Hugo's Restaurant, Los Angeles, CA

Hi. My name is Lisa & I'm a Hugo's addict.

Any guesses as to how many times The Vegas Vegan has dined at Hugo's....? I think 10 times in the last 5 months. It might even be more...

The best thing about Hugo's is the fact that I can find something different to eat every time. With so many choices, I refuse to limit myself to one favorite dish. Considering the limitations of other restaurant menus, it would be irresponsible of me not to take advantage of Hugo's menu!!

• Use their handy guide to find the right dish for you:

- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-Free
() - Can be Vegan
() - Can be Vegetarian
() - Can be Gluten-Free

My favorite items so far have been the creative pancakes they have! In November, they featured a Sweet Potato Pancake on their specials menu - served with spiced agave nectar & bananas. I have been dreaming about those pancakes for weeks, so imagine my excitement when I saw this month's special:

Gluten-Free Energy Pancakes
Our gluten-free, vegan pancakes blended with our energy granola which features pumpkin seeds, quinoa, almonds, shredded coconut, cashew nuts, sunflower seeds, puffed rice, dried cherries & cranberries, cinnamon & maple syrup. Topped with sliced bananas and served with spiced agave syrup.

I admit, I have never eaten gluten-free pancakes before! They were delicious & if I didn't know better, I wouldn't have known they were gluten-free. They were crunchy & sweet, and now I am dreaming about these...

Indian Frankies ()

Frankies are the quintessential Mumbai (Bombay) street food. They are the Indian version of wraps. Ours contains Indian spiced roasted vegetables with leafy greens and peas blended with our Tika masala sauce and wrapped in a Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla. Served with cilantro-mint chutney, plain yogurt and a jicama cucumber salad with orange segments and cherry tomatoes.

Avocado-Hummus Wrap

Spinach tortilla wrapped around avocado, tomato, cucumber, hemp hummus & sunflower sprouts with a drizzle of sesame-ginger dressing.

The Very Green Protein Burrito Our most nutrient rich and delicious burrito ever. Filled with green organic lentils, roasted garlic, steamed leafy greens, guacamole and green rice. Wrapped in a spinach flour tortilla and topped with an avocado-tomatillo sauce and mozarella or vegan cheese. Choice of organic mixed greens or crispy fries.

Two other dishes I've had recently were off of the Specials menu:
Portabella Mushroom stew
Moroccan Vegetable stew

And I certainly need to try the green juice at some point (though I admit to being a vegan who is deathly afraid of green liquids!)

They make a wonderful soy latte as well - although I needed to add 3 packs of Sugar in the Raw - and drew me a beautiful leaf design in the foam. Be still my heart...


GO TO HUGO's!!! (oh, and Hugo's: hire me for advertising!!)


I give Hugo's 5 Sprouts, although this place is in a class all it's own.

• Become a fan of Hugo's on facebook

TWO LOCATIONS:
12851 Riverside Drive
Studio City, CA 91607
(818) 761-8985

8401 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993

Rosemary's: Las Vegas

We decided to finally check out Rosemary's Restaurant on West Sahara, owned by Chefs Wendy & Michael Jordan. Chef Wendy is an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College where Matt is still currently a student.

As per our usual practice, we first checked out the online menu then called ahead to make a reservation specifically mentioning that there will be a vegan dining with the party. We were assured that "the vegan" would be taken care of.

Knowing that this restaurant would specialize in French-American cuisine, I did not have high hopes of eating from the menu, though I did have very high expectations that something creative and original would be made for me after talking to the chef. Looking over the menu, there were not any appetizers that could be made to be vegetarian, much less vegan. There are 3 vegetarian salads that could have the cheese removed, and only one vegetarian entree: Parmesan Tossed Angel Hair Pasta.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, our server assistant, Daniel, asked if there were any food allergies or specific dietary needs we wanted addressed (I'm just assuming that he had not been privy to the reservation book) so of course I told him that I was vegan. He assured me that our server, Katie, would discuss options with me when she arrived at the table. And she did! Even though she was very enthusiastic and helpful, she did not have many options to offer me.

The assistant returned with 4 rolls, placing 2 on my dish. Now, one thing you have to know about me is that I do still eat honey. I know that's not 100% vegan, but I do still eat it - this is an effect of me also following a "yogic diet" which encourages honey instead of white refined sugar. The rolls that were placed on my plate were "sweet rolls" with walnuts & drizzled with a fine layer of honey. Quite frankly, I could have been perfectly happy with the rolls and the Arugula Salad!!

The pre-appetizer, two slices of Riesling poached pear drizzled with port wine syrup - setting me up perfectly for the: Arugula, Endive & Radicchio Salad
Maytag Blue Cheese, Riesling Poached Pear, Toasted Hazelnuts & Port Wine Syrup
Wine: Dr. Loosen “Blue Slate” Riesling Beer: Pilsner Urquell

I asked that the bleu cheese be left off the plate, but I did pair the salad with the Dr. Loosen, a fine pairing! I don't normally like white wine, but this was worth it.

Katie returned from the kitchen with the news that they would make me a "vegetable platter" which to me sounded an awful lot like a bunch of unseasoned vegetables on a plate. She must have seen my apathy because she suggested that she would include a balsamic sauce on the veggies. Sure fine, but I saw that angel hair pasta was offered in the entrees, couldn't they make me that without the cheese? She assured me that they could absolutely make that for me.

It was good. A little nest of angel hair pasta with half of a red onion, 4 stalks of asparagus, red pepper & zucchini - all grilled. I had been specific in asking that none of the veggies would be prepared using butter, but I did not remember to ask what surface the veggies would be grilled on. As I ate my meal, I suddenly realized that there was a distinct possibility that my veggies were cooked on the same surface as other meats. Hm. A question I will not forget to ask again in the future. I have discovered that being a "dining-out-vegan" is a learning process - and right now, my stomach is a little uncomfortable, so I'm guessing that yes, my veggies shared a surface.

We won't talk about what Matt ordered because it was decidedly un-vegan, but he did order a Prix-Fixe and thoroughly enjoyed his 3-courses. At the end of the meal, they did give us a complimentary raspberry sorbet with chocolate piping. Unfortunately, they put a dab of créme chantilly on it, so I was only able to eat a couple bites of dairy free sorbet. That said, the sorbet was rich & creamy! A nice sweet finish to the meal.

In all... I'm giving Rosemary's 3 Sprouts for veg*options in proportion to the total price we paid for the meal ($133.58).

This "veg rating" does NOT diminish the fact that the menu is very creative and non-vegans would be completely satisfied with their menu options. I'm a bit disappointed that the kitchen was not more creative in making something that didn't involve a few vegetables thrown on to a plate, and that *I* had to be the one to suggest adding pasta.

I went into the evening with very high expectations and in the end can only say that I have had chefs at less expensive restaurants do more for me in the creativity department.

Eat at Rosemary's! It was a beautiful space, creative menu & and had kind courteous waitstaff. Maybe the more vegans who make reservations there and request better options, the more creativity we'll see from the kitchen. Just because we're vegan doesn't mean we don't LIKE food! I want to eat at all the "special" places, too.

8125 W. Sahara
Las Vegas, NV 89117

Tel:702.869.2251
Fax: 702.869.2283

Lunch (Mon-Fri): 11:30am-2:30pm

Dinner (Daily) 5:30pm - close

Reservations: Suggested though walk-ins welcome

Las Vegas Vacation Deals

Grand Lux Cafe

Grand Lux Cafe at theVenetian was the location of my most recent dining out experience.

If you don't already know, I work at the Venetian. I say "work" but we musicians rarely call what we do "work". It truly is a gift to use your talents in such diverse ways. At the Venetian, I perform with The Phantom of the Opera, renamed for this production Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get to play for such a fantastic production. And the Venetian is one of the premiere destination spots for tourists & celebrities. You never know on any given night who is sitting in the audience!

One of my friends is a musician with Blue Man Group also performing at the Venetian. We often joke that since I started playing with Phantom 2 years ago, we still haven't met before/between/after our respective shows for coffee or snacks. So last month, he suggested we meet for coffee at the Grand Lux - just a hop, skip & a jump from the lobby of Phantom. I ordered my coffee and stood waiting for him to arrive. No luck. His sound check went long & he was unable to meet me. No big deal: I'd see him the next day in our yoga class so I could give him a hard time later.

But this excellent cup of coffee has stuck in my mind for the last 4 weeks. Nothing has compared - I LOVE coffee, though I don't usually wax poetic about it. But this iced latte was, how can I say it... heavenly. Starbucks, who?

Last night, I had plans to meet a friend for dinner before the 7pm Phantom show. She wanted to meet at the Venetian, so we decided to try the Grand Lux for food, not just coffee. I didn't realize that Grand Lux is part of the Cheesecake Factory franchise, but apparently it is.

I downloaded the pdf menu and scoured it for vegetarian & vegan choices (she is a lacto-vegetarian). There were 4 choices that jumped out at me immediately:
1) Wild Mushroom Burger
2) Pasta Fresca
3) Crispy Sesame Tofu, and
4) "Vegetables as a Meal" served with rice

Not wanting to take any chances in getting stuck at a restaurant where we wouldn't be happy, I called for more information on each meal:
1) Is the cheese in or on the mushroom burger?
2) Can I have the Pasta Fresca without the parmesan?
3) What about the orange sauce on the tofu?
4) How many veggies can I choose for my meal?

The man who answered the phone was helpful, answering each question patiently and politely. I felt armed & prepared for our meal, as did my friend, so we proceeded to meet at Grand Lux Cafe for our dinner at 5pm. We only waited 2 minutes for a table!

Our waitress took our orders - my friend ordered Manhattan Salad "Vegetarian" (chopped salad with Romaine Lettuce, Asparagus, Tomato, White Beans, Fresh Beets, Red Onions, Lentils and Assorted Vegetables all tossed in the house vinegrette). You can order this salad as Vegetarian, or with Tuna, Chicken, Shrimp or Turkey. When my friend said "vegetarian", the waitress asked "Do you eat cheese?" My friend answered yes, she would like cheese on her salad.

Then it was my turn to order. I wanted the Tofu but the waitress asked "Are you vegetarian? Because this dish is not vegetarian - the sauce is oyster based." Hmm.... this is an odd turn of events (the man on the phone did not tell me this tidbit). The waitress told me that she is vegetarian and was very upset to find out after eating the plate of tofu that there was oyster in the sauce. I changed my order to Pasta Fresca without cheese.

Pasta Fresca: pasta tossed with roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic & olive oil.

The food arrived and we were astounded by the sheer size of the Manhattan salad! My friend couldn't finish it - she actually took half of it home with her. My pasta was fantastic, and even though I didn't finish either, I did not take the leftovers with me because I had to play the show right after & didn't really want to have to store food in the orchestra green room - not because it would spoil but because people would undoubtedly eat it! (Musicians are generally very hungry people)

Although our meals were delicious, and obviously we had the added bonus of having a vegetarian waitress, my mind keeps trying to wrap around the oyster base in the tofu dish. I have to ask the powers-that-be "who eats tofu?" The unilateral answer is usually vegetarians, right? Who goes to a restaurant like Grand Lux Cafe, where the menu includes a wide variety of foods (pasta, meats, pizza, salads) and orders tofu? Vegetarians. No? So, why, if you know vegetarians are going to gravitate to the tofu, would you serve it with a non-vegetarian sauce? That doesn't make sense to me. I've written a long comment to the restaurant in regard to this situation.

There were enough choices on the menu that were lacto-vegetarian & could easily be modified to be vegan. Of course, I am still swooning from the idea that my waitress was vegetarian and that she was so vocal and helpful with our ordering process.

GRAND LUX CAFE at THE VENETIAN HOTEL, RESORT CASINO:

Las Vegas Vacation Deals

Rainforest Cafe

$170.09

That's A LOT of money for what can be a frustrating dining-experience.

Today was kindergarten "graduation" and as a treat, a group of us moms took our graduates out to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe: a grand total of 6 kids (ages 3 to 6 years old), one toddler, one 2-month old baby and 5 adult women = 12 paying diners.

As a vegan, I cringe when I know we are dining at an "American Food" establishment. American food, if anyone cares to try to quantify it into a single category, is nothing more than meat+starch+vegetable. Everyone eats the meat and the starch but skips over the veggies. Since the restaurant-powers-that-be already know this, most places skimp on the vegetable selection. This leaves most veg*heads s@#$ out of luck.

That is...unless you know how to be creative. Check that: confident enough to be creative.

I have learned in the last year that it's not that a chef/cook won't make you a vegetarian meal, it's just that they may not have the time in the kitchen to suddenly create a vegetarian dish when they're more interested in pumping out menu items in a timely fashion. Expecting someone to drop what they're doing to focus on one plate (especially in big restaurants here in Vegas) can be intimidating, but I've come to realize that sometimes the chef/cook likes to be pulled out of the doldrums of repetitive cooking.

I agreed to go to Rainforest Cafe at the MGM Grand because it is actually a very fun place to take kids. The prices are EXPENSIVE for how average the food is. But it is Vegas and if you're going to dine on The Strip, you should expect to overpay for everything.

The last time I was at the Rainforest Cafe, I was a lacto-vegetarian. There is a very good Bruschetta (please, pleEEEEEze pronounce it Broo-sketta) that does contain fresh mozarella. I pondered getting this today, asking politely that no cheese be added to my tomato mixture, but I began to realize that they probably "pre-mix" this and someone would just be standing over my plate picking out the cheese.
Not Acceptable.

So I pulled a new trick I've learned out my hat: building my own new & exciting meal from what's already offered on the menu. Before I go on, let me say there are 2 big reasons why I don't feel funny doing this beside the obvious reason that "The customer is always right":
1) I am an imaginative home cook. If I can think it up, then a "real" chef should be able to pull it off and 2) my husband is training to be a chef and has told me that making something off-menu is actually fun.

Ok then! My friends were amazed as I pulled together a pita (from the quesadillas appetizer) and the Napa Vegetables (which I saw listed as sides to several meat dishes) to create my own scrumptious, possibly qualifying as a gyro, lunch. Everyone was not only jealous of the fresh vegetables ("Oh! Your meal is so colorful!") but the tasty grilled pita bread ("I wish I'd've known, I would have had a pita sandwich too."). Yup, yup, the Vegan totally wins with this meal!

The vegetables that are in this Napa mixture weren't the most exciting or creative, but all together made for a tasty treat: carrots, red cabbage, orange & yellow peppers, cucumbers, raisins & red onion, all splashed with a bit of vinegar. Yum-a-rific!

MENU
Points taken for the fact that there are very few choices for vegetarians much less the vegan in the room, but you could remove the meat & cheese from Planet Earth Pasta. Like I've been trying to point out over the course of keeping this particular blog: it's all about creativity, confidence & cooperation.

Our server today was very kind, thoughtful & patient as I quizzed him about the Napa Veggies: Is there any cheese in it? Any dairy at all? Can you please write down no dairy? My biggest fear was that they would somehow sprinkle cheese all over the pita when they grilled it or hide the whole thing under a dollup of sour cream.

Although it's hard to admit that the Rainforest Cafe can be veg*friendly, I am going to give it a favorable rating of:

The price was not the greatest: $9.99 for each kid's meal (granted this did include their drink, but still...) and each adult paying approximately $15 for their plate, a 17% gratuity automatically added in, we split the bill between us all coming to about $40 per family. I didn't bawk at the 17% tip although our service was slow considering we had 6 kids with us & the waiter spilled an entire pint of ice water in my lap, because in the end the kitchen did respect my kooky food request.

Veg*ns don't be afraid to partake in the Rainforest Cafe! Just bring a full wallet.

Rainforest Cafe - MGM Casino & Hotel
3799 Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-8580

Las Vegas Vacation Deals

Disneyland

The "Happiest Place on Earth" is not such a treat for Vegans. Perhaps vegetarians (lacto- ovo-) and semi-vegetarians (pesce-, pollo-) would find Disneyland a much more friendly place, but Vegans beware! There is nothing for us in the "land of a million dreams." Unless you count the "million hallucinations" you will have in your hunger-induced stupor.

We were at Disneyland for the Music in the Parks competition festival with my husband's high school concert band. I went along as a chaperone & of course we brought our 6 1/2 year old son! For the price we paid (about $100 for the 3 of us) it was a great deal. Our day would begin at 4am on Saturday April 19th and end at 3:30am on Sunday April 20th. That's a long day for grown-ups, that's a long day for high school age kids, and that's a mighty long day for a lone kindergartener.

On Friday morning, while grocery shopping, I had a "moment". I paused by the Odwalla shelf and remembered back to how convenient those bars had been at the San Diego Zoo last month. I grabbed 4 bars (strawberry pomegranate and chocolate chip peanut) and hoped that I wasn't going to need them.

Unfortunately, I ended up eating 3 1/2 of those bars while I watched everyone else eating whatever suited their fancy. Thankfully, I only had to worry about one meal in the park because breakfast was eaten on the bus (1 strawberry pomegranate bar for me) and lunch was found at a stop in the town Placentia, CA, where the competition was held. Thankfully, there was a Starbucks so I was able to purchase a citrus fruit salad to eat along side my chocolate chip peanut bar. I was feeling pretty proud of myself at this point - 2 meals down and so far on track with what I'd normally eat calorie-wise on a regular day.

Once in the park, we treated our son to some cotton candy but we refrained from spending too much money on ourselves for snacks. My husband & I started to get the munchies around 2pm, so we split another Odwalla (1 strawberry pomegranate). But when dinner rolled around... the sidewalk menus at the various restaurants in Disney were chock full of meat sandwiches, meat soups, meat gumbo, meat salads, meat on a stick, meat in a piece of foil, meat on the bone, meat meat meat meat meat! There was one sandwich shop that had "vegetarian po' boys" but one look told me I did not want to eat this. First, the guys making the sandwiches were wearing latex gloves to handle the food but they did not change their gloves between orders or really even wipe off the counter they were making them on. All I could picture was meat juice on my "vegetarian" sandwich thus negating any vegetarianistic qualities my sandwich may have been clinging desperately to in the first place. We left. There was another soup counter that served "vegetarian gumbo" but again... are crayfish vegetarian? I don't know if that was what was in it, but I don't trust any "vegetarian" meal at Disney especially given that the "cast members" don't seem to be trained in open-minded free thinking.

My husband was actually disgusted watching a little kid near us gnawing on a turkey leg. He said between watching that kid and then watching those guys make all those sandwiches with the same gloves, he wasn't in the mood to eat any meat anyway. He left my son & I sitting on a bench (Andrew eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich I had packed for him & I finished off the last Odwalla bar) while he scoped out the food situation. He found a small window, out of the way, that served "baked goods" like bagels, croissants & fritters. He bought himself a croissant & I ran over to get myself a bagel.

So... Are bagels made with eggs? No. At least they're not supposed to be made with eggs. Milk? Nope. Should be flour, yeast, water, sugar, salt. What makes various breads so different is the ratio of yeast & flour and of course the way you cook the bread. I decided I was so hungry, & so tired of Odwalla bars that I would go for the bagel & strawberry preserves. It felt so good to chew something other than a protein bar... and the preserves were just the sugar hit I needed.

Our score:
Vegan: 1 point for finding a bagel
semi-vegetarian husband: 1 point for the croissant
lacto-vegetarian son: 1 point for cotton candy and 1 point for grabbing the last quarter of my bagel & stuffing it in his mouth before I could stop him
turkey-leg-eating-little-boy: 10 points for grossing us all out

DISNEYLAND:

The Vegas Vegan Does San Diego

Traveling & eating at the same time can be a scary prospect for a vegan. At home, you know your favorite restaurants, or if you're trying some place new, at least you know you're guaranteed your next meal will be more well-rounded because you'll be cooking it for yourself. But what if you're taking a 3-day trip to a strange new land? I've had trouble in the past with eating a well balanced diet while on vacation (once I almost passed out from lack of nutrition after a 5-day trip to Washington DC) and I wasn't about to let it happen this time.

We planned a 3-day trip to San Diego to visit the zoo & wild animal park. And in all the excitement of making hotel reservations, travel plans and eventually a "soft" itinerary, I realized that the meal planning had fallen by the wayside. What will this vegan eat while on vacation? Paying for 3 meals each day at restaurants is totally out of our budget. So the solution was simple: PACK YOUR OWN FOOD!!

For myself, I brought Odwalla Bars for breakfasts & lunches. For Andrew & Matt I packed cereal bars, a jar of peanut butter, 6 banansa and a loaf of whole wheat bread. Problem solved: 2 meals per day for all 3 people were provided by ourselves. I think I did ok with the Odwalla + banana combination: I was satisfied & fueled. Probably not the best decision in the world, but it seemed to work.

We decided that we would eat out every evening for supper, though, and here's where the Vegas Vegan both shined & failed in her task. You can be the judges...

Day 1: We stayed in a Motel 6 in Escondido, CA, just north of San Diego. Our first evening we walked across the street from our motel to "Panda Express."

-=Edit=- This portion of the blog entry has been recanted thanks to an email from a fellow vegan in Vegas who pointed out that Panda does not offer any vegetarian choices. At this moment, even a couple of months later, I am feeling betrayed & unclean knowing that I ate a stir fry that was chicken base. I am disgusted at myself for not being as informed as I should have been. Now I am questioning all food I have eaten out in public. What else have I consumed and not known it?? Thanks to MS for bringing this to my attention. For better or for worse, I learn something new every day about Vegan choices. In the words of GI Joe: "Knowing is half the battle."

PANDA EXPRESS gets ZERO SPROUTS. End of story.


Day 2: Tuesday evening supper. Matt decided he wanted to go some place "nice" on our vacation. Unfortunately, he'd picked out a Sushi place via the internet before we arrived in Escondido, and after arrival realized just how far we'd have to drive to get there. We had to change our plans, so we asked the people at the front desk for some suggestions. They said there was a great little American Grill not far called Jag's. There's a menu online which says they have "tomato & basil over pasta" and that was enough for me to give the thumb's up. Sure, I'll go American if there's at least one thing for me. And what the heck, pasta is always a good thing to bulk up on when you're doing as much walking as we were. So we hopped in the car & drove from Escondido to Valley Center, about 20 minutes away.

Upon arrival, it was a bit frightening - where the hell were we?! Um, pretty much the middle of no where. But, the website is pretty hip, so it must be ok. Walking in, it was a 50's style restaurant themed toward the local high school's sports teams. "Jag's" being the home team's mascot: A Jaguar. We took a booth near the front end of a Jaguar (car) sticking out from the wall & opened the menu. Um... no tomato/basil/pasta. I politely asked the waitress where it was! She said the online menu is old - they haven't served that dish in at least 2 years. (I refrained from commenting on how they should update their website more than once a decade) She asked if I'd like spaghetti with butter, which I wouldn't have accepted as an "alternative" even if I did eat dairy! Who goes out for that crap? I settled on the fried vegetable appetizer. (don't say it... I'm getting to that part...)

Now, I haven't really had "fried" food in ages. I mean, as a vegan, when does one really deep fry anything? Not often. But man does grease taste good sometimes. I devoured a bunch of fried green beans and some mushrooms, zuchinni & sweet corn. Matt snitched a sweet corn nublet & said, "mm, that tastes kinda buttery." [screeeeeeeeech]

"Really? Do you think there's butter in it?" I put down my fork, and my face must have turned pasty white.

Matt quickly regrouped by saying, "I'm sure it's just the corn itself that tastes sweet. Don't worry honey, it's ok."

I'm sure he was right because there's no way the batter would have stuck to the corn if it had been buttered....

The batter? "Honey, what's in this batter?" It was his turn to go white.

"Well, flour, bread crumbs, and probably some eggs...." Well, crapola. There goes my appetite. Was I really that stupid to forget that there's probably egg in batter? I know there's egg in tempura batter which is why I avoid it at Asian restaurants, so why would I overlook this one detail at this place? I decided that I wouldn't beat myself up over it. It was a mistake, an oversight, I wasn't going to let it ruin my evening. But it did ruin my appetite. I was done. Matt finished the rest of my plate.

The creepiest part, I learned, about this restaurant was that it used to be a turkey farm/slaughterhouse. Yikes. It said on the menu the farmer that owned the land during WWII raised his own turkeys to feed his workers. They slaughtered the turkeys right there - and fascinating enough the brackets on the ceiling (now used as decoration) used to hold the line that carried the birds to slaughter. The original building had been knocked down to make way for the place we were now sitting in, and though we were assured there were no turkey ghosts, there were turkey tracks that mysteriously appeared in the freshly poured cement in the kitchen. Right there & then I decided that this was no place for a vegan. The beedy eyes of all those slaughtered turkeys were upon me & there little turkey voices were whispering, "hypocrite....." to me all evening. I have never breathed so deep as when we walked out of that place to reach the car.

JAG'S :

Day 3: After a long day at the Wild Animal Park, it was time to head home. We planned to stop at a place that was featured on the Food Network: The Mad Greek in Baker, CA. Mediterranean seems to be one of the easiest ways to eat vegan these days. Hummus is always an easy, high protein, fix. And this was sure to deliver.

And there ya go! Hummus & pita in hand, I was filling a belly that was mildly rumbling after the failed meal the night before. I don't know about you, but one bad supper leaves me hungry for days afterward. But that hummus filled me up right! The usual ingredients in hummus are: chick peas, olive oil, lemon, garlic & tahini. Not very difficult. BUT beware, some places actually put yogurt into their hummus, so be sure to ask first before diving in. I did ask to confirm the ingredients before ordering.

I don't know what to say about the Mad Greek except that the hummus was worth the trip to Baker! The atmosphere was more like a fast-food hamburger joint - ordering at the counter & taking your number back to your vinyl booth. It was clean, efficient and friendly. But most importantly, they had great hummus topped w/paprika, olive oil & calamata olives. Their pita was warm & soft (pita is made w/flour, yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil & water, not an egg bread) and filled my belly up right!

Unfortunately, the hummus & pita was the only item available for vegans. It may be possible to find a few other options as a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, but I was not specifically looking for those items...

So if you're on Rt. 15 traveling through southern Californina between LA & LV, be sure to stop at The Mad Greek!! Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

THE MAD GREEK:


In all, traveling as a vegan wasn't too difficult, but it was more stressful than I'd anticipated. Mostly, that was my fault. I learned a few things: like ask what ingredients are in everything and assume nothing, because no one else cares what you put in your body. Only you care what you eat.

Happy Travels!