Long Beach Vegan Eatery

Posted by socalvegangal in Long Beach, Veg Restaurant September 14, 2012

Long Beach Vegan Eatery is in (you guessed it!) Long Beach. For such a large metropolitan area, I am surprised at the lack of vegan places to eat in this town. LBVE opened shop a little less than a year ago to help fill this void and received mixed reviews. Vegans can be a very supporting group of people, or they can be quite vicious. I was sad to see lots of the latter being directed at LBVE. I guess I’m just nice about presenting something I don’t like. I don’t want to be mean about it – unless it’s totally deserved – like they lie about putting animal ingredients in something. Then I’ll be perfectly content with letting the vicious vegans out to play.

I’m not really in Long Beach very often, but one day my vegan guy and I were driving from Orange County to LA and decided to stop in. We got the Quesadilla ($6.95) with Daiya vegan cheese and black beans. You can also get this with beefless crumbles, but I love beans, so my vegan guy had to just deal. I loved this (mainly because I am such a bean aficionado). My vegan guy would have liked it better with the beefless crumble (as he is not such a huge fan of this legume).

Quesadilla

The quesadilla came with Chips and Salsa that we could have done without. The quesadilla is so huge, I don’t know why it would need such a big side.

Chips and Salsa

Keeping with the Mexican theme, we also got the Tacos ($6.50). It comes with refried beans, lettuce, cheese, and your choice of beefless crumbles or seasoned chicken strips. My vegan guy petitioned for the beefless crumbles, and that’s what we got (although I still want to try them with the chicken). I liked these tacos – and trust me, there are more fillings underneath all that lettuce!

Tacos

My vegan guy wanted the Hot Dogs ($8.95). It comes with a potato of your choice (I wanted the Sweet Potato Tater Tots) and Chili. I love vegan hot dogs, but I think this was too simple to pay $8.95 for. I wasn’t a huge fan of the chili, either. The tater tots were good. I’d never had tater tots before (I was a PB&J kid and not a product of school lunches), so I don’t know how they compare to other people’s tots.

Hot Dog with Chili and Tater Tots

And finally, we got the Kid’s Mac and Cheese ($4.95). We thought we were getting some tiny portion, but this thing is like a meal for an adult. I don’t know what fat kids are coming in here and eating this whole thing!! And I say this knowing full well that I could have finished this as a kid! Whether you finish this or not, I liked it. I still think I’ve had better vegan mac and cheeses, but this was a great attempt. I’d get it again (especially for that yummy garlic bread!).

Kid’s Mac and Cheese

I hope you give Long Beach Vegan Eatery a chance. Just don’t go in expecting healthy foods galore! This is more of a vegan fast food/comfort foods type place.

2246 N. Lakewood Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90815
562-986-LBVE

Monday: 11 am – 2 pm
Tuesday–Sunday: 11 am – 8 pm

It is Tasty at Covina Tasty

Posted by socalvegangal in Inland Empire, Veg Restaurant September 12, 2012

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.

Tasty Covina

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.

Chicken Sandwich with Avocado

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.

Chili Burger

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.

Frozen Banana

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

Being Vegan in Rancho Cucamonga

Posted by socalvegangal in Inland Empire, Packaged Food, Veg Restaurant September 6, 2012

I think I’ve said in every post from the Inland Empire that it is more difficult to be vegan here. I sort of take that back, because of places like Bright Star in Rancho Cucamonga. This all-vegan thai place is very similar to the vegan thai places all around LA (I never knew burgers and pancakes were such a Thai staple). But, in addition to the burgers and pancakes, they do have more traditional Thai dishes.

I got a lot of food (and shared most with my family). My first appetizer was the Shrimp Batter: deep fried soy shrimp and vegetable tempura with sweet plum sauce. I normally don’t get tempura at Japanese restaurants, but this had a thicker batter and was quite good. Sweet sauces are my thing (I’m not a salty soy sauce girl) and this one was delicious.

Shrimp Batter

Another fried appetizer was next – the Fried Chicken. This one also came with that delicious sweet plum sauce. I liked this dish – simple, greasy comfort food.

Fried Chicken Appetizer

My favorite appetizer was the Chicken Satay. This dish comes with a sauce that is the best sauce of all time: the peanut sauce. Really – what can’t creamy peanuts go with?? If you aren’t into fake meats, they have this dish with tofu instead of chicken.

Chicken Satay

Although tempted for more peanut sauce, I didn’t get the Pad Thai and instead went with Pad See Ew. Really, there’s nothing “ew” about it! (sorry, bad pun). Thick rice noodles are coated in a lovely, light brown sauce and tossed with two of my favorite veggies. It’s great the next day, too!!

Pad See Ew

My least favorite thing I ordered here was the Teriyaki Chicken. I was expecting chunks of chicken marinated and coated in teriyaki sauce. This was just some grilled chicken with a teriyaki dipping sauce. Not as flavorful as I had hoped.

Teriyaki Chicken

But the Orange Tofu was a lovely dish. They have it with chicken, but I had already ordered so much chicken. The tofu was lightly fried, making it not so heavy. And of course I’m going to like that sweet, orange sauce.

Orange Tofu

And if all the sweet sauces didn’t satisfy that sugar craving, I wanted a small dessert. They have a few more traditional desserts, but that Pancake just sounded too appetizing for me to pass up. This pancake was nice, a little dense, and maybe not the best vegan pancake ever – but it will sure make those pancake cravings go away.

Pancake

And to make Rancho Cucamonga even more vegan friendly, I stopped by Viva la Vegan – a moderately sized all-vegan grocery store. This place has lots of vegan products to offer. You can get all kinds of things here: from organic produce to frozen foods to fresh foods prepared by local vegan vendors. It’s kind of out of the way from me, but I sure would like to come here more often.

Viva La Vegan Grocery

I didn’t get much (any perishable foods would have spoiled by the time I got home hours later), but I did get some stuff I can’t easily find in my local health foods store. (Seriously – Chocolate Inspirations products are delicious!)

Viva La Vegan Goodies

Bright Star
9819 Foothill Blvd Unit F
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
909-980-9797

Monday – Sunday: 11 am-10 pm

Viva la Vegan
9456 Roberds St
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701
909-941-4495

Monday – Sunday: 10 am-8 pm

Native Foods – 1, Big Ag – 0

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Orange County, Veg Restaurant September 4, 2012

I have this friend that was once a vegetarian for many years and is no longer. Doesn’t it make you so sad when you see a vegetarian/vegan turn back to the dark side? I mean, you’ve seen them thrive on a veg diet, watch them eat delicious veg food, and then ultimately go back to eating meat. Why? I don’t know – but it breaks a little piece of my heart.

So back to this friend. Whenever I have a visit with him, we always go to a vegan restaurant. He knows veg food is good, so why shouldn’t we eat it when he comes to town? In honor of his latest visit, we went to Native Foods. I think most vegetarians in California know about this place. They are popping up everywhere these days. And, since the founder has stepped aside, the new owners have expanded to even more places out of state (Oregon, Illinois, Colorado…). It’s a very exciting time for Native Foods.

The menu is quite large at Native Foods and it keeps changing (which can be good or bad, depending on if your favorites get removed or not). I once had an amazing burger one week, and the next week it was gone. One menu item that never seems to go away is the Native Chicken Wings ($6.95). And there is good reason these don’t go away – they are really delicious. They are lightly fried and not too heavy. The ranch dressing that they come with is also super good.

Chicken Wings

The Saigon Roll ($5.95) was once a special, but came back as a smaller appetizer version. No matter what the size, I love this roll. It is prepared with lemongrass tofu, pickled daikon, carrot, brown rice, cucumber, cilantro, and basil. And my favorite part about it is the peanut sauce. I love peanut sauce! This is also a good dish for omnivores that like tofu and are weirded out by the fake meats (like some former co-workers of mine).

Saigon Roll

My friend got the Portobello and Sausage Burger ($9.95) with a side of sweet potato fries. This burger is prepared with grilled portobello, homemade seitan, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, salsa, pumpkin seed pesto, and mayo. I think he liked the burger. I remember his one comment was that it was very garlicy. I’ve tried this before and thought the seitan was rather chewy.

Portobello Mushroom and Sausage Burger

I went with the Twister Wrap ($9.95): greens, avocado, salsa, chipotle sauce and your choice of crispy or grilled chicken. I really like their chicken and I love wraps, so this one is a no-brainer. It’s good. I went with the regular fries as my side, since I’m not a huge fan of their sweet potato fries (I think Veggie Grill’s are better).

Twister Wrap

And how could we not complete this fabulous meat-free meal without my favorite Native Foods dessert?? The Peanut Butter Parfait ($2.95) always hits the spot. Creamy and full of delicious goodies – I wish I knew the recipe!

Peanut Butter Parfait

So maybe the meal didn’t turn my friend back to forgoing the dead animals, but at least this one meal didn’t need to kill anything. Now I need to work on the other 1,094 meals this year.

ROAD TRIP: Vegan Goodness in Sacramento

Posted by socalvegangal in Central & Northern California, Dessert, Gluten Free, Veg Restaurant August 30, 2012

Let me begin this post by saying that there will be VEGAN DONUTS today! And not just one place will have them. Is your mouth watering yet? Good.

Now let me explain how I got to the first set of vegan donuts in Sacramento. As you may recall, I had just witnessed the beautiful wedding ceremony of my cousin with my mom and sister. On our return trip to Southern California, we stopped in Sacramento for the night (it’s a very charming city, by the way). Because my sister was craving pasta we just had to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory. I like the Old Spaghetti Factory, but when I’m in a new place, I want to try something I’ve never had before. One can get Old Spaghetti Factory any ol’ day in Southern California. There are quite a few vegan options here and most Old Spaghetti Factories have renovated old train stations to make it a very lovely dining experience. I didn’t snap any photos, because there are lots of resources already out there for vegan dining at the Old Spaghetti Factory. See lists here and here.

Ok, ok, “When are we getting to the vegan donuts?!!” you ask.

After dinner, we stopped by the Sacramento Whole Foods to get dessert – and that’s where I spotted them waiting for me in the bakery section. These gems are the creation of Posh Bakery – a wholesale only bakery in the Sacramento area. The donuts were good. It was late at night and they had been sitting all day, so they got to be a little dry – I still ate them, though. The Blueberry Donut was my favorite. It held its moisture the best, whereas the Chocolate-Nut Donut and Sugar Donut didn’t. I also got a Whole Foods Chocolate Cupcake which was actually pretty disgusting, so don’t get it.

Whole Foods Cupcake and Posh Bakery Donuts

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Another Lukewarm Review of 118 Degrees

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Raw, Veg Restaurant August 25, 2012

You may recall that I was not too impressed with 118 Degrees from my last post about my meal here. I have to say, that the feeling was the same on another trip to the restaurant. I went because of another Groupon. This time, my mom bought the deal, because the last time I went here with her, we loved their Miso Soup and she wanted to try more.

First we got the Topaz Pizza ($13): decadent pistachio pesto with tomatoes, herbed Italian squash on sprouted grain crust. Served with warm sun dried tomato topping, chopped olives, and basil. To be honest, we got this dish, because it had “warm” in the description. It was edible (obviously), but neither of us really liked it.

Topaz Pizza

The Sweet Corn Tamales were sold out, so we got the Spicy Almond Cheese Empanada with Spicy Vegetables and Avocado Lime Sauce ($15). While not as good as the tamales, these were tastier than the pizza.

Empanadas

For our first dessert, we got the Drunken Fruit ($9): fruit in agave champagne sauce on top of vanilla creme. This dessert was so much better than the desserts I got with my vegan guy on my last visit. It probably has to do with the fact that this dessert focuses on livening up fresh fruit (something I enjoy raw). The mangoes were perfectly ripe, very sweet, and paired beautifully with the agave champagne.

Drunken Fruit

The second dessert we got was the Fruit Fondue ($9): fruit with chocolate and vanilla dipping sauces. This was also very good. The fruit was nice and ripe and the dipping sauces were sweet and creamy. Our dessert was brought with the vanilla dipping sauce and also a berry dipping sauce even though it stated it was coming with a chocolate sauce. We asked what happened and they ended up bringing out the chocolate sauce, too. Score for the bonus sauce!

Fruit Fondue

Chocolate Sauce for Fruit Fondue

Now that all the Groupons have been redeemed, I have learned that the warm food at 118 Degrees is better than the raw and the fruit desserts are the only ones worth ordering.

Check it out for yourself.

2981 Bristol Suite B5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-754-0718

Monday – Saturday 9am – 10pm
Sundays 10am – 9pm
Brunch on Sunday 10am – 3pm

More from Bulan Thai Vegetarian

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant August 15, 2012

Back when it was colder, my vegan guy and I went to Bulan Thai Vegetarian. While it was still tasty, I think the food we order was not as good as what we had ordered before.

I wanted to try the appetizer of Seaweed Rolls ($8): deep fried nori sheet stuffed with tofu, glass noodles, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms and served with a sweet and sour sauce. When they say these are deep fried, they weren’t joking. I think they might have been too fried for me. The filling and sauce were mighty tasty, but I think I’ll stick with the Summer Rolls.

Seaweed Rolls

My vegan guy got the Rad Nah ($9): crispy vermicelli noodles topped with broccoli, shiitakes, and protein choice in gravy. He ordered this with tofu. I had a bite and thought it was good, but would choose pad thai or pad see ew instead.

Rad Nah

Because it was a colder day, I was craving a warm soup. They have a new soup item: Thai Style Pho. You’ll see it displayed at your table. I definitely prefer Vietnamese Pho places better, but this soup was still pretty good – especially since vegan Vietnamese pho is hard to come by in the central LA area (don’t you hate going to a Pho place and finding out their vegetable Pho is made with meat broth?! Yuck.).

Thai Style Pho

Go to one of these locations – just don’t order these items. (Sorry Bulan! I still love you.)

7168 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323-857-1882

4114 Santa Monica Blvd
Silver Lake, CA 90029
323-913-1488

Bo De Vietnamese in Westminster

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Veg Restaurant August 8, 2012

The Westminster/Garden Grove area of Orange County has a large Vietnamese population. Luckily for vegans, there are some restaurants in the area offering delicious vegan Vietnamese food. One such place is Bo De Tinh Tam Chay– a Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant.

As an appetizer, my vegan guy and I got the Fried Won Ton ($6.99). I thought these were good. Not the best won tons I’ve ever had, but good enough to not be disappointed.

Fried Won Tons

One entree was the Combination Fried Rice ($7.99). I really liked this dish, because of its simplicity and flavor. I rarely have fried rice, but was craving it that night. This dish definitely satisfied that craving.

Combination Fried Rice

My vegan guy got the Vermicelli with Shredded Tofu and Eggless Roll ($7.49). From what I remember, he liked it all right, but has had better.

Vermicelli

And we also got their Sauteed Mushroom with Ginger and Basil ($8.99). This is basically just fried oyster mushrooms with a red sauce. I didn’t think it was that flavorful. Most of the flavor came from the sauce. Plus, the mushrooms weren’t that crispy.

Sauteed Mushrooms with Ginger and Basil

Even though what we ordered this particular night wasn’t the best, I have been here before and have had some wonderful dishes. Of course their Pho is great and I’m sure many other dishes are, too. Also, beware – they charge $0.50 for a glass of water (that’s tap water, not bottled).

It’s in a shopping complex with lots of parking.

15352 Beach Blvd
Westminster, CA 92683
714-891-4455

Monday – Thursday 9am – 9pm
Friday – Sunday 9am – 10pm

Breakfast and More at Follow Your Heart

Posted by socalvegangal in Packaged Food, San Fernando Valley, Veg Restaurant August 1, 2012

I went to Follow Your Heart, because it’s one of the few places to get a vegan breakfast. I love this place, not only because of their varied menu, but also because they have a wonderful market with hard to find vegan products.

My breakfast meal was the cleverly titled Om Lette ($10.25): an omelette shaped tofu pancake with your choice of three fillings and cheese. I chose to have my omelette filled with mushrooms, spinach, and avocado. It also came with a side of hash browns and fruit. I loved this dish, although I thought it had a bit too much cheese. It’s nice to be able to get a vegan omelette, though. Real Food Daily used to have one at their Sunday brunch, but it is no longer on the menu (bummer).

Vegan Omelette with mushrooms, spinach, and avocado

I also shopped around the market and found some vegan goodies I haven’t bought before. I haven’t used the Tofutti Ricotta ($5.79) yet, but now you know where to get it. Since purchasing this Ricotta, though, I have heard it’s not that great. Have any of you tried it? Follow Your Heart now carries Upton’s Naturals ($4.89) for those of you looking to try some new seitan varieties. I used this to put into a beans and rice dish from the cookbook “Vegan Yum Yum” and it was delicious.

Goodies from Follow Your Heart Market

Amanda’s Bakery Cupcakes at Follow Your Heart

Amanda’s Bakery has their cupcakes here and you can get them in the refrigerated section in packs of four. I got the Maple Cupcake and Raspberry Chocolate Cupcake. Both were really good. And even though I don’t know how long they had been sitting there, they still tasted pretty fresh.

Maple Cupcake and Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake

Daniel’s Choice Mac and Cheese

And they have a new prepared Vegan Mac and Cheese from Daniel’s Choice. I thought this was very creamy and a good sized quantity. It did have this one flavor. It reminded me of when I was a child and I would eat the boxed mac and cheese at friends’ houses and sometimes they would add chopped hot dogs to it (something I did not enjoy). Even though I would pick the hot dogs out, it still had that hot dog taste. I’m guessing this smokey taste came from the roasted peppers listed in the ingredients. I’m weird, I know, and this is probably my personal little quirk, but that flavor just bothered the little child inside me. Otherwise, it was very tasty.

Daniel’s Choice Mac and Cheese

Follow Your Heart’s market has tons of other products on their shelves. There’s always something new to discover. If you haven’t been there yet, you’re missing out.

21825 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
818-348-3240

Daily 8 am – 9 pm

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.

So Cal Vegan Gal

Category Archives: Veg Restaurant