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Crossroads

Posted on March 31, 2013 by The Valley Vegan

Complimentary Prosecco

My first instinct, when reading the words “the guy Oprah once called ‘the best vegan chef in America,’” is to run screaming for the hills. After all, this is not a blog dedicated to finding vegan restaurants or vegan chefs, my goal is to challenge mainstream chefs unannounced. So when a friend suggested we join him and his girlfriend for dinner at the new Crossroads by Tal Ronnen on Melrose, I decided I would give it a chance. Turns out, it was a chance worth taking.

Immediately upon being seated at our table, we were treated to a complimentary glass of prosecco. You’d think it’d be some cheap throw-away from BevMo’s clearance racks, but no! It was actually quite good and from what I understood from the description given by our server, the wines offered are organic. Friand ordered a glass of “Lyric” by Etude, a pinot noir from Santa Barbara. It was about as delicate as a pinot noir can be on the palate, but with a surprisingly complicated finish.

plymouth / lillet rose / ruby grapefruit / rose water / raspberries

The rest of us chose cocktails, our friends both ordered the “Sunset and Vine” which our server had described as a hip sangria. I had the “Bella” because, let’s face it, I’ve turned into a grapefruit cocktail kinda girl. This one did not disappoint! More sweet than bitter, this was actually quite delightful and quirky with it’s rose petal floating on the surface. Remember, you can eat all garnishes… but I do know that I don’t like the bitterness of raw rose petals, so I skipped that one.

While we sipped our drinks, our server explained to us how the small entrees work. Basically, it’s a vegan Mediterranean tapas joint! How fun, especially since there were several items on the menu I really wanted to try. How long has it been since I’ve been able to eat Spanikopita or Tortelloni? Years. And I’ve missed them because I’m not all that patient to try to recreate these things in my own kitchen. Let’s face it: vegan cheese that you can buy at Whole Foods is just ok, nothing remarkable, and nothing that could pass for real ricotta. Being Italian, I have very high standards when it comes to ricotta. And have you ever tried the vegan feta out there? ‘Zactly.

Between the four of us, I think we managed to order ten items! Thankfully, we were seated in the side room with natural light coming through the ceiling, so I managed to take a few good photos before the sun went down!

Instead of reviewing every single dish separately, I’m just going to generalize. First of all, everything was so high-end gourmet that if you brought someone there and didn’t tell them all the food was vegan, they’d never even notice.

Scaloppini with Marsala-glaze Morel Mushrooms

The Scaloppini has such a convincing meat-like texture, that I could only handle a few bites of it. I’m not a vegan who goes for fake meats (as you all know by now)but I’m sure there are plenty of people who would get a big kick out of that dish. The mushroom glaze was out of this world, though!

On to the “cheesy” dishes: Spanikopita and Tortelloni. Again, if a person didn’t know it was vegan, they certainly would not have had any suspicions on these dishes! Even if I don’t enjoy fake-meat textures, I do really enjoy the texture of fake-cheese. It’s the feeling of “fat” in your mouth that makes a meal complete. Fat = Flavor whether your vegan or omnivorous, we all need fat and those two dishes certainly delivered!

Tortelloni

Kale Spanikopita

Flatbread

I don’t think there was a single thing anyone ate that they didn’t absolutely love. My favorite, though, has to be the Flatbread with Carmelized Leek Puree, Crispy Root Vegetables and Frisee. The leek puree and crispy veggies on top added to the wonderful earthy flavors of the roots. I’m not sure, though, where the frisee came into play: I have no recollection of it even being there.

Artichoke Oysters

Points for the most creative interpretation goes to the Artichoke Oysters. The kelp caviar was a brilliant touch to further the illusion that these were real oysters. From across the table, these looked like real oysters with the exception of the green “shells”, which, if you were served real oysters in green shells you would probably be checking to make sure your will was in order…

Pannacotta

I think the thing I was the most excited about was the Pannacotta. Just recently, I had the joy of eating a vegan tiramisu, so when I saw pannacotta on the menu, how could I pass it up? I didn’t ask how the pastry chef achieved such a luscious texture, but it was pure perfection. If someone could make a “real” pannacotta any better than this one, I dare you to do a side by side taste test. It was delicious and the biscotti light and crispy (not a toothbreaker!).

The remainder of the meal went a little something like this:

Risotto Stuffed Banana Pepper

Carmelized Leek & Cauliflower Bisque

Red Grapefruit Salad

Cassoulet
lentils / wild mushrooms / grilled treviso / buttered leeks

Biscuits and Morel Mushroom Gravy

So do I recommend you take yourselves to Crossroads? Of course! In fact, forget that this is a vegan place and take your friends and family, too. It’s a great night out, with wonderful food. I don’t care who you are, this is GREAT food! And, I agree with Oprah: “Tal Ronnen is the best vegan chef in America!”

Location:
8284 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, California 90046

Valet is available

Hours:
Mon – Wed: 5:00 pm – 12:00 am
Thu – Sat: 5:00 pm – 1:00 am
Sun: 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Cafe Gratitude

Posted on February 20, 2013 by The Valley Vegan

What are you grateful for?

It is rare that I eat at a “vegan” restaurant. This blog is dedicated to finding vegan food at mainstream establishments, but every once in a while I can’t resist a good vegan meal. It is great to see items like “ricotta” and “sour cream” and “mascarpone” that I can actually eat. I have to admit, that I am so used to being cynical about foods being vegan (at any restaurant) that I still asked the server “everything is really vegan?”

Yeah yeah. Laugh it up.

But yesterday, there I was with my friend “M” at Cafe Gratitude on Larchmont St here in Los Angeles. From what I’ve learned from the website, Cafe Gratitude is a collection of restaurants dedicated using local organic ingredients in both raw and cooked dishes, desserts, smoothies, and milkshakes! I was so overwhelmed by the seemingly infinite choices; recently making the big move toward more organic local and whole foods, I found myself in vegan heaven.

Just the other day, I was telling Friand that I hadn’t had a good vegan eggplant parmesan in ages, and I was having serious cravings the last week or so. I don’t normally order sandwiches at restaurants (with the exception of veggie burgers) but when I saw I AM AWESOME I just had to have it!

Soup of the Day

We started off our lunch with the soup du jour: butternut squash and chipotle soup, topped with cilantro and sour cream. Soups come in “bowl” size, but we didn’t want to start off our meal with a giant bowl, so they were accommodating and split the bowl into two cups for us. It turned out to be just the right amount! The soup itself was fantastic! Creamy and spicy, dark and sweet. I loved it. The little bit of cream on top added a lovely cool element.

I AM AWESOME

On to the main attraction: I AM AWESOME Look at that thing! Herb-cornmeal crusted eggplant parmesan on grilled Panini bread with marinara sauce, cashew ricotta, sliced heirloom tomatoes, arugula and basil. What’s not to like? The bread was nice and soft, the arugala was wilted lightly and still had some bite, the eggplant sweet and juicy, I loved the tomato slices, and what can I say about the cashew ricotta? It’s been so so long since this Italian has felt the texture of ricotta in her mouth, that I couldn’t get over how authentic it truly was. The worst part about the dish was the salad. Yeah yeah yeah, you all know me well enough by now to know that I didn’t eat it. I did taste it, and I can confirm that yes: it was a salad.

On to dessert! Even after that cup of soup and a huge rich sandwich, I was still ogling the pretties in the dessert case. Honestly, I have had some pretty incredible vegan pastries and pies and cakes, but I could not believe that I was looking at vegan tiramisu.

vegan.

tiramisu.

i am grateful for vegan tiramisu

In my vegetarian days, I had an authentic tiramisu recipe that I made for special occasions. I was so snobbish about my own recipe that I would not, in a million years, order tiramisu at any restaurant because I just didn’t believe it would ever stand up to my own. So why bother spending the money? But yesterday, there it was: vegan muther-f’ing tiramisu, and it’s been almost 7 years since I’ve had the real thing (in my own kitchen or otherwise) that this opportunity was not going to be missed.

Vegan “mascarpone” was creamy and perfectly flavored. Some people seem to think that mascarpone should be sweet in a tiramisu, or that cream cheese is an acceptable substitute, but neither of those things are true. Tiramisu is all about the coffee and light cheese in what amounts to an uncooked (not necessarily raw) confection. And this one measured up! The raw almond flour added a nice texture in place of the traditional savoiardi, the coffee is obviously a quality coffee, and of course the vegan mascarpone. M and I vowed to split this thing, but I have a feeling I ended up with the lion’s share. Next time, I get my own (and maybe one to take home). Really, the worst thing I can say about the tiramisu was that there was too much cocoa on top, but that is a personal preference based on how I used to make my own.

I highly recommend Cafe Gratitude if you’re looking for a nice refreshing alternative to the usual vegan choices. Readers probably remember how I felt about RFD… but I can see myself going back to Cafe Gratitude again and again. In fact, I already have big plans to return to try some milkshakes!

Cafe Gratitude gets 5 sprouts for sure!

CAFE GRATITUDE

323.580.6383

639 Larchmont Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90004

Fleur (Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV)

Posted on February 20, 2013 by The Valley Vegan

Las Vegas Nevada… My old stomping grounds! It’s great to get back there once in a while and try a new restaurant. I’ve been a little disgruntled about Mandalay Bay’s offerings as of late. RM Seafood has worn out the veggie roll for me and Border Grill left us both wanting for more the last time we were there. So this time around, we decided we would try Fleur by Hubert Keller – we’d already struck it big on the machines, would our luck continue into our meal?

YES! is the answer. Beginning with the hostess with whom we made our reservation, I was promised a vegan meal “no problem” and if there was anything special I was looking for, they’d do their best to accommodate. How could I possibly pass up a chance like this?

Our server, Ceferin, was not only informed about the menu items, but was enthusiastic about the options. He assured me that he would double check on the ingredients of all the items I was considering, and turned out everything was vegan. He even suggested the butternut squash risotto could be made without parmesan if I’d like that as well. Considering the meal was served tapas style, I didn’t think ordering 3 different dishes would be too weird! Besides, Friand wasn’t going to sit idly by!

Caponata and Grilled Baguette

My meal began with the Caponata and Baguette. The tapenade of eggplant, zucchini, olive, tomato, onion, celery and basil was fresh and light. At first, Friand thought that it was a bit underseasoned, meaning could have used a touch more salt, but I didn’t think the delicate vegetable blend needed anything more than how it was presented. The baguette was lightly grilled so it wasn’t too hard that it broke when you bit into it, this made the balance of warm and cold in your mouth perfect.

Vegetable Tempura

Next, I was assured that the tempura would also be vegan. Ok. Let’s try it. There’s only one way to know for sure: later in the evening am I sick? And the answer on this one was no. In fact, the tempura was so light and not greasy at all, it drove the notion deeper into my brain that frying with out animal fats is not only healthier, but it’s much more enjoyable to eat. And yes, I have had tempura that I was told was “vegan” and turns out, a couple hours later, not-so-vegan.

This tempura was a nice sized offering of red pepper, green pepper, zucchini, asparagus, sweet potato and one exceptionally cooked eggplant. The eggplant was so sweet and soft, even the most staunch eggplant haters would be hard pressed to find something unpleasant about it. The dipping sauce was not as incredible as the tempura batter itself, and the sweet little dollop of peppery condiment added just a hint of spice.

Butternut Squash Risotto

And then… the risotto arrived. Long time readers of the blog know that I have been served some pretty incredible risottos in my past, so my expectations were high. When it arrived,the first thing that struck me was how delicate the colors were. The butternut squash coupled with saffron made for a peachy orange hue. Microgreens on top added a texture element, but the real star of the dish was the spice blend used by Chef de Cuisine Lupe. I was informed that it was a “curry blend” which is always code for: it’s a secret recipe. Which is fine by me! Recognizing the saffron immediately, there clearly was a touch of white pepper (a chef’s secret to preserving the light colors of a dish like this) and nutmeg. But other than that, I couldn’t recongize the other subtle flavors. This was one time that the “heat” was not heat at all, but a flavor element. Beautiful. Perfectly cooked abborio rice. My only complaint is that this was tapas, because I could’ve eaten a giant bowl and then ordered another to bring back to the room for later. Butternut squash risotto gets the biggest most enthusiastic thumbs up of the evening!!

Pinapple Carpaccio

Even after all that, I was still looking forward to dessert. Would there be anything but sorbet for the Valley Vegan? Oh yes: pinapple carpaccio with lime sorbet over a shaved ice cilantro “gremolata”. Um yeah. You read that correctly. I wish the lighting was better at our table so you could really see the green of the ice, the perfect white of the pineapple and the gorgeous little flowers decorating the plate. On top of the sorbet was a pineapple chip – gooey and crispy, it truly is nature’s candy. The lime and cilantro combination was nothing short of brilliant. Two foods that already go great together, it was fantastic to get to experience them in a different form.

On a side note: there are many people out there who won’t eat flowers presented on a dish like this. Go ahead: eat them. The rules of culinary arts say that you may not put anything on a plate that isn’t edible. I can’t eat too many flowers (I do have mild allergies) but I always try to taste at least one of each kind. Especially in this case, it’s no accident which flowers are used – they go with the flavors.

Fleur turned out to be a surprise hit! We will absolutely be returning on our trip in March. We were told that the menu would be changing around that time as well, so it will be a great opportunity to try some new foods and see how the kitchen handles a change in ingredients.

Fleur by Hubert Keller obviously gets 5 sprouts!

Fleur is at Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip, call (702) 632-7200 for reservations

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119

Local Gems

Posted on February 16, 2013 by The Valley Vegan

Rainbow Chard – this photo was not “touched” either!

The words “local sustainable organic” often evoke images of the rolling hills and grasslands covered in vibrant crops swaying in the breeze under a wide and unblinking blue sky. I’ll bet that even the second thought that comes to your mind isn’t Los Angeles California. But guess what? LA is situated just south of some of the most fertile farmlands in the country, and if you know where to look, you can eat local sustainable organic foods all day long.

On that note, it’s high time The Valley Vegan and Friand got around to reviewing two local businesses that absolutely need checking out! If you live in Los Angeles, if you love organic & whole foods, if you’re longing for vegan beauty products that actually work, then look no further! And the best part? Both of these businesses deliver straight to your door step. We’re not just talking “local” businesses here, we’re talking personal.

Real Food Devotee

Purple Garlic Kraut

I always say, “the secret ingredient in soup is love” and clearly this is true with Personal Chef Monica Ford’s business “Real Food Devotee.” You want local? You want personal? How about the fact that she delivers your order personally. Have you ever met that Tom guy from Maine? No. Me neither. But I have met Monica Ford AT MY HOUSE! And we’ll get back around to Tom again in a minute…

I first learned of RFD when a friend of mine catered a party with her delights. Since then, I have placed a few orders with Monica and have yet to be disappointed! These days, we are in love with the different varieties of krauts (this week was a purple kraut!) and the kimchee is to die for! But, there is a hidden treasure in her menu which I dare you to try and then triple dog dare you to tell me you don’t like it: Grapefruit Deodorant.

So simple, you could eat it!

Admittedly, I only ordered the deodorant out of curiosity & frustration with other so-called organic sticks. Have you ever tried Jason Natural or Tom’s of Maine deodorant? Tom’s is like a stick of armpit smell you just rub on to start your day. It sucks so bad, it blows. And, if like Friand just said over my shoulder “Tom’s gonna send you a few sticks to prove you wrong”, I still won’t use it. Monica’s Grapefruit Deodorant is it. Eye-Tee “it”.

First, check out the ingredients: sounds delicious, doesn’t it? It smells as good as the list promises. And guess who isn’t going to smell if they use it? You. At first, I wasn’t convinced this was going to work. So I put it to a couple of tests. Test #1: the long walk from the parking lot to my classroom at school while wearing a backpack. Result: pass! In fact, a quick sniff when I returned to my car 2 hours later delivered a nice little burst of cacao butter to my nose. Yum! Test #2: run 6-10 miles. Over a week, and runs of varying lengths, I discovered that not only did Monica’s stuff work, but it really stood up to those long runs. I cannot vouch for anything over 10 miles, though, so I dare you to try it for me!

Label of a popular commercially made women’s deodorant

<– Just to compare… would you eat this stuff?

An interesting thing happened, which I wasn’t completely surprised, but definitely amazed at the degree to which this happened. Without all those chemicals and metals under my arm, my body had a chance to cleanse. After 2 weeks of using Monica’s deodorant, the glands in my armpits swelled and became painful. At first, I thought I was sick (nope, I wasn’t) but then came to realize that my body was finally relieved to not have to deal with the poison I was rubbing under my arm daily and could finally shed all the crap that I didn’t need. Whoa. I’d also be interested to know if anyone else has this happen…

Body Butter

On another positive note, the body butter is fantastic as well! Again, check out those ingredients. Sounds delicious, right? Yep. And it smells like a million bucks! I suffer from horrible dry skin, as in my skin splits when I bend a finger and you can imagine how inconvenient this is as a musician. There has been only one commercially made body butter (from the Body Shop’s Hemp line) that has even remotely given me some relief. Until now! Yes, ladies & gentlemen, another miracle product from the labs of Chef Monica! Her Skin Libations Body Butter not only healed my ailing skin, but it smells fantastic. This body butter comes highly recommended.

Face Frosting

Yes, I know there is beeswax in this product, but it is a conscious choice on my part to use this product. The Face Frosting, again, all natural ingredients, but contains beeswax. A long time sufferer of adult onset acne, my skin is super sensitive to any creams that I put on it. And this is the first that hasn’t wrought havoc on my freckly fragile skin.

We’ve all embarked on a veg*n journey different from everyone else’s. It’s a slow process filled with twists, turns and even some roadblocks. I’ve been on this path for almost 23 years now, and I still have work to do eliminating all animal products from my life. Though no animal products go into my body, I do find it difficult to identify and eliminate household culprits, and even beauty products. In the end, I feel less terrible about purchasing homemade local organic body butter from a personal business than buying a skin cream from Proctor & Gamble. Choices. I make mine.

Read ingredients carefully on Monica’s weekly menu, as there are vegan items, but you have to be aware what they are. The stars of her menu are clearly the cabbage based condiments: kimchee and saurkrauts. If you are following the GAPS diet, though, she has many items that are friendly. She has a menu posted on her website, but it is no where near a complete representation of all that she offers on her subscription menu. For people who eat dairy, she ferments her own creams and yogurts, and she even makes a baby formula with goat’s milk. Again, with the ever evolving weekly menu, you’re sure to find something for you and everyone else on your nice list. Monica also gives in-home cooking tutorials, so if you’d like to learn how to make your own goodies, she’s your gal!

Monica earns herself another solid 5 sprouts!

Real Food Devotee:

http://www.realfooddevotee.com/

info@realfooddevotee.com

Farm Fresh To You

First Delivery

An unexpected knock on our front door in October revealed a sales representative from “Farm Fresh To You” all ready to give us a pitch on why purchasing local produce was important to our local economy and the environment. She could barely get through the first sentence before I asked, “Where do I sign?” I purchased the monthly delivery of the “Valley Box” which contains produce from farms no more than 100 miles from my zip code.

Carrots

Our first delivery arrived the day before Thanksgiving, which meant that everything was eaten within 24 hours! The first thing that we noticed was the difference in flavor of the veg. Oh sure, we’ve been buying organic at Whole Foods for ages (which does have a noticeably better flavor than the GMO compost they offer at regular grocery stores), but this was striking. The carrots were so sweet, we just stuffed them in our faces – I didn’t even cook with them! The broccoli? I think many people get a little touchy about broccoli because it can have a “skunky” quality. But this stuff is divine. It’s sweet and green tasting and delicate.

Ruby Red Grapefruit

The way FFTY orders work is you go onto their website and “exclude” any vegetables, fruits or herbs you don’t want in your delivery. Sounds complicated, but once I got into it, I stopped feeling guilty and just went with my gut. It is difficult, though, to read through the lists, knowing how much time and attention went into the crops, and just check a box that says “no! I don’t want it!” but I have to be realistic. Am I really going to use 6 different kinds of lettuce (and you all know how I feel about lettuce…) before they go bad? No, unfortunately. And it would be a bigger crime to let that stuff go bad than it to let it go to a family that will love it. On the other hand, I have the ultimate power to never ever let an apricot come in contact with the same air I breathe. Now that is a relief.

February Delivery

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, our box arrived with strawberries! In fact, we were headed out the door for our morning run and decided that a few of those little babies would do nothing but good things for our bodies.

The excuses I often hear from people who seem afraid to buy organics is that the produce “goes bad too fast” and “there’s bugs in it.” Um… yeah. You know why? Because it’s not sprayed with retardants and preservatives, coated in chemical pesticides or worse yet, are GMOs designed to kill anything that bites into them. A skill that one must perfect when purchasing organics is to figure out how much you need for a couple of days, then being prepared to go back to the store or farm or farmer’s market, to get what you need for the next few days. Sounds like a pain in the tuckuss, but really the payoff is worth it. Another complaint is cost. This idea that organic produce costs more permeates the mainstream market. True. If you buy organic broccoli at the local Ralph’s it’s going to cost more. Why? Because their market is geared toward mainstream consumers looking for cheap quantities of food. But if you shop at places focused on local or organic or another specialized shop, you’ll find the prices aren’t that much more. Why? Again, because the consumers that shop at specialty shops are looking specifically for those products, which keeps the cost down. So, don’t buy organic at Ralph’s! Go to Whole Foods, go to the local co-op, or best idea yet: order some veg from Farm Fresh To You and save some cash!

Strawberries!!

Get to know the folks at Capay Fruits and Vegetables who bring us these amazing treats from the Earth.

Like Farm Fresh To You on Facebook

Phone	(800) 796-6009
Email	contactus@farmfreshtoyou.com
Website	http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com

An important thing to note: as I said earlier in the post, being vegan is a lifelong journey, and I’m no where near the end of it. There is no final destination, just checkpoints along the way. And when I thought “going vegan” was as close to the destination as I could get, turns out there are so many more branches to explore. In the last 6 months, our diet has become almost 100% local organic. When I first read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver in 2007, I didn’t think I could ever do it. I am. We are. And our bodies have thanked us in spades. In fact, our bodies are so clear of toxins now that even the slightest impurity throws us into a real “state.” It doesn’t make me afraid to eat out or be a guest at someone’s house, but it does make me appreciate that our bodies thrive on whole organic foods. Do not underestimate the claims that “food is medicine” that were first made by the Ancient Greeks. Don’t discount the idea that food can treat or prevent cancer or other illnesses. Try for yourself. Start cleaning up your own diet, and see how happy your body will be.

I leave you with this final photo of the Meyer Lemon Coconut Fudge that I bought from Real Food Devotee Monica for Friand for Valentine’s Day. I believe his review went something like this: “Yummy yum yuuuum!” and “the line between veg*n and non-veg*n treats has been blurred, in fact doesn’t exist. It’s just a real treat!”

Diablo

Posted on January 20, 2013 by The Valley Vegan

For weeks, Friand has been dying to go to Diablo in Silver Lake, CA. I would catch him on my computer scrolling through the menu and checking out the food photos. It’s not that people in the household were resistant, just a little disinterested. Another taco place? Finally, we decided to give in and take him to Diablo.

Stone IPA on tap

It’s a fantastically intriguing location: a corner building, brick face with huge wood windows framed by steel and giant rivets. The decor is nothing less than what you’d expect from a place with a name like Diablo: dark grey painted walls, distressed brick, silver seats and heavy wood tables. So stylish, I was anticipating a great experience.

And that’s exactly what we got! Some fantastic beer (I had the Stone IPA) to start out our evening, we took our seats and waited for our food to be delivered. On the menu, there are actually two vegetarian tacos, one vegan burrito, several salads, sides and even three of the four sauces are vegan!

Friand actually ordered the Hen of the Woods taco, which I would venture to guess could easily be made vegan if you asked. I had a slight temptation to snag a mushroom from the taco before he dug in, but the aioli was well dispersed and I probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid it. Kudos on making something that at the very last tempted me!

There was no question what I was going to eat: I ordered the vegan burrito. It took a little while to get to me, so I appreciated that the waitress was exceptionally quick to remedy the situation. It is hard to watch everyone eat while you wait for your food, but once I dug into that delicious creation, all was forgotten!

Vegan Burrito

There are times when you order the “Vegan” dish from a menu and, well, it’s just a bunch of veggies and rice thrown together. But Diablo gets it: vegans like food, too. And something as well composed as this burrito might actually fool an omni into thinking they were eating a chicken burrito! The tempeh was perfectly cooked (not charred or cold) and quite frankly the use of plain soy tempeh was the perfect choice that didn’t compete with the other flavors in the tortilla. The black bean puree was smokey and dark, while the Berserker sauce was spicy enough to burn my lips but not to distract from the very complex flavors. I was delighted to discover that the burrito wasn’t bulked up with excessive rice (in fact, there was not a grain of rice to be found!), but instead relied on diced potatoes, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onions, pickled onions, avocado and cilantro to carry the dish.

In a word: fantastico!

As I said before, it’s not often you get a vegan dish that’s an actual culinary masterpiece and not something thrown together to get the vegan order out of the way. The executive chef, Angel, even made and appearance at our table, which is always a treat! From one artist to another, it’s great to see someone who takes pride in their work.

Hen of the Woods Taco

Diablo comes HIGHLY recommended! It’s a fun night out with friends or family. Even my very picky 11-year old found something to eat. The feeling that you can get up, walk back to the bar to order food or drinks at your own whim, is a super hip touch. Nominate your designated driver, try a few micro-brews and keep the tacos rolling in!

Diablo gets 2 super enthusiastic thumbs up and a bouquet of 5 sprouts!

Diablo

3129 W. Sunset Blvd. | Los Angeles | California | 90026 | (323) 666-4666

Parking lot located on corner of Sunset and Descanso

What’s Cooking: Vegan Potato Pancakes

Posted on December 27, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

Photo from VegNews

Just in time for the holidays, VegNews Recipe Club appeared in my inbox touting these irresistible potato pancakes. My father, not Jewish, used to make latkes every Christmas morning. His recipe came from a friend of his; I’m guessing it was that guy’s mom’s recipe, and it definitely isn’t vegan. I’ve spent the last few years trying to perfect his recipe into a vegan version, but there was always something a little “off” about them. Perhaps it’s because his version included eggs? Nope, Ener-G worked great. Maybe it was the sour cream? Nope, Tofutti is an equal move. To this day, I just can’t make the vegan version as luscious as the originals!

Lisa-worry-no-more: VegNews to the rescue! The recipe is so simple that I didn’t even have to go shopping for ingredients: I had everything already in my pantry. Only one problem: I decided on Christmas Eve evening that I was going to make these the next day, and I was in no mood to roam around LA looking for any open grocery stores that might have Tofutti. So, that’s really the only way that I failed in this mission, no tofutti and no applesauce.

Kiss the Cook

As Friand settled in to watch tv and the kids locked themselves away in their rooms to play their new video games, I got to work!

VegNews Original Recipe Here

Reading through the comments on their own website, I’ve discovered that this recipe may not be appropriate for Jewish people. The baking soda is not permissible, and substituting with Tofutti Sour Cream (for the vegans in the bunch) also not allowed. Hm…

Reading the recipe though, the first line struck me: 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes? Um… that can’t be right. That literally measures out to be 2 potatoes in the best of circumstances. The recipe also says it Serves 6, but I couldn’t imagine this recipe yielding more than 6 pancakes. This seemed highly suspicious… little did I know the mystery of this recipe would soon reveal itself later in this story.

sizzle sizzle

I brought out my father’s recipe which calls for 6-8 medium potatoes which yields, in my father’s words, “a million latkes.” I decided to use that as my standard, and peeled & grated myself 12 small potatoes. Yup, looked about right in the bowl. Since I didn’t have applesauce, I figured it would only help to grate an apple into the potatoes along with the onion. Oh yes! That was a great addition! Other than that, I followed the recipe very closely.

The one thing I didn’t do, which I will the next time, is remember to squeeze the liquid out of the potatoes BEFORE I start mixing in the flour. In fact, I think I will also rinse the potatoes before adding the apples & onions, then squeeze them again. It will help reduce the amount of starch, not that starch is a bad thing, just that these are so light I think even more lightness will help!

All finished!

My latkes turned out beautiful! And everyone loved them! Our two boys are both exceptionally picky eaters. So picky, that they were even eying these completely harmless pancakes with slight suspicion. “What’s in these?” “What’s that green stuff?” I hesitated to tell the youngest that there were onions, but he focused more on the apples, so that turned out ok as well.

In fact, the recipe that I came up with *still* didn’t yield enough latkes to satisfy us 4. Instead of using a “heaping tablespoon” of batter (um…. are you kidding me?) I used a 1/4 Cup measuring cup to scoop. I formed the patties in my hand into what were about 3″ diameter cakes, and still only came up with 16 latkes – that’s only 4 for each of us. Next time, I will double all my measurements and make at least 3 dozen of these things so we have enough to satisfy our hungry tummies AND some left over for late night snacks. But now it was clear why the recipe says “Serves 6″, using a tablespoon to measure? Again, I am dumbfounded by this lunacy. Seriously, this will keep me up at night for days wondering who exactly makes half-dollar sized latkes??

Here is my recipe:

Yields 16 pancakes

8 medium potatoes – peeled, grated, rinsed

1 small yellow onion – peeled, grated

1 small apple – peeled, grated

1 heaping tsp dried parsley

3/4 C flour, divided

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper

olive oil, or any oil, for frying

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and prepare an oven safe casserole pan with a paper towel on the bottom. Combine rinsed & squeezed potatoes with onions & apples. Squeeze out extra liquid.

2. Add remaining ingredients, using only 1/4 C flour. Mix well and continue to add the remaining flour until desired consistency.

3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, 1/2 inch deep, over medium high heat. Test readiness of oil by placing 1 small potato strand – when it sizzles & bubbles, it’s ready.

4. Scoop by 1/4 C and form into round patty in your hand and place in hot oil. Do not put more than 4 latkes in the pan at a time. Cook until golden brown on that side, flip and cook to the same. Drain on a paper towel on a plate, then transfer to the casserole. Put in the oven while preparing the remaining latkes.

Movie Review: “Vegucated” (2011)

Posted on December 11, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

http://www.getvegucated.com/

Last night, we stumbled upon “Vegucated”, a documentary about 3 New Yorkers who volunteered to go vegan for 6 weeks. Winner of numerous awards (Best documentary at Toronto Independent Film Festival, Chris Award for best educational film at the Columbus International Film & Video Festival, Best food issue film at the Cinema Verde Environmental Film & Arts Festival) it is worth a watch, especially with someone who has been on the fence about going vegan after observing your lifestyle with a twinge of curiosity.

The experiment and ensuing film is the brainchild of Marissa Miller Wolfson, an avid food activist and vegan. She follows three meat and cheese loving omnivores as they take their first steps into the world of the “Alien Vegan”:

Tesla Lobo: a 22-year old college student from Queens who claims to not like vegetables or beans; Brian Flegel: a bartender living in Harlem who originated the idea that “vegans are from outerspace”; and Ellen Mausner: a psychiatrist/stand up comic/single mom who loves hot dogs but hates cholesterol.

The subjects began their adventure with a few simple medical tests to measure weight, blood pressure and cholesterol. The rumor we’ve all heard is that a vegan diet will lower all three numbers. Would this be true for Tesla, Brian and Ellen? They don’t know how lucky they were that Joel Fuhrman, M.D. (“Eat to Live”) was their doctor and was able to give them a crash course in vegan nutrition before they set out.

Marissa Miller Wolfson

One great thing I think that Marissa did was introduce our 3 to a vegan diet first, tasting new things (especially in the case of Tesla who looked like she was going to burst into tears at her first taste of kale), and facing head on the difficult task of phasing out their food routines. The grocery stores presented a veritable cornucopia of vegan foods (veganaise, tofu, vegan deli slices, cheeses, “meats”) but also a lot of hidden treasures like (my favorite!) Oreos and Teddy Grahams. Although, contrary to Tesla’s refrigerator & confidence, Ragu Traditional is NOT vegan.

It’s only after a couple of weeks of being vegan, that Marissa shows them films of factory farm conditions of dairy cows, beef cattle, pigs, chickens (for meat and eggs), “free range” turkeys, male chick “disposal”, and of course slaughter. All the complaints about the new & weird foods they were eating seemed to magically disappear, to be replaced by a enthusiasm for stepping outside the system with this vegan diet.

Their paths crossed vegan body builder Kenneth Williams, T. Colin Campbell (The China Study), Milton Mills M.D. (PCRM), and they were able to spend significant time with Jason Tracy and Cayce Mell (OohMahNee Farm Animal Sanctuary). After a visit to an egg farm, which only confirmed what they had seen in the films about egg farms, they were given two spent hens which they brought to OohMahNee. Later, Cayce took the group on a tour of an abandoned slaughterhouse. Brilliantly inter-cut with footage from actual slaughter, the horrors of the last moments of an animal’s life are thrust center screen. On the return trip, they stopped at another factory farm, where they discovered rotting bodies of discarded pigs. Tesla was particularly moved by this scene, and it seemed as if her fate as a vegan was sealed.

I think, though, the beauty of this film is in the exploration of the emotions involved with going vegan. These are people who didn’t see animal suffering and then go vegan as many vegetarians and vegans often do. Instead, they started from a point of dubiousness and moved to belief. Their mindset was interesting to watch, and I rooted loud & enthusiastically for them throughout the film. Could they do it?

Ellen Mausner with daughter Debbie and son Mark

It was apparent that Ellen was hooked. Her phone call to a free range operation began with her kids giggling in the background, but once they heard what the representative was explaining, they soon turned serious. They prove that once you hear the truth about the food industry, you can’t unhear, you can’t unsee. These kids were given a great gift at their tender young age. We literally watch the birth of some new vegetarians!

Brian Flegel before beginning the vegan challenge

Brian seemed enthusiastic, but to a point. At first, he was saying he could see himself being vegan for the rest of his life, but as the end of the experiment neared, it looked as if he might go back to his omnivorous ways. That was until a visit with his parents. The attitude of his parents seemed to leave a frustrated taste in his mouth. The conversation was cut short, but his father was beginning to explain that carnivores need meat, Brian was correcting him but then … cut. It would have been very nice to hear the explanation (which Brian heard straight from Dr. Milton Mills’ mouth) about how humans are omnivores which evolved from vegetarians to be able to eat a variety of foods in order to ensure survival in a wide range of habitats.

Tesla looking great in the final days of the challenge

Tesla had the most difficult struggle of all, no thanks to her family which appeared to show zero support for her choice. She had to face questions like “how will you live without meat?” and a culture of meat in her house. The impression I was left with, was that her parents actually thought she was going to get sick and die if she didn’t eat meat; people who don’t eat meat are just crazy and they would prove this by not cooking for her thereby ousting her from the family culture. Tesla had to cook her own meal after her father finished cooking for the rest of the family. My heart went out to her… that truly must have been painful for her.

Tesla called a meeting with Marissa at the end saying she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to stick with the vegan lifestyle because she was tired of going to restaurants and not having anything to eat. Deep down, I know that her struggles stem from her family’s resistance to this whole situation, but easier for her to talk about restaurants. I was a little disappointed, again, that the vegans at the table (blogger Jasmin Singer “Our Hen House” and animal advocate Moni Wowries), including Marissa, did not say a single word to her about how she can and should be able to eat at any restaurant.

The Valley Vegan was not pleased with this conversation one tiny bit as I have dedicated the last 5 years to proving to you all that not only is there usually something available on the menu, but even if there isn’t the chef will either modify an existing item or make you something off menu. Why was this not said to her? Why? I’m very disappointed in this scene.

It was great, though, to see that Tesla overcame her family obstacles to remain vegetarian. Dealing with a vegan is difficult for most people under the best of circumstances, and someday, when she’s a little older, a little wiser and a little more assertive, she can address the vegan option once again if she chooses.

Brian described himself as “mostly vegan” in the end. What that means, we didn’t really find out. But, it is a huge difference for him to go from avid bacon eater to this new healthy routine. No matter his changes, he has done himself, the animals, the environment, a great service.

It comes as no surprise that Ellen now describes herself as vegan. Initially concerned about a family history of heart disease, she was pleased to discover that her weight, blood pressure and cholesterol had all decreased. In fact, those numbers went down for all three participants.

Inspired yet? Share this movie with anyone who shows the slightest curiosity at your veganism. Share it with someone who says “I want to try vegetarian but I like meat too much.” Share it with your vegetarian friends – maybe they’ll go vegan.

Regardless, we can all stand to be a bit more “Vegucated”!!

Sensi at The Bellagio Again! or: How I Made Room For Dessert

Posted on September 19, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

What can be said about Sensi that I haven’t already said either here at The Valley Vegan or back in the annals of The Vegas Vegan? In fact, I’m a little behind in my Sensi “reports” because we were actually at Sensi back in May of this year and I did not post any photos! Not only that, I robbed myself of the opportunity to convey to you the chef’s intention to use local organic produce and to base the menu on foods that were in season. It’s been fun to visit and find the different veg on my plate!

So here they are (I apologize for the bad lighting! We were in a “dark spot” and it’s not exactly polite to use the flash in a restaurant):

Appetizer: Veggie Spring Rolls

2nd Course: Tofu and Lentils

3rd Course: Spring Vegetable Risotto

Dessert: In house-made Banana “ice cream”

Seriously, I think Sensi should employ me as their Vegan Advocate in Advertising! I just love this place and love the food. The service is always off the hook, the drinks top notch, and the experience at the top of my list. I wish there was a Sensi here in LA so we could visit it more often, but for the money, this is dollar-for-dollar the best value I’ve come across. I have never once had an accidental cross-contamination at Sensi. In fact, that the kitchen is literally under glass gives you every insight into the cleanliness and thoroughness of the kitchen staff.

Back to Present Day: 9/15/2012:

We returned to Sensi this weekend to celebrate my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Look how cute they are!

And they look exactly the same now! It was a real gift to celebrate this milestone with them. 40 years… We should all be so lucky. We figured that many years deserved at least a round of drinks and some appetizers since they forbade us from paying for dinner.

Potato Samosas

The compromise was DELICIOUS! I ordered my favorite appetizer: Potato Samosas and a Ginger Martini. Oh yes oh yes, if you love ginger (and I understand that it is very particular flavor for some) you’ll love this. I kept commenting on how I expected little pieces of grated ginger to be floating in it! The “heat” of the ginger drink worked nicely with the mint chutney and even the tomato sauce that came with the chips & naan (which is not vegan).

We moved our party from the bar to the dining room, our usual server, Nick, was there to take care of us, along with manager Amanda who we met on our last trip in May. It’s so nice to see familiar faces, get a friendly “hi how have you been?” Even other servers who have waited on us in the past stopped by the table to say hello and wish my parents a happy anniversary. Seriously… who could ask for anything more?

Lentil Chip with Tomato Sauce

It’s incredibly difficult not to fill up on these delicious lentil chips. Our servers separated the chips from the naan, in two separate baskets (not something they do for every customer, by the way) so I did not have to worry about any butter on my chips. Where else will you get this kind of thoughtfulness?

Amuse Buche

Since we already had appetizers at the bar, we jumped straight into dinner. But not without an amuse buche served directly from the hands of Chef John. What a treat! Marinated tofu with thinly sliced fennel and microgreens. One tiny little bite of heaven.

Sweet Corn Risotto

I was just dying for risotto, and Sensi was there to deliver! I was told that I would be given the risotto that is usually served under the Halibut: sweet corn risotto. And was it ever “sweet”! Like candy… I guess, considering that corn syrup is the sweetener of choice for most big food companies, I understand now why. In it’s most pure form, corn and the water that it leaves behind after cooking, is delicately sweet and creamy all on its own. I feel like this list of veggies only scratches the surface of what was actually put into this risotto: corn, sweet peas, sugar peas, asparagus, yellow and green zuchinni (the UFO’s no less), micro greens and carrots. I asked how the chef managed to get the risotto so rich and creamy, and the answer was just the starch from the cooked corn and rice. Wow. Just wow. It’s been years since I’ve had a risotto with cream or cheese, and nothing with dairy could ever compare to the lightness and finesse of this dish. Who needs it anyway?

Lemon, Mango and COCONUT sorbet!

We were all going to skip dessert. We had overindulged at lunch, clearly outdone ourselves at the bar, so the polite conversation was started of “I’m not sure I want dessert” and “is anyone else thinking dessert?” Except for me. I kept repeating “I don’t care how full I am, if there’s coconut sorbet, then there is no question that I am getting dessert.” Thankfully, on this blog I have made no mystery of the fact that I think Sensi’s coconut sorbet is the BEST coconut sorbet on the planet. Clearly, they’ve read a few of these posts and what was given to me without even having to order? You guessed it! A scoop of coconut sorbet, along with two of their other daily offerings: lemon and mango. I am funny about mango (both the fruit and any mango flavored items) but this was delicious!

Non-Vegan Desserts

Don’t think for a minute the non-vegan guests at the table were ignored for dessert! They were treated to that amazing chocolate dream bar and a raspberry sorbet (which contains honey) that was quickly devoured by all those who had just minutes ago claimed they “couldn’t possibly eat another bite.” Yes, there is always room for dessert.

So… what? Yeah, I have to say that of all my vegan exploits, Sensi remains one place I know for a fact that I will get a great meal, no fuss, no questions asked, no problem. It’s a little gem tucked away at the Bellagio (remember to walk past the chocolate fountain to get there!) that could easily compete with any of the “name brand chef” restaurants and win. So put on your good shoes, grab a friend or a lover, and have a great dinner!

Reservations:
Suggested by calling 866.259.7111 or 702.693.7223

Fraiche (Santa Monica)

Posted on August 31, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

Fraiche in Santa Monica…
Followers of the blog know that I have given the (now closed) Fraiche in Culver City glowing reviews. And they absolutely deserved both reviews! After tonight, I am missing that restaurant with a vengeance.

Fraiche in Santa Monica is barely a shadow of the Culver City location. Where do I even begin?

This was a fare-thee-well dinner for my stepson “A” on his last night home before heading back to NYC for another year at Columbia University. Having had such great experiences at the Culver City location, we were all excited for dinner tonight. After arriving, we were seated promptly (thankfully we had a reservation which I’m sure helped this portion of the evening) and eagerly looked over the drink menu. We had a few minutes to look at the dinner menu. And then a few more minutes to look at the drink menu again, and then some more free time to check out the dinner menu. 15 minutes later, our waitress finally made an appearance.

I had been a waitress several times in the couple years following college graduation, so I was familiar with that feeling of not only being overwhelmed (this girl was covering 6 tables) but being brand new to the job. But, a 15 minute wait before seeing your waitress for the first time is unacceptable. What was even worse, was the next 15 minutes that followed while we waited for our drinks. In Culver City, we were always served a cutting board of warm bread with butter and olive oil for dipping. Nothing. No drinks, no bread. It was only when the runner brought our appetizers and we asked when we could expect our drinks did we finally get those cocktails. By that point, the drinks seemed like they had been sitting out too long, my “Essence of Grapefruit” was marginally cool and the fizz had all but gone out of Friand’s “Old Cuban.”

Mushroom Salad
(sorry for the low light)

I always begin every single encounter with a server by saying “I’m vegan, which means no meat, no dairy” then continue to ask questions about particular menu items. I had absolutely no faith, as she nodded along and said “I’m not completely familiar with the menu yet, I’ve only been here 4 days.” Oh dear oh dear. I ordered the Mushroom Salad, which I have had at Culver City, and asked that there be no cheese added. When the dish arrived… yeah there was reggiano plain as day sitting on top of the salad. I instantly sent it back with the runner (who apologized profusely) and told the server that I had asked for no cheese, but it was still there. She apologized and said she’d send out another salad immediately. This time, the salad was made correctly. What can I say about the salad that hasn’t already been said before? It’s just a salad; I don’t get excited about lettuce, so at least the mushrooms were tasty.

This is where things start to take a real dive. A quick glance at the watch confirms what our grumbling bellies tell us: we’d already been at the table 35 minutes and had our appetizers, one of which had to be sent back, and one round of drinks that should have arrived within the first 10 minutes of being seated. Our patience was wearing thin.

Veggie Risotto
(low light)

Entrees finally arrive. “A” is really the only one who received a dish that was palatable (the Monkfish). Friand’s Pork Chop was overcooked – who knows how long it sat under the heat lamp before traveling to our table. And then there was the “veggie risotto.” Clearly, it was vegetarian, but when you haven’t eaten dairy in many years, quality control becomes essential. Given the server’s stumble with the salad, my faith in the risotto being vegan was nill.

Many of us vegans know that a quick way to check for milk protein is look for “stringiness”. A dip of my fork into the risotto and then a slow lift showed me immediately this stringiness. Dairy? Another tell tale sign of dairy is a particular oiliness to the edges of the sauce. Sure, olive oil might be there, but I take no chances. I do not put any dairy into my body, so I wasn’t about to be the guinea pig. Friand took a bite and said he could not vouch for it being dairy free. So I decided to wait for our server to return, at which point I would question the possibility of dairy.

And how long did it take for her to return? Never. She never returned to our table. In fact, we sat with our untouched entrees in front of us for almost 15 minutes before I finally had the opportunity to flag down the manager. That was a useless endeavor. It was an incredibly frustrating conversation with this guy, and it’s an understatement to say that my needs, as a paying customer, were absolutely marginalized and blown off. In fact, he went so far as to say “all our vegetarian dishes include cheese, so I don’t know what to tell you.” Seriously dude? My pointed response was, “The Culver City location made vegan dishes every time I went in there.” His tune changed very quickly to “I’ll see what the kitchen can do.” At that point, Friand pointed out the inedible pork chop and was told they would send out another plate. Great. No one should ever expect anything less.

Except me.

That was where my dinner ended. Not because of anything I did. Another 10 minutes passed and still no sign of our waitress. For those keeping score, we didn’t see her for a solid 45 minutes. Unacceptable. When she did return to apologize for the mix-up, Friand ordered a second drink. That was utterly pointless. That drink never arrived. But his replacement pork chop did. Solo. No risotto. At least the waitrees came back to see how the pork was, but completely avoided the issue of this particular customer who had no plate in front of her. We never saw the manager again.

Another 15 minutes went by with still no sign of our waitress or Friand’s drink, but the hostess did happen to walk past us so we grabbed her and asked for the check. Our waitress brought it to us quickly, telling us we would be comp’d the risotto and Friand reminded her that the second drink never arrived, be sure that doesn’t show up on the check either. Luckily for all involved, the bill arrived in its correct form.

There are times when waitstaff have returned to the kitchen to ask specifics about ingredients, and my experience is that they not only do it quickly, but answer very confidently once they have the answer. The wishy-washy attitude of our server did not give me any sort of hope. And the defensiveness of the manager and smugness of his “all our veggie dishes have cheese” turned my stomach.

In no way was our meal worth what we paid. I left the restaurant having been fed NO ENTREE. This is a first in The Valley Vegan’s history. Never once has a manager left me unfed, unsatisfied and literally bursting with anger and shaking with hunger. By the time we left, we’d spend over an hour and a half, completely ignored by the staff. The best part of the evening was the runners and bus staff.

I think I need to repeat this: I was NOT SERVED AN ENTREE. No replacement for the messed up risotto. Keep that in mind. When a manager does not do what needs to be done to make someone happy, that’s a horrible sign. For those of you reading this thinking “Serves that high maintenance whiny vegan right” consider that Friand’s dinner issue was handled quickly, politely and to his satisfaction. A side-by-side comparison adds to the unacceptable behavior of all involved.

For the first time ever, I will NOT recommend any vegans go to Fraiche in Santa Monica. If you do, you do it without my endorsement. I can only hope that someone experienced a little jolt of panic when they spotted my calling card in the billfold.

The bagel I made when we finally got home (3 hours later) never tasted so good!!

ZERO SPROUTS for Fraiche, Santa Monica

In fact, I’m not even going to put their address here.

*****EDIT 8/31/2012*****

For those of you who aren’t aware of how restaurants find out about their reviews here on my little blog, you should know that after I finish writing the entry, I immediately email the general manager of the restaurant with a direct link to just their review, and a description of what we do here at The Valley Vegan. I never write anything on this blog that I wouldn’t stand behind 100% (if you knew me in real life, you’d also know that I take full responsibility for every action & word that emits from me) and at the end of each of these emails, I sign my full name plus provide my personal email address. Usually, good or bad review, someone gets back to me within 24 hours. It’s no surprise, then, why these people run successful businesses: customer care.

This morning, I awoke to a very kind email from a representative of Fraiche, apologizing for our experience last night. I cannot say how much better that gesture alone made me feel. I respect anyone else who faces their mistakes head on. The email gives me every hope & faith that if we give Fraiche another try, we’ll be much more satisfied with how the meal goes. I do believe that every manager and chef should be concerned with the opinions of every guest, even those of us with special dietary requirements.

I don’t believe that I should be catered to specifically, just that something like a no-dairy dish should be one of the simpler requests. I think of people with diabetes, Celiac’s, peanut allergies, shellfish allergies, etc., and how difficult dining out probably can be. Lactose intolerant and vegan diners should be on the easy end of the spectrum.

I’m looking forward to giving Fraiche in Santa Monica another shot. After all, the memories of the vegan versions of the risotto (both the “green” zucchini and the mushroom truffle) are so vivid that the pull is almost magnetic to get back there.

Thank you, Fraiche, for addressing the issues so quickly.

Real Food Devotee

Posted on August 25, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

My dear minions, there is one thing I LOVE: it’s local real food. Last weekend, by pure chance, I had the unexpected pleasure of eating the incredible creations of Monica Ford “Real Food Devotee.” We all know there are plenty of entities claiming to serve “real food” or “whole food” and we find ourselves disappointed that although the tomatoes come from the farmers’ market, the bleached white flour to make the pasta comes straight off the shelves of the “local” Kroger.

Not so with Real Food Devotee! Please, if you live in Los Angeles, check her out and consider having her cater your next gathering. Order some of her fare and feel great about what you’re eating. She also offers coaching on the preparation of traditional foods; if you’d like to make your own saurkraut, she’s your gal! Though, it’d be tough to top her kimchee in my own kitchen.

Spend some time looking at her website & if you have the opportunity to taste some of her food, do not pass that up. I was lucky enough to try her kimchee, saurkraut, vegan paté, olive tapenade, roasted red pepper hummus, Italian salsa and almond butter all in one go! It was orgasmic, and I don’t use that word lightly.

It’s really important to note that she offers several items in line with the GAPS diet:

Raw Almond Butter
Spicy Kimchee
Pink Kraut with Juniper Berries
Traditional German Kraut

As her about other weekly specials that are GAPS friendly!

Check out these beautiful photos and descriptions provided to me by Monica, and try not to lick your screen!

The Raw Coconut Lemon Fudge contains all raw, organic ingredients: coconut, lemon and honey

Almond Butter

Because we all deserve to be nourished even when we’re on the go. The Raw Almond Butter contains organic almonds (soaked and dehydrated), coconut oil and unrefined sea salt. You can check out the recipe here at Holistic Kid.

Did you know that when we soak and sprout our nuts, seeds, legumes and pulses, we require less energy to fully digest this food? Did you know that we even gain more nutrients from the food? Here’s another little secret, they taste better too! wooohoo!

Kimchi – Ingredients: All organic , green cabbage, nappa cabbage, daikon, carrot, green onion ginger, garlic, lemon, red chili and unrefined sea salt and lots of live, happy enzymes.
Sauerkraut and all naturally fermented foods, are traditional foods born of the need for preservation of fresh food through the winter before refrigeration. Did you know that when fermented properly, the vitamin C content of cabbage goes up 10-20 TIMES?!?!
Arrrrrr! Pirate Fact: Scurvy, a disease born of vitamin C deficit was a plague on long ship voyages until word spread that if the crew ate sauerkraut while at sea, Scurvy was no longer a problem! AWESOME! A delicious crisp addition to any meal that will aid you in digestion and imbue your body with greater immunity through a more diverse gut ecology!

Italian Salsa

The Raw Italian Salsa contains Roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and unrefined sea salt. A lovely starter and a nice change from the usual salsa fare.

Monica, Real Food Devotee, deserves nothing less than:

Monica’s Mantra? Get Real. Be Well.

BIO: Monica Ford, Founder of Real Food Devotee

Monica Ford is a Traditional Foods chef who specializes in preparing nutrient dense food and teaching people how to fit these food preparations into the fast-paced modern life-style of today. Her list of clients is a who’s who of celebrities, athletes, parents who want the best fuel for their families & health practitioners who believe Real Food is an important building block for lasting health. Monica offers classes and private coaching in traditional food preparations like Yogurt , Kombucha, Lacto-Fermented Sodas, Sauerkraut, Kimchee, Sourcing Food Locally, Home Cooking and more. Want to see recipes from Monica? Check out http://www.holistickid.com every Friday for a new Real Food recipe.

I (heart) NY

Posted on August 8, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

At the Albany International Airport, my son could not resist posing with the OMG balloon!

This past weekend, we had a long overdue visit with my brother and his family who live just outside of Albany, NY. My old stomping grounds, it was great to be back in the rolling hills & green mountains of Eastern NY. Albany was the site of my first professional gigs (I lived just over the mountains in the Berkshires of MA) and driving through the streets of Troy brought back a lot of good memories.

Traveling as a vegan can appear, to the casual observer, to be a daunting and impossible task. Not so, I say! In fact, there is nothing to fear about travel and the chance to spread your adventurous eating wings is too tasty to pass up. I have never been a high maintenance traveler, whether packing or eating, and this trip was no exception.

Brown’s Brewing Company, Troy NY

417 River Street Troy, NY 12180
Phone 518.273.BEER(2337)

First on our culinary adventure was Brown’s. Important to the story is the fact that I am the biggest (and I mean spoiled little princess) beer snob you will ever meet. Don’t even ask me if I want a pilsner because I will un-friend you – in real life, not just on facebook. I seriously only drink amber ales or IPAs. To say that this was the first time in our 3 year relationship that Friand witnessed me drinking a beer is no yarn. [read again: this was the FIRST time he's seen me drink beer] But how could I resist the India Pale Ale served at Brown’s??! Their beer menu is off the hook!! The IPA was an outstanding balance of bitter & sweet, a little fruity in the background, it’s everything I love about the IPA brew. Coupled with their Beer Pretzels, it was a perfect way to begin the meal.

Looking over the menu, a less confident veg*n might feel a bit nervous. What else would you expect from a Beer Pub but meat, meat and more meat. But, you, my minions, are savvy, educated vegan diners and I have faith in you that you can read this menu with a more creative & informed eye. As usual, you can find or build a salad to fit your needs, but check out the sandwich menu and you’ll find there are not one but two sandwiches appropriate for vegans: “Roasted Mediterranean” (leave off the cheese) and a “Veggie Black Bean ‘Burger’” which only needs to lose the yogurt sauce.

I opted for the Veggie Black Bean Burger since I cannot resist a burger made in the kitchen. I think we all agree it sucks to order a veggie burger only to realize that they had Boca Burgers in the freezer in case one of us “weirdos” shows up. This veggie burger was great! Made with black beans, barley, garlic & peppers (although I swear I bit into a few mushrooms along the way) it was a very moist & tasty burger. Unfortunately… I think someone was a bit confused as to what “vegan” means because the lettuce & tomato were missing from my sandwich. I imagine the sandwich would have been even better had there been some nice cool veggies on top. That said, the french fries were out of this world and a great consolation to the missing lechuga.

Cross contamination did not seem an issue on this evening, which is a huge bonus as we all know; I normally spend the couple hours after any restaurant visit carefully monitoring my stomach. No problem with Brown’s! Dine without fear at Brown’s the next time you’re in Troy, NY.

Missy’s House

I promised my sister-in-law that I would not review her on the blog, but I couldn’t resist! She did a super fantastic job of making sure I was not only fed, but had a vast array of food on hand no matter what my mood. To know that someone is doing something special for you only means they care. Her attention came from the heart and it only endears her to me even more. She’s actually inspired me to write a guide regarding how to “host” a vegan in your house.

Scallions Restaurant, Saratoga Springs, NY

44 Lake Ave
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Phone 518.584.0192

Our last stop was at a place called Scallions in Norman Rockwell Picturesque Saratoga, NY. One of the best qualities of the cafe is the vegan menu! Yep, an actual vegan menu that they put on the table along with the dinner menu. Just for that act alone, immediately they earned their 5 sprout rating.

Portabello Panini

Beginning with the appetizers on the dinner menu, almost every item is appropriate for lacto-vegetarian. And, it’s always a good feeling to see so many gluten-free items on a menu. Keep scanning and you’ll spy the Portabello Panini, which is exactly what Friand ordered for his dinner. Just as at Brown’s he saw me drink a rare beer, I witnessed him eat a salad! He was so stoked over the greens on the plate that he encouraged me to actually try a few bites of the side salad on my own plate. He was right: the greens were young, fresh and sweet, and the vinaigrette peppery and interesting beyond any description I could come up with. His meal must’ve hit the mark, because he left nothing behind on his plate. I’m always a happy vegan when Friand enjoys a veg*n meal out – not just because it’s vegan, but because I feel good knowing he ate something healthy (and yummy).

Falafel with Sweet Thai Chile Sauce

On to the vegan menu! Obviously, everything is appropriate for vegans. Unfortunately, the bulk of the menu is devoted to salads (boo) but what can you do?

Friand and I split an order of Falafel. Pictured are only 3, but the appetizer was originally 6 strong. I cannot tell a lie: we started eating before I remembered to take a picture. The falafel were soft and perfectly cooked. I could’ve eaten a dozen of those things if I had the chance. According to Friand, “the chile sauce added a pleasant level of heat without being intrusive.”

I had a hard time reading past the second panini on the list… go ahead, I’ll wait while you look. Yeah, you read that right: a grilled peanut butter sandwich. What can I say that you didn’t already think inside your head? Alas, that is not what I ordered. I was a good girl and ordered the Asparagus, Artichoke and Spinach Panini.

When it first arrived, I was a little dismayed at (what seemed like) a skimpy serving of vegetables. But, with the first bite I realized that it was actually the correct amount. Asparagus and especially artichoke can be very rich and a little overwhelming in too big quantities. The focaccia was perfectly soft, I was happy to eat what ever was left after the veggies were gone. And yeah, like I said above, Friand even convinced me to try a few bites of my salad. I made it to three bites before I lost interest, but that’s just me & some things never change!

A little off the beaten path, just a few blocks from the main hub, it’s tucked away in a nice quiet spot. As we were coming out, a couple of women were standing at the door reading the menu and decided against going in. Seriously? I don’t know what’s wrong with people sometimes. Just because it’s not deep fried and coated in salt… but whatever. We’ll most certainly be going back the next time we’re in New York!

Ben & Jerry’s, Saratoga Springs, NY

34 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 phone:518.584.3740

Berry Berry Extraordinary Sorbet

You read that right! 5 Sprouts for Ben & Jerry’s!! Seriously, I don’t say “no” to any restaurant suggestion. Maybe a steak house would be a little unreasonable, but most ice cream shops have some sort of non-dairy option (ie sorbet or sherbet) and that includes our old friends Ben and his sidekick Jerry.

On this particular night there were three sorbet choices (sadly, no coconut) and I did my best to choose the richest flavor possible. The Berry Berry Extraordinary was fantastic! I have come to truly love sorbet because it is simple and delicious, but also because it doesn’t leave me feeling bloated and disgusted with myself. I firmly believe it’s actually quite healthy, and that keeps me going so I can shovel the stuff in my face in large quantities guilt free.

The only thing that made me a bit worried at Ben & Jerry’s was the very real possibility of cross contamination. They do dip their scoops into water between flavors but… think about what’s in that water. Yeah, ice cream residue. So, I did have that little nugget of knowledge gnawing at me. Perhaps that is just enough to discourage some of you to eat sorbet at and ice cream shop (on ethical & physical grounds) but honestly my mission when dining out with friends and/or family, is to be as inconspicuous and as gracious as possible. I hate drawing attention to myself, I hate answering questions while I’m trying to eat, and sometimes in accomplishing that I have to make some choices. We all have choices; sometimes as vegans, we choose to chastise and accuse amongst ourselves which I think is ugly and uncalled for. I make choices for myself which don’t affect anyone else personally. You are free to make your own choices as well. It’s the beauty of personal responsibility.

That said, I ate at Ben & Jerry’s. And based on the fact that there are always non-dairy choices on the menu, they get 5 sprouts.

Overall, this was a great trip to visit my family. Stay tuned for a guide to hosting a vegan at your house! And thanks to my brother and his wife for showing us a great time. We love you guys, and were so happy to get to see you.

Artizan Pizza Kitchen

Posted on August 1, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

On Monday, Friand & I returned to our house to a daily annoyance: take out menus stuffed into the handles of the driveway gate. We gathered them, wadded them up for the recycle bin, then noticed a new face among the old familiar menus from a place called “Artizan Pizza Kitchen” literally right around the corner from us in Burbank.

Intrigued by a new pizza possibility, we read the menu from top to bottom. And what did my vegan eyes immediately spy? Daiya Vegan Mozzarella in green font! It’s actually much clearer on the printed take-out menu than it is online, but if you ask, Daiya will be substituted on any pizza for a dairy free option.

We made the instant decision to order pizza for dinner. We spent quite a bit of time picking out our pizzas, imagining how good the artisan crusts would be, dreaming of gooey cheese and… yeah, Artizan Pizza Kitchen is closed on Mondays. Somewhere between Donner Party levels of desperation and the spirit of the Olympics, we found the strength & courage to wait the extra 24 hours.

Goat Cheese Vegetable Pizza with Daiya Cheese

The most difficult part of the meal was the actual ordering process. We asked if it were possible to order the Goat Cheese Vegetable pizza with Daiya substituted for the cheeses, and the initial reaction by the person on the other end of the phone was “so you want a cheese pizza?” um…. ……. ……..?

Eventually things got cleared up, although I was not even 20% certain I was going to get a vegan pizza – best case scenario was goat cheese + Daiya. But, once the pizza was safely on our counter, it was clear that there was only Daiya cheese on it!

“From local farmer’s markets to your table, Artizan Pizza Kitchen delivers fresh salads, wraps, and old-world style artisan pizza for a new generation of pizza lovers!”

And was the pizza worth the extended wait? YES! Just on looks alone, this pizza was a super model. Chock full of eggplant, zucchini, red & yellow pepper, red onion and parsley, it is probably one of the best veggie pizzas I have ever had that wasn’t made in my own oven. It was delicious, and I managed to maintain my lady-like grace & dignity by eating ~~half~~ all of the pizza.

Not long after finishing my dinner, I let out a little whimper that I was surprisingly still hungry. Never fear! Friand (to the rescue) reminded me that I had also ordered the Coconut Sorbet (see previous posts to understand my obsession with coconut sorbets & ice creams) and it was still waiting in the freezer. I busted that little guy out of the freezer faster than lightening! Delightfully unexpected, the sorbet was served in the left half of my new bikini. To top it off, there were little containers of shredded coconut to sprinkle on top.

At least, that’s what I thought. What you’re looking at in the photo is coconut sorbet topped with parmesan cheese. Yeah, can you see the points visibly melting off my IQ? And so, once again, Friand to the rescue! Taking one for the team, he scraped off as much cheese as he could. Then, in an act of ultimate sacrifice, he ate as much sorbet tainted with cheese as he could before giving it the vegan seal of approval.

Learn from my mistake minions: just because the white stuff is packed in the same bag as the sorbet, it doesn’t mean it goes ON the sorbet!

Confusion when ordering aside, this is a great pizza option for those of us living within the 4 mile delivery radius. If you’re outside that, you’ll have to pick it up yourself, but it’s soooooooo worth it!

And go like them on facebook while you’re at it! http://www.facebook.com/ArtizanPizza

Artizan Pizza Kitchen

(818) 508-8680 11672 Burbank Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601

Border Grill (Santa Monica)

Posted on July 29, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

Border Grill

Recently, Friand had a less than exciting experience at Border Grill in Las Vegas, so we thought it would behoove us to visit Border Grill in Santa Monica.

A couple of good things happened that evening: our boys were with us further solidifying our blended family, and we saw Susan Feniger in the flesh. Pretty darn cool!

Before I get too far into this post, I have apologize for the quality of the photos: the lighting was low, we were in a corner, and using a flash would not only be disruptive and wash the food in bright light, but conspicuously taking pictures of the food gives away your anonymity as a blogger.

Chips, Salsa & Guacamole

The evening began with some outstanding mojitos, chips, salsa and guacamole. Quite frankly, I think the ideal for us would be to just stick to that from now on. Call a cab, designate a driver, and just suck down drinks & chips all night!

I have to give very big props to our server for knowing the menu inside and out, especially when it came to discussing vegan options with me. She advised me not to eat the tomatillo salsa (as it has some cream in it) and when pointing out the Summer Vegetable Chilaquiles, told me the chefs would leave off the tomatillo & dairy for a perfectly vegan dish. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that’s what happened. I was half way through the dish when I realized that the tomatillo salsa was definitely there. I am lactose intolerant, so not only is this completely unvegan, but also devastating to my digestive tract. (I had a rough night…)

That said, I absolutely believe that without the tomatillo, this is a great vegan meal, and you would not run into any trouble ordering any dish with no meat or dairy. Ease & simplicity of ordering, always very very high on my vegan dining checklist.

Everyone really enjoyed their meals, even my über finicky son who actually deviated from cheese quesadillas and ordered the “Border Classics”. I was shocked that he not only ordered something so outside of his little kid box, but actually tried one of each item on the plate! It’s a baby step, but a step nonetheless.

Dessert menus passed out, I assumed as always that there was nothing non-dairy on that menu. Nope! There was sorbet!! I used to consider myself an Olympic level ice cream eater in my lacto-vegetarian days. I could suck down a pint of Starbucks Javachip without batting an eyelash, and once (I swear this is true) I ate a 6 scoop ice cream cone no problem. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know…

So for me to get excited these days about sorbet is a big deal for sure. Although, I admit, part of me is really just waiting to hear another server say the magic words “coconut sorbet” – it’s like spinning the big wheel on The Price is Right: I’m sure one day I’ll get $1.00!

This sorbet was actually some sort of sweet cinnamon which was refreshing & surprising. Fresh strawberries & blueberries added the right amount of tartness, so yeah, this was a winner. Simple, rustic flavors.

And to top off the evening, Susan Feniger was walking around the dining room talking to diners & being photographed. She took one look at our motley crew and kept right on walking. Too bad: I really wanted a photo of her & I for this blog. Next time, Susan.

There is nothing difficult about getting a veg*n meal at Border Grill. In fact, there are not only several vegetarian items on the menu, but they specifically state: “We can make almost any dish with less meat and/or dairy upon request.” And don’t forget “Meatless Mondays”!

Border Grill Santa Monica
1445 4th St.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
phone: 310.451.1655 fax: 310.394.2049

South of Nick’s

Posted on July 17, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

Image by: Jeff Hester
http://www.jeffhester.net

South of Nick’s, San Clemente CA

Road trip! Friand is experiencing a surfing renaissance this summer and I am along for the ride. Seriously: who would pass up sitting back on the sand in lovely SoCal, under the marine layer, on a perfect summer afternoon? Not this pasty freckled New York girl.

In the spirit of exploration, we decided to take a road trip to San Onofre State Beach so he could take a peek at the surfing possibilities for himself. To my delight, he spent the afternoon snapping photos of the surfers and I had fun sneaking candids of him.

The 75 mile trip was greatly extended thanks to the traffic, so by the time we arrived in San Clemente we had two hungry boys in the backseat trying to calmly ask us what was for lunch so as to not betray their death throes.

Friand & I had already done our research and decided on a restaurant called “South of Nick’s”. I blindly shoved the freshly fried chips and fresh salsa into my pie hole as I read through the menu, which you can download in pdf form either direct from that link or from their website, offers 4 vegetarian options.

One of the most difficult things about dining in a Mexican restaurant is considering whether or not removing a cheese or cream element will alter the spirit of the dish. Can’t really ask for chile relleno sin queso now can we? Thankfully, we had a server who was not only helpful, but very eager to point me in the right direction when I asked if the “Grilled Portabello Burrito” could be made vegan. This is where she took matters into her own hands and suggested I go with the “Chiles en Rajas” with the Spanish rice and black beans. She said that the white rice used in the burritos is made with butter and of course refried beans are off limits. She also pointed out that they get a lot of requests for vegan versions and they were experienced in cooking for us.

Way to go, South of Nick’s! I was just complaining on another vegan website that sometimes its the servers that stand between us and the chef, preventing us from an otherwise delicious and successful meal just because they feel inconvenienced. I wish I could remember her name, because she is a keeper!

My chiles en rajas were actually quite unique. Considering it’s a pile of grilled veggies, beans & rice, it could have been a boring disaster of mush. But not this time! The peppers were crisp, the mushrooms cooked through, the onions sweet and the coup de grace: grilled corn. Served with house made corn tortillas, I finished every last morsel on my plate. Of course, I couldn’t resist ordering a coconut margarita (made with real coconut milk!), and I admit I finished it before I thought to snap a picture.

South of Nick’s gets 5 enthusiastic sprouts for the helpful staff and of course the delicious meal. Vegetarians will have 2 entrees to choose from, a platter and all of us veg*n variations can dig safely into the guacamole. Check out South of Nick’s next time you’re anywhere near San Clemente. Parking is a little tricky, but however far you end up walking it will be worth it.

South of Nick’s
110 North El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672
Reservations: 949.481.4545

About the featured photographer (South of Nick’s store front photo at top):

Jeff Hester:
He is (in no particular order) a champion for knowledge management and social media, avid hiker, backpacker, father, grandfather, author, speaker, dog walker, web developer and a damn good listener. Learn more…

Return of The Vegas Vegan

Posted on July 6, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

This week, I went back to my roots in Las Vegas! Friand and I had some free time to ourselves to eat, drink and gamble our way through THEhotel and Mandalay Bay.

Our vacation didn’t involve any new restaurants for us; we went back to 3 places we have enjoyed in the past. But, this time, the reviews were mixed… I have to remind myself that the reviews I write here for this blog are primareily based on the availability of vegan food a “regular” restaurants and the technical execution of those dishes. I give sprout reviews on a scale of ease of finding vegan food, the cooperation of the wait staff, the creativity of the chef and of course consideration is given to the quality & taste of the vegan food I’m presented.

This trip put me to the test, as Friand was completely unsatisfied with his meal at Border Grill and as so often happens: the vegan received the better meal. My theory is that most chefs enjoy the challenge of making something out of the ordinary whether it be off menu or a modified version of something on the menu, and that when given the opportunity, they will present you with something really interesting and exciting. Border Grill proved this point as my meal was leaps and bounds over Friand’s. In fact, he even told our server of his dissatisfaction with his meal.

Chips and tomatillo, chipotle, and what Friand has jokingly dubbed: “la salsa regular!”

Our first visit to Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s Border Grill in January 2010 earned it 5 sprouts. I was exceptionally pleased with my meal, and so this time around I actually told the server to “let the chef surprise me.” She said she liked my style and served us our complimentary chips & salsa. Happily sipping our black cherry mojitos, she casually asked if we liked “spicy” because she could bring a taste of the Diablo salsa. Bring it on! If all else fails, we have some of Vegas’ best mojitos in hand to wash down the fire. The Diablo salsa (not pictured) was actually the tomatillo salsa with habanero pepper added, so it was sweet with a little kick.

Border Grill: Guacamole

We branched out a bit and ordered some guacamole. Ok ok, when’s the last time we went out for Mexican and didn’t order guacamole! I actually really enjoyed the side of arugala with the pico de gallo on the side. It was an original idea that was very successful. I ended up wiping up the last of the guacamole with the arugala!

Unfortunately, I cannot link you directly to the menu, so you’ll have to scroll along the right menu to the bottom where it says “view menus”. Or you can try this link to an external site that seems to be listing the most recent menu.

Finally, our entrees arrived. Friand ordered the Yucatan Pork, while I was given a chef’s off-menu creation. Apparently, this mushroom tower had been on the menu in the past, so to say this was something invented on the spot just for me would be inaccurate, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this dish was well worth it. Two portabello mushroom caps sliced into thin rounds, sandwiching grilled vegetables (peppers & onions mostly), topped with guacamole, all on a bed of grilled escarole, mustard greens and Swiss chard with a light red sauce. It’s rare that I don’t finish an entree at a restaurant, sometimes I think I’m a bottomless pit!, but this was so rich I really couldn’t finish.

Regardless of Friand’s disappointment with his Yucatan pork, the vegan meal was fantastic. So, I do give Border Grill another 5 sprout rating for vegans. Your omnivorous friends & family are going to need to be a bit more judicious & suspicious in their experience.

And check out Border Grill’s Meatless_Mondays A three-course sampling of vegetarian fare – not necessarily vegan, but it’s a good start!

Our next stop was RM Seafood, by Rick Moonen. Funnily enough, our first visit here was in January 2010: the night before our aforementioned first visit to Border Grill! And again, RM received 5 sprouts for the vegan aspect, not necessarily any other reason.

Vegetable Rolls at RM Seafood

It’s not even that the vegetable rolls at RM are all that exciting. I mean, really, when are vegetable rolls so different at one place over another that you can write an original review? Carrots, avocado, daikon, cucumber and sprouts. But, it is super easy to ask for vegetable rolls and not look totally out of place while everyone else around you is eating sushi and you’re getting some “special diet” meal. For me, one of the most important aspects of dining is not feeling like an outsider or being singled out in any way. I don’t care that Friand is my husband, I still do not want to look like an inconvenience in front of my party.

Mojito

And of course, there were mojitos flowing freely at our table. Is there really a better cocktail for summer? We had a sampling of mojitos at every restaurant we visited, though I wasn’t smart enough to take photos of them all… The one at RM was tangy and sweet, though not very strong. For once, I could order two mojitos and not stumble like a fool past all the other tables.

Finally, dessert decisions needed to be made… The decision, on vacation, is never “whether or not” to have dessert, rather “which dessert will I have?” Not many choices for a vegan (are there ever?) but I was happy to see a sorbet trio listed.

Sorbet Trio

The evening’s sorbet offering, from left to right: green apple martini, basil, raspberry. Yes, you read that middle one correctly! The most disappointing of the 3 was actually the green apple. Flavorless and with an odd texture, I could have done without it. The raspberry, as always, was a creamy and rich fruity offering. But the basil? Believe it or not it was sweet and vibrant. I still had some of my mojito left and it was a perfect compliment! As I was digging into the first sorbet, the little bowl it was in cracked: the cups were white chocolate!! Oh my…

I did not request anything off menu, nor did I ask for the chef to make any substitutions or alterations, so who knows what I would have had to eat. I admit, I wasn’t even in the mood for experimentation. So, RM Seafood still holds onto its 5 sprout rating because there are vegan options on the menu and the veggie roll was what I would definitely call sushi comfort food. And of course, your seafood and sushi eating friends & family will not be at a shortage of choices.

Falamus Wrap

No visit to Las Vegas is complete without a trip off-Strip to visit my favorite Paymon’s Mediterranean Cafeon Sahara for the “falamus pita wrap and spicy fries”.

As I declared to Friand with an overflowing mouthful of falafel: “I could eat this every day for the rest of my life…”

Thanks Paymon’s!

Pizza

Our last night in Vegas, we decided that low-key was the way to go. Not wanting to be sucked into feeding the slot machines any more of our money, we decided that room service was the way to go. Shocking: I was able to order a pizza, no cheese, with tomatoes, artichokes and spinach that was actually satisfactory. Clearly not a gourmet offering, this was a fitting finish to our trip. The dough was surprisingly sweet, and though I probably could have finished the entire thing, I still want to give my husband the impression that I’m not a pig who can eat 8 slices of pizza without batting an eyelash.

And believe me, when he’s not looking, I can.

Back to real life in Los Angeles, I’m reflecting on how fun it was to visit The Vegas Vegan’s old stomping grounds and remember why I began the blog in the first place. Vegans aren’t always interested in answering questions about being vegan, sometimes we want eat a meal in peace. Vegas never ceases to amaze me with its vegan options, even in tried an true places like Border Grill, RM Seafood and Paymon’s Mediterranean Cafe. Who knows, maybe next time we’re back, we’ll try some where new for a change!!

And one for the road…

THE BEST Vegan Candy EVER!!

Red O || Restaurant

Posted on June 28, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

Trendy and chic, Red O | Restaurant by Rick Bayless stands as one of the coolest places we have dined in recent months. The bar area, which we passed through on our way to the dining room, was hip and clean, some place I could imagine us returning to sit & enjoy a night out. The indoor seating area is actually and indoor/outdoor hybrid; you’d hardly know you were outdoors! We were sitting, in the “outdoor” area, though there was no hint of sidewalk dining. I can only describe the decor as “hip and cool” though there was nothing chilly about being out in the evening air thanks to the well placed heaters & ceiling curtains.

We were meeting old friends for dinner, and shortly after being seated, the guacamole, chips and two salsas arrived at the table. I have to admit, it’s not your normal overflowing basket of chips, so my first thought was how are the four of us supposed to share this little plate of chips?! Easily enough – these aren’t chips to stuff in your face, they are meant to be savored. If I had to guess, I’d say these chips were made on site. The guacamole was fresh tasting, with delicate cilantro, onions and chopped sun dried tomato, and most importantly not tainted by too much (or too little!) salt. I tried the red salsa (a subtle heat with a hint of roasted garlic) but shied away from the green. My experience is that most tomatillo salsas have some sort of cream element to them, so I generally stay away from those unless the server explicitly explains the ingredients. Quite frankly, I wasn’t in the mood to interview the server on every element of the evening, so I have to go on the opinions of Friand who said that it was also very delicious.

Prickly Pear Mojito

Cocktail time! The extensive drink menu of tequila drinks (right facing page of the menu) and not-tequila (left facing page) is mouthwatering and maybe a bit overwhelming if you go in not sure what you’ll be in the mood for. My suggestion? Always ask the server what his/her favorite drink is and go from there. Last night, we were told that the “seasonal” drink of the night was the “Prickly Pear Mojito” which is not listed on the menu. What can I say about this beautiful purple mojito? It was: Fan.Tas.Tic.

Friand took a chance with the “Alacran” though he was warned it would be spicy. No problem! I took a quick taste of this bad ass looking drink, and WOW! Just enough kick to remind you there is pepper involved, but not so much that you’d shy away from a 2nd sip. Definitely a drink to go down slowly, it complimented the guacamole perfectly. The drinks feel a bit pricey (at $14 each) but what the heck: it’s part of the fun!

McGrath Farm Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Before opening the menu, I mentioned to our server (I’m sorry I cannot remember his name…) that I am vegan, and what can I expect? He immediately pointed to 4 items on the menu that were or could be made vegan: “Tostaditas” Heirloom Tomato Escabeche (remove the Jack cheese), The Red O Salad (vegan as-is), Roasted Garlic Mushroom Tacos (remove queso fresco) and the McGrath Farm Roasted Vegetables Suizas (remove the Jack and replace the tomatillo sauce with red sauce). An observation I need to share is that all the vegetarian dishes did not incorporate cheese, so to remove the cheese didn’t mean disassembling an entire taco: it amounted to removing a garnish.

I opted for the enchiladas, which were great! Not the over-stuffed, rice heavy, enchiladas of lesser priced restaurants, these were no-nonsense and delicate. The soft corn tortillas were filled with large bites of zucchini, mushroom, carrot and onion. The red sauce was smoky and dark, and again, not over done so that the enchiladas were swimming on the plate. The black beans? Beans are the bricks that pave a direct pathway to my heart. These beans were al dente and perfect, not sloshing around in starch from over cooking or even the red sauce (kudos to the chef who kept the sauce away from my beans!). I could go back there, hang out in the bar, and just ask for a big bowl of beans to go with my purple mojito.

Three Sorbets with Mexican Cookies

Bring on the dessert! Light quickly fading, I snapped a picture before actually diving in to the dessert. This must be a first for The Valley Vegan: a photo of a dessert before I eat 2/3 of it! What I received was a trio of strawberry, lemon and chocolate sorbets. 4 cookies accompanied the dish, but not vegan, so Friand reaped that benefit on my behalf. The coconut chocolate wedge that sits atop the strawberry was the clear winner.

In fact, the weakest part of the dish was the lemon – a little disappointing compared to the strawberry and chocolate. The chocolate sorbet was so creamy, I actually questioned whether or not it was made without dairy! Nope, no dairy there. Truly a sorbet. And if I could just have a pint of the chocolate brought to the table with a giant spoon (oh, go ahead and sprinkle some shredded coconut on top of it) I’d be in heaven…

The interesting part of the evening is that we spent nearly 3 1/2 hours at our table and never once were we encouraged to order more drinks or coffee nor was it suggested we move to the bar or patio. We were left alone, probably at a loss for the establishment, although we didn’t necessarily stay that long on purpose. Good conversation with old friends goes on and on unchecked until someone yawns and another looks at their watch and says, “oh my gosh! It’s past 10pm!”

Big thanks to our server for providing me with so many suggestions. Great job Red O for your inclusion of interesting veg*n options on your menu and for training your staff to treat veg*ns like paying customers instead of nuisances. Red O | Restaurant gets an enthusiastic 5 sprouts. Looking for fun night out with your significant other or a group of friends, I would highly recommend checking this place out!

RED O | RESTAURANT

Mexican Cuisine by Rick Bayless

8155 MELROSE AVENUE
LOS ANGELES, CA 90046
323.655.5009
info@redorestaurant.com

Fraiche (Culver City)

Posted on June 12, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

Dear Minions,

Did you hear that Fraiche, in Culver City, would be closing its doors? We did, so we took it upon ourselves to make one last visit to one of our quiet favorites. And what better day than our 1st wedding anniversary.

With a quick phone call the afternoon of the reservation alerting the staff to the fact that “a vegan” was in the party, an amazing meal was set in motion.

Our waiter was careful to go over the dinner menu with me, pointing out that the Black Truffle Risotto (mysteriously not shown on the linked menu above) would be vegan as long as the cheese was left off. The rice itself was not cooked with cream! There are 2 things in the title of that dish I could not resist: “black truffle” and “risotto”.

Essence of Grapefruit

We started off our evening with drinks: I ordered the “Essence of Grapefruit” and it was truly everything a grapefruit lover would want. The balance of vodka and juice was perfect to the point that I forgot I was drinking alcohol, and so ordered a second one! Unfortunately, I cannot find a complete cocktail menu online, so I may be a little off on the name of the drinks Friand ordered, but I believe they were “Ginger on Fire” and “Cucumber Martini.” The ginger was a fantastic balance of spicy and sweet, while the martini was an interesting specimen. On first sip, all I could taste was the cucumber, not a hint of alcohol, but on the second sip all I could taste was the vodka! Weird, but fascinating!

Baby Beet Salad

Next on my menu was the baby beet salad sans ricotta cheese. The beets were beautifully blanched, delicate in flavor and texture against the oranges, salty pistachio and the sparingly used mustard vinaigrette. The professional touch to this otherwise simple dish was the use of the bitter baby arugula. A forkful of all flavors was a beautiful experience. Don’t skip this salad just because it looks simple!

Now, on to the coup de grâce: Black Truffle Risotto. Let me repeat that:

black

truffle

risotto

Now go eat it.

Available on the “Secret Menu”

I really could not believe that there was no cream in that rice. It was so rich and starchy and perfectly cooked. And not “al dente” like on the verge of still being a bit chewy. Al dente like the definition of al dente. Perfectamundo!

Beyond the execution of the rice itself, the mushrooms were perfectly cooked. There’s always a danger of (overcooked mushrooms) + (overcooked rice) = mush mush and more mush. But no! And the black truffle oil in the mixture? To say my most basic brain stem functions were tickled by the truffle doesn’t even scratch the surface. I slowly savored each bite, rolling it around in my mouth, feeling the intoxicating effects of the truffle. Now, if you are easily overwhelmed by truffle, this may actually be a bit much for you, likewise if you don’t like spicy, you may not want the “Ginger on Fire”.

So go to Fraiche in Culver City before they close their doors forever! That is, unless you live closer to the Santa Monica restaurant in which case: rock on with your big bad self!

As always, Fraiche gets another 5 sprouts for the attention given to the vegan in explaining the menu, but also for upholding the level of integrity of their meat & fish entrees in those vegan items. I never once felt that I was a burden or nuisance to the chefs or staff, nor did I receive anything less than a memorable meal.

I think I’ve got a couple of great reasons to check out the Santa Monica location, and I hope you will, too!

Hugs & Kisses,

“The Valley Vegan”

Management recently confirmed that Fraiche will close its doors “sometime” in late June.

With sadness, we announce that Fraiche Culver City will soon close its doors. While we don’t have an exact date, it is likely sometime in late June. Fraiche Santa Monica will continue operations, and we hope our Culver City patrons will visit Fraiche Santa Monica to get their Fraiche fix.

As a thank you for five years of patronage, we have created the [Secret Menu].

The discounts on this menu will be available at both Fraiche Culver City and Santa Monica until we close the Culver City restaurant. Just print the menu and present it to your server when dining for these terrific prices on your Fraiche favorites!

Fraiche – Santa Monica is located at:

312 Wilshire Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

Phone: 310.451.7482

Fax: 310.451.7482

Schooner’s Costal Kitchen & Bar

Posted on June 7, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

“One Hope” Pinot Noir

This weekend, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the scene of the original crime: The Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa on Cannery Row in beautiful Monterey CA. Walking distance from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and plenty of touristy shops, the Plaza is by far our favorite place to go for some sorely needed R&R.

From the beginning, our trip was jinxed. And by “beginning”, I mean June 12th 2011: the day we embarked on our honeymoon, found ourselves bumped from our flight, and given $800 in travel vouchers from United Airlines. For our 1st anniversary, we cashed in those vouchers, naively believing it would be a simple process. I dare you to cash in travel vouchers. No! I triple dog dare you!! Let’s just say that flying on United is about as painful as sticking your tongue to a frozen lamp pole, maybe more.

But on to more pleasant things! The Plaza! This was the first time we’d been to the Plaza since the Duck Club & Schooner’s were combined into one restaurant Schooner’s Costal Kitchen & Bar: which makes a real effort to use only sustainable seafood and local vintners & growers. We made our reservations, eager to try the new revamped menu, almost 3 weeks in advance of our trip.

We arrived at Schooner’s only to be escorted to a very dark corner. Actually, it was the only dark corner of the restaurant with a tiny window overlooking a small sliver of the bay, and only if you were sitting in one particular seat. If you were in the other seat, all you could see was yourself in the mirror or the side of the building out the same small window. We quickly brought this to the hostess’ attention and requested a better table. She brought out the manager, Noelle, who politely and gracefully handled our request for a table with a view.

Mushroom Stew

While at the dark table, we ordered drinks and asked questions of the new menu. I was very excited to learn from our first server, Beau, that both the Roasted Tomato Chowder and Mushroom Stew were completely vegan. I ordered a glass of the “One Hope” Pinot Noir, and learned that 50% of the proceeds of each sale go to The Children’s Miracle Network.

We were moved to our new table which had a panoramic view of the bay, and met our new server, Sarda. To say she is a gem is an understatement. I wished she could have pulled up a chair & dined with us; a true foodie with an unmatched enthusiasm for food, her energy was contagious.

The mushroom stew arrived, and I accepted the fresh pepper offered. The stew was unbelievably rich and touched some deep dark happy place in my animal brain. Chock full of portabello, enoki, shitake and something which looked like sugar mushrooms. The broth was oily and dark, perfect for soaking into the fresh bread brought to the table. I could go back to Schooner’s and happily eat this stew all evening – might I suggest a bottomless bowl and endless bread option?

BUCATINI BOLOGNESE
Vegan Preparation

What’s next? Well… regular readers of this blog know that A) I don’t eat salads unless there is no other option, and B) I usually whine & moan about pasta and vegetables being a “vegan option” on any menu. BUT, when that pasta & veg is prepared this well, who can complain?

Underneath that perfectly cooked bucatini (spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through it like a little tiny hose) are roasted tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms and asparagus all in a very delicate tomato sauce. It is very difficult to make a dish like this interesting or unique, but I believe that our favorite chefs Waller and Sanchez have knocked this ball right out of the park. Even if there aren’t a ton of veg*n options on the menu, never fear: this pasta dish is nothing like the “vegan option” we’re all too familiar with. I tried to conserve bread so that I would have at least one piece left to dip in the remaining sauce.

I ate every.last.bite. of this meal, and although it was probably way more than I should have put in my stomach, it was well worth it!

We returned the following day for lunch and to my delight discovered a “Mediterranean Vegetable Medley” on the menu! Hummus? Ok, now my vacation is complete. Asking for no feta was the only change I needed to make. The veggies were roasted, and not exceptionally exciting but definitely a great addition to the lemony-garlicky-sesamy hummus and perfectly grilled pita bread. I added my favorite Schooner’s drink (soy latte) and had a perfect lunch!

Our last day in Monterey, I ordered an old friend: Grilled Veggie Burger. The recipe has since changed. Instead of being that lovely golden light ricey burger, they’ve changed the recipe to include shredded cabbage & carrots, almost like a cole slaw patty. Um, I don’t like cole slaw, at all, but this was actually very good! A little squishy and didn’t keep it’s form very well, it was quite tasty. The patty had smushed itself almost completely out of the picture before I even ate 2/3 of the bun, but that’s what forks are for. For the vegan option ask to have the cheese and “chef’s sauce” removed, which turns out to be Russian dressing. I actually asked for a side of hummus instead and used that to lube my sandwich and my fries.

Again, nothing but glowing things to say about The Plaza from the treatment of the manager Noelle, our servers Sarda and Beau, the chefs James Haller & Gonzalo Sanchez, and everyone else we came in contact with.

Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa
400 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940

For reservations, please call (831) 646-1706
Breakfast Menu
Lunch Menu
Dinner Menu
Dessert Menu
Bar Menu

Eat at Mo’s

Posted on March 4, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

Sometimes I think I’m going senile. When Friand suggested we take my parents, who are visiting from Las Vegas this weekend, to Mo’s in Toluca Lake I looked up the menu online like a good little vegan and gave my approval. Driving up to the restaurant on Riverside Drive it all came rushing back in a flood: “I’ve been here!” Uh, duh, Lisa, nice brain.

I ate at Mo’s over a year ago and had a very delicious grilled vegetable sandwich off the lunch menu. As we settled at our table, I decided that there was nothing I wanted more than to try one of their veggie burgers. On the menu, there is a veggie burger listed among the burgers. I didn’t realize, though, that it does say at the top of the page that you can substitute a veggie patty for any burger on the menu. Whoa! Well, if you are a lacto-vegetarian, this becomes a very exciting world of options. Me? I really was just dying for something as simple as lettuce, tomato, pickles & ketchup and a side of their sweet potato fries.

Normally, if there is cross contamination, my stomach is exceptionally sensitive to meat contamination, exactly the same as I suffer with lactose intolerance. But there was no problem last night. I’m so excited to add Mo’s to my list of great veggie burger joints!

I was a little disappointed in the sweet potato fries: they were a little soggy and I was thankful that there was a salt shaker on the table because they were a little bland in that regard. But, they filled that need to have fries with my burger, so who can complain? I’ll just remember to order their signature curly fries next time.

Veg*ns of all types you should definitely “eat at Mo’s” if you’re in the mood for a burger. The menu is not very vegetarian friendly – in fact, there isn’t a single vegetarian entree on there, but the vegetable sandwich is a good one, the burgers are great, and if that’s not enough to distract you from the lack of veg*n options then order a mojito. Those things are off the hook!!

Mo’s Fine Food

4301 Riverside Drive, Burbank CA 91505

All’s Fair in Love & Food

Posted on February 12, 2012 by The Valley Vegan

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to break format for this post. I recently read an article about couples trying to make a relationship work when one person is vegan and the other isn’t. It wasn’t a particularly interesting article, in fact the conclusion was something we all know anyway: couples have shit to deal with. Wow. Great revelation.

What does this mean in real life for couples of “mixed food choices” like us? It doesn’t mean much. In fact, when Friand and I first met, I was a well established veg*n having been vegetarian since 1990. The article mentioned couples making food “compromises” where they meet some place in the middle. Really? This happens? I can fully understand a meat eater incorporating meatless Monday into the routine or eating some interesting vegan dish their spouse made. But to think that a veg*n would start incorporating meat back into their diet to appease a partner that doesn’t accept their veg*nism is a bit unrealistic.

Imagine my delight when Friand and I met and he was completely supportive of my choices. We went on our first dates to places where we could each get entrees we would be happy with – places that also didn’t make it difficult for me to get vegan food without a struggle! Nothing like appearing to be high-maintenance in front of a potential boyfriend. I wasn’t on a mission to convert him to veganism and he wasn’t out to feed me meat. It showed us that we were capable of great compassion and respect for each other at the beginning of the relationship, so imagine now 2 1/2 years and a marriage into it what we are capable of?

The ability to love a person for who they are, not who you want to make them into, is what sets a relationship up for success. I love feeding my husband, I love watching him eat, I love the pure abandon when he enjoys a good meal. That’s probably the Italian mama in me coming out, but it doesn’t matter to me what he’s eating as long as he’s satisfied. I also know that he enjoys seeing me get a meal I love at a restaurant, he loves my cooking, and he never ever criticizes me for choices that I made long before he was blip on my radar.

I have been on the other side of this spectrum – I have been resented for my veg*nism, I have been “apologized for” and “explained away” by excuses made on my behalf – and it’s not pleasant. It’s a miserable existence. And it in no way inspired me to eat a little meat to make someone shut up. That’s why I am so vocal about the fact that committed veg*ns aren’t too quick to change their diets.

There are greater issues facing any marriage than food. I think it’s very old world to expect that couples eat the exact same menu at every single meal. It’s not uncommon among my friends that we are preparing variations at each meal to satisfy everyone at the table. We have found a balance with what we each eat, and 9 times out of 10, Friand is eating whatever vegan meal I’m making for myself. Even if it is just for health reasons, it does make the cooking duties easier!!

But it’s also not a burden: we choose our paths and if I wasn’t willing to accept the responsibility of taking care of everyone’s needs, then I would be either looking for someone exactly like me (impossible) or have to live alone.

I choose neither.

Questions for you, Dear Readers: Are you in a “mixed-menu” relationship? How do you and your partner handle your dinner differences? Have there been any major changes in either of your diets in response to one or the others lifestyle? Any advice for new couples or new veg*ns in this area?

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