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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curry can be a vegan’s best friend, especially if you get it from a restaurant where the staff is knowledgeable and straight up about ingredients. fortunately for us herbivores who live west of vermont (sorry, ¡yo soy!), the owners of the vegan-friendly hipster hangout electric lotus also have another fine, less trendy indian restaurant on san vicente: india’s grill.

the service at india’s grill is impeccable, the interior is lovely, and most importantly, the food is delicious. we often get our curry to go, however, because india’s grill is on the way home from my husband’s work. plus, i like to eat dinner and watch twin peaks at the same time.

because the portions from india’s grill are pretty huge, i usually end up with leftovers. hence takeaway breakfast curry. i assure you, it’s just as good the second time around.

whole wheat roti ($1.95) with pulao rice ($4.95) and aloo gobhi ($8.95)

i think curry for breakfast is underrated. it’s great to wake up with tons of flavor and food that sets your mouth on fire. gets you ready for the day, i tell ya!

while india’s grill specializes in several vegetarian dishes that can be made vegan, aloo gobhi is my favorite. potatoes in cauliflower in a light sauce blended together with the perfect spices. i always ask them to make it extra hot, because most curry dishes are too mild for me otherwise. this dish goes perfect with the pulao rice: saffron, grean peas and onions all sauteed together.

and don’t forget to wrap everything up with a big piece of roti to make a scrumptious curry burrito. i’m pretty sure the naan contains eggs, but the roti is a-ok. just a minute on the grill, and the roti will be as good as new, even on the following day.

so if you want an indian feast near weho or beverly hills, be sure to give india’s grill a shot. dine-in or take-out, they always rock my world.

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i’ve been to flore vegan in siverlake a few times, and the food has always been super delicious. this last meal was no different, and it proved to me that flore is not just a great place to dine in, it also provides a lovely take-out experience as well. i ordered my grub on a weeknight at around 7pm, and when i went to pick it up, the place was packed. people waiting, every table full on the inside and outside, phone ringing off the hook with orders. my food took about ten minutes longer than promised, but seeing how busy the restaurant was, i really couldn’t blame them. to be honest, i was just thankful that i wasn’t one of the poor shleps standing around waiting to be seated. finally my order showed up, i paid the disgruntled hipster working behind the counter, and 30 minutes later i was home with my beautiful food. ahhhh.

the appetizer was as tasty as ever…

fusion rolls: sliced wheat rolls of nori, black bean, jicama, carrot, daikon sprout and cashew cheese served with lime wedges and a tamari citrus dipping sauce. $8.95

normally this dish comes with bell peppers as well, but i decided to pass on those. these little rolls withstood the wait, the car ride, the unpacking, and turned out to be quite an amazing appetizer. they were much thicker and heartier than i expected from the description, and actually could have been a meal on their own. all the vegetables blended together with the smooth cashew cheese for a unique taste that was intensely flavorful and very refreshing. the crisp carrots and jicama added the perfect amount of crunch to the creamy cheese and soft black beans. and the tamari dipping sauce had a citrusy bite to it that went so well with all the fresh ingredients. this roll was anything but bland.

as a main course, i opted for the flore burger, because i believe that any custom-made burger patty needs to be tried. going in a totally different direction from the grainy ricey burgers at places like follow your heart or m café, flore’s vegan burger is made mostly of black beans. in fact, i’ll be damned if it doesn’t taste almost exactly like the veganomicon black bean burger recipe.

flore burger: black bean burger grilled and served with sliced tomato, sprouts, red onion, green leaf lettuce and thousand island dressing. served with a side salad. $9.95

being such a fan of flore’s cashew cheese, i had to add it to my burger for an extra $1.50. totally worth it, that stuff enhances all it touches. as you can see, the burger came with so many extra leaves and vegetables, it looked like a salad on my plate. if you look at the picture above, that’s ALL the burger and stuff that came with the burger. i didn’t even photograph the actual side salad. since i love black beans, i fell in love with this dish right away. the patty was thin but juicy and boasted several grains and beans that blended together perfectly.

while this entree didn’t hold up quite as good as the fusion rolls, as far as take-out food, it put on a pretty good show for a burger. it had to be microwaved a little bit as it was getting cold, and the only thing that suffered was the bun. it got a little tough and chewy, but other than that, the burger was as good as new. one thing that really helped was that they packed it up all separately. in the take-out box flore separated the burger, the vegetables, the sauce and cheese, making for an ideal reheating situation. these flore peeps really know what they are doing. when i get a burger from m café to go, it’s already stacked and i have to peel it apart if i want to warm it up.

so overall, this take-out experience was on point. i think flore vegan is rapidly becoming my favorite restaurant in los angeles. all the food is perfect, they use tons of black beans, and they have a huge menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner that i will never be able to conquer. if only they had a little more seating and served beer…

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maybe it’s out there somewhere, but i’ve not been able to find the menu for the wildly popular vegan restaurant pure luck anywhere online! 

so, as a service to the public, i’ve taken it upon myself to scan the menu and make it available to you all from your very own home. if you haven’t been to pure luck yet, i can’t recommend it highly enough.

PURE LUCK MENU (inside)

PURE LUCK MENU (front and back)

now you can order pure luck food in advance for take-out, or if you are like me, sit and stare at the menu for hours, plotting what you will have on your next visit and wishing you were sitting in the restaurant RIGHT NOW.

enjoy!

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