When I saw the sign outside of the Vegan House Thai restaurant announcing Vegan Shabu-Shabu I simultaneously thought to myself, “you’ve got to be kidding me” and “what will they think of next!?”.

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese dish often simply referred to as “hot pot“. Generally it involves a hot boiling broth into which are dipped slices of raw meat, fish, vegetables and noodles, which then get swished around in the hot soup until cooked. Traditionalist would (will) most likely mock even the mere suggestion of a vegan version of shabu-shabu, in which after all, the whole point is to serve raw meat and cook it at the table. Some people also scoff at the idea of Vegan Pho (Vietnamese soup), but it appears that us satisfied vegans are getting the last (death free) laugh.

I say to hell with tradition! Who needs tradition when it involves stinky, salmonella flavored raw beef? I’m all about everything on earth being made vegan and tasty, traditions be damned. Needless to say, I was super excited to take this ride for a spin. I’d never eaten at Vegan House before, neither at this location off Hollywood on Wilcox, nor at their Silver Lake location. This spot on Wilcox used to be home to the most amazing Sri Lankin restaurant where I was first introduced to the glories of cashew curry many years ago. Sadly that restaurant has been gone for a over a decade, but I’m happy to see that a vegan establishment has taken it’s place. The menu at Vegan House is exactly what you’ve come to expect from the plethora of vegan Thai joints we’ve got all over town… your usual pad thai, cowboy burgers and freshy wraps, etc… You may have noticed that even though all these Thai places have very similar menus, they’ve all also usually got a few specialty items of their own that the others don’t have… in this case, it’s Thai’s serving Japanese shabu-shabu.

But I’m gonna get to that in a minute. First I want to tell you about another one of those specialties I just mentioned. This is something that I haven’t noticed at any of the other Thai places, at least not yet.

These are Soy Crab Cheese Wontons, vegan of course, with soy crab and soy cream cheese stuffed into a wonton skin and fried. If someone could tell me how to say “addicting perfection” in either Japanese, Chinese or Thai I would be grateful, because that’s what these little beauties were. I’m not going to tell you that it tasted like real crab, because I’ve never put a dead crab in my mouth so I wouldn’t know, but what I can tell you was that these were absolutely delectable. There is no fishy taste whatsoever, just melty cheesy goodness mixed with whatever that pseudo-crab stuff is which gives it a nice texture, firmness and flavor which I just couldn’t get enough of, especially once dipped in the sweet sauce that was served alongside. This was the tastiest bad-for-me appetizer I’ve had in quite sometime, and even if I hated this restaurant (which I don’t), I would still go back just to get my hands on some more of these wontons.

On to the main meal, my shabu-shabu order came with a nice side salad. Fresh lettuce, carrots and sesame which get elevated way up from being boring by the wonderful dressing that you can’t see in the photo because it’s buried at the bottom of the bowl. Slightly salty and obviously involving soy sauce, I thought it was mighty tasty. Even though I’d just eaten a ton of wontons and knew there was still a full meal yet to come, I couldn’t resist eating the whole salad, the dressing was that good. I wish they’d sell me a bottle of the stuff.

First my waiter brought out the heating contraption which I’ve got pictured up at the beginning of this post. Next comes the bowl of broth shown here, with a large piece of kombu seaweed in it which gets set on the hot device (hence, “hot pot”) and heated to a rolling boil, then the ingredients are brought in for you to assemble as desired.

The soy chicken is your standard fake meat fare, nothing marvelous to write home about, but certainly more presentable and palatable than real chicken any day.

They also brought out a nice assortment of vegetables, including carrots, Chinese cabbage, celery and celery leaves and shitake mushrooms, along with tofu and both glass and udon noodles. You also get two different kinds of dipping sauces, a traditional Ponzu (a tart citrus sauce) for the vegetables, and Gomadare (sesame sauce) for the soy meats. There’s also a large serving of brown rice.

So the way this works is you pick and choose your combo of ingredients and place them into the hot broth. Using your chop sticks you swish the stuff around (Wikidpedia tells us that shabu-shabu translates to “swish-swish” in Japanese) until it reaches your preferred level of doneness. From this point on I was a bit confused as to what I was supposed to do with it. The menu says to dip the stuff into the sauce… so does that mean I take it out of the broth, dip it, then put it in my mouth? Kind of hard to do when your dealing with boiling hot dripping noodles. I felt a bit silly not knowing how to eat shabu-shabu like a pro, but without a guide to show me the way, I made up my own method that seemed to work. First I put a layer of rice down on my plate, then I just piled the stuff out of the broth onto the rice (it’s not so easy fishing noodles out of hot liquid with a spoon and strainer, tongs would have come in handy), then poured on some of each sauce (after tasting both first to make sure I liked them). I’m kind of doubting this is the proper way to eat shabu-shabu, but what do I know? It’s not like anyone came up to me and told me I was doing it wrong.

Pictured above is the first plate I put together. Awkwardness aside, this was a great meal. The flavors of the veggies and soy meat cooked in kombu broth were very simple, almost plain, but once you get everything going together with the delicious sauces, all the flavors wake up and come together into a delicious medley that both tastes good and is fun to eat. Cooking my food there at the table and figuring out how to eat it was half the fun, the other half came from it all being delicious. And it’s a lot of food too… what you see here was all an order for one person, by the end of it I’d managed to cook out three full plates from what they served me, and I still had leftover chicken, vegetables and noodles by the time I was well past full.

The restaurant itself is cute and very tiny. I’ve seen others online describe at as a hole-in-the-wall and that’s somewhat fitting. It’s not a fancy place at all, in fact some other reviews described it as looking old and grimey, however I didn’t notice any grime while I was there. The place looked clean and well kept to me, and there was a big grinning “A” seal of approval from the health department smiling at me from the window, but I guess I’m just not as uptight about set and setting as some of the more dainty reviewers out there seem to be. As I’ve said before in previous reviews, don’t go wandering into dark little places off Wilcox behind a parking lot if you are expecting the ambiance of Beverly Hills. Do however wander into dark little places off Wilcox if you are able to appreciate unpretentious, down-home, mostly Thai cooking, served quickly and without attitude. This is a place for a fast yet leisurely and satisfying lunch when you find yourself nearby hanging out in Hollywood, it’s not the place to take some snooty bitch who you’re trying to impress on a first date. And why are you dating snooty bitches anyway?

I haven’t tried anything else at Vegan House yet so I can’t speak for the actual Thai food, though after this first pleasant experience I do plan on going back. There’s no way I’m not having those crab wontons again & again so they better keep making them for as long as I live. The people next to me were eating a deliciously fragrant yellow curry and equally tasty looking noodles… they left happy too.

A word of warning: Fellow Los Angeles area vegan foodblogger Quarrygirl had her recent attempt to eat at Vegan House in Hollywood thwarted by incorrect hours posted on their website… she got there and they were closed. I hate that! The lesson here is don’t trust their website (which doesn’t even list the shabu-shabu on the online menu) and be sure to call before you go to make sure they are open. If you order the wontons, any frustrations you might have faced before getting there will have been totally worth it.
www.myveganhouse.com

I knew that eventually I would learn something useful from Rachel Ray:

Alternate title: How to Make your Corncob Very, Very Happy.

I used to eat at Paru’s Indian vegetarian restaurant all the time back in the day. It had been at least five or more years since my last visit, which is a cryin’ shame considering what an oasis of hidden awesomeness Paru’s is. The only reason I stopped going there was because it reminded me of a ex-boyfriend I used to take there on dates*, who subsequently broke my heart into a million little pieces and scattered them to the wind like so many flecks of curry powder. I couldn’t even think of the restaurant without being reminded of that bad experience, which is really silly in retrospect since the food at Paru’s is exponentially better than anything I ever got from the stupid boy. Thankfully I’m long over all that foolishness, so it was with much excitement that I made my long overdue return visit to Paru’s, stigma free.

Paru’s specializes in Southern Indian cooking, which is a bit different from the stuff you might be used to getting at the usual Tandoori places. Their menu is 100% vegetarian, and mostly vegan. Even items on the menu that aren’t vegan they can usually make vegan for you. On my visit I had two separate waiter/server guys attending to my every need and they were both fully aware of what vegan meant and were very helpful with pointing out the purely vegan items on the menu.

I decided on the Punjab Glory Entree which comes with: “Poori (delicate puffed bread), vegetable curry (2 choices), Peas Pulao (Basmati rice cooked with peas and spices), Papad (crisp lentil crackers) and Raitha. Knowing that I was vegan, the waiter graciously offered me my choice of another curry dish instead of the Raitha (which is made of yogurt). Wow, 3 different curries… hells yeah! For my choices I went with the chickpeas curry, cauliflower & potato, and spinach with lentils.

Here it is in all it’s glory. Starting with the huge serving of tasty rice in the front and moving to the left we’ve got the chickpea curry, perhaps the most perfectly spiced chana masala I have ever tried. This chickpea curry alone was enough to make me remember why I used to love coming here so much. Pass the chickpeas on the left hand side (I say!) and you’ll arrive at the tart & sweet tamarind chutney, which was quickly devoured with the poori. Poori is a low-carb dieters worst nightmare… a deep fried dough concoction that puffs up in the oil and turns into a huge, greasy bread balloon (mine had already deflated by the time this photo was taken). Simultaneously flaky and chewy, it’s the perfect medium for sopping up any type of dip or sauce, scooping up some chickpeas or simply savored plain for it’s own merits. I could have easily eaten 13 of them, so it was very thoughtful of my tag team of waiters to only give me two and then cut me off, just like a drunk at last call. The papadam “cracker” bread was also good (you can see that on top of the poori) and I ate that with the fantastic coconut chutney spooned on top. You can just barely make out the coconut chutney there on the right side, looking kind of plain and uneventful, but don’t be fooled… it’s packed with flavor and one of the tastiest things on this plate (and everything on this plate was delicious, so that’s saying a lot). Next, those amazing yellow veggies there are the cauliflower & potato curry, brimming with exotic flavors from seeds & spices transporting me right back to India. In the center, the little metal container holds the spinach & lentils curry, with a deep and delicious taste that far surpasses it’s humble appearance. Everything here, and I do mean every last bite of it, was fantastic.

Paru’s specialty are their incredible Dosa’s: Lentil crepes filled with potato or different types of curry. Imagine a two foot long Indian flavored crepe-ish burrito. They are unbelievably delicious. I didn’t get one this time around as I really wanted to sample a few different curries, but I highly recommend trying out a dosa or two… or three or four for that matter. Dosa’s are the staple of Southern Indian cooking, so if you haven’t tried one before you’re really missing out on something special.

Along with the vegetarian & vegan cuisine you can expect at Paru’s, part of the experience of eating there is the space itself. Located on Sunset Blvd. between Normandie and Western, Paru’s is easy to miss if you blink. The restaurant, which does not look like a restaurant from the outside, is behind a gated entrance where you need to ring the doorbell to be let in. At first glance you might think it’s kind of sketchy**, but I suggest getting over that right quick because once you step inside you’ll forget you’re in Los Angeles all together and will feel like you’ve been swept away to somewhere far more exotic. As soon as you walk through the gate you’ll find yourself in a lovely, enclosed garden where somehow it’s at least 15 degrees color than it feels right on the other side. There are lush plants and flowers everywhere, little waterfalls, statues, a true secret garden right off one of L.A’s most hectic streets. You can choose to eat on the patio at one of the many tables, or you can dine inside the restaurant itself which is equally charming. Inside you’ll find a cozy, comfortable and lavishly decorated room, with tapestries, banners, bells, incense, sitar music and just about everything else you might need to make a space look and feel like an Indian home away from home. The walls are covered in dozens of photos of different spiritual teachers, gurus, yogi’s and the like. Don’t worry, no one there is interested in preaching to you about anything… they are far more interested in feeding you.

I wasn’t exaggerating when I said at the beginning that Paru’s is an oasis… it really is a wonderful place to escape from the city while still being right in the heart of it. The food is top-notch, the service is excellent, the setting is lovely, and the place lends itself to all manner of occasions, be it a relaxing lunch in the garden patio on your own, celebrating a birthday or anniversary with a group or a romantic dinner inside for two. Just don’t go there with someone who isn’t worthy of your time, love, sex, etc…, and certainly don’t get dumped by the loser there, because you’re going to want to make Paru’s a regular place to visit from here on out. I’m very glad to re-add Paru’s to my list of awesome vegetarian restaurants to visit often… stupid boys be damned!
www.parusrestaurant.com

* Lesson learned:
- 1.) Don’t take (and pay) for stupid boys on dates, let them take (and pay for) you.
- 2.) If you are a grown woman, for godsakes stop dating guys who can accurately be described as stupid boys.

** Regarding the sketch factor: I tried bringing my parents here years ago and once my dad saw where we were and caught a glimpse of the shady looking gated entrance, he refused to park the car and just kept on driving. My dad is like that, but a common complaint about Paru’s (maybe the only complaint?) is the neighborhood and the funky looks of it from the outside, so I guess my dad is not the only fraidy cat. Personally I find all of that to be nonsense. If you’ve ever lived anywhere in Hollywood (or any other urban area for that matter) you already know that this part of town isn’t really any worse than any other part, and it’s actually way better than many. I used to live right up the street from here and never had any problems. I’ve never felt worried about parking my car there, either right out front on Sunset or on the side streets. Sure it’s not Beverly Hills and there’s a big imposing gated door at the front, but so what? It doesn’t take that much effort to ring a bell, which they will respond to immediately. And who the hell wants to eat in Beverly Hills anyways? I prefer my food with a bit of adventure on the side. Seriously, this location isn’t nearly as worrisome as many of the reviews out there (and my dad) might lead you to think. I have traveled into far sketchier environs in search of the perfect meal (and it’s often in the worst places that you’ll find them). Don’t believe the hype- go see for yourself that it ain’t that bad, just don’t leave your Ipod or your laptop sitting on the dashboard of your unlocked car and you’ll be fine. I’m willing to bet that the only adventure you’ll end your visit to Paru’s with is a happy mouthful of curry breath… but then again, the night is still young.

Hello friends! I hope you don’t mind a quick non-food related post, but this is important and will help fulfill your “do good” quota for the day!

I work with a no-kill dog shelter and rescue called Beagles and Buddies (B&B), located in El Monte. You can check out their website at: www.beaglesandbuddies.com

We’re currently entered in a contest to win $10,000… money they really need in order to keep helping the dogs. They are pretty broke and constantly struggling to keep afloat. Helping them win is as easy as clicking a link and filling in a bit of info, takes only a minute. Here’s the lowdown…

B&B has the opportunity to win $10,000 with your support!

Care2’s “America’s Favorite Animal Shelter” contest will award voters’ favorite local animal shelter or rescue group the grand prize, which will go a long way in helping us provide care for our dogs and get more of them adopted. In addition to the grand prize, Care2 is awarding $3,000, $1,000 and two prizes of $500 to the four runner-ups respectively. The winner of the contest is determined by its local citizens and supporters, who can vote for us by going to:

We’ve seen an increase in abandoned dogs, increase in our costs, decrease in charitable giving and more in the past year. Ten thousand dollars would make a huge impact on the kinds of support we can provide to our animals! We encourage all of our local supporters and citizens to visit the web site and please vote for us.

How The Contest Works: The contest runs from September 22, 2008 through November 1, 2008. Anyone can simply click on our contest link and vote for Beagles and Buddies. The shelter or group that receives the most votes nationwide wins the grand prize of $10,000! B&B could sure use that money and put it to good use!!!

Additionally, Care2 is giving away a total of $5,000 to the next four groups with the highest votes. And Adopt-a-Pet.com is awarding prizes of $1,000 at random each week during the contest period to ensure every shelter and rescue group has a chance to win, providing B&B another opportunity to support its causes. Even if we don’t win the grand prize, we still have a chance to win big!

Our supporters can also invite their friends and encourage them to vote for Beagles and Buddies. The results of votes for shelters and groups are updated in real-time. The 20 people who recruit the most friends to vote will receive a $50 gift certificate sponsored by Adopt-a-Pet.com! Come on everybody, help us get out the vote!

I thank you, the folks at B&B thank you, and most importantly… the dogs thank you!

More droolworthy food action coming your way soon…

p.s.. I don’t physically work at the dog shelter, I handle their website. Just letting you know so that none of my legions of stalkers go there trying to get a piece of the Foodeater action.

It’s hard to argue that we’re not spoiled foodies here in Los Angeles. What, with all the fresh local produce and overabundance of exceptional vegan & vegetarian restaurants, we’ve really got nothing to complain about. Still, sometimes you just want to be able to walk into to any ol’ place and order something off the menu without having to worry about what secret ingredients are lurking within. It’s getting easier to do just that these days as more “regular” restaurants are expanding their menus to include not only vegetarian but also entirely vegan options. Johnny Rockets, the 50’s style burger joint is one such place. Known for their jukeboxes, milkshakes and all-beef grilled patties, Johnny Rockets has taken a step in the right direction and added an all vegan burger option to their menu.

Here we have what Johnny Rockets has dubbed “The Streamliner”: the original meatless Boca® burger with grilled onions, fresh lettuce, ripe tomato, pickle & mustard. I ordered mine without the onions, natch. I inquired as to if they also offered soy-cheese, which they do not, but which they really should. I mean if you’re gonna come this far, why only come part of the way?

This burger was darn good! As mentioned, they use the Boca burger which is made from soy and is entirely vegan. I don’t recall ever trying a Boca burger before and I really liked it. It had a smokey, charbroiled flavor to it which I don’t think came from the grill itself but was actually part of the burger seasonings. The buns are also vegan. I did not order fries but you’ll be happy to know that their fries are also totally vegan, cooked entirely in vegetable oil, not beef tallow. Sadly, they do not have any vegan shakes. Yet.

My verdict: very tasty. Certainly not the greatest burger I’ve ever had in my life, but definitely enjoyable… and added with the fact that I was able to eat it while at a place as ridiculously normal, corporate and contrived as Johnny Rockets while listening to Leslie Gore cry about her party on the jukebox, well, it was pretty special. My only complaint is the color of the pattie… kind of beige and homely looking. A darker color would make it look more appetizing. I’m not big on additives and unnecessary ingredients being put into my food, but on the other hand, this is already a processed, pre-packaged, frozen convenience food, not an organic, locally grown, pristine salad… so I don’t think that adding a bit of “caramel coloring” to make it look a little bit more appealing would hurt. Are you listening Boca people? Your burger is mighty tasty, but it’s also butt ugly.

Giving credit where credit is due, I learned about the Streamliner burger at Johnny Rockets via Lane at the excellent VeganBits blog when he wrote about it back in May, though I only now got around to trying it. I was so hungry when I sat down at the Johnny Rockets counter to try this burger that I forgot to pay attention to whether they used a separate grill or not to keep my innocent soy burger away from the bloody meat juice on the main grill. Thankfully Lane was paying close attention on his visit and confirms in his post that indeed, his eagle eye noticed that the burgers truly were cooked on separate grills from their meat & cheese counterparts.

The Johnny Rockets website also assures us that:

“Please be aware that we designate a special area of the grill on which to cook only the Boca Burger and we do everything in our power to keep the area free from other materials. We also have special color-coded turners and tongs which help to keep cross-contamination to a minimum.”

It seems like they’re making a real effort to be vegetarian-friendly, well… as vegetarian-friendly as you can get while still being a meat peddler that proudly boasts of serving 13 million beef hamburgers to your guest each year. Oh the irony.

Johnny Rockets has locations just about everywhere in the USA other than the Midwest Western Middle of the country (and Portland for some reason), so if you’re anywhere other than those areas, you’ll probably be able to find a location just by throwing a rock in any heavily foot-trafficked direction. I ate at the Encino spot on Ventura Blvd., though for the full experience you might want to visit their original Melrose location, that is if you can find yourself a seat between the hoards of Japanese tourists and hairy bikers.
www.johnnyrockets.com

P.S. You might also want to know that Boca burgers are owned by Kraft Foods.

Which of the following statements are true?
1.) Kraft is EVIL
2.) Kraft is owned by Philip Morris tobacco
3.) Kraft uses Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) in most of their products.
If you picked “All of the Above” you would be correct.

Some of the Boca burgers are made with organic (and therefore non-GMO ingredients), though I cannot confirm which exact Boca product Johnny Rockets is using. The menu says it’s the “100% Soy Boca Burger”, but that’s not an actual name of any Boca product. Boca lists two vegan burgers on their website, the “Original Vegan” which is not organic, and the “Vegan made with Organic Soy”, which is. Beats me which one J.R’s is feeding us. So, if after eating this burger you turn into a mutant and/or start to sprout purple soybean monsters with teeth from out yer ears, don’t come cryin’ to me.

The wait is over. Sarah Kramer’s brand spanking new vegan cookbook is now available! Here’s the description:

Vegan A-Go-Go!: A Cookbook & Survival Manual for Vegans on the Road
By Sarah Kramer

Sarah Kramer is a vegan superstar; she was named “The World’s Coolest Vegan” by Herbivore Magazine, and her first three cookbooks have sold a combined total of over two hundred thousand copies. Vegan Go-Go! represents a change of pace for Sarah: it is a cookbook and more for vegan travelers, many of whom are daunted by the idea of going on the road and being able to locate and/or prepare the kind of nutritious animal-free meals they enjoy at home. The new book includes 150 recipes, many of them new, and others that have been adapted from her earlier books. All of the recipes are easy to prepare with a minimum of ingredients and are guaranteed to deliver energy, nutrition, and great flavor. The rest of the book contains information and advice pertinent to vegan travelers, from how to deconstruct a restaurant menu to what food items are best suited to carry around in your luggage or handbag. There’s even a section on “How to Say I Am Vegan’” in numerous languages. The book is also designed with the traveler in mind: it is small enough to slip into one’s pocket or purse, yet has a reinforced cover to ensure durability under the harshest conditions. Full of Sarah’s high-energy wit and verve, Vegan Go-Go! makes life for vegan travelers a lot less stressful and a lot more fun.
For more info or to order, CLICK HERE

Sarah Kramer is the author or co-author of three previous bestselling vegan cookbooks, How It All Vegan, The Garden of Vegan, La Dolce Vegan.

(Update: Both these specials are now over. Aren’t you sorry you missed ‘em?)

There are currently two great vegan meals on the “Specials” menu at Hugo’s Restaurant. I don’t want to wait any longer to share them with you because soon enough they’ll be gone. If you want to try these, and yes… you do want to try these… you’ll need to head on over to Hugo’s quick like a bunny.

This first interesting dish is the Red Lentil Veggie Patties: “an outstanding combination of organic red lentils, sweet potatoes, diced fresh summer vegetables, herbs and Indian spices. Served with mango chutney relish, black forbidden rice and sauteed leafy greens”. Outstanding was their adjective straight from the menu, but I heartily agree, these lentil patties were delicious. The Indian flavors were full and fragrant yet didn’t overpower the great flavors of the vegetables and lentils. The crispy outside and soft inside were just lovely, and the mango chutney kicked ass. It tasted slightly pickled, so it was both sweet and zingy at the same time. And yes, in case you’re wondering, zingy is indeed in the dictionary.

The black forbidden rice was good, though I’m more inclined to the black sticky rice at Lotus Vegan, for which I as of yet have found no equal. The leafy greens were very tasty too, lots of garlic going on in there, just the way I like it. Overall an excellent meal.

On a subsequent visit I was far too intrigued to pass on the Very Green Enchiladas: “green corn tortillas filled with wilted leafy greens and garlic. Covered with a roasted poblano chili sauce and toasted pumpkin seeds. Served with green spanish rice and green zucchini”. It would also usually come with Cotija cheese, which they state right on the menu they’ll do without to make it vegan.

These enchiladas were outstanding! I was concerned that 1.) this would be kind of boring without cheese, and 2.) that the garlic would be too overwhelming. These concerns quickly melted away as I eagerly shoveled in my first bite. So good! The poblano chili sauce was amazing, full bodied and not too spicy. The enchiladas themselves were excellent, the greens and garlic perfectly seasoned and surprisingly filling. Both the zucchini and the spanish rice made for great accompanists in this very green orchestra. If you only try one new dish in the next few days or weeks, consider making it this one.

Now, a minor word of warning. Two words really: green poo.

You read me right. Now I know this is food blog so the last thing you want to read about are bodily functions. The thing is, how are you to trust that I’m telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, unless I told you the entire story, from start to finish so to speak? In the spirit of full disclosure, I’d like to save you an awkward moment of surprise after you eat this meal: my morning constitutional one day after eating the Very Green Enchilada plate was Very Green Poo… bright green poo the likes of which I’ve never seen before, neither from a baby nor an elephant. A quick run down over the past 24 hours worth of food immediately led me right to the culprit: it was the green enchiladas, in the kitchen, with a fork. All I’m saying is, forewarned is forearmed. Don’t fear the green!
www.hugosrestaurant.com

(Both of these are on the current specials at both Hugo’s locations, though all the stuff featured on this blog (so far) refers to the Hugo’s in Studio City -call if you’re going specifically for either of these items, because I don’t know how often the menu changes.)

I thought I should leave you with something pretty to look at over the weekend. Feast yer peepers on this beauty…. ladies and germs, I present to you The Money Munch at Karma Cafe in Hollywood.

The ingenious and deceptively simple Monkey Munch consists of strawberries, bananas, almond butter and 100% pure maple syrup on hazelnut-raisin bread. Sure you could make this at home, but do you ever? I happened to be there on a day that they were out of the hazelnut-raisin bread, a slight bummer at first because that sounded so good, but they did have a multigrain flax bread instead which was quite nice, and perfectly toasted. The combination of all the delicious ripe fruit, nutty & thick almond spread and near sickly sweet and dark maple syrup was nothing short of ambrosial… I’m talking food of the gods territory here. Such a simple concept, and yet, an exact science involving equal meaures of breakfast and dessert. Those gorgeous orange slices were the proverbial icing on the cake.

I was alerted to the presence of the Monkey Munch by Ruby Red Vegan in her blog post, “California Does it Better Sometimes“. She had made the amazing discovery while researching vegan places to eat for her visit to Los Angeles. She picked up some great ideas from my humble blog here, so how cool is it that I got turned on to something yummy that’s been here in L.A under my nose this whole time, by someone who doesn’t even live here?

Karma Cafe is a good sized coffee house in the heart of Hollywood at Selma & Cahuenga, otherwise known as the western end of where the Hollywood Farmers Market takes place every Sunday. Ruby Red Vegan also mentions on her blog that Karma Cafe is featured on the MTV show “The Hills”. Sounds awful, right? That part worried me more than a little but thankfully the place didn’t seem very MTV at all. Funky art on the walls and funky freaks on the couches… I felt right at home. I watched all types come and go while I sat at my table and lingered on each delectable bite of my sandwich, while simultaneously rocking along with Janis and her Bobby Mcgee who were blaring from the speakers. If you visit Karma Cafe you’re likely to witness anything from aging tie-dyed Jerry Garcia types that may or may not be homeless, to crusty punks with cell phones on laptops, to clean-cut business folk enjoying a cappuccino on the couch. The adorable tattooed kids behind the counter were super friendly, and excitedly pointed out all of the menu options available to me when I told them I was vegan. More of the menu is vegetarian than not, and most items can be easily made vegan sans cheese. There’s an intriguing sounding artichoke sandwich I’d like to try next time I visit.

Parking in Hollywood is for losers, you know this already, so don’t set yourself up for a big pile of the suck and just take the Metro if you’re anywhere near it (if you’re not, then my condolences). Get off at the Vine station and you’re just a nice Hollywood Blvd. stroll away.

The Karma Cafe website appears to have died a sudden death, so again I’ll pass the buck over to Yelp, where the reviews are always amusing, and should always be taking with a grain of salt, much like mine.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/karma-coffeehouse-los-angeles