More Brunching at Real Food Daily

Posted by socalvegangal in Breakfast Options, Dessert, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Veg Restaurant October 12, 2012

In relation to where my vegan guy lives, Real Food Daily is quite convenient. And this makes it especially nice when we want some breakfast foods, since RFD serves brunch on Sundays (you can see more brunch items in my last RFD post).

My vegan guy went with his usual tofu scramble, but I wanted something new and got The Weekender ($14.25): scrambled tofu, onions, tomatoes, cashew cheese, tempeh bacon, half order french toast or two pancakes with hash browns or fruit. I got it with pancakes (added blueberries) and hash browns. I love this meal, because (1) it fills you up and (2) it combines sweet with savory. This is great for those of us (like me) who are indecisive when it comes to menu ordering. I still don’t like their tempeh bacon, but everything else was delicious!

The Weekender

And this sweet-aholic always eyes the bakery display case at their Santa Monica bakery. I didn’t want something too heavy after eating that large meal, so I got the lightly sweetened Blueberry Coffee Cake. I only thought it was decent – not spectacular. Maybe it was just too dense and not moist enough for me. Won’t stop me from trying their other desserts, though!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Did you here? RFD is now serving Pasadena!

Dinnertime at Real Food Daily

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Gluten Free, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Veg Restaurant October 4, 2012

Day 4 of Vegan MoFo:

My last two posts from Real Food Daily have been about their brunch items. Because it is one of the few places to get vegan breakfast foods, my vegan guy and I come here a lot in the (late) mornings. Very rarely do we actually come here for dinner, but sometimes we do.

In my pre-blog days, I tried numerous lunch/dinner menu items here that I did not document. I am a big fan of their sandwich menu, including their Reuben ($11.75): tempeh, tofu cheese spread, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing on sourdough rye bread. I got it with a side Caesar Salad (really good!!). This reuben is full of sauerkraut and is so juicy. It doesn’t make you feel heavy after eating it, either.

Reuben

Another great item is their Mexico City Tacos ($15.95): two crispy tacos, red chili beans, tempeh, vegetables, smoky chipotle cheese, avocado, jicama slaw, and Fiesta rice. This is one item off their specials menu. I am a big fan of mexican inspired dishes and this had all the components of a tasty south of the border meal. Two things I loved were the creamy beans and cheese. One thing I wasn’t that into was the jicama slaw – not a big fan of jicama.

Tacos

And again with the dessert! I have terrible willpower when it comes to dessert. A few other tables around my vegan guy and me ordered a Cookie a la Mode, so I did too. The thought of a warmed chocolate chip cookie with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream sounded so wonderful and decadent. Unfortunately, the cookie was not warmed and wasn’t particularly good at room temperature, either (I think it was gluten free). I did like the ice cream.

Cookie a la Mode

Brunch at Real Food Daily

Posted by socalvegangal in Breakfast Options, Dessert, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Veg Restaurant July 20, 2012

Real Food Daily is an all vegan eatery serving up healthy, organic food. They now have three locations: Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and the newest in Pasadena. My vegan guy and I used to go here often for their Sunday brunch, but when their tofu scramble portions got smaller and smaller, we stopped frequenting them as much. The Santa Monica location has a full bakery attached to it that specializes in healthier-for-you desserts. If you want to star gaze (or impress out of town guests) the West Hollywood location often has celebrities dining in. I’ve often spotted one on a trip to their Sunday brunch. Once, we sat next to Leonardo Di Caprio and Tobey Maguire (swoon!!)! Sorry, vegan guy, but I’ve been in a relationship with Leo long before I met you.

And now back to the food. I got the Breakfast Burrito ($13.75): whole wheat flour tortilla, scrambled tofu, tempeh bacon, spanish rice, black beans, onions, peppers, topped w/ ranchero sauce, cashew cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo with hash browns or fruit. This thing is huge and (as you can see) loaded with goodness. I got it with a side of hash browns, which were crispy on the top and softer underneath. The tempeh bacon is too smokey for me at Real Food Daily, so I gave the side to my vegan guy.

Breakfast Burrito

My vegan guy went with his standard RFD brunch item: Ava B ‘n’ Cheez Scramble ($12.95): avocado, crumbled tempeh bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, cashew cheese (only he gets chopped tomatoes instead of the sun dried tomatoes). It also comes with hash browns or fruit and a side of toast. While it looks like a lot in the picture, it’s actually a bit small (especially for the price). When you see that my meal was less than a dollar more, I would expect almost as much food. It is still tasty food, but beware if you have a larger appetite.

Tofu Scramble

I was so stuffed from my burrito, that I couldn’t eat anything more. However, I saw in the bakery display case a glorious looking cheesecake, so I got it to-go. The Caramel Pecan Cheesecake ($6.95) was nice and creamy. I liked it, but my vegan guy thought the tofu flavor was too strong.

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Check out their website to see which of their three locations is closest to you.

More from Green Earth in Pasadena

Posted by socalvegangal in San Gabriel Valley, Veg Restaurant May 25, 2012

It’s rare that my vegan guy and I are in the Pasadena area, but when we are, we like to stop at Green Earth in Old Town.

One of my new favs is their Golden Wontons ($4.50): fried wontons served with sweet chili sauce. They have this creamy center, crispy outside, and a wonderful, slightly sweet dipping sauce. I love them!

Golden Wontons

My vegan guy got their Chick’un Burger ($8.95): crispy breaded chick’un breast, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle, avocado, and house made tofu mayo. This burger is like your basic chicken burger. It had great flavor and wasn’t dry. Simple and delicious.

Chick’un Burger

I was trying to get something a little more wholesome and not so much fake meaty, so I opted for the Spicy Lemongrass Tofu ($8.50): tofu sautéed with spicy minced lemongrass. I am not a fan of overly spicy dishes, but I could handle this one. A few bites that contained more of the chili sauce were tough for me to get through, though. Luckily, this comes with rice to mellow out the spice.

Spicy Lemongrass Tofu

Green Earth’s menu is large and varied. I definitely recommend a trip to Pasadena to eat here. You can even park for free for 90 minutes across the street in the parking structure.

37 South Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-584-0268

Sun – Thur: 11:30am – 9pm
Tue: CLOSED
Fri – Sat: 11:30am – 10pm

Green Earth in Pasadena

Posted by socalvegangal in San Gabriel Valley, Uncategorized, Veg Restaurant May 5, 2012

Pasadena is growing in their offerings for vegans. Green Earth is an all vegan restaurant in the quaint Old Town district of Pasadena. My vegan guy and I went and got a plethora of options.

Our first appetizer was the nachos ($5.25) – organic white corn chips and cheese served with guacamole, pico de gallo, and jalapeños. As you can see from the picture, it is kind of plain. We got the pico de gallo on the side, but even so, the guacamole was more like pureed avocado. It was decent, but not the best.

Nachos (pico de gallo on the side)

Hot and Sour Soup ($4.95) was next – spicy soup with bamboo shoots, tofu, soy protein, king oyster mushroom, and shredded carrot. I didn’t really like this one either. I thought it was not very flavorful, but high on the spicy factor. This soup was small, but enough to serve two.

Hot and Sour Soup

My vegan guy got the Wonder Sub ($8.95) – veggie “meatball” sandwich topped with marinara sauce and vegan mozzarella cheese. He really liked this. I had a bite and liked it as well, but I also think I have had better meatball subs.

Wonder Sub

For my entree, I got the California Chick-un Wrap ($8.95) – sautéed chick’un, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, pico de gallo, and house made tofu mayo. I love wraps and this one was no different. It is very light – not greasy at all. There was a perfect amount of chicken versus avocado versus tortilla.

California Chick-un Wrap (pico de gallo on the side)

As if you thought we couldn’t eat anymore, we got dessert. Green tea is always appealing to me, so I got the Green Tea Cheesecake ($5.25). It was slightly cold and wonderfully creamy. A very nice lightly sweet dessert to end the night.

Green Tea Cheesecake

If you make it out to Pasadena, make sure to check out Green Earth Vegan Restaurant. You can park for free for 90 minutes across the street in the parking structure.

37 South Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-584-0268

Sun – Thur: 11:30am – 9pm
Tue: CLOSED
Fri – Sat: 11:30am – 10pm

Vegan Chinese at Happy Family

Posted by socalvegangal in San Gabriel Valley, Veg Restaurant January 20, 2012

One of the best places to get some vegan Chinese food is Happy Family in Monterey Park. This restaurant is not to be confused with the Happy Family chain in Rowland Heights, Costa Mesa, and Loma Linda. Rumor is that these two businesses were once one actual happy family, but parted ways some time ago. I could be wrong. Either way, these businesses have a similar menu, but are not the same company.

My vegan guy and I started off with my favorite – hot and sour soup. I absolutely love this soup, but it’s so hard trying to find one that is tasty and vegan. Luckily, Happy Family has it and it is wonderful. I could eat bowls and bowls of this stuff in one sitting (and have many times). It has a very flavorful broth and is filled with tofu, bamboo, mushrooms, and carrots.

Hot and Sour Soup – $5.95

Next up were the crispy oyster mushrooms. These mushrooms are fried, but not greasy. They are subtly seasoned and are not served with any sauce (you don’t need one). I thought they were very good, but prefer the similar dish at the other Happy Family. The oyster mushrooms at the other Happy Family have a bit more flavor, but I would still recommend ordering it here.

Crispy Oyster Mushrooms – $9.50

Our last dish was the special fungus with deep fried tofu (can you tell we like the fried stuff?). It sounded better than what was served. This was my least favorite. The tofu did not seem deep fried. The soft tofu had a thin layer of fried batter that had gotten mushy from the sauce. As my guy said it, “It’s not very flavorful, but it’s also not flavorless.” I couldn’t have said it better.

Special Fungus with Deep Fried Tofu – $8.95

There are many other dishes at Happy Family that I’ve had and loved. Their menu is huge! They have lots of fake meat items, too. I’d highly recommend making the drive out to Monterey Park – it’s worth it!