Golden Mean Cafe in Santa Monica

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant March 19, 2012

Golden Mean Cafe is a cozy all vegan restaurant in Santa Monica. They have a variety of dishes including salads, sandwiches, International entrees, desserts, and even brunch on weekends.

For a recent lunch, my vegan guy went healthy and got a Cobb salad ($12.95): romaine hearts, tofu egg, breaded chicken, tomato, and cashew cheese in a creamy ranch dressing. OK, well maybe ranch and breaded chicken isn’t exactly the epitome of health, but it sure was good.

Cobb Salad

I got the Chicken Parmigiana ($13.75): breaded chicken served with ancient grain pasta in a tomato sauce, topped with Daiya soy-free cheese and served with mixed green salad. The salad was your basic side salad with a nice dressing. The chicken parmigiana part was amazing. The pasta was light on sauce, but not on flavor and the slice of chicken had just the right amount of crispy to it. I want to eat this again right now.

Chicken Parmigiana

Gold Mean has a nice bakery case full of vegan desserts. This little guy caught my eye: a gluten free chocolate, pumpkin brownie topped with chocolate ganache ($4.25). Gluten free goodies tend to have a grainy texture – not this one. It had a wonderful flavor that even my vegan guy (not a sweets person) couldn’t resist taking a few bites.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie

Golden Mean is located at 1028 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401 310-393-6500

Sunday – Thursday 11 – 9pm

Friday – Saturday 11 – 9:30pm

Vegan Pizza at Cruzer Pizza in LA

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Pizza, Veg Restaurant March 14, 2012

Cruzer Pizza is an all vegan pizza shop in Los Angeles. This place used to be all meat, then switched to all vegan, and is now under new ownership and have since added even more vegan options.

While I wanted to get their Cheese Bread Sticks for a starter (they are so good!), I decided to get something new. Their Potato Skins ($5.99) sounded great, but actually weren’t that good. The Daiya and marinara were the good parts, but the potato part didn’t really taste like much.

Potato Skins with Marinara and Daiya Cheese

I love pasta – especially pasta that is more than just noodles and marinara sauce (I’m talking to you generic meat-serving restaurants). Cruzer Pizza has a plethora of vegan pasta dishes. I got their Chicken Parmigiana ($9.99): noodles, marinara, and chicken all topped with Daiya. I really liked this dish. Their marinara sauce is great and the chicken wasn’t chewy. My only problem was that it was a bit watery at the bottom. It seems like the noodles weren’t drained well enough when taken from the pot of water to the serving container.

Chicken Parmigiana

And of course we got a pizza from Cruzer Pizza. My vegan guy opted for the Hawaiian Pizza ($15.99): tomato sauce, Daiya, pineapple, and ham. I love Cruzer’s crust- not too thick and not too thin- and they always add just the right amount of toppings.

Medium Hawaiian Pizza

You can even order online instead of calling it in. Cruzer Pizza is located at:

4449 Prospect Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323.666.0600

Monday – Saturday 11am – 11pm
Sunday 11am – 10pm

Trip 2 to Hugo’s Restaurant

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Veg Restaurant March 11, 2012

I took another trip to Hugo’s Restaurant in West Hollywood and again I couldn’t resist some of their monthly specials. Sadly for you, I went on the last weekend of the month and didn’t have a chance to post these amazing dishes in time. I do hope they add these to their regular menu. Both dishes I got were superb!

For an appetizer, I got their Grilled Polenta & Portabello Ragout ($7.75): grilled polenta topped with sautéed diced portabello mushrooms, artichoke hearts, broccolini, and sun dried tomato, in a cashew-cream marsala-tomato sauce and sprinkled with fresh chopped basil. I wish they bottled this sauce. Vegans don’t have a creamy red sauce readily available in grocery store and I think our time has come – Hugo’s, are you listening?! I loved this dish.

Polenta and Portobello Ragout

For my entree I ordered their special of Oyster Mushroom Tacos ($12.75): warm corn tortillas filled with breaded crispy fried oyster mushrooms and topped with shredded lettuce, jalapeno-marinated vegetables, fire-roasted-tomato salsa and cilantro. Served with chopped romaine salad and Caesar dressing. I already knew I’d love this dish, because I’ve been recently obsessed with oyster mushrooms. These mushrooms were perfectly seasoned and not too oily. The salad was also wonderful. I couldn’t think of anything I would change about this dish.

Oyster Mushroom Tacos

In case you missed it in my first post about Hugo’s, here are the details:

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
7:30am – 10pm
Saturday – Sunday
8am – 10pm

Babycakes NYC in LA

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Dessert Shop, Los Angeles March 5, 2012

Babycakes is an all vegan bakery that specializes in gluten-free and wheat-free goods. They opened their original storefront in New York City, but have since expanded to the west coast (aka “the best coast”). I finally got the chance to check out their downtown location. It’s so hard to find parking down there, but their treats are definitely worth it.

Babycakes has donuts… DONUTS!! Oh, these are good! I didn’t even get all the flavors available that day (although I wanted to). I did get maple, blueberry, pumpkin, salted caramel, and chocolate glazed. The maple was sprinkled with cinnamon and was wonderful, the blueberry was simply topped with some powdered sugar and tasted like a fried blueberry coffee cake, the pumpkin was a cute heart shaped and had extra amounts of frosting in the indented center, the salted caramel was not too salty and had a lovely caramel flavor, and the chocolate glazed was nice (but a bit too bitter for me). I could eat these everyday.

Donuts (clockwise) – Maple, Blueberry, Pumpkin, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Glazed

I also got two spelt flour cupcakes – a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting and a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Let me admit that I have had these before. Long before Babycakes came to LA, I made a visit to their NYC location. Frankly, I wasn’t too impressed with what I got (cupcakes and a cookie or two). This is the main reason it took me so long to visit their LA location. These cupcakes reminded me of that NYC trip. The cupcake itself was a little dry and the frosting was a little gummy (my same reaction to the NYC cupcakes).

Vanilla with Vanilla Frosting and Chocolate with Chocolate Frosting

Fortunately, the cupcakes were the only disappointment. I also got some brownies and some chocolate chip cookies. The brownies were cake-like and moist. They are the size of mini-muffins and I could have kept popping these little guys into my mouth. The chocolate chip cookies were also good. They were chewy, perfectly sweet, and had no graininess at all (something gluten-free cookies often have).

Chocolate Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Babycakes has made it even easier to get their goodies. They opened a new location in the Larchmont Village area. So much easier to park there. I recommend a trip to either location:

130 East 6th Street
(between S. Main Street and S. Los Angeles Street)
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Sunday 10am to 6pm
Monday through Thursday 10am to 7pm
Friday and Saturday 10am to 9pm

236 North Larchmont Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90004

Sunday 9am to 8pm
Monday through Thursday 9am to 9pm
Friday and Saturday 9am to 10pm

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

OC Restaurant Week at 118 Degrees

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Raw, Veg Restaurant February 29, 2012

OC Restaurant Week is going on this week and is offering wonderful discounts. Luckily for vegans, we have some options. I went to 118 Degrees in Costa Mesa for a $10 lunch special. 118 Degrees is an all raw-all vegan restaurant (although I think they might have bee products in some smoothies).

Their Restaurant Week lunch menu included:

CA Pear and Walnut Salad (Organic Mixed Greens with Crisp Marinated Pears and Walnuts, topped with our famous Sweet Mustard Dressing.)

Choice of:

Sicilian Focaccia on our house made sprouted buckwheat crust topped with onions, olives, sun-dried tomato
and sweet macadamia cheese.

Fried Avocado Hand-Helds in a Nappa Cabbage Leaf with our Tahini Cheese, Chopped Organic Spinach, Diced Cucumber, and Flax Rolled Avocado.

Dessert Duo, Daily Selection of Dessert Bites from our House Selection of Popular Desserts

My dining partner and I got one of each entree and ended up splitting them.

$10 Lunch Special with Fried Avocado

The salad was simple and the pears added a nice bit of sweetness. I love the “fried” avocados at 118 Degrees so I was excited to get it in a handheld. Although it didn’t end up being eaten in handheld form, it was still delicious. The daily dessert duo ended up being their brownie and apple cobbler. The brownie was more like fudge. I loved the texture, but I find raw chocolate to be too bitter for me. I also wasn’t a big fan of the apple cobbler. I love baked apple cobblers, but since this was a raw dessert, I’m assuming they dehydrated their apples. I was never a fan of dried apples, which is why I could have passed on this dessert. The crust was good, though.

$10 Lunch Special with Sicilian Focaccia

As far as the sicilian focaccia dish went – I actually didn’t have high hopes for this one. I was concerned that the crust was going to be bad (I’ve had bad experiences with raw items trying to replace bread). I ended up really liking their focaccia. The topping of greens was also wonderful.

If you are in the area, I’d highly recommend stopping by for this fantastic deal. They have a separate dinner special for $20. You can get all the information at the OC Restaurant Week’s website. The deals end March 3rd, so you better get over there!

Note: Avanti Cafe also is having OC Restaurant Week deals and includes some vegan options. See their options here.

Killer Breakfast Sandwich at Seabirds Food Truck

Posted by socalvegangal in Food Truck, Orange County February 25, 2012

Holy Shih-Tzu! I went today to the SoCo Farmers Market and got the breakfast croissant sandwich at Seabirds Food Truck. So good. This thing was made with homemade (by Seabirds!) croissant, tofu egg, heirloom tomato, avocado, and basil pesto aioli. This croissant was amazing. Super fatty (in a good way) – not dry like some croissants sold. Vegans out there know how hard it is to find vegan croissants. Thank you Seabirds for filling that void. I hope to see it on the menu again!

Breakfast Croissant Sandwich – $7

But of course I wanted to try something else, so I got the Chipotle BBQ Jack Tacos. These babies are loaded with grilled jackfruit and topped with cabbage slaw. They were kind of too spicy for me (I’m weak), but still oh so good. I would have loved these without the “chipotle.” The jackfruit was perfectly marinated and the creamy slaw was a great balance to the spicy and sweet BBQ.

Chipotle BBQ Jack Tacos – 2 for $7

It’s only noon, so you still have 2 hours to get over there and get one!

Follow Seabirds on Facebook or Twitter.

Vegan Vietnamese at Thuyen Vien

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Veg Restaurant February 23, 2012

In 2007, OC Weekly gave Thuyen Vien the honor of Best Pho. This is not among vegetarian pho only – it’s out of all the places that serve pho! I can tell you from experience, their pho is very tasty (although I’ve never had conventional pho and can’t compare it to that). My trips to Thuyen Vien always come with the dilemma of ordering their amazing pho, or ordering one of their many other tasty dishes. This trip I went with the latter.

First up were the Steamed Jicama Rolls served with Peanut Sauce. I love non-fried rolls drenched in peanut sauce and these did not disappoint! I don’t remember if there was tofu or some kind of fake meat in the middle, but also included were jicama slices, carrots, and greens. Yummy and refreshing!

Steamed Jicama Rolls – $5.50

For my entree, I ordered the Crispy Soy Fish with Ginger Sauce. I’ve had this before when I dined with a large group and everyone I was with absolutely loved this one. It has an interesting texture and is covered in seaweed. I’m a big fan, but I can see why it might not be for everyone.

Thuyen Vien Crispy Soy Fish with Ginger Sauce

Crispy Soy Fish with Ginger Sauce – $7.95

I also had a taste of my fellow diner’s entree: Garlic Chicken. The chicken was chewy and the dish was a bit spicy, but all-in-all, it had a great flavor.

Garlic Chicken- $6.95

I also ordered their BBQ Shredded Tofu and Eggrolls Vermicelli with Grilled Pork (that’s a mouthful!) to-go for my vegan guy. Turns out, this one has lots of onions (something my guy avoids for personal reasons), so he didn’t eat it. I ate it the next day and thought it was just ok. This type of dish isn’t something I’m a huge fan of and wouldn’t order it on my own. The noodles were plain and the rest had some flavor, but had gotten mushy while sitting in the fridge overnight. It came with a very liquidy sauce to pour over the noodles, but it just wasn’t enough for me to really enjoy it (I’m a fan of thicker/more flavorful sauces on my noodle dishes). If you are a frequent orderer of this particular “vermicelli noodle with egg roll” type dish, then you might like it, though.

Thuyen Vien Vermicelli Noodles with Grilled Pork

Vermicelli Noodles with Grilled Pork – $6.95

Thuyen Vien is all vegetarian and mostly vegan (any non-vegan dishes are marked “NV”). The sign outside says “Pho Veggie” so look for that. The parking lot is smaller, but I have never had a problem parking in it. It is located at:

1740 S Euclid St
Anaheim, CA 92802
(714) 490-0242

Mon:5:00 pm-9:00 pm
Tue – Fri:10 am-2:30 pm and 5 pm-9 pm
Sat – Sun:10 am-9 pm

Yelp Page
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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.

Cheezy Pizza in Colton

Posted by socalvegangal in Inland Empire, Omnivorous Restaurant, Pizza, Veg Restaurant February 7, 2012

I love that Daiya has made it so easy for pizza places to add vegan pizzas to their menus. Cheezy Pizza in Colton has done this and more. They are not a totally vegan establishment, but their vegan menu is huge! In addition to vegan pizza, they have vegan appetizers, salads, calzones, and even desserts. I recently went and got some food to feast on with my family out in the Inland Empire.

First up was the garlic cheese bread and the potato wedges. The garlic cheese bread was a nice thick and soft piece of bread covered in Daiya cheese. It came with a small container of marinara sauce. The bread was delicious, but I wanted more marinara for dunking. The potato wedges were also delicious. They were perfectly seasoned and not too greasy. They came with a side of ketchup.

Garlic Cheese Bread – $4.60

Potato Wedges – $3.68

In addition to the two appetizers, I ordered two different kinds of pasta. Their pasta menu lets you choose a shape of pasta, pasta sauce, and up to four toppings. I ordered Fettucini Alfredo with vegan chicken and mushrooms. Their alfredo sauce is one of the best vegan alfredo sauces I’ve ever had. It’s super thick and creamy – I wish they jarred and sold this. The second pasta dish I ordered was the Penne Pesto with sun dried tomatoes, black olives, and mushrooms. At first I thought it looked dry – that the pasta baked too much in the oven – but it definitely wasn’t. The pesto had just the right amount of spices and oil. The topping of Daiya was also a great way to add more of a cheesy flavor to the pesto. I’d order this one again.

Fettuccini Alfredo with Vegan Chicken and Mushrooms – $7.99

Penne Pesto with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Black Olives – $7.99

The two pizzas I ordered were the BBQ Chicken Pizza and the Margherita Pizza. The BBQ Chicken pizza reminded me of my favorite California Pizza Kitchen pizza back when I was an omnivore. The BBQ sauce was the best part – nice and sweet with a little bit of tang. The Margherita pizza was simple, but not lacking any flavor. The fresh tomatoes and tons of basil made this pizza so refreshing. The crust at Cheesy Pizza is a one-size-fits all – not too thick and not too thin.

BBQ Chicken Pizza – $16.56

Margherita Pizza – $13.80

In keeping with the “two of each” theme, I picked up two vegan cheesecakes for dessert. These are pre-packaged cheesecakes made by a third party. The two flavors I got were Caramel Apple and Peanut Butter. Neither of these cheesecakes were very good. They both tasted kind of dry- especially the crumbly crust. The best part of these was the dollop of frosting on the peanut butter cheesecake. This was the only really creamy part of it all.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake – $4.75

Peanut Butter Cheesecake – $4.75

They also recently started bottling their ranch dressing. I hope it makes it to the stores. It is just like the “real” thing! So thick – not runny like other vegan ranches I’ve had. I dumped this stuff like crack onto my pizzas. It’s worth the drive to Colton alone.

Creamy Ranch from Cheezy Pizza – $6.50

The biggest downer of Cheezy Pizza is that I only found out about it after I moved away from the area. Everything Cheezy Pizza makes is fantastic. A note about their vegan sauces: apparently they prepare these on Mondays. I came on Monday and got the last bit of vegan alfredo. If you are making a special trip on a Monday, I’d recommend calling ahead to make sure they have the vegan sauce that you want.

Cheezy Pizza

Cheezy Pizza is in a random area (in my opinion). The neighborhood is mostly residential and a block away from an elementary school. It has easy parking and is not too far from the freeway. There is seating inside for about 20 people.

Cheezy Pizza is located at:
299 West Olive Street
Colton, CA 92324
(909) 370 -2644

Sun-Thurs: 11AM – 9PM
Fri-Sat: 11AM – 10PM

So Cal Vegan Gal

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