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

Freesoulcaffe in Tustin

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Orange County, Veg Restaurant April 25, 2012

I really love Freesoulcaffe. Their menu includes soups, salads, and sandwiches. They have a delicious breakfast menu (more on that in another post) and they have a huge bakery display case full of delicious treats. They’re located in the quaint area of historic downtown Tustin. You can fill up at Freesoulcaffe and then walk around this really cute area.

I had heard so many good things about the Butternut Squash Soup. Luckily it was the soup of the day on the day I went. You get a giant bowl of this delicious soup with a side of bread and vegan margarine. Everything about this dish I loved. So creamy and so flavorful! The bread was also very wonderful – crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.

Butternut Squash Soup

For my entree, I got the BLT. You can get a half sandwich or full sandwich. I got the full sandwich – which comes with a side salad. I love how they prepare their “bacon.” It’s kind of greasy like real bacon gets, but not in the clog your arteries sort of way.

BLT

I went with a group, so I got a bunch of desserts to share (but really I could have eaten them all myself). First was their Pumpkin Cheesecake. Between the two cheesecakes, this was the group’s favorite. It was very pumpkin-y and creamy.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The Oreo Cheesecake was still very good – just as creamy as the pumpkin, but was the more plain of the two.

Oreo Cheesecake

The Mocha Cream Pie was absolutely delicious! I thought the crust was on the bitter side, but the mocha cream filling and the whipped topping were so amazing! The creaminess of both left that fatty feel on your tongue like how dairy cream always did. Truly decadent. I need to figure out how they did this.

Mocha Cream Pie

I also got a Brownie and Peanut Butter Blondie to-go. Both were super good. The brownie had a good amount of chocolate flavor without being bitter and the peanut butter blondie had a nice dense texture and wonderful peanut butter flavor.

Brownie and Peanut Butter Blondie

If Freesoulcaffe were closer to me, I’d be here all the time. It’s at the top of my list of favorite Orange County Veg*n Restaurants. You can check it out at:

191 East Main Street Suite 1B
Tustin, CA 92780
714.371.0976

Their hours are: Monday – Saturday: 9am-9pm (closed on Sundays) and they serve breakfast until 11am.

Cleanse from Earthly Juices in Tustin

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Packaged Food, Raw, Veg Restaurant April 21, 2012

After I finished my three day Detox Food Box from Leaf Cuisine, I took on a two day cleanse from Earthly Juices in Tustin. Of course I purchased this from Groupon (I’ve gone buying crazy on Groupon). I paid $99 for this two day drink feast, which they value at $199.

In this deal, I was supposed to get:

2 quarts of nut- and dairy-free sprouted green smoothies
2 quarts of liver-detox tea
2 quarts of alkalizing green drinks
One raw detox soup
Two signature colon-sweep salads

Day 1 started with a Green Smoothie (sprouts, mango, celery, pineapple, banana, apple, and avocado). My green juice on the Leaf Cuisine detox plan was really gross, so I was not looking forward to more of the green stuff. Surprisingly, this smoothie was delicious. I like how they have more fruit in their drinks – making it a lot more palatable for me.

I was told to drink the Green Smoothie and the Green Drink by lunchtime, so almost immediately after I finished the Green Smoothie, I started the Green Drink (apple, lemon, ginger, parsley, and kale). I’m not sure why they call it a green “drink,” but I’m thinking it’s part smoothie and part juice. Either way, I liked it. It was sweet with a hint of citrus and ginger.

Another recommendation was to drink the tea throughout the day (and then fill the empty jar with water and drink that too). I am not a tea drinker, so having to drink a quart of the stuff each day was going to be tough. The Rootbeer Tea I received for Day 1 wasn’t going to make it easy on me, either (very strong). Of all the things I got from Leaf Cuisine and now from Earthly Juices – the tea was the worst.

Day 1: (left to right) Rootbeer Tea, Green Smoothie, Green Drink

My mid-day snack was a small Cabbage Salad. I liked this. The cabbage had a sweet dressing on it – perfect for me and my sweet tooth.

Cabbage Salad

For dinner, I was told to have half of the jar of soup provided on Day 1 and half on Day 2. The listing of food to be provided said I was going to receive a raw soup, but this one was to be heated. I’m not a raw foodist, so I was excited to have something warm, but buyer beware: the soups are not raw at Earthly Juices. The soup I got in my cleanse was a Red Lentil Dal. I had gone to India a few years ago and all I seemed to eat there was yellow, mushy food. I was so sick of it, that even mentioning Indian food now makes me slightly gag. I was not looking forward to this soup. Oh. Wow. It was one of the best lentil dishes I’ve ever eaten! I shoved this meal into my mouth at lightning speed. I’m definitely going back to Earthly Juices when this is offered as their daily soup.

Red Lentil Dal

I didn’t go to bed hungry on Day 1 and was looking forward to the offerings on Day 2 (except the tea!). In my cleanse I received a Protein Smoothie (no ingredients listed but I saw the guy make it – bananas, cinnamon, protein powder?, some kind of sweetener). I don’t even know if I was to received this, as it was not listed in the items I was to get (see above). Either way, I was told I could have some for breakfast. It was like a dessert! I loved this! There was so much cinnamon – I’m going back often for this smoothie.

I also got another Green Smoothie (sprouts, mango, pineapple, celery, parsley, and avocado). It wasn’t as sweet as Day 1 (I think it was more avocado-y), but I still really liked it.

And another Green Drink (cucumber, apple, lime, fennel, and celery). This was my least favorite of the green drinks, but it still wasn’t bad. I don’t like cucumbers, but it wasn’t an extremely prominent flavor.

And my last tea: Peppermint Mate Tea. I’m still not liking tea and this one reminded me of drinking mouthwash (the peppermint was really strong).

Day 2: (left to right) Green Drink, Green Smoothie, Peppermint Mate Tea, Protein Smoothie

My late lunch was a Kale Salad. It was nice. It wasn’t too bitter, it had enough dressing, and the nuts were good at adding more texture.

Kale Salad

I finished off Day 2 with more of that amazing Red Lentil Dal and some Protein Smoothie for dessert. Yum! A great way to end a cleanse.

Earthly Juices has a retail location in Tustin and has an atmosphere of a coffee shop. There aren’t many tables, but a lot of comfy couches to sit on and hang out. They have a very small menu of juices, smoothies, a soup of the day, and some raw salads/entrees. All of their menu is vegan (except for cow kefir) and raw (except for the heated soup of the day). They serve their drinks in quart or pint mason jars. If you bring in your own jar, it’ll save you money (I think $1 off the drink).

Earthly Juices has many cleanses available. I loved what I got on my cleanse and would recommend it to anyone. I do think that they over valued the cleanse I bought through Groupon. They said it has a value of $199, but the 2-day cleanse I saw on their website that costs $199 has 10 quarts of Earthly Juices and 25 enzymes. I was only to receive 6 quarts and I don’t think I got any enzymes (nothing was listed on the ingredients to the drinks). I still don’t think I overspent on this deal, but I’m positive I didn’t get the value of $199.

They don’t have a menu on their website, but the menu they provided to Groupon is here: Earthly Juices Menu. I compared the Groupon menu to the menu at the store and I’m pretty sure that whole second page is not offered (maybe special order?). You’ll have to go to the store to really see what they offer, but at least it’ll give you an idea.

Detox Food Box from Leaf Cuisine

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Packaged Food, Raw, Veg Restaurant April 18, 2012

Like so many of you, I bought a Groupon for a three-day detox food box from Leaf Cuisine. This detox food box included a lot of juices with some raw salads, a soup, and a raw entree. I purchased this box for $59, but it had a value of $125.

Detox Food Box

Day 1 included four drinks. I was glad I ate breakfast before picking up my box, because I went to bed hungry this night (no telling how hungry I would have been without that breakfast!).

The first drink I had was their Got Greens Juice. This juice includes celery, kale, parsley, and cucumber. I don’t like cucumbers and this reeked of them! I gagged this one down and proceeded to my next juice: a Veggie Combo Juice. This juice includes carrot, celery, beets, and kale. The color just reminds me of cough syrup, so drinking this one had its own mental challenge to overcome. It did have a sweet carrot flavor, but I still had to remind myself it wasn’t that nasty medicine. Every time I took a drink, I had to say to myself that carrots are good! Mmmm, carrots! After gagging down that juice, I moved on to the Druids Detox Juice. This one includes burdock root, lemon, apple, ginger, agave, and cayenne. Oh dear, maybe I’m not cut out for juicing. The taste was bad and left a spicy grossness in my throat. Oh please, High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake, be my saving grace! Upon first sip, I thought it was too bitter, but definitely way better than the last three drinks I had consumed. It was thick and satiating. Two more days to go, but at least I knew the mylkshake was palatable.

Day 1: (left to right) Got Greens Juice, Veggie Combo Juice, Druids Detox Juice, High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake

Day 2 started off with another High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake. The flavor was less bitter than the night before. So far, so good. I had an early lunch of their raw Gazpacho soup. I was never really a fan of gazpacho – to me it’s like eating cold salsa. The flavor of this soup was good, but I really wanted some freshly fried tortilla chips to scoop it up (it’s only day 2 and I’m already succumbing to evil food thoughts!).

Gazpacho

My Day 2 mid-day meal was a Hale Kale Salad. This was loaded with kale. I felt like a cow chewing all those tough leafy greens. The dressing had a spicy kick to it, but there was not nearly enough to cover the bitter kale flavor.

Hale Kale Salad

My Day 2 dinner was a Caesar Salad. This salad includes romaine, tomatoes, crawtons, and dressing. This salad was huge! It had a nice topping of these cheesy flavored nuts. The crawtons gave the salad some added texture and the dressing was tasty. After dinner I had another Druid Detox Juice to drink. I was starting to notice the sweetness in this drink – are my taste buds adapting that quickly? It went down a lot easier than the day before.

Caesar Salad

On Day 3, I started off with my last High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake. By day 3, I am really enjoying this shake. It’s a lot less bitter than on day 1. Mid-Day I have a Probiotic Salad. This salad includes lettuce, sauerkraut, sprouts, carrots, sprouted mung beans, and probably some other vegetables I am forgetting to mention. I liked this salad the best. There were so many textures in this salad, that it made it easier to eat (who really wants to just chew on lettuce?). To wash it down, I was provided with a Kombucha. I’ve had Kombucha before, but never really got into it. It’s a drink with an interesting flavor, that one must taste to really get a grasp of. Let’s just say that I didn’t find it hard to drink, but won’t be getting it again anytime soon.

Probiotic Salad and Kombucha

My last dinner was a Bedouin Burrito. The filling on this burrito was a sprouted chickpea hummus. I love hummus, so this burrito suited me well. While I still prefer conventional hummus, this burrito was still very tasty. I loved that it was wrapped in lettuce and not some weird raw tortilla trying to taste like a delicious flour tortilla. My final drink was another Druids Detox Juice. It’s not bad by day 3. I am very aware of the sweet taste now and not so much focused on the spicy ginger or cayenne. I am still very surprised at the rapid change my taste buds went through.

Bedouin Burrito

My final thought about this detox box was that I was glad I did it, but I won’t be continuing this type of diet for the long run. If I were to ever get into juicing, I’d need to experiment and find a drink I actually like gulping down (one not based on cucumbers – yuck!). I thought the deal I got was really good and that the value they say this detox box is was dead on.

Leaf Cuisine has food boxes available at full price. If you are looking to detox or start a raw foods diet, I definitely recommend starting with Leaf Cuisine. The time and effort they put into their food is time and effort you don’t have to do. Check out their Luscious Living Boxes here.

Another Trip to Golden Mean Cafe

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Raw, Veg Restaurant April 14, 2012

Thinking of all the veg*n restaurants in LA, I would say that Golden Mean Cafe in Santa Monica is one of my favorites. I love the variety of menu items (and the daily selection of desserts!).

My vegan guy and I went during their weekend brunch. I took advantage of their brunch menu and my vegan guy took advantage of one of their daily specials.

My breakfast burrito ($10.95) included tofu scramble, veggie sausage, soy-free cheese, pico de gallo and was served with a side of potatoes. This burrito was huge and delicious. The side of potatoes were well seasoned and also delicious. I love breakfast burritos and will be getting this one again.

Breakfast Burrito

My vegan guy got the Tempeh Reuben ($11.95) which included tempeh, sauerkraut, soy-free cheese, and their special dressing. It came with your choice of side – kelp noodle salad in this case. This reuben was so good! It was one of the best reubens I think I’ve had. It was so juicy and the sauce was wonderful. I hope they turn this special into a regular menu item.

Tempeh Reuben

I really wanted to get one of their many desserts, but was pretty full from the breakfast burrito. I ended up getting one of their new offerings: raw truffles. Yep, they now offer a variety of raw truffles in exotic flavors. I had them pick a flavor for me (I’m still not sure which one it was). This thing was super creamy, but (as you’ll see is common in my posts) the raw chocolate was a little too bitter for me. For those who like that very dark chocolate flavor, these will be heavenly.

New at Golden Mean: Raw Chocolate Truffles

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

Sunday – Thursday 11 – 9pm

Friday – Saturday 11 – 9:30pm

Cafe Muse in Hollywood

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Veg Restaurant March 26, 2012

Cafe Muse is a great cafe to go hang out or get on your computer and do some work. They have a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan food (one real tuna dish as well). They also offer free wi-fi.

Their menu keeps adding many more vegan options. The addition of Daiya cheese makes modifying their vegetarian items to vegan even easier. On our last trip to Cafe Muse, my vegan guy got the BBQ Chicken Sandwich ($9.95): veggie chicken cutlets topped with melted cheese, mushrooms & red onions grilled in BBQ sauce, on a whole-wheat roll. It’s served with your choice of sweet-potato fries, tri-flavor tortilla chips or salad of mixed greens. I had a bite and thought the chicken, Daiya, mushrooms, and BBQ sauce were excellent. The BBQ sauce is thick and sweet – just the way I like it. However, the roll was too “wheaty” for both of us.

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

I got a vegan pizza ($11.95): 10” pizza on whole-wheat crust with cheese and your choice of 3 toppings. For my toppings, I got grilled chicken, mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes. Again, everything was excellent except the crust. It was too “wheaty” for me.

Pizza with Veggie Chicken, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Mushrooms

For dessert, Cafe Muse offers some vegan options. I went with the cheesecake. It was a basic vanilla flavor. It was cold and creamy and hit the spot after the cheesy pizza, but the top of this cheesecake had a thick skin to it. It created an interesting texture that I would have liked to avoid, but overall it was a nice dessert.

Cheesecake

Cafe Muse is located at:

6547 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles 90038
323-464-MUSE

Monday – Thursday 9am – 11pm (kitchen closes at 10pm)
Friday & Saturday 9am – 12am (kitchen closes at 11pm)
Sunday 9am – 10pm (kitchen closes at 9pm)

Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park

Posted by socalvegangal in San Fernando Valley, Veg Restaurant March 21, 2012

Follow Your Heart – the makers of the classic and delicious Vegenaise and vegan soy cheeses – has a wonderful vegetarian market and cafe in Canoga Park. It’s so nice to be able to have a fantastic meal and then find some vegan grocery items all in one trip. The menu at Follow Your Heart is huge, but apparently both my vegan guy and I were craving tacos on our last trip.

I got the Braised Tofu Soft Tacos ($11.50): corn tortillas served with braised tofu, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and cilantro. It comes with black beans, spanish rice, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. You also have a choice of soup or salad with this meal. I got the soup (the picture didn’t turn out, sorry) which was tasty and came with a really delicious bread stick (reminiscent of Olive Garden’s amazing bread sticks). The tacos were huge! I couldn’t finish it all, but they were very tasty. The side of black beans and rice were kind of bland on their own, but nice together.

Braised Tofu Soft Tacos

Not being a huge fan of tofu or soft tortillas, my vegan guy opted for the Organic Tempeh Tacos ($9.50): corn tortilla shells filled with seasoned and grilled tempeh, cheese, tomatoes, and fresh cilantro. It was also served with black beans, spanish rice, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. He enjoyed these tacos, except the shell wasn’t as crisp as he had hoped.

Organic Tempeh Tacos

We were so full that we couldn’t even take a bite of any dessert. They do have a large selection of vegan desserts – many I have tried and have enjoyed.

Follow Your Heart has a small parking lot next to it and is located at:
21825 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, CA 91303
818-348-3240

They are open daily from 8 am – 9 pm

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

So Cal Vegan Gal

Category Archives: Veg Restaurant