i absolutely love chocolate. it’s the best. if i see a chocolate dessert, it takes every bit of will power i have not to devour it. i’m pretty glad to be a vegan, meaning i can’t eat most of the tempting chocolate treats that i encounter in day to day life. because if i could, i’d be a hell of a lot fatter.

i also love vegan twinkies. so imagine how excited i was to learn last week that la’s most famous vegan twinkie baker, jenn shaggy had whipped up a special batch of her legendary treats in double chocolate flavor. yep, chocolate cake and chocolate frosting…my dream come true. i booked it to the vegan spot to pick up some of the goods as soon as i could, and while i do love everything on the vegan spot’s menu, this time i was just coming for twinkies. they were even better than i could have imagined.

double chocolate vegan twinkies

i was lucky enough to be handed a box of 5 beautiful chocolate vegan twinkies by the gifted baker herself and i couldn’t help but ask how the hell she does it. she wouldn’t let me in on the secret twinkie recipe, but she did tell me that she loves experimenting with flavors making different style twinkies for all occasions. a wizard in the kitchen at only 23 years old, i’m really hoping jenn shaggy opens up her own restaurant some day. from twinkies to dorritos, she has figured out a way to make anything vegan. i highly recommend checking out her blog, where she shares a few of her recipes.

back to the twinkies. they were off the hook. they didn’t taste anything like limp, packaged twinkies from when i was a kid…instead they tasted like the most decadent chocolate cake filled up with creamy sinful frosting. they were so delicious that my husband refused to believe they were vegan, i mean they were just too incredibly rich.

chocolate frosting holes

the frosting was even better than the stuff in jenn’s normal vegan twinkies, which are delicious as well. but what can i say, i am obsessed with chocolate. i highly recommend that if you are lucky enough to get your hands on one of these, you have a full glass of soy milk at your side. the cake is just so moist and flavorful, each bite goes down well with a cold sip of vanilla milk.

they don’t photograph quite as well as normal twinkies, especially when cut in half because it’s brown frosting against brown cake. but trust me, what they lack in looks they more than make up for in taste! i munched down three in one sitting and then had to stop myself. a very fortunate co-worker was given a bite of my twinkie (i only had 5, it’s not like i could spare a whole one) and i didn’t tell her it was vegan until she had already raved about how awesome it was. a testament to the twinkie.

so, go to the vegan spot and get some twinkies! now! they are awesome. and be sure to try whatever flavors you can. the standard ones are delicious, but not nearly as savory as these chocolate babies. and keep track of jenn as well, who knows where her desserts will show up, and you gotta be there to try them.

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because i can’t find it anywhere else online, i’ve taken the liberty of posting the menu for the the vegan spot in silver lake right here. check it out.

well, i’m happy to report that i have some good news today. not everyone in this town is raising prices and cutting their menu down. the vegan spot on sunset has expanded their menu (it has practically doubled in size!) and everyone agrees the food keeps getting better and better. seriously, i couldn’t believe my eyes when i walked in and the big chalk board was filled with more delicious items than i could ever possibly try. the modest hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop now offers salads, soups, bowls, burritos, nachos, pizza, wraps and breakfast…oh my! i knew i would have to live it up. starting with a ginormous salad.

chef salad: romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, "turkey", roast "beef", soy mozzarella, maple pepper "bacon" and croutons. served with a side of ranch dressing. $9.95

this is the best salad i’ve ever had. full stop. i’m sure it wasn’t the healthiest by any stretch of the imagination, but it was just soooOOOOOOoooooOOOOOo delicious. filled to the brim with fake meat, piled high with mounds of mozzarella and garnished with huge slabs of fresh avocado…it was decadent. i barely even used the ranch dressing, as i didn’t want to mask any of the salad’s wonderful flavors. there was so much good protein in there, but i think my favorite had to be the maple pepper “bacon.” perfectly grilled and seasoned, it was a great compliment to the cold slices of “turkey” and roast “beef.” beyond yum.

because i was such a huge fan of the roast beef and cheddar sandwich, i knew i’d have to give the philly cheesesteak a whirl (with no bell peppers). what i found in this sandwich was vegan junk food perfection. the greasy fake meat and melty-licious soy mozzarella were even better in this sammy than in the roast beef and cheddar…which i didn’t think was possible.

philly "cheesesteak": thinly sliced and freshly prepared roast "beef" and grilled onions topped with soy mozzarella and toasted warm. $8.95

now i know in the past i did a bit of bitching about the price of the vegan spot’s sandwiches. well, i just wanna say they get better and better everytime…now i don’t care how much they cost. to get a sandwich like this for under ten bucks is a damn good deal. i highly recommend if you go to the vegan spot, you get one of their hot sandwiches. the cold ones are nothing to scoff at, but the hot ones are just out of this world and very special. while i was very impressed with the fake cheddar, the fake mozzarella totally blew my mind. maybe it’s because i prefer mozzarella anyway, or because i am such a huge pizza fan…either way, this is some of the best soy mozz i’ve ever had. it pasts the test of tasting good cold, and melting right up. i cannot WAIT to go back to the vegan spot and try out their pizza. so much good stuff on the menu.

being a burrito freak and in love with tofu scramble, of course i also ordered the breakfast burrito. it definitely hit the spot and did the trick.

breakfast burrito: tofu scramble, avocado, pico de gallo, maple pepper "bacon" wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla and served with a side of fresh fruit. $6.95

the fact that it was like 8pm didn’t stop me from craving this breakfast burrito, so i was very pleased to see that the vegan spot serves all its breakfast items all day. this burrito was positively scrumptious and filled with some of the best tofu scramble and fake bacon i’ve ever eaten. since when did this tiny little sandwich shop start churning out the best selection of vegan food in the city? i may have to go to silver lake every weekend just to eat here. seriously, it’s that good. and this burrito is a steal for only $6.95!

of course, a guilty, gluttonous, junk food spree at the vegan spot would not be complete without indulging in their signature dessert: VEGAN TWINKIES! i have been obsessed with these wonderful vegan twinkies for quite awhile (made by jenn shaggy), so i was ecstatic when i saw that they were in stock. these things sell out super fast, so getting the chance to eat them is a rare and lucky occurrence. it pleases me to tell you that the other day they were as fresh and tasty as ever.

vegan twinkie. $3.50

i’ll never get over how these vegan twinkies are like a thousand times better than the real thing. they taste like an actual sponge cake filled with rich and creamy vanilla frosting. very far from the cruddy little vacuum packed pastries they are emulating. trust me, whether you like regular twinkies or not, you gotta try these.

so overall, the vegan spot is vegan fast food at its finest: cheesy dishes, huge sandwiches and scrumptious desserts. i seriously can’t wait to go back and get my teeth on some nachos, pizza, or vegan chili. they really do have everything. and all of it tastes awesome.

the vegan spot
3206 west sunset blvd.
los angeles, ca 90026

323-667-0116

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well, you may have already read my last post…the one where i ventured into uncharted territory, in search of vegan twinkies. although i struck out the first time, i kept trying and eventually found them. damn, they were so worth it.

vegan twinkie from the vegan spot

you see, jenn shaggy is a fellow vegan blogger, who also bakes professionally for the latest hip vegan eatery to grace my fair city with its presence, the vegan spot. her vegan twinkies and cupcakes are so popular that they are getting tons of yelp buzz and are selling out within days of delivery. i feel lucky to have caught her twinkies when they were available.

jenn emailed me the same day she dropped off the batch of piping hot treats, and within 12 hours, they were almost totally sold out. i high-tailed it from my job in hollywood, across town, to buy up the remaining pastries. that meant 5 twinkies at 3.50 each, $17 plus tip of vegan sweets on my lunch break. with only a $20 in my wallet, i couldn’t even afford a sandwich. whatever, it was totally worth it. i just hope jenn saw her rightful share of that small fortune.

the twinkies were chilled when i got them into my car, and i couldn’t resist opening the box and digging into them then and there. oh, so much better than hostess..sweet confectionery bliss. they were crafted perfectly—tiny holes in the sponge cake oozing with frosting.

the presentation was spot on, identical to the childhood treat…but the taste was above and beyond.

goowey details after the jump.

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