When I told my vegan buddy Stromile that I was going to come out to LA for a trip, he said “We should grab some vegan food sometime.” However, by the time that I did go out there, he was observing some religious holiday, so he couldn’t eat out (I won’t say what holiday, because it’ll date when I actually went to LA). While he couldn’t eat with me, he did give me a load of good food recommendations. Most of the recommendations were places that were vegetarian/vegan friendly. He told me to check out Real Food Daily because it was a great place to celeb watch. And I had been in LA for a few days and hadn’t seen a single celebrity (I’m not counting a guy that looked like Colin Farrell that drove past me in a vintage Land Rover). So, Real Food Daily I went!
Real Food Daily is a vegan restaurant that is committed to the vegan lifestyle and promoting healthy eating, balance with nature, and all that other crap that you thought died out with the hippie. Don’t believe me? Instead of salt or pepper, they have “sesame seeds” for seasoning! This is the kind of thing that makes people hate Californians.
The first thing I noticed when looking through the menu was that everything was ridiculously expensive. I had such sticker shock that I didn’t have any idea what to order. The waitress recommended the RFD burger and the Supreme Burrito with ranchero sauce on the side. I am not a fan of tempeh (which the burger was made from), so I ordered the burrito with ranchero sauce on the side and taco mix included. I think the burrito would have been tastier without the taco mix, as the taco mix was either tempeh or some dried-out meat substitute which tasted awful. I was intrigued by the concept of cashew cheese, but I could barely taste it with all the other flavors that were happening. The burrito overall was actually quite underwhelming, though filling. I have had much tastier burritos that had no fake meat or fake cheese, and were much cheaper.
Even though I was pretty full from the burrito and all that sesame seed seasoning, the waitress conned me into getting German Chocolate Cake. Admittedly it wasn’t a hard feat to accomplish, as it’s a lethal equation: Cute Waitress + My Gluttony = Ordering Cake. Despite being $7, I found it very underwhelming. One of my favorite parts of German Chocolate Cake is the coconut, and you would think that vegan recipes would include a lot of coconut, but I could barely taste it! The cake was very heavy, and the cake to icing ratio was scant, which was disappointing, because that was what the waitress recommended also.
It is possible that the waitress’ recommendations for me were just terrible, but I did not really like the food at Real Food Daily. I think it’s great and all to cater to vegans and emphasize local food, but I would argue that all that fake meat and processed fake cheese cannot be good for you. If you’re going to be a vegan restaurant, I would much rather have simple natural food (like just vegetables, beans, etc.) with the odd tofu or seitan dish, rather than being completely fake food with the odd natural dish. I suppose that is the great irony of Real Food Daily, it’s pretty fake, and not very good. And the worst part of it all (not my bill for $22!) was that I didn’t even see a celebrity. Next time I’ll just dine at the Ivy. I’ll give RFD three cheese sandwiches, as they cater to vegans and celiacs, but serve substandard food.
Real Food Daily
414 North La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 289-9910
If there’s one thing that Los Angeles is famous for it is hype. Some would argue that LA is famous for movies, but really, what is a movie other than a hyped up play? So, I figured I would explore the hype propaganda that exists in LA to try a few places that I wouldn’t normally (because I listed to Chuck D as a child). What is the pinnacle of hype in the food industry? Cupcakes. What is the most pretentious place in Los Angeles? Beverly Hills. So, the logical conclusion for me was to visit Sprinkles Cupcakes on Rodeo (well, technically it’s off Rodeo, but still pretty close).
Despite peoples antipathy towards cupcakes, recent studies have shown that cupcakes are one of the few growing industries in this recession, though this may just be another bubble. I have been to Magnolia Bakery, the source of the whole cupcake hype craze, and never actually thought that the cupcakes were very good. My friend suggested that I go try the vegan red velvet cupcake at Sprinkles. To my great chagrin, I actually liked that cupcake a lot! The icing was on the mark, not too sweet, and had the perfect icing to cake ratio so that every bite was amazing. Admittedly, I wolfed it down in 3 bites, but each was quite pleasant. My one criticism would be that the candy “V” that they put on, presumably to indicate it is vegan was completely inedible. However, in my rush to devour the cupcake, it is highly possible that the candy “V” was in fact, not candy. Unlike Magnolia, the cupcake I had at Sprinkles was really tasty, and despite being in Beverly Hills, there was almost no line to get a cupcake, so even the hype was not as big as in New York. Furthermore, Sprinkles has a wide array of cupcakes, and multiple selections that are vegan, as well as a few that are gluten-free. There are even dog-food cupcakes (which makes me like the place less). Even though Sprinkles makes a great effort to cater to gustatory minorities, I still abhor the cupcake craze, so I won’t give it five cheese sandwiches. But it will get four and a half, probably the best rating I’ll ever give for a cupcake bakery.
Sprinkles Cupcakes
9635 South Santa Monica Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-274-8765
If there’s one thing the southwest is known for, it is Mexican food. And yes, I am including LA in the “Southwest” (it is surrounded by desert, people!). Aaron and his girlfriend, Kara, were unsure about where to take me (being fans of the blog and fearful of my iconoclasm towards their favorite restaurants). They asked me where I wanted to go, and I said “I want Mexican food!” They immediately came up with Hugo’s Tacos (a good sign), which fortunately was very close to where they lived in the Valley.
Hugo’s Tacos actually has two locations, one in Los Angeles, and one in the Valley in Studio City. If you’ve never been to the Valley location it looks like parking lot attendant’s office and makes probably some of the finest vegetarian friendly Mexican food I had in LA. Hugo’s Tacos is similar to other burritorium-style restaurants, they have your typical taco, burrito, quesadilla, torta combinations. The cool part about Hugo’s tacos is that it is modular, where you can choose from one of seven different fillings, two of which are vegetarian. They are: mixed vegetables with herbs, and soy chorizo, potato, and zucchini. I am a big fan of soy chorizo, So, I decided to get a torta with the soy chorizo option. The torta was filled with organic white beans, guacamole, tomato and onions. While it was very good, I still prefer the tortas from Tacos Lupita. Unlike Tacos Lupita, this torta is vegan, as they use vegenaise instead of mayonnaise. I think the deal breaker for me was the honey chipotle coating of the bread. It made the torta unnecessarily messy, and I am not a fan of the chipotlification of food.
While I was already stuffed with the torta (it is very filling), I had to try the mixed vegetables filling to see if one was better than the other. So, I ordered a medium spiced taco with the mixed vegetables. This was a huge mistake as my definition of medium is completely different from Hugo’s. Though the crispy shell and the mixed vegetables were very tasty, the “medium” sauce was so incredibly hot that I could barely eat the taco. I should point out that I do have a tolerance of spiciness, so if you do not like spicy foods, stay as far away from medium as you can.
I was thoroughly impressed by the selection of foods at Hugo’s Tacos. They certainly make an effort to try to cater to vegetarians as well as vegans. Beyond just the two vegetarian options (which is way more than the standard “beans” option), they also have vegetarian burgers that look very good as well. I would rate the food quite highly, though I would hardly say it is the best Mexican food I have ever had. I am going to give Hugo’s Tacos five cheese sandwiches primarily because they make such a good effort to try to cater to vegetarians and vegans. Though my food wasn’t overwhelmingly amazing for a five cheese sandwich review, I think I just ended up ordering the wrong dishes. This is definitely a restaurant that I would want to come to again and again.
Hugo’s Tacos
4749 Coldwater Canyon Ave
Studio City, California 91423
(818) 762-7771
If there’s anything that I try to do by writing this blog, it is to bust hype. For years, west coasters have always gone on and on about how great In n’ Out Burger is, and how nothing can match the quality of In n’ Out Burger. I went through the same experience with Five Guys from DC people. Aaron, my friend that I was staying with in the Valley lived just down the street from an In n’ Out Burger, so he took me to the place so I can see what all the fuss is about.
Aaron insisted that the thing to get at In n’ Out was the Animal-style fries, which were fries topped with caramelized onions, cheese, and thousand island dressing. While that would sound delicious, the fries on their own were very stale and unappetizing. Even if they were fresh, I don’t really see how they are any different from McDonald’s fries. I don’t know what exactly makes this “animal” style, perhaps that this is food more fitting for animals than humans?
In n’ Out does not offer anything vegetarian friendly, the only option they had was a cheese sandwich or a grilled cheese. I ordered the grilled cheese because I wanted something a little hot. It turned out it was just a cheese sandwich on a toasted bun. Unlike Five Guys, this cheese sandwich was slightly tasty so I will give it a few points for that.
Surprisingly, even McDonalds (in some locations worldwide) offer veggie burgers. Admittedly it is simply a ploy to get increased sales in markets where vegetarianism is quite high (like India). When people go on about how places like Five Guys or In n’ Out are so great, I have to ask “Do they have a veggie burger?” In my opinion, any place that doesn’t care about catering to a broad spectrum of clientele simply does not take food service seriously. These local pale imitations of McDonalds will be just that, and until they are willing to cater to vegetarians, I’ll give them one and a half cheese sandwiches.
In n’ Out Burger
4444 Van Nuys Boulevard
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-2908
(800) 786-1000
Despite many of my previous protestations, I finally decided to make a trip out to sunny Southern California and check out Los Angeles. I have some friends that live here that I haven’t seen in a while, and I found a really cheap JetBlue flight, so I thought I would take the plunge and visit LA before it fell into the Pacific Ocean (I seriously believe this is going to happen in my lifetime). When I asked people in Boston who have been to LA for food recommendations, one of the most trusted people I know suggested I go to Griddle Cafe in Hollywood. When I saw on the website that they had red velvet pancakes, I knew this had to be the first place I went to in LA.
As I walked down Sunset Boulevard, I felt eerily pleased to be amongst the bastions of entertainment, such as the Directors Guild, the Laugh Factory, Trader Joe’s. For some reason I was under the impression that Griddle Cafe was not a very popular place, however, upon my arrival at 10 AM (on a Tuesday morning!) there was a line of about 15 people waiting to get in. Fortunately, the service is very speedy and they make a big effort to rush you in and out. Unfortunately, because of this I didn’t really have time to get a good photo of my meal.
I ordered the “Kicking and Screaming” breakfast tacos, as there are two things I expected out of a diner in LA: good eggs and great mexican food. The tacos were scrambled eggs, pico de gallo, avocado, monterey jack cheese, with a chipotle cream sauce and served with refried beans. The refried beans did not have lard in them (according to the waiter). I really liked these tacos, though the refried beans didn’t really seem to fit in the dish. I think it would work without it, but it was nice to get some beans to complement the tacos.
I ordered the tacos because I was not really feeling like eating something sweet this morning, but I did want to try their french toast. Their pancakes were five slabs of 8” diameter pancakes and they were far more food than I was ready to eat. So, I ordered a half order of french toast to go with the tacos. The french toast was really tasty, and while the tacos were just faintly spicy (perked up with some Cholula sauce I added), the toast’s sweetness really felt good after the tacos.
Griddle Cafe is a really cool place, though they constantly rush you and the model/actor waiters definitely had a some attitude. The food portions are suitable for even the most ravenous Midwesterner, and after eating this meal, I really didn’t feel like eating for several hours. On the down side, while there are few vegetarian options, there are no obvious vegan options. If I were to judge everything altogether, I’d have to give Griddle Cafe four and a half cheese sandwiches. It’s definitely one of the best diners I’ve ever been to, despite the fact that everybody else has jumped on this bandwagon.
Griddle Cafe
7916 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046-3304
(323) 874-0377