Pizza Night at M Cafe

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Pizza, Veg Restaurant March 3, 2012

M Cafe de Chaya specializes in macrobiotic cuisine. They are vegan with some fish selections. Somewhat recently, they started offering pizza on Saturday nights. My vegan guy and I finally went to try it out.

He ordered the pizza with tempeh bacon and avocado. I want to say that I liked this pizza, but I kind of didn’t. The bad thing about it was the crust. It was not like pizza crust – it was more bland and doughy. The toppings part was good, but the crust just killed it. Maybe it was an off day, so you should go ahead and try the pizza to see for yourself.

Pizza with Avocado and Tempeh Bacon – $11.95

I ordered the California Club with the Soba Noodle side salad (a triple-decker of savory tempeh “bacon”, lettuce, tomato, avocado, carrots, sprouts & soy-mayo on your choice of house-baked toasted sourdough or multi-grain & seed bread). For me, this club didn’t have enough filling. All of the filling was concentrated in the center and the bites at the edges were just of bread. The bread was also really chewy – tasted like a combination of not really toasted bread and day old bread. My vegan guy and I came closer to closing, so maybe we were getting the last of the pickings for the day. I don’t know what was happening. I’ve enjoyed M Cafe before (and I know other bloggers have raved about them as well). The soba noodle salad (a cold salad) was nice and tasty, though.

California Club with Soba Noodle Salad – $11.25

I also was craving some fries, so I ordered M Cafe’s sweet potato fries. I was a fan of the fries, but the sauce that came with it – Spicy Yuzu Mayo- was too spicy for me. I should have asked for plain ol’ ketchup. Next time I’ll ask when I order.

Sweet Potato Fries – $3.95

Parking is troublesome at M Cafe. There are a few spaces connected to the restaurant, but mainly you will have to find a spot on the street.

7119 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90046

(323) 525-0588

Monday thru Saturday
9 am – 10 pm

Sunday
9 am – 9 pm

They also have a location in Beverly Hills at:

9433 Brighton Way
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

(310) 858-8459

Monday thru Saturday
9 am – 8 pm

Sunday
10 am – 7 pm

Valentine’s Special at Native Foods

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Orange County, Veg Restaurant February 15, 2012

I heard about the Native Foods Valentine’s Special and had to get it. Luckily, a new location had just opened at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, which is a lot closer to me than the locations in Costa Mesa or Tustin.

The Valentine’s Special included vegetable lasagna layered with tofu ricotta, roasted portobellos, greens, and a fresh marinara and topped with Native cashew parmesan. It was served with a Caesar salad and garlic bread. I loved the garlic bread – it was the best part. The Caesar salad was also good. The lasagna, on the other hand, was slightly lacking on the flavor. I found that the large pieces of portobello mushrooms and kale took over and I had wished there were more cheese and spices.

Valentine’s Special – Lasagna, Garlic Bread, and Caesar Salad – $9.95

The tiramisu wasn’t how I remembered tiramisu. Prepared with espresso soaked vanilla cake with vegan mascarpone and shaved chocolate. The vanilla cake was what I remembered angel food cake to be – kind of spongey and light on flavor. The espresso made the edges of the cake soggy – not good. The mascarpone reminded me of marshmallow fluff – thick and sticky. It was smooth, but the texture threw me off. Not creamy how I remember the real stuff to be. The whole thing was just ok. It was a lightly sweet dessert for those who like that sort of thing.

Tiramisu – $2.95

All in all, I’m not sure if I’d order this again if it appeared on the regular menu. I am still very excited about the new Fashion Island location. There are a few new items that I am wanting to try and will definitely be back to order these.

Native Foods has been opening new locations all over the place. Check out their website to see if one is near you.

Vegan Cookies at Robeks

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Orange County, Packaged Food February 10, 2012

I had heard a few years ago that Robeks juice was offering vegan cookies. Since I never go there and there aren’t many locations near me, I never checked it out. I finally came across a Robeks and decided to try these vegan cookies. They are made by Lenny & Larry’s and claim to be a healthier cookie. You can see the nutrition information at their website. These cookies are quite big and very filling- a great steal at only two bucks.

I went with the Peanut Butter and the Chocolate Chip. Also available were Lemon Poppyseed and Oatmeal Raisin. I thought the peanut butter had an off flavor – maybe it was the peanut butter they used? The chocolate chip was much better. I didn’t taste any off flavor in this one. They both were very soft, so be careful if you are packing these guys away – they break apart easily.

Cookies at Robeks

Hugo’s Restaurant in WeHo

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Omnivorous Restaurant, San Fernando Valley, Veg Restaurant January 27, 2012

My favorite thing about Hugo’s Restaurant is the huge selection of vegan options. For an omnivorous restaurant, they certainly cater to vegans. Even a lot of their non-vegan menu items can be made vegan. Another great thing about Hugo’s is their monthly specials. This trip to Hugo’s was no exception.

I was in the mood for pancakes one sunny afternoon in December, but didn’t know where to go. I knew I wasn’t in the mood for any of the pancakes served at the infamous vegan thai places in LA and most other restaurants serving vegan breakfast foods weren’t cooking them this late in the day. Luckily Hugo’s serves breakfast items until 4pm. I ordered a December special: Orange Cranberry Pancakes. This consisted of three fluffy pancakes infused with almond, orange, ginger & cranberries and topped with toasted slivered almonds and organic powdered sugar. Also served with a chunky agave sweetened ginger-orange cranberry compote. I love how nice and thick Hugo’s can make their pancakes without leaving the center of the pancake mushy and uncooked. The pancakes were delicious and very filling. I wasn’t too thrilled with the compote, though. I’m a girl who loves her pancakes covered in maple syrup and I thought the agave in the compote clashed with the flavor of the maple syrup.

Orange Cranberry Pancakes – $11.50

My vegan guy (not into the sweet stuff) got a veggie burger. The Hugo’s veggie burger comes with onion, lettuce, tomato and Vegenaise. It is served with a choice of crispy fries, house made potato chips, house salad or caesar salad. You can also choose three additional toppings. My vegan guy opted for sauteed mushrooms, avocado, and ranch (on the side) and a side of fries. I had a bite and thought it was wonderful (especially to curb the sweetness of my pancakes). My vegan guy thought he’d had better veggie burgers on prior visits to Hugo’s. Maybe there was a new cook? The one thing we both agreed on was the ranch. We thought it was too runny. It barely stayed on the burger. It was definitely more of a dressing for a salad (if that) than a spread for a burger.

Veggie Burger with sauteed mushrooms, avocado, and ranch – $12.50

All in all, though, Hugo’s Restaurant is a must visit for those who don’t mind eating at an omnivorous restaurant. You can check out their monthly specials and recurring items on their menu (vegan and vegan-options are clearly marked). You can choose from their two locations: each with a small parking lot adjacent to the building.

Hugo’s Restaurant West Hollywood
8401 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993

Hugo’s Restaurant Studio City
12851 Riverside Dr
Studio City, CA 91607
(818) 761-8985

Monday – Friday
^{7:30 AM to 10:00 PM}
Saturday – Sunday
^{8:00 AM to 10:00 PM}

Leaf Cuisine in Culver City

Posted by socalvegangal in Ice Cream, Los Angeles, Raw, Veg Restaurant January 24, 2012

If finding a place that has both raw food and cooked food has been difficult for you, then look no further than Leaf Cuisine in Culver City. This mostly raw restaurant has some cooked food for non-raw-foodists to try. They now have table service, which my vegan guy and I did not know about, so we ordered at their counter instead.

Leaf Cuisine

For an appetizer I got the Cashew Kreme Cheeze with corn chips. I almost loved this dish. I liked the corn chips and I liked the Kreme Cheeze, but I didn’t really like them together. I would have preferred some plain chips. I also would have preferred less herbs in the Kreme Cheeze. I’m a huge fan of raw cheeses made with nuts and I felt that the abundance of herbs took away from wonderful flavor of the nuts. The texture of the cheese was divine, though – smooth and creamy.

Kreme Cheeze with Corn Chips – $6.50

For an entree, I got the Vegan Victory Burger (cooked dish) prepared with a grilled veggie patty and topped with house made mayo, tomato, sprouts & romaine on a sprouted grain bun. I also added vegan cheeze to my burger for an extra $0.99. I loved this veggie patty, but I thought there was too much bun. I wished the patty was thicker (because it was so good!). It came with some sauerkraut and a side salad with a nice house made dressing.

Vegan Victory Burger – $9.99

My vegan guy got the Mushroom Rawsagna prepared with layers of rawcotta, squash noodles, spinach, portobellos and rawmesan. It is also served with some sauerkraut and a side salad with house made dressing. I had a bite and really liked it. Normally raw Italian inspired dishes use a lot of zucchini in place of pasta (which I hate). This dish had none of that. The rawcotta layer was super thick and the texture was very creamy. I’d definitely order this one again.

Mushroom Rawsagna – $12.99

And finally for dessert, I got their frozen soft serve. Let me first explain how excited I was when I heard Leaf Cuisine was offering soft serve. It is so hard trying to find vegan soft serve – which one would think would be a common offering in this warm California climate. Leaf Cuisine offers both vanilla and chocolate flavored raw soft serve. I got half and half topped with their chocolate sauce. I ordered it to be eaten on location, but they packed it to-go anyway. Because it got smashed from the lid of the container, it just looks like one blob of melted ice cream. I think I may have been too excited by this offering and raised my expectations too high. The soft serve was a bit grainy – something I’ve tasted when eating other raw, vegan soft serves. The flavor was nice, though, and the chocolate sauce was delicious. It is still a very nice treat for someone following a raw or whole foods based diet.

Soft Serve – $9.99 for 13 oz. (pictured) or $3.99 for 4 oz.

Leaf Cuisine has a small parking lot and is located at:

11938 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 397 0700

Hours of Operation
Mon – Fri 10 AM to 9 PM
Sat – Sun 11 AM to 9 PM

So Cal Vegan Gal

Category Archives: Los Angeles