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Update 4/7/08: Soul Vegetarian has sadly closed but there’s a new vegan restaurant in it’s place, the Vegan Village Cafe
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Now this was a special treat, my first visit to Soul Vegetarian which recently opened here in Los Angeles. Even though it’s all the way across town from where I live and in a somewhat sketchy area, I’m so glad I made the journey. I just learned that the restaurant is run by the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem who, among other things, practise Veganism and a regenerative diet. All’s I really know about them is that they sure can cook, and ultimately, that’s all that matters.

There was so much great stuff on the menu, so I was happy to see they offered a sampler platter, which just happened to have most of what I wanted to try: marconi & cheese (very garlicky, yum), BBQ Delights (deliciously flavored wheat gluten), black-eyed peas, kale salad, candied yams (can I get an amen?) and vegan roast (I don’t know what it was made of but it was damn good). Oh sweet heaven, it was all excellent.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that I have one weakness and it’s name is corn bread, so of course I wasn’t going to leave a vegan soul food place without sampling their version. The corn bread here at Soul Vegetarian was not only to-die-for good, it was also fresh and hot right out of the oven.

Between the amazing food, the lovely old L.A architecture of the building and neighborhood (a little bit intimidating), and the super cool & cute waitress (I’ve heard there’s a very cute waiter too), this place is definitly worthy of all the buzz and good reviews it’s been getting. Now if I could only get them to open one up in the Valley…

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1. Vegan Soul Food @ Hollywood Farmers Market
2. Paru’s Indian Vegetarian Restaurant
3. Vegan Food in the East Bay
4. Sweet & puffy baked rice mochi
5. Tempeh Stuffed Mushrooms on my own terms.