3 "failed" trips to Hugo's last week, resulted in us branching out and trying some new places.
Read the reviews at "The Valley Vegan"
Caioti Pizza Cafe
Jinky's Cafe
Last night, finally broke down & ate a veggie burger.... at Hugo's of course!!
Happy Reading!!
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
January 29, 2010
January 24, 2010
The Valley Vegan!
As many of you already know, The Vegas Vegan is relocating to Los Angeles and obviously I can't continue to be referred to by The Vegas Vegan if I'm living in a different city!!
So my gastronomic partner-in-crime, suggested the handle "The Valley Vegan" and I like it!
In the last 5 months, I have been filling my tummy with wonderful treats from LA establishments. I have a backlog of sushi bars & cafes to review, so it's time to get to work!!
If you have any favorite restaurants in LA that I need to visit, please let me know!!
Please visit the new blog: http://thevalleyvegan.blogspot.com
January 9, 2010
Señor Fred, LA
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) |
December 25, 2009
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 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 FrankiesFrankies 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
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.TWO LOCATIONS:
12851 Riverside Drive
Studio City, CA 91607
(818) 761-8985
8401 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993
September 6, 2009
Typhoon
Another trip to Los Angeles, this time found me dining with a friend at: Typhoon. Located at the Santa Monica Airport, this was the site of yet another memorable meal in LA! Labeled: "LA's Premiere Pan-Asian Restaurant" on their website. Granted this is the only Pan-Asian restaurant I've been to in LA, I have it from a reliable source that this is indeed the best!The menu at Typhoon is varied & eclectic, very original, and with plenty of choices for any hungry vegan!
It's hard to say if the potsticker and spring roll wrappers use any egg whites, sometimes that is the case with those papers. You may want to ask your server to find out for you if you plan on ordering one of these items. I did not order an appetizer, so obviously I did not ask!
You will find plenty of vegetable dishes, noodles, rice, soups. But remember, always ask about the base of each soup and sauce, and of course keep in mind that in Thai cuisine, "basil" may include shrimp. Your more adventurous friends may be interested to hear there are all sorts of insects on the menu.
I enjoyed the deep fried tofu - crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. It is not served with veggies, but all it took was one simple question and my tofu was dressed up with some beautiful broccoli.
Grab your chopsticks and bring an empty stomach because you could sit here for hours, watching the planes take off & land, while grazing through several courses of this amazing food.
3221 Donald Douglas Loop South • 2nd Floor
Santa Monica, CA - 90405
Tel: 310.390.6565 - Fax: 310.390.8032
July 2, 2009
How "Vegan" are Vegan Restaurants in LA?
Published over at Quarrygirl.com is this recent post:Operation Pancake: Undercover Investigation at Vegan Restaurants in LA
An independent investigation to see if the vegan food at supposedly vegan restaurants is truly vegan.
After all our diligence in reading labels at the grocery store, preparing fresh vegan food at home, our ethical choice to avoid all animal products in our food, all our efforts to be "vegan" can be wasted with just one trip to a restaurant. The point of The Vegas Vegan is to aid in your dining out experience, so please read this article to learn more.
Excerpts from the article:
...During the meeting, Mr. Wishbone outlined an ambitious plan that would enable us to test for common non-vegan ingredients (eggs, casein [a component of milk], and shellfish) in a multitude of menu items from local vegan restaurants. The plan would be a logistical, financial and time-sucking nightmare but, if done properly, and to scientific testing standards, it would be a ground-breaking and highly reliable indicator of just how “pure” food from vegan restaurants really is.Read the full article for more specific results:
...a key requirement of this operation was that all the selected and tested restaurants should offer only an all-vegan menu, so there could be no question about cross-contamination from cooking implements (kitchen dishes, pans, knives etc.). So, we set about choosing a variety of restaurants in the LA area. Initially, we targeted 20, and were able to obtain food from 17.
...We cannot stress enough how many precautions were taken to ensure that the food was tested under the most stringent conditions. Indeed, our testing standards met or exceeded the standards of the California Retail Food Code, sections 113982, 113984 and 113986.
...The testing kits that Mr. Wishbone was to obtain could positively identify three common non-vegan allergens (hen’s egg, milk protein (casein), shell-fish), and were highly sensitive (down to parts per million, which explains our intense focus on process and hygiene), so we targeted food items that contained vegan “cheese”, vegan “fish” (including shellfish and non-shellfish), creamy sauces, breads and stuff that had an expanded, sweet, crispy or bubbly texture (often created using eggs as binders in the cooking process).
The WinnersPlease read to the end of the article, which goes on to outline why "fake" or "veggie" meats may not be vegan, and why "vegan restaurants" aren't necessarily catering to actual vegans, but to people who just want to eat "vegan" food. And read the follow-up post.
Of the 17 restaurants, 10 had a completely negative score for shellfish, casein and egg. Vegans should note that we were unable to test for whey ingredients with these tests, and just because they passed our tests doesn’t mean they will be vegan for you.
The Suspect
One restaurant, Pure Luck, was singled out as suspect because it had a POSITIVE reading on one test for one menu item, the Baja Fish Taco. While testing a clear negative for shellfish and egg content, the taco did register as positive for casein.
The Losers
Five restaurants were in this category. These restaurants are all Vegan Thai in style, and have many common food items between their menus. In all cases, the HIGH readings were for egg content, and with two restaurants both also testing POSITIVE for casein. The Conclusion Following such consistent results, it is perhaps wise for vegans to avoid meat substitutes in vegan Thai establishments, sticking instead to tofu and seitan derived ingredients.
The Big Time Loser
The last restaurant on our list, Green Leaves Vegan, stands out as being the only one tested where a food item registered OVERLOAD.
It's our responsibility as vegans to protect our own choices, but this vegan is also concerned with protecting her health. Trace amounts of casein may seem harmless on the surface, but I know that even a small amount of it in my food can make me sick.
The Vegas Vegan reminds you that you should always ask your server or even ask to speak to the chef if you have any concerns about any ingredients in your food. Ask before you order, call ahead before you even arrive at the restaurant, just be sure that you know what you're eating. Personally, I avoid ordering items that I am not 100% certain about. For instance, I never order anything with aioli because, even though it's only supposed to be made with garlic & olive oil, there is a good chance it contains egg or other ingredients that could contain egg or dairy.
List of Restaurants tested in Operation Pancake:
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