanutty sauce. they even put on cabbage and carrot garnishes to make it look pretty & colorful too. sometimes the seitan at these thai places tastes kind of sugary or syrupy…not this stuff. this luscious wheat meat soaked up all the flavors of the dish: soy sauce, onions, peanuts and garlic. mmm.

and lastly, to start with, i suggest the freshy rolls. other than having a really cool name, they also taste great and are extremely light…so they won’t make you too full to enjoy your entree.

freshy rolls: thai spaghetti, soy chicken, romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs, wrapped in rice paper and served with hoisin sauce. $7.95

these rolls prove that vegan glory knows how to wrap up more than just an awesome burrito. thin strips of soy chicken packed in over refreshing greens, all rolled up super tight in light rice wraps. the sauce is delicious too, although for me it needs to be spiced up a bit with some chili garlic. i suspect these would also make a pretty good, light meal if you are looking for something on the low-cal side.

yep, vegan glory is pretty awesome. i am still getting over the fact that i thoroughly enjoyed a burrito at a thai restaurant. wonder what else is hiding out in that menu…

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yes, green leaves vegan is in fact one of the numerous vegan/thai restaurants with the word “vegan” in its title. but it has got something that most of eateries of its kind don’t….a great atmosphere. light, clean and open, tall windows provide a view of hillhurst, while electric guitars and flat-screen televisions adorn the walls. i’m convinced the food is also a cut above the rest, although i haven’t sampled enough dishes off of its vast menu to have an accurate opinion.

when we went on sunday lunchtime, the place wasn’t nearly as packed as it should have been. i guess everyone was too busy lining up across the street to eat at home, which suits me! we had decided on eating healthy and passed on the onion rings appetizer (that looked SO good btw) for an order of spring rolls.

spring rolls: fresh vegetables wrapped in noodle skin with house sauce. $4.95

the spring rolls were pretty damn good, but the best thing was, they came packed with a little surprise. the menu didn’t mention anything about soy meat inside, yet they were stuffed with with some kind of protein as well as fresh vegetables! light and refreshing, exactly what you’d expect from a guilt-free appetizer. the sweet, peanuty sauce was lovely as well.

as a main course, we opted to share the seitan wrap. i’m always interested to see how each of these thai/vegan places makes a wrap, because each restaurant has its own variation. green leaves’ seitan wrap was right up there, almost as good as the one at the vegan joint. what i did like about this specific version, is that it was rolled with a flour tortilla-like lavash, rather than a wheat chapati-style bread.

seitan wrap: romaine lettuce, seitan, avocado, tomato, alfalfa sprouts served with tahini sauce. $6.45

what kinda irked me about this wrap though, is that it didn’t seem like it was filled with seitan, but rather soy chicken or some other crazy fake animal. i’m used to seitan that tastes like tough, chewy wheat meat and is dark brown. this was much softer and lighter in color. it still tasted great, just not what i was expecting. of course, i completely soaked it in a delicious mixture of tahini and chilli-garlic from the hot sauce carousel.

granted, we didn’t eat very much between us, but i was still pretty impressed when the check arrived and it was under $13. there aren’t many places you can sit in a hip little spot looking out at los feliz and finish off 2 plates of vegan food for less than a dub. i will definitely be returning to green leaves, and i hope to get something really unhealthy to make up for those fresh spring rolls. i’m thinking onion rings, a quesadilla, or some pancakes…maybe all 3.

stay tuned.

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that’s right, you probably already know that california vegan is one of the many thai-vegan-restaurants-with-the-word-”vegan”-in-its-name that has popped up around los angeles. while i was getting pretty sick of these places for a while, i decided to return and give california vegan another try. we took my dad there for a belated fathers day lunch, because he just can’t seem to get enough of their orange chicken.

california orange chicken lunch special: battered and fried soy chicken coated in a spicy sweet orange-flavored sprinkled with sesame seeds. served with spring roll, miso soup, salad & brown rice. $7.95

soy chicken pad thai lunch special: sautéed thai rice noodles with bean sprouts, green onions and crushed peanuts. served with spring roll, miso soup, salad & brown rice. $7.95

silver noodle salad: glass bean noodles mixed with soy fish tofu for me, bean sprouts and tossed in lime juice. $6.95

and now for the amazing dish that made the whole trip worth it in my opinion, if there were ever any doubts:

banana spring rolls & ice cream: bananas and shredded coconut rolled in spring roll pastry and deep fried with a choice of your favorite soy ice cream flavor. $6.95. OMFG. yum.

now california vegan is one of those restaurants that rules and sucks all at the same time. the prices are reasonable, but the atmosphere blows. the servers are friendly, but somewhat incompetent. the menu is huge, but it’s mostly the same salty meats listed over and over again. the orange chicken tasted amazing, but it arrived half an hour later than everything else because they forgot about it.

enough of my ambivalence, i know you just wanna read about all the vegan food.

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OK, anywhere that opens at 11am, remains open until 4am the next day and calls itself “rockin’ Thai food” is begging for the midnight and early morning crowd. Who dines at 3am?

• I have been known to
• Hipsters (usually just out of a recording session [they wish]) do
• Stoners do (duh)
• Vegans do, as this is almost certainly the only place to get vegan food of any quality (other than Burger King fries, and even those are questionable) after about 11pm

On a recent late night visit there, I chowed down on my usual order:

Saigon Spring Rolls (Cold Vietnamese spring rolls with basil), a hearty portion for a hearty price of $9.95.

It’s nice to have a mixture of basil, cilantro and crunchy tofu all wrapped up into one, along with vegetables (outside and in) and a couple of nice sauces to boot. Ask for the hot sauce carousel, and you won’t be sorry. Spice it up!

Followed (quickly, when the service is good) with:

Veggie Pad Thai (Thai noodles with mixed veggies, tofu, bean sprouts with peanuts on the side), $9.95.

You have to ask for it “vegan”, and in addition to skipping the egg (superfluous anyway in a pad Thai), they ensure your sauce is vegan. I’ve had a million pad Thai dishes here, all of them vegan, and they taste amazing.
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in the midst of a los angeles heat wave, and a very inconvenient power outage on my block, i found myself in santa monica trying to pass the time and keep cool. i had dinner plans in the area at 8:30, but had to head out much earlier, because sitting around in a sweltering house just wasn’t cutting it for me. i started drinking at around noon, and at around 3pm, the alcohol and heat started to get the best of me. i knew i needed a light snack to hold me over until dinner, so i grabbed my trusty blackberry and searched for the nearest vegan spot. it lead me to the doorstep of juliano’s raw.

spring rolls: pasta, shredded veggies & thai herbs wrapped in a scrumptious coconut curry wrapper served with a no-peanut thai sauce $8.31

greenomole & chips: best guac ever, groovin’ salsa & flax cracks $6.47

now, i’d read good things about juliano’s raw before…and i gotta say, it really hit the spot. don’t get me wrong, the portions were tiny, the service was slow, and it was overpriced—but on a scorching hot day, it was exactly the light, fresh, tasty food i needed.

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as a vegan imbiber, i can’t think of any place more wonderful than pure luck. it’s probably the only place you won’t see me bitching and complaining about on this blog. in fact, the absolute worst thing that really irritates me about pure luck is that they aren’t open on sunday. because if they were, i would be there right now.

first off, unlike most vegan eateries, they have amazing tap beer. not that budweiser bullshit, i’m talking about the real thing—at a great value. a 20 oz. glass of craftsmen ipa only costs $6, a very competitive price (especially in a vegan restaurant!!!), considering the quality and the quantity.

but as an ardent drinker, even fancy & cheap beers are auxiliary when it comes to my enjoyment of pure luck. what sets this establishment apart is the amazing and unique food. they don’t resort to the same tired menu as many vegan spots in los angeles (faux meat piled onto noodles with lots of salt). it seems any restaurant that has the word “vegan” in the title serves basically a carbon copy of a thai menu, with the substitution of seitan for meat, and the addition of french fries. thankfully, not pure luck. instead, it offers up new and tasty creations like fried gnocchi “potato pals” and spring rolls wrapped in flour tortillas.

i am making it a point to go to pure luck every saturday, and order something new each time until i’ve had everything on the menu.

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