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

More Vegan Eats from Mu in Redlands

Posted by socalvegangal in Inland Empire, Omnivorous Restaurant and tagged with redlands, restaurant, thai, vegan February 20, 2016

I went back to one of my favorite restaurants in Redlands. Last time I went to Mu, I went with friends and got one dish for myself. This time I went with my parents, and we got a few items to share.

Tom Ka Soup

I love their simple Tom Ka Soup. This coconut milk-based soup doesn’t skimp on tofu and veggies. It comes in a large bowl for sharing that stays hot from a flame underneath the bowl. It’s perfect, because you’ll want seconds.

Pad Thai

As one friend once put it, “Pad Thai is like the gateway drug to Thai food.” My first experience with Thai food was indeed Pad Thai, and Mu makes a delicious version of it. Just make sure to ask for it without egg and fish sauce.

Pad See Ew

While Pad Thai has a bit of sweet to it, Pad See Ew is less so. I love the chewy-but-soft-but-firm texture of the wide flat rice noodles that go into this dish. Top it with all that tofu and I’m sold. Like the Pad Thai, make sure to omit the egg and fish sauce.

Indian Yellow Curry

Lastly, my parents and I got the Indian Yellow Curry. It’s made with tofu, potatoes, onions, and coconut milk and was a delightful dish to round out the meal.

If you are ever in Redlands, I’d suggest checking out Mu. They also have a martini bar connected with an extensive selection of adult beverages.

Mu is located at:
309 W State St
Redlands, CA 92373

Monday – Friday: 11am – 2:30pm and 5pm – 10pm
Saturday: 5pm – 10pm
Sunday: 5pm – 9pm

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!

Herbivore Festival at Crafton Hills College

Posted by socalvegangal in Event, Inland Empire and tagged with bakery, dessert, Mentone, restaurant, vegan, vegan cheese, vegan event October 11, 2015

Despite the rain, I thought the first annual (bi-annual??) Herbivore Festival at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa was a success. There were quite a few vendors set up selling food and products and other vendors who were there to provide information about their various causes. They also had cooking demonstrations, music, aerial acts, and inside lectures. I was able to browse the vendors (and buy some products) and also watch the cooking demonstrations. I wasn’t able to listen to any for the lectures, but I heard they were great.

Herbivore Festival

Parmela Creamery makes some awesome vegan cheeses and they were there sampling and selling some of their products. I tasted their new Nacho Cheese and it was super yummy, so I bought a jar and a jar of their Alfredo Sauce.

Parmela Creamery

Parmela Creamery Alfredo and Nacho Sauce

Happy Family has a delicious restaurant in the Loma Linda area (and also in Rowland Heights) and they were there selling a few of their best sellers. I got a chicken dish for $5, but think it is way better when eaten at the restaurant. I highly recommend this place.

Happy Family Restaurant Chicken

The Tamale Guy normally serves all sorts of tamales, but for this event, they went completely vegan. The Potatoes and Veggies Tamale was really good and hit the spot on that unusually cold day.

The Tamale Guy Vegan Menu

The Tamale Guy Potatoes and Veggies Tamale

Loma Linda Market was there serving up a whole meals worth of samples. They were super generous.

Loma Linda Market Sampling

Galvans Gourmet Veganeatery was new to me, so I was excited to try one of their dishes. The TVP Taco was just ok, but the Fried Shrimp Taco was insane. I can’t believe how crispy they got the shrimp, since it was a cold, wet day and they just had some small portable fryer. They really did it well.

Galvans Gourmet Veganeatery

Galvans Gourmet Veganeatery Menu

Galvans Gourmet Veganeatery TVP and Fried Shrimp Tacos

Pies by Domonic based out of Orange County was selling gluten free pies. I got a Pumpkin Pie and a Blueberry Crumble Pie. I’m not gluten free and would have preferred a regular flour crust, but it was pretty good. I ate mine with lots of Soyatoo Whipped Cream when I got home.

Pies by Domonic Pumpkin Pie and Blueberry Crumble Pie

Naked Lunch had some savory items and this Chocolatey Yogurt. I was a little worried it was going to be bitter since it was made with cacao, but it was perfectly sweet.

Naked Lunch Yogurt

I saw three cooking demonstrations while I was at the festival. The first was done by a very energetic dietician named Kimberly Paulien Slater. She showed us a recipe for an easy and delicious salad (recipe can be found here). The second demonstration was for a Raw Nacho Cheese by Paul Zanone who runs a raw meetup group in the Inland Empire. The last demonstration I saw was by two chefs who came all the way from the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center. I thought the effort they put into this demonstration was terrific. They made a beautiful Butternut Squash Tangine that was also delicious. The conference center is open to UCLA grads and to organizations and small businesses that want to use the facility for retreats and conferences that are educational in purpose.

UCLA Lake Arrowhead Center Butternut Squash Tangine

After the success of this event, the organizer was toying with the idea of making this event twice a year. I’m so excited that there is this much involvement in the vegan community out in my home area of the Inland Empire. Keep watch at their Facebook page for information about the next event.

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

Pub Food Made Vegan in LA

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Omnivorous Restaurant and tagged with bar, brewery, los angeles, pub, restaurant, vegan February 25, 2013

I had heard such great things about the food at the Pub at Golden Road Brewing. The menu lists a ton of vegan options – and some of these options are very creative. I was super excited to try it. My vegan guy and I headed all the way over to the north-east side of Los Angeles to get some grub.

The Fritters ($4) were my favorite. Fried wild mushroom risotto with a vegan pimento cheese? Yum! I love risotto on its own and had no idea that a crispy outer layer could make it a whole other thing. Well done, Golden Road, well done.

Fritters

And the Pretzel ($7) was one thing that I read such nice things about prior to coming. It was good, I’ll give them that, but I think it was covered in what would be the average person’s daily recommended intake of sodium. Yikes! Too much salt for me. It was like ocean in my mouth. I had to rub some of it off with my fingers just so I could eat it. I wonder if one can order it lightly salted? It came with spicy mustard and some more pimento cheese. Still, the sauce was not enough to cover the flavor of all that salt!

Pretzel

I appreciate the eclectic menu, which included some international dishes – like the Bahn Mi ($7). The deep fried tofu was a little bland (I wish they marinated it in something more flavorful), but the pickled veggies were nice. The sriracha mayo was way too spicy for me. I’ve said this before, but I’m a weakling when it comes to spiciness. Because the tofu was kind of bland, most of the flavor came from the sriracha. I wouldn’t get this again.

Bahn Mi

The Quinoa Burger ($9) is handmade and deep fried. It’s served with lettuce, tomato, onion and a remoulade sauce. To me, this burger was just so-so. I liked the fried part of the patty, but the inside was just too mushy to be put on a bun. It reminded me of a giant potato croquette. The flavor was there, but I just wish they added some texture to the patty.

Quinoa Burger

And for dessert, they actually had a vegan option! It was a mini Gingersnap Cheesecake ($5). Again, while I appreciate the effort, this cheesecake was just too chewy. Maybe it was accidental and the baker just baked it too long, but I didn’t like it. The strawberries were pretty tart (it wasn’t strawberry season) as well. I think I’ll stick to baking my own vegan cheesecakes.

Cheesecake

I bet this place would be great to hang out with friend while sipping on some of their handcrafted beers. It’s a nice place and I am disappointed I didn’t like their food that much. There are a few more menu items I’d like to taste some day and maybe I’ll come back to give them another try.

The Pub at Golden Road

5410 West San Fernando Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
213-373-4677

Wednesday – Saturday 11am – 2am
Sunday – Tuesday 11am – midnight

Dim Sum at Susan Feniger’s Street

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Omnivorous Restaurant and tagged with dim sum, hollywood, restaurant, vegan February 17, 2013

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! I may be a week late, but I still wanted to give you a re-cap on some amazing dim sum I had for the occasion. It’s been a crazy week here in SoCal Vegan land. This past week, I have moved to a new place and started a new job. But the plus to all this craziness is that I get to see my vegan guy everyday now! And it’s a good thing I keep him around, because he was the one who told me about a special Chinese New Year Dim Sum Brunch at Susan Feniger’s STREET.

We got a big group of friends together and ordered some of each of the menu items. All of them were vegan, except the donuts (but could be made vegan).

Dim Sum Menu

The first in our marathon of eats was the Cantonese Style Radish Cakes. These were one of my favorites (as well as my vegan guy’s). Great tasting and lightly crispy on the edges.

Radish Cakes

The Sesame Fritters were filled with a red bean paste that kind of made these sweet. I think I would have preffered these fritters filled with something more savory, because the outer layer was quite tasty.

Sesame Fritters

The Mushroom Shu Mai were another one of my favorites (and among a lot of people according to STREET’s facebook page). These had a bit of spice in the filling and were on top of a spicy mustard sauce. It definitely had that burst of fire running up your nasal passage, but subsided quickly.

Mushroom Shu Mai

The Vegetable Potstickers were also good. These were filled with yams and were sort of sweet, but went well with the crispy wrapper.

Potstickers

I liked the Jackfruit Bao, but I would have liked a lot more jackfruit. We split this bun into pieces to share and everyone got a lot of dough and a tiny bit of jackfruit. The jackfruit was well seasoned, but I just really wanted more of it.

Jackfruit Bao

The Mung Bean Crepes were nice. Splitting this dish was hard, so I didn’t get much crepe part. But the tofu scramble topping was simple, flavorful, and good on its own.

Mung Bean Crepes

The Fried Rice was (by far) my number one favorite of the savory dishes. I love fried rice dishes and this one had an intense amount of flavor covering the slightly sticky rice. It seemed like the ingredients weren’t too uncommon – I need to learn to make something like this.

Fried Rice

And my favorite of the sweet dishes (and, well, of ALL the dishes) was the Youtaio Donuts. According to my vegan guy, these weren’t like the youtaio donuts he’s used to (those are not served sugared). As for me, I’m glad they were served with soymilk and sugar crystals for dipping. The fried dough was amazing – fluffy and not too greasy. The sugar made it seem like I was eating a real fried donut at a state fair. Yum! This is really what I need to learn to make on my own (forget the fried rice!).

Youtaio Donut

Sadly, the Coconut Tapioca Pearls with Shanghai Fruit were the big bummer of the night. In fact, this dish was the only one that was barely eaten by the table (we devoured all the others). I didn’t mind the tapioca texture – which a lot of the people at our table were against- it was just that the flavor was not to my liking. It must have been the Shanghai fruit. Not sure what that is, but I guess I don’t like it in my tapioca.

Coconut Tapioca

The Rice Batter Pancake was another one of the less-liked dishes at our table. To me, the pancake had a funny flavor – kind of like there was too much leavening. The sweet black sesame and almond syrups were delish, though. I’d like to order some of that to dip more donuts in.

Rice Batter Pancake

I hope they do this again – and before the next Chinese New Year! They need to make it a monthly event, right? I say let’s all badger them until they do it. Ready? Go.

Casa Maya in Mentone

Posted by socalvegangal in Inland Empire, Omnivorous Restaurant and tagged with Mentone, mexican, redlands, restaurant, vegan February 2, 2013

I know, I know. I said I was back and then I disappeared again. I promise this time I will be more consistent with my posts. I honestly have a whole bunch of draft posts of things I’ve eaten the past few months ready to be finalized and brought to you. Please forgive me.

My parent’s neighbor recently gave me a great recommendation for food in the area where they live. I actually was quite surprised I hadn’t heard of Casa Maya before. I grew up in the area and had spent a lot of my childhood as a vegetarian. This Mexican restaurant gets its unique cuisine from the Yucatan region and has a special vegetarian menu.

I went to visit my family and my mom and I decided to grab some lunch here. We ordered two dishes and split them. Our first dish was the Veggie Panuchos ($11.95). What is a Veggie Panucho? I had to read the menu to find out: corn tortillas stuffed with black beans, topped with marinated onion, cabbage, xnipec, and fresh guacamole. It came with a side of beans and potatoes. Wow – was this thing good. I was hesitant about the marinated onions (the pink stuff in the picture), because… really… pink onions? But they were great and (I think) essential to the dish. And the sides! Oh the sides! Insanely good.

Veggie Panuchos

The second dish was just as good as the first! The Potato and Avocado Empanadas ($11.95) were amazing. How can you go wrong with dough filled with avocado and potatoes and then fried? Again, I was hesitant about one component of this dish, but it wasn’t the onions this time. The cream of balsamic vinegar was not too vinegary and enhanced the flavor of the empanadas (Phew! because I don’t like strong vinegar flavors). And more beans and potatoes! I need me some more of this.

Empanadas

There are a few other items on their vegetarian menu – a few don’t look too easily veganized. It doesn’t matter, though, the two dishes we got were satisfying enough.

Casa Maya Menu

1839 Mentone Blvd
Mentone, CA 92359
909-794-7458

So Cal Vegan Gal

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