Farmer and Cook in Ojai

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Omnivorous Restaurant, Veg Restaurant, Ventura County and tagged with bakery, dessert, mexican, ojai, restaurant, vegan, vegan cheese February 28, 2016

Last time my vegan guy and I were in Ojai, the one vegan joint (Hip Vegan) was closed for some reason (were they on vacation? I can’t remember). We decided to make our way on over to the Farmer and Cook market, where they have a cafe on site. While not entirely vegan, they did have enough vegan options to satisfy our hunger.

Burrito

I love burritos. I especially love it when they contain vegan deliciousness such as cashew cheese. Also included in the Farmer and Cook Burrito was beans, rice, and veggies. Yum. Thank you, omnivorous restaurant, for making the extra cheesy effort for us vegans.

Veggie Burger

My vegan guy went with the Veggie Burger. As you can see, it was served on bread slices and not a bun. Not a huge deal, but made it…well… less burger tasting (you know what I mean!). All-in-all this was just a satisfactory sandwich (not burger!), but still well appreciated in the slim vegan pickings of Ojai.

OJ and Lemonade

Fresh Orange Juice and local Ojai Lavender Lemonade helped wash everything down.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

And let’s not forget about dessert. I got the Chocolate Raspberry Cake. That’s four whole layers of cake mixed with a fudgy chocolate frosting and raspberry jam. It was a little bit dry towards the edges (something one can expect from a refrigerated bakery case), but I’d definitely indulge again should I be in the area in the future.

Farmer and Cook

Bakery Case

Inside Seating

Outdoor Seating

Next time I’m in Ojai, I definitely want to check out Hip Vegan. But if you have time for a meal at Farmer and Cook, make it happen.

Located at:

339 W El Roblar St
Ojai, CA 93023
805-640-9608

Daily 11am – 8:30pm

SoCal Veg Fest at OCC

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Event, Food Truck, Orange County, Veg Restaurant and tagged with dessert, food truck, orange county, restaurant, vegan, vegan event November 17, 2015

The first annual SoCal Veg Fest happened this month on World Vegan Day – November 1. It was a beautiful day at Orange Coast College and I thought this event went very smoothly. I applaud the organizers not only because I personally know how super-cool they are, but because this was the first time a first annual vegan event didn’t turn out to be a total cluster fuck. The location was large enough for the crowd, it was free to attend, free parking was provided, there was enough shade, there were many speakers and cooking demos to fill your time, and the lines at the food vendors weren’t absurdly long. I look forward to attending this event next year.

SoCal Veg Fest

Quite a few food vendors were out giving free samples of their vegan products. I know this was a big part of what the day was about. A popular flea market was happening nearby, and I know the organizers wanted any of those attendees curious enough about a veg fest to have the opportunity to try some delicious vegan food. Good idea indeed. I got some of those samples – but also paid to get some more food. First stop was a group serving up food from Vegi Wokery. I bet the Combo Plate would be delicious in the restaurant, but it was not so amazing when being served out of a tent. I’ll have to hit up the actual restaurant one day.

Vegi Wokery Menu

Vegi Wokery Combo Plate

After chatting with some friends, I decided to try Plant Food for People. I think I’ve tried them before – maybe when they were first starting out? Everyone says they love them and they were, in fact, delightful. The the Torta (#5) was nice, but way too much bread (or maybe just not enough filling?). The Quesadilla (#7) was not what I was expecting. It was two small hard tortillas sandwiching a small portion of filling. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it was the grilled soft flour tortilla quesadilla I thought I was getting.

Plant Food for People Menu

Plant Food for People Torta and Quesadilla

Donut Friend is such a friend to the vegan community. They always seem to come out to every vegan event. Even though I live in LA and it wouldn’t be too hard for me to make the trek from west of the 405 to Highland Park, I never seem to get to their store. I really should go more often – their donuts are amazing. I got the Fritter Seems Forever (the best!), Husker Blu (yum!), Pumpkin Piebald (pumpkin deliciousness!), and X-Ray Speculoos (love speculoos, but ruined by the sea salt topping). I really could have gotten them all, but I must set some boundaries.

Donut Friend Menu

Donut Friend

While waiting in line for my donuts, the woman in front of me was eating something that I thought I must have. Turns out, it was a Pumpkin Cheesecake from Mother’s Market. This. Was. Good. I wish Mother’s Market came to LA.

Mother’s Market Pumpkin Cheesecake

And lastly, I just wanted to show you some of the awesome cupcakes from their cupcake competition. It was a wonderful addition to the event and many winners went home with fun gift bags after three judges tasted every single cupcake (where can I sign up for that job?!).

Cupcake Competition

Thank you so much to all the people who worked so hard finding the space, vendors, speakers, and everything else to make this event a huge success!

Vegan Oktoberfest 2015

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Dessert Shop, Event, Food Truck, Ice Cream, Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant and tagged with bakery, beer, dessert, DTLA, food truck, los angeles, mexican, vegan, vegan cheese, vegan event October 3, 2015

Vegan Oktoberfest is happening this weekend. If you didn’t get out there today, you’re still in luck. Vegan Oktoberfest will run again tomorrow – October 4th.

If you went last year (for the first annual event), you’ll remember it was insane and poorly planned. The location last year was in a tiny parking lot at the beach somewhere between Venice and Santa Monica. They oversold the event, vendors ran out of items early, it was super packed, and there was a record heat wave that day (ok – they couldn’t do anything about that last one).

This year was so much better. They changed locations and created the event for two days. This year’s event was at LA Center Studios – located just west of downtown and the 110 freeway. Not only was the space more than double of what they had last year, but there were also so many trees/buildings to provide shade around the area. My one complaint, though, would be that they could have set up more tents/tarps over the seating area for shade. Otherwise, I thought this event was a success. Were there fewer people in attendance? Maybe. All the lines seemed rather short. Maybe it was just better planning on the vendors this year? Maybe Sunday will be more packed? I don’t know, but was happy I didn’t have to wait in line for an hour like last year.

I got the non-drinker ticket, because I didn’t want to spend a ton on the ticket price and because I was driving. I did have a taste of Ace Pineapple Cider from a friend and it was really good. If you like sweet and not really alcoholly taste – hit them up. I did get to try a lot of food, though, and I have leftovers to last pretty much a whole week’s worth of lunch.

Stop 1: Ridiculous Baking Co does it again with their awesome Apple Strudel Cupcakes ($4) and Berliner Jelly Donuts ($3). They also had a German Chocolate Cake, which I did not have today, but have had in the past (yum!).

Ridiculous Baking Co Apple Strudel Cupcake and Berliner

Stop 2: The Grilled Cheese Truck is always one of my stops at all these vegan events (including LA Vegan Beer Fest this past May). Their regular menu includes no vegan items – which is a shame, because they do them so well. My two favorites are the Cheesy Mac Melt ($8) and the Cheesy Mac and Rib Melt ($10).

Grilled Cheese Truck Cheesy Mac Melt

Grilled Cheese Truck Mac and Rib Melt

Stop 3: The Go Vegan Truck (or is it the Make Vegan Truck?) was new to me and I still can’t figure out their proper name. The Not Dog ($6) was one of my favorite savory items from the day. Take a vegan dog, batter it, fry it, and serve it up in a hot dog bun. Yum. Their Crispy Schnitzel Cheese Burger ($11) was also good. True to the name, the patty was crispy. It was a nice burger, but if I had to pick one item to order, it would be the Not Dog. I also tried one of their (unlabelled) desserts. I think it was a Chocolate Rugelach ($5), and it was just ok. Slightly sweet, nice texture, but nothing to write home about.

Go Vegan Food Truck

Go Vegan Not Dog

Go Vegan Crispy Schnitzel Cheese Burger

Go Vegan Rugelach

Stop 4: Sabores de Mexico looks like they serve all meat during their normal truck schedule, because they put up some (very hand-made) signs with a special vegan menu for the event. I really appreciate the effort, but unfortunately, I was not a fan. I got the Pepperdine Burrito which had rice, beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, Daiya, and tofu. I thought it was a little bland. Adding Spanish rice instead of plain ol’ white rice might have helped.

Sabores de Mexico Menu

Sabores de Mexico Menu Pepperdine Burrito

Stop 5: Donut Friend has been at other vegan events, but I’ve always skipped them in hopes I would make it out to their shop in Highland Park. I have yet to go to their shop, so I decided to give them a go. Everything was amazing! The Apple Fritter ($5) was the perfect texture, the Allison Spice ($4) was a pumpkin cake donut done right, and the Custard Front Drive ($4) had the most delicious custard filling. The chocolate glaze on the custard donut was a little more rich than I am used to being on raised donuts, but was not overpowering when combined with that creamy custard.

Donut Friend Menu

Donut Friend Apple Fritter, Bavarian Cream, Pumpkin Spice

Stop 6: Divine Dips is always a great way to end a hot, food-filled day. The Matcha Green Tea is my favorite. I also tried the Caffe No-Lait and loved it. All this was topped with some Whipped Cream and I was a happy girl. ($6)

Divine Dips Matcha Green Tea and Caffe No-Lait with Whipped Cream

Stop 7: Nary Dairy is allegedly ceasing operations and Oktoberfest was to be their last event. I hit them up to grab a container of Feta and two containers of Gouda for their 3 for $5 deal. It’s a great product and we are all sad to see them go.

Nary Dairy Gouda and Feta

Bonus Stop: Falasophy was also at Vegan Oktoberfest, but I was too full to grab something from them. I did get their Classic Falafel Pita at another event and absolutely loved it. The pita was so thick and fluffy and I loved that they added hummus (as opposed to just a tahini sauce). Now I kind of wish that I had gotten one to go.

Falasophy Menu

Falasophy Falafel Pita

Thanks to the organizers of this year’s event for making it a ton better than last year. See you next year!

The Grain Cafe

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant and tagged with los angeles, restaurant, vegan April 25, 2015

The Grain Cafe is a somewhat new restaurant located in Mid-City LA. I’ve read that the people that started The Grain Cafe came from Golden Mean in Santa Monica. I really like Golden Mean, so I already had good expectations for what was to come.

Strawberry Milkshake

I can never resist a milkshake. A part of me is glad more places don’t offer this menu item, because I’d be drinking them all the time. Anyway, I ordered a Strawberry Milkshake ($6.50), which was made with real strawberries and had a nice flavor. The only thing about it that I didn’t like, was that it was slightly on the icey side. Not icey like a slurpee or something, but not as creamy as those dairy-based milkshakes from your local diner.

Club Sandwich

I read a bunch of Yelp reviews and people seemed to like the Club Sandwich ($10.95) which includes marinated chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, smoked tempeh bacon, and garlic aioli sauce served on sourdough bread. It is also served with a mixed green salad. The salad was just ok. I thought the dressing was too tangy, but there was a nice little touch of quinoa. The Club was very delicious. I added avocado ($2), because one always has to yes when asked to add avocado (and then proceed to get a second job to cover the costs of all the added avocado). The sauce on the club was fantastic and the bread was perfectly toasted. I would definitely recommend this sandwich.

Chocolate Crepe

Lastly, I got the Chocolate Crepe ($9.95). This crepe had some chocolate mousse, strawberries and chocolate syrup. There used to be a French vegan crepe place in LA, but I wasn’t really a fan of their crepes (kind of under-cooked and soggy for me), but I love crepes. As for The Grain Cafe’s crepe – I did like it. This crepe was thoroughly cooked and had a nice flavor. I was expecting a thicker mousse, though. I was imagining a crepe full of a a fluffy and rich mousse. Maybe it had melted? It just looked like chocolate syrup. It tasted good, just not what I was expecting. Also, since it was winter, the strawberries weren’t in season and they weren’t very sweet. I think this crepe would have been better during strawberry season. I’m really interested in trying their other crepes, because I did like the way they prepared it. Good job to them!

The Grain Cafe
4222 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019

323-931-4034

Monday – Saturday 6am – 10pm
Sunday 8am – 10pm

More Amazingness from Golden Mean

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant and tagged with dessert, los angeles, restaurant, santa monica, vegan December 27, 2014

When I think of a great, flavorful, diverse cafe in Los Angeles, Golden Mean comes to mind. I seriously love this place. They offer so much to their patrons. The menu is huge and you can get anything from juices and healthier entrees to foods that soothe the soul.

Their Works Burger ($13.50) is their veggie burger topped with lettuce, tomato, pickle, avocado, cheese, tempeh bacon, and a special sauce. I loved this. Not only is it packed with flavor, but I also like that the patty is homemade with beans, grains, and veggies. No slab of soy protein here.

Works Burger

My vegan guy went with an item that is no longer on the menu but is similar to their Wet Burrito – the Chicken Enchiladas ($12.95). He opted to get it without salsa thinking it would be the pico de gallo kind, but it turns out that that was the sauce. Oops. It still came with a delicious white sauce, though. Golden Mean doesn’t do bland. The one bite I had was yummy.

Enchiladas

The one downside of Golden Mean is their bakery case! It is so tempting and I can never leave without getting dessert. The Cheesecake was to hard to resist. I can’t recall what flavor it was (I think it was plain with a crumble on top), but was delightful. Not the best cheesecake I’ve had, but still a refreshing end to a meal.

Cheesecake

1028 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-393-6500

Sunday – Monday 10am – 9pm

Tuesday – Thursday 9am – 9pm

Friday – Saturday 9am – 9:30pm

You Can Eat More, Because It’s Healthy Junk, Right?

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Orange County, Veg Restaurant and tagged with anaheim, junk food, restaurant, vegan March 4, 2013

And I certainly did eat more on a recent trip to Healthy Junk in Anaheim. As you may remember, I have been here before. And as you may also remember, I completely stuffed myself at that visit, as well.

The No Fish and Chips ($9.95) are one of my favorites here (my other favorite is the nachos – which you can see at my previous post). These strips of “Fish” are really crispy and actually have that fishy taste! The tartar sauce is nice, but is about half creamy dip and half chopped onions. I could have done with less onions and more creamy dip. It is served with some potatoes, which were tasty but a little soggy. That might have been my fault, though, since I may have let them sit too long.

No Fish and Chips

I had a moment of weakness and decided to get a salad. The thought of juicy, sweet mango overcame me and I ordered the Mango Tango ($7.95). This salad is loaded with romaine lettuce, quinoa, jicama, tomato, mango, and avocado. It is then drizzled with their mango dressing. I liked this salad, but didn’t love it. I thought there was too much jicama (which is kind of watery and dilutes the other flavors in your mouth). I also don’t like raw onions or cucumber in my salad and this came with it (not mentioned on the menu). I might get it again, but without all that stuff. The dressing was very good.

Mango Tango

My entree (as if I needed to eat anything else!) was the BBQ Burger with Slaw ($6.45). Their meat strips, I believe, are seitan which are covered in BBQ sauce and then topped with a cool slaw. This was a good burger and I’d get it again. The whole wheat bun was good and not too “wheaty” – plus it makes you feel healthy (hence the name of the place).

BBQ Burger

The Strawberry Shake ($5.50) was kind of a let down. It was more like strawberry non-dairy milk. The flavor was ok, but just too runny for me. Go with the chocolate shake – it’s a lot better.

Strawberry Shake

And I tried a healthy take on a vegan Brownie ($2.95). Honestly, I don’t think this brownie was all that more healthy than a regular brownie. No cholesterol for sure, but probably still quite a bit of sugar and fat. Oh well – sometimes a girl just wants a brownie! The brownie itself was not too phenomenal, but topped with that fudgy frosting – oh wow! This was one of the better vegan brownies I’ve had – ’cause we all know how hard it is to find a good vegan brownie! There were mini chocolate chips baked in, which made the chocolate explosion even greater. I’ll be getting this one again, for sure!

Brownie

Healthy Junk is one of my new favorite vegan places in Orange County. They mentioned once that they were thinking of opening a second location in South Orange County. I hope they do – sometimes Anaheim is just too far to drive from Central/South Orange County.

201 Center St. Promenade Unit B
Anaheim, California 92805
714-772-5865

Monday – Saturday 11am – 8pm

Loving Hut in Upland

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Inland Empire, Veg Restaurant January 17, 2013

Loving Huts are everywhere – and I mean EVERYWHERE! The diligent disciples of the Supreme Master Ching Hai have opened these all-vegan restaurants all over the world. Whatever may be the reason for their openings, I am glad they did. Sometimes it is just hard trying to find vegan food – Loving Hut makes it easier.

I was in the Upland area and decided to support the local Loving Hut. Just so you don’t think I am a total glutton (although I really am), I will tell you that I did eat some of this for lunch at the restaurant and some I took to work for dinner. The Joyful Sate ($4.75) is marinated TVP (textured vegetable protein) grilled with a special traditional homemade sauce. I wasn’t a huge fan of this. The TVP was too chewy and the sauce was too soy-saucey for me.

Joyful Sate

The Peking BBQ ($4.99) was more my style. This dish is BBQ marinated seitan with a homemade sauce. It was savory with a hint of sweetness and not as chewy as the first appetizer.

Peking BBQ

And I got one entree to nibble on – their Lemongrass Country ($7.75). It’s deep fried soy protein chunks sauteed with lemon grass. OK, so I said deep fried, but it actually wasn’t that greasy. The lemongrass flavor was awesome – not overpowering. The side salad came with a delicious sweet tropical fruit dressing.

Lemongrass Country

They had some pre-packaged servings of dessert, too. The Blueberry Pie ($3.25) wasn’t the greatest berry pie I’ve had, but something I’d certainly recommend trying if you wanted a dessert here.

Blueberry Pie

The Peanut Butter Dream Pie ($3.25) was my favorite of the two (you can’t go wrong with peanut butter!). It was like a thicker, chewier cheesecake… but in a good way. Very creamy and very peanut buttery.

Peanut Butter Pie

There are so many more menu items I would like to try. It is a very fake meat heavy place and if you can’t eat soy, don’t come here. A few non fake meat dishes use tofu, but there is not much without soy.

The Upland location is at:

903 West Foothill Boulevard
Upland, CA 91786
909-982-3882

Tuesday – Saturday: 11 am – 9 pm
Sunday: 4 pm – 9 pm
Monday: Closed

Thai Vegan in Santa Monica

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant January 14, 2013

Thai Vegan calls itself a “kiosk on main st.,” and I would certainly have to agree. Don’t let this tiny food operation fool you, though, because it boosts a large menu. I spend a lot of time in Santa Monica, so when I heard about this new vegan place, I had to try it. I liked the look of the menu, because it focuses on tofu as the protein and not the fake meats ubiquitous to thai vegan places in LA.

The Tofu Satay ($5) was delicious. Five hearty chunks of marinated tofu with a wonderful peanut sauce. It also comes with a small portion of cucumber salad. Since I’m not a huge fan of cucumbers, I didn’t eat this. But I will definitely be back to eat the tofu and sauce!

Tofu Satay

My vegan guy started off with some Dumplings ($5). I think he really likes these little guys, because he’s been back on his own to get them a few times. You can see from the picture they are nicely browned on one side. It gives them a nice, crisp texture (or so my vegan guy tells me).

Dumplings

My entree was the Pad Thai ($7). I love the price point and how easy it now is to get pad thai without specifying “no egg, no meat, no fish sauce, yadda yadda yadda” in Santa Monica, but here is where the “but” comes in. I didn’t really like the flavor. It was decent – and I would certainly order it again if I was in the area and needed a quick pad thai fix – but it sure wasn’t as good as Bulan or even the other vegan Thai joints.

Pad Thai

My vegan guy went for the Chowmein ($7). Again – he didn’t really like it that much and preferred the appetizer. I had a bite and agreed. I’d like to try some of their other items, but if they don’t live up to my flavor desires, I think I’ll stick with the tofu satay.

Chow Mein

Here is the little window you need to order from. There are only a few seats, so be prepared to picnic elsewhere or bring your food home.

Thai Vegan

2400 Main St.
Santa Monica, CA
310-581-4255

Monday – Sunday 11 am – 10 pm

Oasis Vegetarian Cafe in Riverside

Posted by socalvegangal in Inland Empire, Veg Restaurant January 10, 2013

Oasis Vegetarian Cafe is (in fact) an oasis. This all vegetarian (and very vegan-friendly) restaurant is set in the middle of meat land. It’s attached to a Seventh-Day Adventist grocery store and has seating inside. You order at the window at the front of the store and they will bring your food to you if you are dining inside. The menu is a mix between burgers/wraps and Mexican Food – my kind of place. I definitely went a little crazy on the Mexican side of the menu when I came here with my mom awhile back. I think the people at Oasis thought we were crazy by the amount of food we ordered. I don’t think any two people have ever order this much (but we did take most of it home).

The Taquitos ($4.99) are served with veggie chicken, potato, lettuce, tomato, and guacamole. Fried, tasty goodness. And look at all the guacamole they give you!

Taquitos

I think my favorite item from our feast was the Pupusa ($4.69). I’ve never had this before (probably because no other place I’ve been to has made it vegan). I didn’t know what it was, but it was described as corn masa filled with beans and cheese served with sauerkraut and tomato sauce. It’s like a giant stuffed tortilla. Delicioso.

Pupusa

I’ve also never had meat Carnitas, but I got to try Oasis’ version of it ($3.49). It was corn tortillas, fried steak, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, onions and tomato sauce. I liked it, but I liked the other dishes better. It was sort of hard to eat, and the steak wasn’t my favorite of the fake meats.

Carnitas

An Oasis Vegan Burrito ($5.69) was also ordered. It was simply rice, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, and vegan cream, but was another one of my favorites. I love bean burritos! And this one had extra awesomeness to it (vegan cream? yum!!).

Burrito

My next photo doesn’t look that great, but, believe me, this Tamale ($4.15) was good. Made with corn masa, steak, tomato sauce, olives, and bell peppers. Even though this dish was filled with gross bell peppers, the steak tasted a lot better covered in corn masa.

Tamale

I didn’t realize how much steak we ordered until I wrote up this post. We got one non-Mexican entree: a Steak Wrap ($5.79). It’s made with steak, hummus, spinach, and pico de gallo. It’s a fresh lunch option, but since vegan Mexican food is so hard to find, I’d probably order one of the other entrees instead.

Pepper Steak Wrap

My mom decided to wash this all down with a Soy Milkshake ($3.99) which turned out to be just fruit blended with soymilk. Not what I call a milkshake, but hey, whatever floats your boat. My mom thought it was good.

Fruit Shake

11550 Pierce St.
Riverside, CA 92505
951-688-5423

Monday-Thursday: 8am – 7pm
Friday: 8am – 4pm
Saturday: closed
Sunday: 9am – 5:30pm

More Comfort Food from Doomie’s

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant October 27, 2012

Vegan MoFo Day 27:

I think I may have found one of my new favorites at Doomie’s Home Cookin. I was actually craving some mac and cheese, but I wanted something in addition to that. It was like their BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich ($8.95) was meant for situations like this. The sandwich is piled with pulled pork drenched in a sweet and delicious BBQ sauce (my favorite kind!). It’s served with fries or fruit and the mac and cheese I was craving. Bonus – they might still be serving up their new thicker mac and cheese that they were serving up at the Vegan Mac and Cheese Showdown I mentioned in a previous post (ask for it… seriously!).

Pulled Pork

My vegan guy also got one of his favorites: the BLT ($8.95) – also served with fries or fruit (although my vegan guy upgraded to chili cheese fries). Guys just love (vegan) bacon.

BLT with Chili Cheese Fries

And have you heard of Green Menu? Well, if you sign up, you get all sorts of discounts at veg restaurants – including Doomie’s. Here, you will get a free dessert (cupcake or fried oreos). The Chocolate Cupcake reminded me of the cupcakes you got from the grocery store as a kid. The cupcake was dense and chocolatey and the frosting was whipped and airy. I plan on trying one of each of their cupcakes with my Green Menu Card. Yum.

Chocolate Cupcake

1253 N Vine St Suite #9
Los Angeles, Ca 90038
323-469-4897

Open Everyday: 12pm – 10pm

So Cal Vegan Gal

Category Archives: Veg Restaurant