482388 Wed Jan 23 18:01:10 -0800 2008 40 2 Los Angeles Area 0 3326240 Hey everyone, I've got yet another question! I've never been to a vegan restaurant. I keep hearing great things though, and I want to step out of my protective meat-loving cocoon to try something new. So - for a girl who was brought up thinking that a good meal is has to include some form of meat or cheese, what would you recommend? Oh - and one more complication: I can't eat large concentrations of soy, so tofu is right out. Wed Jan 23 18:01:10 -0800 2008 150969 RaeRenee 1 3326348 Do you want a place that only serves vegan food or would a place that serves everything but can do vegan food welll work? I'd say M Cafe de Chaya on the inexpensive end and La Cachette for fancy. Wed Jan 23 18:34:02 -0800 2008 3326240 12268 mollyomormon 2 3329575 M Cafe de Chaya definitely sounds like a winner. I just checked their website, and I think I hear the Panino Tuscano calling my name. This place is RIGHT by my boyfriend's work too. Maybe I'll surprise him for lunch tomorrow. :) Thu Jan 24 16:07:44 -0800 2008 3326348 150969 RaeRenee 3 3332792 M Cafe de Chaya has a nice website. Their food is very so-so compared to the heaven they say you are in for. Also, for such hype, I think they could go that little extra step and provide wheatless soy sause for those of us who are intrigued to see what a diet without wheat will do (so far, I can smell again!). For great vegan food, try a Ethiopian or Greek or Chinese and ask them not to use butter or any diary. Fri Jan 25 12:58:26 -0800 2008 3329575 28657 JillPickle 4 3335343 I like M. Cafe, but it's not a place I'd especially recommend as the first place to try for a 'consumate carnivore'. Also, just for the record, it's not vegan (it's a macrobiotic place), though all of the items without fish are vegan. Compared to the stereotype of macrobiotic food / restaurants, M. Café does a good job of providing flavorful food, balancing "healthy" with "tasty". I have gone there with a number of omnivorous, lacto-ovo veg, and pescetarian friends; most have liked it pretty well. But I don't think it's fair to compare places like M. Café and Real Food Daily to flavorful ethnic food - totally different thing. Their cinnamon rolls are pretty good - they must be using white whole wheat flour (or even white flour, though I doubt it), because they are much lighter and tastier than they used to be. Sat Jan 26 10:59:32 -0800 2008 3332792 59830 will47 1 3326509 Madeleine Bistro -- if they have the Thai curry or the risotto-encrusted mushrooms, you are in luck. YUM. Just a word of advice -- the fakin' bacon? RUN. RUN FAR AWAY. Wed Jan 23 19:53:32 -0800 2008 3326240 10811 Das Ubergeek 2 3326715 i've had their cajun ceasar salad, and it was awful. their chicken-fried whatever-it-was was good. imho, the food at madelines is not worth the drive. Wed Jan 23 21:29:58 -0800 2008 3326509 11935 westsidegal 2 3326820 In my experience, they're hit or miss. The last time I went there (maybe a couple weeks ago), I didn't feel like it was worth the cost overall (and that's including the fact that we showed up with a $50 gift certificate). Their "new" menu items were actually recycled old menu items. The gnocci were too mushy and bland, and the sauce's texture weren't great; the soup I had was pretty uninspired... I could make something as good or better at home with very little effort. The gf had a lemon flavored seitan chicken with an asparagus crèpe on the side -the crepe was fantastic, but the seitan was /way/ over-seasoned - the lemon flavor was unpleasant and too strong to the point where it shouldn't have ever made it out of the kitchen. I don't consider myself a wine expert, but my glass of wine tasted like the bottle had been open for a few days already. The time I tried the arborio-crusted mushrooms mentioned above, I wasn't that excited (that time was a couple years ago, to be fair). Anyway, I am not saying they're horrible or anything - I respect them a lot for taking their experience at places like Real Food Daily, pushing the envelope, and really trying to do an upscale vegan place that's not hippy-dippy or overly focused on "health" food.... but I feel like they're kind of resting on their laurels, or not doing enough to ensure the quality / consistency of what comes ouf of the kitchen. The staff was talking about the new locations they're talking about opening - I really think they should work out the kinks in their current one first. I've also gone there with a big group, and they really didn't handle it well (even on a totally dead night). I will say that their desserts, in my experience, have been pretty consistently on point and delicious (especially the bananas Foster). Wed Jan 23 23:08:30 -0800 2008 3326509 59830 will47 1 3326549 Second M Cafe de Chaya, and also Elf Cafe in Echo Park -- some dishes have cheese, but not all, and it's very cute. Wed Jan 23 20:13:36 -0800 2008 3326240 12460 Chowpatty 1 3326723 for indian food, samosa house serves many delicious vegan dishes depending on the day (they have a rotating menu). shamshiri grill serves many delicious vegan dishes as well, but you need to ask to make sure that what you choose doesn't contain butter. i LOVE LOVE LOVE m cafe de chaya. the spot, on 2nd st near the hermosa beach boardwalk has many, many delicious vegan dishes. stay away from the asian-inspired choices, though. stick with the american-food inspired and mexican-food inspired choices. Wed Jan 23 21:34:52 -0800 2008 3326240 11935 westsidegal 2 3326828 I love The Spot (especially the Dear Bubba dinner - the perfect mix of stuff for me). But I don't think this is the place that will convert someone whose perfect idea of a meal involves meat and cheese. The Spot (and The Green Temple, which has basically the same menu) serve food that's great if you like 70s style vegetarian food. I took my gf (a bigtime meat eater) there, and she absolutely hated it. Wed Jan 23 23:16:14 -0800 2008 3326723 59830 will47 3 3329104 I really hated the Green Temple too. Vegan or not, everything I had there was just plain bland and awful. Thu Jan 24 14:04:15 -0800 2008 3326828 21477 mstinawu 4 3330582 i'm a pescatarian, and i LOVE the spot. therefore it made sense to think that i'd, at least, like green temple. sadly, in the two times i've been to green temple, i just haven't cared for the food. the place itself, though, is very pretty. Thu Jan 24 21:22:27 -0800 2008 3329104 11935 westsidegal 5 3332372 If it weren't so pretty and it wasn't so close to the beach, it'd probably go out of business. I had a nice root beer made w/ honey there though. Fri Jan 25 11:22:41 -0800 2008 3330582 21477 mstinawu 5 3334132 Forgive my ignorance, but what is a pescatarian? Fri Jan 25 19:44:39 -0800 2008 3330582 150969 RaeRenee 6 3334447 Someone who doesn't eat "meat" (i.e., red meat, poultry, pork, etc.), but eats fish. Basically, someone who is vegetarian except for eating fish. Fri Jan 25 22:42:32 -0800 2008 3334132 59830 will47 7 3337701 Hm. Isn't fish a meat? Sun Jan 27 10:46:37 -0800 2008 3334447 21477 mstinawu 8 3338806 Macrobiotic doesn't mean non-meat-eating. Certain fish are OK. But this reminds me of having to explain to countless waitstaff when dining out with vegetarian family that no, fish is not, in fact, a vegetable, so the tuna salad sandwich is not a good option for a vegetarian. Sun Jan 27 17:10:26 -0800 2008 3337701 10811 Das Ubergeek 1 3326752 unfortunately, soy is a staple at all vegan restaurants. real food daily in santa monica is among the best of them. you could try their seitan (wheat gluten) dishes. the best vegan cuisine, in my opinion, is lebanese. pita, hummus, tabbouleh, falafel, baba ghanoush, mujaddara, dolma, nuts, etc.,. it's easy to get an excellent vegan meal at, say, sunnin in westwood. Wed Jan 23 22:07:10 -0800 2008 3326240 105839 aventinus 2 3327596 Real Food Daily apparently believes that if you give up meat, you should FEEL like you're giving something up, so they don't use salt or spices either. The food has absolutely no flavour whatsoever. I realise they cater to the "health" type vegans, not necessarily the "conscience" type vegans, but spices are not unhealthy. The last thing I had at RFD -- which is, incidentally, the last thing I will ever eat at RFD -- was a "burrito" with zero kick, spice or flavour to it. It would have been tastier to eat the boxes in the cold storage. Thu Jan 24 08:35:54 -0800 2008 3326752 10811 Das Ubergeek 3 3327705 I agree with this to a point. Most restaurants of this type are underspiced. I think the reason is that a lot of people who eat this kind of food have very bland palates. Nonetheless, if you give it time, I think you can come to appreciate the flavors of the basic organic ingredients. There is a wholesomeness about it. I will also say that their RFD burger with the works has plenty of flavor. Thu Jan 24 08:58:25 -0800 2008 3327596 105839 aventinus 3 3328153 The Mexican food there is mostly bad, especially if you're expecting "real" Mexican food (though the Tacos and nachos are pretty good IMO). RFD does actually use salt and sweeteners (though they don't use refined sugar), and I've even had stuff there that's over-salted (and I'm a person who LOVES salt), but it really depends what you order. But as aventinus says, you don't (or shouldn't) go to a restaurant like that with the expectation of having a decadent and super-flavorful meal - RFD comes out of the Angelica Kitchen tradition of vegetarian / vegan food, where making "healthy" food is the top priority, and I think they do a pretty good job of balancing this with making some food that tastes good / appeals to the general public. Their specials used to be consistently good, but now they're not so great, typically. I think the Salisbury seitan and the TV dinner (the latter wouldn't work well for the OP) are pretty consistently good, and the nachos (w/ cashew cheese) and walnut lentil paté are pretty good for appetizers. Personally, I love some of the more "boring" macrobiotic stuff there, like the Real Food Meal, especially when I'm in the mood for that kind of food (ditto for The Spot). But I think the OP would have a good experience there *if* they stuck to bulletproof stuff like the Salisbury Seitan w/ mashed potatoes / gravy, and the nachos. Thu Jan 24 10:30:52 -0800 2008 3327596 59830 will47 3 3336389 Real Food Daily is one of my favorite restaurants and i eat there as much as 5 times a week and im not a vegan. yes their mexican food isnt overly greasy or super hot , but i always see people enjoying the tacos and nachos. i personally love getting the stir it up (ask for it w/ olive oil instead of canola and extra ginger and garlic) . The desserts are also amazing esp the coconut cream pie, the peanut butter banana cream cupcakes and the chocolate chip cookies w soy milk! Sat Jan 26 18:04:26 -0800 2008 3327596 45179 ashdawg 4 3337663 I'll concede that they have good desserts (though I hate soy milk -- just the taste), but I just have never enjoyed myself there. Sun Jan 27 10:35:48 -0800 2008 3336389 10811 Das Ubergeek 5 3344618 If you have been unimpressed by blandness of flavor definitely give the stir it up a try the way ive recommended it and the have a wonderful hot sauce you can shake into it to give it an extra kick. the flavors of the ginger and garlic (as well as the health benefits) on top of brown rice (you could also do soba noodles or the daily greens) is wonderful! Tue Jan 29 10:33:16 -0800 2008 3337663 45179 ashdawg 1 3326804 Some good suggestions here, but not all of them will serve you stuff that's fake meat type stuff. So you can either try and just embrace the different-ness, or check out some places that will have food that's maybe not as good, but closer to what you're looking for. The soy thing will definitely make eating mock-meat difficult. I personally miss cheese a lot (even after being more or less vegan for 15 years), but there isn't much in the way of good vegan cheese (with the possible exception of Play Food). Try Native Foods, in Westwood (they also have some other locations in Socal, but none in LA). They have pretty bold, flavorful stuff, and they have some good seitan options (I like the Jerk burger) if you can't eat large amounts of soy. Good fries. Some of the bowls are pretty good, and their burgers / sandwiches are pretty much all good. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to eat their tempeh stuff. Their "cheese" isn't really melty, but it tastes good, and it's nut based. edit: Also Pure Luck on Heliotrope (in the "bike district"). They have a lot of jackfruit based fake meat stuff which is delicious, and they've got good beer on tap, big portions, and fairly reasonable prices. And afterwards, you can have some great vegan ice cream at Scoops (they usually have 4 vegan flavors and 2-3 vegan sorbets, as well as their regular dairy ice cream, which sometimes comes in very non-vegan flavors like bacon-caramel or foie gras). Vegetarian Chinese places are also a good bet, but your options will be somewhat limited if you don't eat soy. Seitan (wheat gluten) used to be more common, but now, most of the fake meat stuff at most of the veg Chinese places is more soy based... plus communicating your needs might be hard. You could try and see if they have some gluten based fake chicken dishes, or cold cuts (Bean Sprouts in Arcadia has a great smoked gluten appetizer). Some places also have taro and mushroom based fake meat (orange "chicken" is often made with mushrooms, and I've seen taro "ribs"). There's some great vegetable and non-fake-meat stuff at these places. Anyway, the Happy Family in Monterey Park on Atlantic, or the one in Rowland Heights would be a good place to start, or check out my long list of Asian veggie places here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/350963#2118708 I assume you can handle soy sauce and other stuff with some soy in it? I'm not a big fan of the veggie Thai places (blahblah Vegan), but I do think http://www.bulanthai.com/ is pretty good. All of the fake meats there are probably no good for you (you should be able to eat the seitan at California Vegan's locations, though). Wed Jan 23 22:58:00 -0800 2008 3326240 59830 will47 2 3328256 Oh, also, Vegetable Delight (in the valley) - another veg Chinese place, has a pretty good selection of non-soy fake meat stuff, and their menu explains what is what, plus the staff speaks pretty good English. So that might be one place to try. They have some great gluten-based chicken dishes, and a good mushroom based orange chicken. Thu Jan 24 10:48:53 -0800 2008 3326804 59830 will47 2 3329547 Yeah, I can do soy sauce and I don't have a problem with Soy Lechtin in products - I just tend to get sick when I eat tofu or edamame or soy corn dogs... so I try to limit my intake. I'm really less concerned with finding "fake" meat, and more with trying delicious, flavorful dishes because this genre of food is new to me. Thu Jan 24 16:02:43 -0800 2008 3326804 150969 RaeRenee 1 3328313 Rahel Veggie Ethiopian cuisine in Little Ethiopia. Get a Special Combo or a Hudade Combo. Nuff said. Thu Jan 24 11:01:39 -0800 2008 3326240 11201 Diana 2 3328946 often cooked in clarified butter. Thu Jan 24 13:20:29 -0800 2008 3328313 105839 aventinus 3 3329058 Not at Rahel... they are vegan, not vegetarian, and I have asked that exact question. They make niter kebbeh (the spiced clarified butter that is the ghee of Ethiopia) with vegetable oil instead of butter. Thu Jan 24 13:54:32 -0800 2008 3328946 10811 Das Ubergeek 3 3329059 Rahel specifically? Do you have any proof of that? I've eaten there before, and they've always seemed pretty aboveboard about actually being vegan (and it's never bothered my stomach). Their site advertises them as 100% vegan, so if you have any proof that they are cooking with clarified butter, you should inform the vegan police immediately. I've asked at most of the other places on Fairfax (Nayala, Messob, etc.), and all have insisted that they use no butter or ghee in their vegetarian dishes, though it's possible that they misunderstand or are lying. Thu Jan 24 13:54:55 -0800 2008 3328946 59830 will47 4 3329645 no sorry, not at Rahel specifically. I had no idea that this restaurant was vegan. my bad. Thu Jan 24 16:26:54 -0800 2008 3329059 105839 aventinus 2 3329554 Diana, as always, you have a great suggestion. I love Ethiopian food and would never have thought about vegan dining in that context. Thanks! Thu Jan 24 16:04:20 -0800 2008 3328313 150969 RaeRenee 3 3331364 No prob, and you'll LOVE Rahel. The restaurant and the lady! Ask if she's there when you go. Oh, also, Rahel charges NO CORKAGE! (she has no liquor license, so bring what you want!) and often gives you more lentils or chickpeas if she thinks you're running low. Try her vegan desserts! Fri Jan 25 07:34:27 -0800 2008 3329554 11201 Diana 1 3329751 Vegan Glory for vegan / vegetarian, organic Thai food - http://www.veganglory.com/ Thu Jan 24 16:54:49 -0800 2008 3326240 75652 umeakai 2 3330456 their food is good. so is vegan express. i'm gonna list restaurants where you can either have entire vegan menus or do their vegan meals, so that you can taste a particular cuisine there, or have specific dishes... grace will do a tasting menu inn of the seventh ray orean hugo's has some great vegan options (the mung beans) healthyCA on lankershim the vegan joint mao's kitchen for vegan chinese tasting green leaves vegan paru's fatty's au lac in fountain valley follow your heart has vegetarian and vegan. juliano's raw is interesting, and leaf cuisine is as well. second also the rec for rahel. eat well has vegan newsroom cafe has options shamshiri for vegan persian is vegisoul still on jefferson? Thu Jan 24 20:34:36 -0800 2008 3329751 15572 Emme 3 3330589 fantastic list! thanks so much! Thu Jan 24 21:25:59 -0800 2008 3330456 11935 westsidegal 1 3335163 a vote for a small place in studio city called 'vegan plate'. seems to be a mostly thai menu. as an omnivore, i would go again. http://www.veganplate.com/ Sat Jan 26 09:32:26 -0800 2008 3326240 12282 JTea 2 3335886 Plus, it's right next door to asanebo, so if you decide you want some fish after all, the BEST sashimi/sushi in the valley is right next door! Sat Jan 26 14:24:37 -0800 2008 3335163 11201 Diana 1 3340340 Flor in Silverlake at the Sunset Junction just opened up not too long ago. I went their the other night and had a fantastic experience. My girlfriend who is vegan, swears by everything she's had there and it is her favorite restaurant. I'm also a big fan of Green Leaves Vegan on Hillhurst in Los Feliz. Their specialty is Thai food, but they also have great vegan pancakes and 'fried chicken'--my version of chicken and waffles when I need some comfort food. And then there's M Cafe de Chaya...which many of us have already concurred on! (: Mon Jan 28 08:28:13 -0800 2008 3326240 157876 yogagals