Today was a veritable foodgasm for the Vegas Vegan in LA: lunch at Hugo's & dinner at Señor Fred. It's becoming clear to me that the Vegas Vegan is quickly morphing in to a very fat Valley Vegan as most of my gastronomic exploits are occuring in Los Angeles these past 5 months. Who's complaining? I say bring on the food!!Señor Fred's always begins with a basket of warm corn tortilla chips with salsa. When it's just the two of us, one basket of chips is enough, but tonight, we had 2 hungry teenage boys with us... and I'm almost proud to confess that we polished off 3 baskets without batting an eyelash. Everyone enjoyed a good laugh as the 4th basket was placed in front of us and we waited to see who would crumble and take the first chip. (it wasn't me!)
At first glance at the dinner menu there are several items that can easily be made vegetarian by removing the meat. As usual, it's easy for lacto-vegetarians to eat just about anything they want off the menu with just a little creativity. But the vegans always have a little more trouble at Mexican restaurants. Lard & cheese are usually in every dish! So imagine my joy, the first time I ate at Señor Fred's when I saw right on the menu "lard free" !! Bring on the refried black beans! The Vegas Vegan is hungry!
On the menu, there is one purely vegetarian item, a burrito. And I can say that I've been eating that burrito every single time I've gone. That burrito is packed full of rice, black beans, spinach, onion, garlic, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and whatever other veggie they have lying around! But tonight was special. Tonight was our 2nd meal at Señor Fred's in 2 days. Yep. We LOVE Señor Fred's!! So we spoke to the waiter, asking what the chef could make that was vegan. To my undisguisedly enthusiastic joy, I was told I could have an enchilada with spinach, mushrooms & onions, covered in my choice of red or green sauce, with a side of beans & rice. Oh baby!! It's been YEARS since I've had an enchilada!
The only thing that would have made this enchilada better would have been vegan cheese inside. Not impossible, Señor Fred... I know it doesn't keep for long after opening, but it might not hurt to have a few bricks of Vegan Gourmet cheeses on hand!!
I'd highly recommend Señor Fred if you're in LA and looking for great Mexican food!!
| Phone: | (818) 789-3200 |
| Fax: | (818) 789-3232 |
| E-mail: | info@señorfred.com |
| Address: | 13730 Ventura Boulevard Sherman Oaks, California 91423 (just west of Woodman Avenue) |
