After coveting the posts on quarrygirl for months, I finally took the Red Line down to the Sunday Farmer’s Market on Ivar and Selma to check it out and get some vegan soul food from A Taste of Life.

Missed out on the breakfast sammiches, took too much time gawking at vegetables, I guess.

Me and my omni boy shared a dinner plate:

Pot Roast, Kale, BBQ Tofu, Mac & Cheese, Cornbread

Criticism first:

I think that after reviewing the glowing posts about this place, that maybe they were having an off day. I got the Pot Roast begrudgingly, as they were out of Lasagna. My companion really liked the Pot Roast, but felt it could use some vegetables like potatoes and carrots to even out the flavor. I found it too beefy, but beefy flavor is to me as bell peppers are to quarrygirl – gross.

I was so looking forward to the kale. After looking at the beautiful kale in other’s pictures (like here), I’m convinced that I got a bad batch. Our kale was so soggy and overcooked – it was bitter and really, really awful. A sad day for kale, indeed.

The cornbread was really tough, even though it wasn’t super dry on the inside. However, it was still enjoyable because it was sweet and had a REALLY great flavor.

Awesomeness second:

The BBQ Tofu is really quite good. It’s hard to fuck up barbeque, really. My cohort would  have preferred the tofu in smaller chunks, but he’s a coward. I would have liked them more pillowy, but I’m awesome and always right. The BBQ sauce is super flavorful and smoky. Really good.

The mac and cheese is probably the best that I’ve had that I haven’t made myself, which probably makes it all the better. The sauce is slightly noochy, and I think there’s cashews in it – it’s very creamy and doesn’t get clumpy or oily at all. It made for a really good companion to the tofu, especially when the BBQ sauce would get into the mac & cheese. Yum!

All this for $12, and the two of us were stuffed. We also grabbed a giant strawberry lemonade from the lemonade booth for $3. $15 very well spent, despite the few flaws.

In response to Gardeingate, it looks like Chipotle took their vegan customer feedback seriously and is cooking the Gardein separately, as reported at quarrygirl.

Good job, team. Thanks, Chipotle.
(Now bring it to LA, please.)

Anyone that knows me well knows that I’m the invisible vegan; the path of least resistance is the path of miharu. However…

A few days back, quarrygirl made a lovely if not TL;DR post with her open letter to Chipotle in regards to her dissatisfying Gardein experience in NYC. Basically, the short version says “Thanks for the Gardein, but no thanks to the accompanying meat chunks. You would be rad without them.”

Today, an omni friend of mine pointed out that on the Chipotle Facebook page, their customer service guy named Colin was doing a crappy job of handling a Las Vegas customer that was requesting Gardein in their local store.

As you can see, I stepped up to the plate and called Colin out. I get that Facebook is for a younger clientele and it’s cool to be a smartass. However, I don’t think that translates that well to customer service. Maybe I’m just getting old. Whateves.

I also wrote a semi-crotchety letter to Chipotle Corporate, from their website, which I didn’t have the foresight to save as I didn’t think I’d be blogging about it. Lolinternetactivism. About a half hour later, I received this response from their Customer Service Manager, Joe Stupp:

Hey Crystal,

Thank you for writing us, and we are sorry we gave you the wrong impression on our Facebook page. Colin’s and my style of discourse on Facebook is to be a little more informal and a little more dry with our humor because most people writing on the page are just passing through, doing a drive-by with their comments, looking to have a brief bit of fun, etc., hence we do the same in response. You’ll notice that most companies don’t answer individual comments at all on their Facebook pages – the pages just sit there, or the companies just make generic corporate postings ala “Try our new Product X and tell us what you think,” etc. We don’t like to do that – we’re participating with most comments in what we feel is an informal yet personal way that’s unlike other corporations. That being said, we appreciate you letting us know your concerns, and your feedback is always welcome, since we have no intention to offend.

With regard to your request to bring Garden Blend to LV, we haven’t decided to do anything with Garden Blend yet besides the test in our two restaurants in DC and in NY. Since it’s only a test of our own design, it’s uncertain when or even if it will ever reach any other restaurants or any other markets. But we appreciate your desire to have it come to LV, and we thank you.

With regard to that blog from last week, yep, we saw it. But I am not entirely sure who is doing this sort of advising – I think our people are just telling folks the straight up truth about it from what we have determined. Before cooking Garden Blend at our two test restaurants, we scrape our grill clean every time in order to minimize any contact it may potentially have with non-vegan ingredients. Garden Blend is indeed prepared on the same grill as our meats, but it is prepared separately, and when meat and Garden Blend are on the grill together (something that is unavoidable at times), we take great care to make sure there is sufficient separation between them to avoid potential cross-contact as much as possible. We’re not afraid to tell people this, as it is what it is. It’s not so much an advisement against purchase as it is honesty.

I hope this helps, and we thank you for your time and patience.

Sincerely,

Joe

Fair enough.

About a half hour after that, there was this response from Colin and I couldn’t leave it alone.  (I look so butthurt.)

Either way, I’ll still be getting my vegan, guacamole-laden tacos from Chipotle. I doubt I’ll ever care about getting Gardein in that mix; kudos to Chipotle for testing it but I don’t see this one getting off the ground.

Once upon a time, a vegan food porn blogger was married to a wonderful nerd. They broke up, and then a couple of years later, they finally divorced. But don’t fret! The divorce papers were signed over a surprisingly tasty breakfast at the 101 Coffee Shop – a lovely remodeled diner that makes you feel like you’ve walked into an early Tarantino film.

There’s a few things on the menu that are already vegan, no matter what time of day that you visit. However, it was early and all that was on my mind was breakfast. And here that means the “No Huevos” Rancheros.

The description on the menu: Tofu, black beans, corn, soyrizo, ranchero sauce, guacamole on top of corn tortillas.

Messy, but yummy.

It’s a little greasier than I would like my breakfast food (eh, I’m kind of picky in the morning), but this would make for the perfect hangover breakfast. The fresh squeezed OJ is delicious and the service is… a little slow. But! It’s really not bad. Give em a shot.

Everyone, please welcome The Pizza Cookery in Woodland Hills to the list of awesome omni places where you can get a great meal. They’ve added a vegan menu and a gluten-free menu as well – my server even came out with their ingredient books when I questioned why they had a Honey Mustard dressing under vegan options – turns out that it’s the Follow Your Heart dressing.

Don’t be fooled by the other Pizza Cookery locations in the SFV – the Woodland Hills location is unaffiliated with the other ones.

Check out the menu!

Personal Size

And the large. Omnomnom.

They use FYH cheese, which I’m not big on, but I’ll take it for convenience – not to mention that Follow Your Heart is pretty much a stone’s throw away. If they switched to Daiya, I’d spend a lot more time out in Woodland Hills.

I didn’t catch the brand of the vegan chicken, but even my omni friend thought it had more flavor than the actual chicken that they use on the regular version of the pizza (which is what he’s been ordering for year.) Now if only the free rolls were vegan.

Pizza Cookery

6209 Topanga Canyon Blvd (at Erwin St.)

Woodland Hills, CA

818-887-4770

My roommate and I believe that our apartment is single handedly responsible for keeping the pizza delivery business afloat in this economy, in our hood. Alas, we’re not frat rats or bros, and there’s not a delicious roofie in sight.

As we were piling our pizza boxes to the heavens (aka housekeeping), my latest zpizza order was at the door. I had ordered a veganized Pear and Gorgonzola salad, a veganized Tuscan (mmmm), and a (regular ol’ omni) pepperoni for a house guest. The manager threw in a free large Mexican Pizza as a thank you for my business,  which was a really kind gesture. Unfortunately, my houseguest was picky and didn’t try it, I obviously couldn’t eat it, but my roommate did get a couple of slices while it was still good.

zpizza, it was totally appreciated, thank you for the thought.

This is  a completely picture-free post, because I don’t think to shove my cameraphone into my food’s yap unless I’m in the sanctity of my own home. This is a bit of  a test for myself, to see if I can do a decent roll call of the various places that I’ve gotten to dine at in the last year.

Lotus Vegan – North Hollywood, CA

Vegan delivery, and just a few blocks from my home? Yes, please. Despite the Operation: Pancake debacle, this is my neighborhood haunt. Super friendly staff, great food, fast delivery. All they need now is online ordering! Order the Orange Chicken, the Chicken Burger, Chicken and Pancakes (uhh… maybe ask if they’ve changed their mix yet), the satay… you won’t regret it. [link]

Wahoo’s Fish Taco – Various Locations

Yeah, I’m not shitting you. Wahoo for Wahoo’s, as they are surprisingly vegan friendly. You can order dairy-free burritos, tacos, and other plates with the following vegan fillings: Tofu (vaguely teriyaki flavored), Banzai veggies (teriyaki), “vegetarian” (rice and black beans), blackened mushrooms. The guacamole is vegan and pretty decent. My favorite is to order the taco tofus, cheeseless, and a side of guac. Yum. Ask your server about cleaning the grill first, it’s not something that I ask about because it’s admittedly pretty low on my list of priorities (but I’m not assuming that you’re the same, so please ask!) [link]

California Vegan – Hollywood, CA

Just tried this place last weekend, and the food is great! The service is friendly, but a little forgetful – so keep an eye on your order, they’re more than happy to fix oopsies like forgetting whole dishes. My omni companion got a smoothie and the Banana Raisin pancake, I got the Sweet Chili Fish Lunch Special (I think my spring roll was forgotten, but I still received the dipping sauce, lawl), and we both shared a quesadilla and the Banana Coconut Spring Rolls with Ice Cream. Really, really good, and I love the open, old timey diner feel of the place. Some aren’t so into it, but I can dig it. [link]

Pure Luck – Los Angeles, CA

Pure. Luck. Is. So. Goddamned. Good.

Deliver all of your delicious food directly to my mouth, please.

I’m not even going to review this place, just fucking go there. And bring me back an order. [link]

Flore Cafe – Los Angeles, CA (Silverlake)

Took the opportunity to take advantage of the $10 All You Can Eat Brunch Buffet, what a great deal! The tofu scramble was yummy, the french toast was great. The bacon was a little burned, the sausage was flavorful, and the waffles were a little… tough. However! It was all you can eat! And boy, howdy, did we. Get your face in this if you get the chance. [link (via Yelp)]

zPizza – Various Locations

See this entry.  [link]

Astro Burger – Hollywood, CA

They’re pretty ok, and they’re probably much more awesome for vegetarians than vegans. However, their sweet potato fries are pretty awesome, they have lots of veg meals, and vegan stuff is clearly marked. I’ll have to probably visit again, after reading this post a few more times. Bring cash. [link]

Taix 321 Lounge – Los Angeles, CA (Silverlake)

There’s a lot of history in this restaurant, and one accidentally vegan meal on the menu. We dined in the lounge area – get there early to get a table and you can watch whatever acts come on to the stage. Our night found us with a man that did a bluegrass cover of a Motorhead song (and it wasn’t Ace of Spades). Pricey, and perhaps the Penne a la Monegasque wasn’t really worth the price, but it was a fun night anyway. Neat place to see bands, and you can get a hassle-free meal out of it. [link]

Follow Your Heart – Canoga Park, CA

I’ve only recently revisited FYH, after a lackluster first visit about a year ago. On the advice of everyone, everywhere, I tried the Reuben (extremely skeptically) with cottage style tofu. My very first Reuben, I never even tried it when I was omni. Much to my surprise, I was really impressed. Pro Tips: Order with cottage style tofu, extra Thousand Island, and the fries. Carrot chips aren’t exactly the pinnacle of awesome. Also, for those of you that are honey-averse, the buns contain honey, and so does the root beer – even though there’s Virgil’s in the refrigerator case. Can’t win ‘em all. [link]

Hy-Mart Deli – North Hollywood, CA

How cool is this place? It’s a tiny, Mom n’ Pop deli, with inviting owners that are knowledgeable about veganism, the food is awesome, the portions are huge, and the prices are low. So good. Bring cash! [link (via Yelp)]

Madeleine Bistro – Tarzana, CA

Fancypants dining! I came here with a fellow beignet lover for brunch and we nommed the fuck out of the amazing array here. We shared the beignets, and to be honest, I can’t even remember what else we had. The fresh squeezed juice drinks are great, too. Awesome place to take someone, especially if you want to get all romantical and shit.  [link]

Scoops -Los Angeles, CA

Finally! I got me some Scoops! Unfortunately, after dining at Pure Luck, the vegan Oreo cheesecake flavor that I wanted was all gone, but I got a scoop of Peanut Butter & Chocolate, and one scoop of Almond Hazelnut. Motherfuckingyummy. [link (via Yelp)]

Vinh Loi Tofu – Reseda, CA

I’ve only been here once, and it was over a year ago. My (super picky, think a spoiled 8 year old) omni companion wasn’t impressed with what he got, but I liked what I had. I definitely have to come back with better company, and I have a feeling that I’m going to start buying all of my tofu from them, as they manufacture their own tofu – I hear it’s amazing. [link]

Vegan Factory – Tarzana, CA

Another vegan Thai place in the SFV. Their satay is out of this world; I definitely have to revisit this place some time. [link]

Garden Wok – Tarzana, CA

A mostly vegan (just look out for some of the meats) Buddhist fakey meat Chinese place in the middle of the SFV. Extremely nice servers, a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. I hooked an (extremely obnoxious and picky) omni on their orange chicken and now he’s a regular. Sorry guys, I hope he behaves himself. They’re pretty good, nothing extremely amazing or poor – but one of its biggest strengths is that it’s also a great place to go when you have a big party, unlike a lot of vegan places, which simply don’t have the room or the family-style tables. [link (via Yelp)]

Veggie Era – Upland, CA

Straight up, really great fakey meat Chinese/Thai, and the best one that I know of that’s run by a (fun, goofy) cult (take that, Scientology. I bet LRH couldn’t fry up seitan to save his body thetan clusters.) And it’s the only place like it in the area, so it deserves all of the love that you can throw at it. I have a special place in my heart for the “My Sweet and Spicy Lady” – mock chicken flash fried in sweet chili sauce.  [link]

Chico’s – Riverside, CA

Chico’s used to be the best! Dual kitchens for omnis and vegans, GREAT food, neat ambiance. After the restaurant switched owners, shit definitely got real. The menu, service and food suffered, big-time. The last time I passed by there, the building was closed. Oh well, we’ll always have memories of your amazing vegan quesadilla with crema and guacamole. [link (via Yelp)]

Honorable Mention:

Orean’s Health Express – Pasadena, CA

Fuck Orean’s. They’ll (maybe, as their food is pretty fucking bland) get my money if they can bother to stop lying to customers about their dairy use. It’s too bad, man. I really wanted some of that chai milkshake action. (Spoilers: They’ve been dishonest assholes for years about it.) [link]

mc chris – Pizza Butt

I was so excited by my discovery of zpizza‘s use of Daiya cheese, AND my discovery of a location that has it that is close to both my work and home, AND that they offer delivery and online ordering. (So what if I’m a hermit?)

What’s a girl to do? ORDER A MOTHERFUCKING TUSCAN.

I placed the order online, even though they only offer the regular and the soy cheeses in the choices, I knew that this store carried it and asked in the notes to either pretty please use the vegan cheese or none at all. The owner of the store actually called me to let me know that they did just get the vegan cheese in and he wanted me to give him a call when I’ve tried it so I could let him know how it was.

The delivery guy was extra sweet, and they even delivered paper plates, plastic utensils and napkins. Wait, this is a chain? Fuck me sideways.

The pizza itself? AMAZING.

The crust wasn’t too thick or thin, on that was a layer of yummy garlic sauce, then the Daiya, sweet caramelized onions, and three kinds of mushrooms, and then some truffle oil and thyme. My first taste of Daiya was nothing short of awesome. I was on the phone with the owner after the first slice, telling him how great it is. He was glad to hear so, and explained that since he’s not a vegan he doesn’t know what qualifies as “good” vegan cheese, and what casein is, etc. I gave him the quick and dirty version: “Oh, that’s just a milk protein, it makes that soy cheese melty and stringy. That’s kind of why great vegan cheese was so hard to find – you’ve got a winner with what you’ve got now.”

I practiced great restraint by stopping at 3 slices. Ok, so I had one more after coming back from a show. Whatever. Can’t type now, eating leftover heaven.

Update: Lawl, they found me. http://twitter.com/zpizza_SoCal/status/3912735269

That’s right, I hauled off to New Orleans for the week of Thanksgiving to visit with my guy. Kittee has an awesome restaurant guide (she has a revised edition, email her if you want a copy), but alas it is pretty much useless when you’re in the city on Thanksgiving because nothing is open. Except for a Chinese fast food place that puts unlabeled-on-the-menu ground pork in their tofu dishes and kinda stare at you crosseyed when you ask for it to please be remade because I can’t/won’t eat it, secret pork or otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, they were super nice, but were genuinely confused; I guess the tofu dishes don’t get ordered very often.

I spent most of my time across the lake from NOLA, in Mandeville, so I was out of range of the guide for most of the trip. However, it was rad-tastic on the way back to the airport. The ability to check Gmail from your phone has become an absolute eating must for me. Anyway, I didn’t eat a whole lot when I was out there, my appetite goes far, far away when I’m visiting. We did go out for sushi, Lebanese, and a yuppie hippie supplement store that has a juice bar/deli.

Note to yuppie hippie juice bar: pretty please with sugar on top, use actual vegan cheese on your vegan-labeled burger, or none at all?  Or list the components on your menu to help people opt-out? Or not argue with a customer when they ask you to please remake the burger and insist with her that your soy cheese (Veggie Slices, with casein and butterfat right on the label) is vegan? I understand that the whole world doesn’t know what vegan means and I can appreciate that, and I’ve been on the shit end of customer service myself, so I know how dumb and just plain mean customers can be.  Just, uh, buck up homegirl. For the record the manager did come out, unexpectedly, and apologize for the lack of vegan options and asked me exactly what would be okay to put on the burger. No harm, no foul. People are trying, and that’s what really counts.

So anyway, I got fed when I needed to and it wasn’t a huge deal even if it wasn’t terribly easy. It definitely made me appreciate how vegan-friendly Southern California is; I don’t think I’m allowed to bitch anymore that there are only two restaurants in a 20 mile radius that have vegan kitchens. We did buy a few things to cook, and I just picked up a block of tofu and a bottle of Iron Chef General Tso sauce. Not really cooking, more like semi-homemade 30 minute meals, but it was popular enough. Here’s a picture, because I thought it was kinda funny.

Yeah, I forgot to buy vegetables to go with it. Oops.

And then when I got back from Louisiana, I decided to make the dish again, but from scratch with the extremely popular recipe on VegWeb. It was yummy, though I had to add a bit more cornstarch and a lot more red pepper and added some cayenne pepper. General Tso’s is supposed to be sweet and hot, dammit. I’d say it was a success, even if I baked the tofu instead of breading and frying. Believe me, there’s enough oil in the sauce as it is.

I’d say it was a success. A delicious success.

Welcome back to California, miharu.

Back when we were merely vegetarian, we used to like to frequent Pick Up Stix, a Pan-Asian fast-ish food chain that’s starting to expand across Southern California. They were always pretty accomodating, as you could substitute tofu in any dish and they were one of the few places you could get steamed brown rice with your meal.

We haven’t eaten there since I went vegan mostly because I didn’t trust anything that I couldn’t get ingredients lists for online or otherwise readily available. Mind you, we never went in to a place to ask about ingredients but I’m still getting my restaurant legs about me. This weekend I sent an inquisitive email via their website, asking about vegan options, sauce ingredients, etc. What they sent back is hideously boilerplate, but I guess if I really want to eat lemon tofu then I’ll have to go in and ask. Here’s their reply:

Dear miharu:

Thank you for contacting Guest Relations.

As healthy eating continues to diversify, Pick Up Stix restaurants understand our guests have different nutritional desires.

Pick Up Stix food is prepared fresh to order, by recipe, and therefore the nutritional information may vary slightly with on site preparation. Also, each Pick Up Stix guest may also customize their meal to suit their taste. Although our policies and procedures warrant full control, there is always a possibility of ingredient substitution when preparing your meal with the freshest ingredients available. The manager of the location you visit may be able to provide details on sauces.

Pick Up Stix guests, like yourself, expect our high standard of great taste, innovation, and value. Watch our menu as we expand our offerings even more or visit www.pickupstix.com

We appreciate your interest in our Pick Up Stix restaurants.

Jonie
Guest Relations