I forget how I happened upon Covina Tasty, but I’m very glad I did.  This location used to be a Tastee Freeze franchise, but when the owner started swapping the meat-filled menu with veg alternatives, the headquarters said they must change their name. Thus, Tasty Covina was born and have been serving up vegetarian versions of the traditional Tastee Freeze menu since.

While it still kind of looks like a Tastee Freeze, it is no longer a part of that company.  There is no inside seating.  You just order at the window (left window is for ice creams and right window is for food) and eat at one of the picnic benches.

What can you get here?  The cheese is not vegan and the hot dogs buns aren’t either.  The owner said that he tries to get vegan hot dogs buns, but sometimes he just can’t get them from his supplier – although the hot dogs are vegan.  I was concerned that he didn’t know the true meaning of “vegan” as some places serve “vegan” fake meats that contain animal by-products.  But, this guy knew his stuff.  He was saying things about how it was hard trying to find vegan patties that didn’t have whey, etc.  This reassured me that he was actually checking the ingredients.

My first sandwich was a Chicken Sandwich with Avocado ($3.79 plus $0.99 for avocado).  I thought this was delicious.  Everything you could want from a fast food chicken sandwich.  The lack of extra vegan sauces was not missed.  The chicken was nice and crispy and the avocado added that creaminess that a fancy vegan special sauce or mayo would give.

My second item was a Hamburger with Chili ($3.79 plus $0.79 for chili).  This had a very meaty patty and their homemade chili.  I also thought this burger was great – I don’t know which sandwich I liked better.

And I wanted dessert from this awesome place.  Unfortunately their soft serve is not vegan, but they do carry Vegan Heaven‘s Tiramisu and ice creams.  They also hand dip their own frozen bananas.  I even asked to make sure the chocolate sauce was vegan, and he showed me the package.  Although not the healthiest, it was vegan.  My Frozen Banana ($2.09) was huge!  The owner even commented that most places don’t serve frozen bananas that big.  It was delicious, as well.  It was a great feeling to sit in front of this 70’s type place on a beautiful day eating my frozen banana.  There were even a few older gentlemen who were admiring the owner’s vintage VW Bug. The owner came out, revved it up, and turned on the radio to a very fitting song for the moment: The Guess Who’s “American Woman.”  I think I was born in the wrong era.

I love this place.  The food is great and the feeling of being there just reminds me of youth and the innocence of it.  You must go here if you are ever in the Covina area.

1063 N. Citrus Ave.
Covina, CA 91722
626-332-8816

Daily 11 am to 11 pm