Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Being a vegan in LA=AMAZING

I have just gotten back from La La Land, and it was effing amazing. Since this is a food blog I will focus on that. First night I got there, my friend Alison below took me to this funky place in Claremont on her campus and they had a vegan date curry tempeh dish with quinoa. It was creamy and fantastic. 

Below is us one night at www.lepainquotidien.com.

I ordered the vegan white bean soup with amazing bread and then a Farro salad with raw beets and carrots and sesame ginger dressing. We then split a vegan apple dessert which was warm and sweet and delicious. 
I also made it to Cocoa Palm, a beautiful restaurant/bar that overlooks all of LA, which was awesome to see at sundown. Awesome mango salad there and plenty of cocktails :)

While in Claremont, I also ate at Casablanca which is the best Mediterranean restaurant I have ever been to. casablancaclaremont.com/ Amazing hummus, tabbouleh, salads, falafels, wine, I went nuts. The staff was so accommodating and friendly as well. 
We also saw the group Matt and Kim and had a great time. Ever hear this song?? www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgBeu3FVi60

I moved to stay with my brother for the next few nights who lives in Burbank. We went to the Getty Museum, Amoeba Records (I could have spent days in there), Griffith Observatory, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and a swap meet where you can get all these amazing handmade clothes and jewelry by bargaining outside. A very trendy up-scale flea market type deal. I ended up with 4 dresses, a top, and a beautiful necklace. Check out the sign at Amoeba, loves it. 


Next is the BEST vegan meal I have EVER had. REAL FOOD DAILY. www.realfood.com/
GO, seriously, just go to LA to go. And besides the food, more adorable gay vegan men then you could possibly imagine. Heaven on earth, seriously.
Just look at these nachos!

My brother got the portobello sandwich and I got the BBQ tofu salad with "ranch" dressing. We could barely eat our meals after those nachos, but we brought some back. Along with their chocolate praline almond cake. Thinking about it now, I just want to have some.


MIKEY and his Miso Soup at Real Food Daily.

Our cake to go! 


Who LOVES LOST. Ok, well I am obsessed and got so excited to see this. Look at this pendulum...remind you LOST addicts of the one in the show? It was explaining about the earth's rotation and what not, exactly what the writers use to explain their time travel and coordinates of the island. Ok, it's not food. But I had to throw that in there.


Speaking of TV, I adore Entourage. My bro and I ate at Urth cafe where the crew from the show go regularly and many scenes have been shot. Very cool. I got the vegan chili and the hummus/tabouleh salad. We didn't see E or Vince, but the place is awesome and the food delish. www.urthcaffe.com/

Outside at Urth!

And one final last but not least little story. When I was in the island of Eleuthera last year (remote island off the coast of the Bahamas) I met Cameron. He lives in LA and we got to see each other for the first time in the US and for the first time since last year on the island. We went to some great bar, caught up, and had a very, very fun night. And look at my top and necklace, from the Swap Meet! He remembered our vegan breakfasts every morning on the island we would eat haha. Sunflower seed butter, toast, fresh island fruit and Kalik beers. Good times.

That was a long post, if you made it through it, THANK YOU, and I hope you all are enjoying your week!

10 comments:

littlefire said...

So nice to read such an articulate and informative post. You show LA/Burbank as such a cool place. Lots of fun to read. You make me hungry, and such great pix! Welcome back... Sweet!!

bahamamama said...

This is so great! I loved reading about your pictorial story about LA. The food looks sooo delicious. Good times, good food, and great friends. You rocked LA...where's Perez when you need him? Eleuthera is truly a paradise island. Keep us posted.

Jenn Shagrin said...

I'm so glad you loved LA! You seriously need a good two weeks here to enjoy all the vegan goodness that's everywhere you turn.

Trust me...if I had the $$, I'd be opening a restaurant in a heartbeat. Thank you :)

LK Sisters said...

Looks like you had some delicious vegan eats!

Kelly said...

That all looks amazing. I have been wanting to go to RFD since the cookbook is pretty darn fantastic. Those nachos reinforced it for me!

Bethany said...

you just made me want to go visit LA again. real food daily rocks! I could eat there every day.

that's so funny that you ate at the place on entourage.

sounds like you had a fun trip!

goober doober said...

Hey VV,
You make LA look so romantic. Nicely done! Luv the pics too... I love L.A., and your blog too!!

Rose said...

Those nachos and cake look awesome! yum :)

Jen Treehugger said...

Ooooh oooh oooh I would so LOVE to go to LA.
Everything looks so wonderful - especially you!
:)

Jenn Shagrin said...

Thanks! You know I will :)

I think next year, it will be a birth month to soothe the pain from leaving my "Early Twenties" haha.