When the weather’s hot as hell like it’s been here in Los Angeles the past few days, I enjoy light, cool meals. The thought of eating something hot and heavy when the temperature is in the triple digits just doesn’t do it for me. This plate of raw goodness at Flore in Silverlake however, did.

Talk about light and cool… these raw jicama tacos are not only meat free and dairy free, but they’re also wheat free and gluten free. Did I leave anything out? Oh yes, the part about how very delicious they are!

Julianned seasoned jicama, kale, chopped cilantro, raw sunflower seeds, raw cashew cheese and pico de gallo wrapped in green leaf lettuce and served with lime wedges and dehydrated mango slices.

This was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before, and I loved every last, somewhat sloppy, bite of it. The texture and the seasonings on the jicama mixture was delicious on it’s own, but then you’ve also got the nutty-sweet-creaminess of the cashew cheese underneath, and to add to the multitasking excitement of it all, you can also add a heaping spoonful of the salsa and a generous squirting of lime. The next part of the fun is figuring out how to pick it up and get it in your mouth without looking like a dork and getting food all over yourself, but after a few messy attempts I fell into a good rhythm (and I’m already pretty comfortable with being a dork).

Overall a very tasty raw meal without the pretentiousness and exorbitant prices that I’ve come to associate with raw food. This was raw food that didn’t really need to announce itself as such, instead it was just a refreshingly good plate of food on a ridiculously hot day. Cooked food would have felt like overkill.

For those of you who just can’t get enough scrumptious vegan Thai food, there’s now a new place in town to get your fix: Lotus Vegan in North Hollywood.

Brought to you by one of the delightful ladies from Vegan Express in Studio City, Lotus Vegan has just opened it’s doors on Vineland Ave., a few doors down from the pirate shop (there used to be a Thai restaurant in this same location).

Their menu includes much the same fare you’ll find at Vegan Express and some of the other vegan Thai joints in town, with a few newer items I haven’t noticed at the other places. They also told me they plan to offer specialties of the house on a rotating basis.

On my first visit I tried the Orange Chicken plate, which comes with rice, spring roll and a side salad. The faux-chicken was delicious, perfectly crispy on the outside with a sinfully sweet and just slightly spicy orange glaze. This is totally the sort of thing I could order over and over again if it wasn’t so fattening. Thankfully they’ve got a large menu with many other delicious and less calorie intensive choices, including a number of great salads and vegetable dishes. They’re also aiming to use only organic produce and products whenever possible.

Another delicious item they’re serving is the traditional Mango and Sticky Rice. The rice is the most amazing consistency of sticky-meets-chewy-meets-awesome, and I was told it’s made with the chef’s special vegan coconut cream. The mango was perfectly ripe and the whole combination was in a word, heavenly. They’ve also got a refrigerator case full of those yummy No Udder mini-cakes in case the mango isn’t enough dessert for you.

I spoke to the host regarding some of the issues and speculations regarding the fake meats and cheeses served at some of the other Thai vegan restaurants and how some of them claim to be vegan while their food contains hidden dairy. He told me that the cook herself is a vegan and he assured me that they are 100% committed to serving only truly vegan food. Right on!

The space is tiny and cute, not fancy but nicely decorated… a fine option for an quick, inexpensive lunch or a more leisurely dinner. Even though you’re eating out at a restaurant, the place has an intimate, homey feel and you know that your food is being cooked fresh and with love, made just for you… the next best thing to homecooked. I like that they’ve got a seating area out front which will be great during the hot summer months… and I also like the fact that they’ll deliver.

Vegan Lotus is just getting up and running, so pay them a visit, stuff your face full of flavor, then come back here and tell me all about it in the comments. For more info visit their website (which really doesn’t have much info on it yet but most likely will soon): www.lotusvegan.com

That’s right comrades… you heard it here first at To Live and Eat in L.A…. forget about cupcakes… it’s the couscous cakes that are taking over the world!

Robin Robertson has just announced the “Creative Couscous Cake Contest” over at her blog. The grand prize winner will receive a free copy of her Proggy Award-winning vegan cookbook, Quick-Fix Vegetarian. See what I started? Now aren’t you glad I’ve been yammering on and on about these cakes?

The contest closes on May 10*. For more info on the contest and to find out how to enter, click here to read all about it. Good luck and viva la revolucion!

* = my birthday. I’m soliciting presents early.

Well, you know… I think I may have started something here with all my couscous cake talk. Couscous cake this, couscous cake that. It all started with my “Pumpkin Couscous Cake That No One Almost Ate” adventure. By the time I’d gotten done telling everyone who would listen about this yummy cake from Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet cookbook, I’d received lots of great feedback and heard from a number of people stating that they were going to have to try this for themselves. Robin herself even stopped by and offered more great suggestions for the recipe in the comments (like using millet instead of couscous) and another cake based on the same concept for “Apricot Pineapple Couscous Cake“. Yum!

Now it seems that I may have unleashed something great because Robins craving for sweet and luscious couscous cake has been newly re-awakened and inspired! She’s just blogged about some delicious new variations that can be made with this same basic idea, including the “Couscous Breakfast Cake with Pear and Dried Plum Compote” also from Vegan Planet, as well as (are you sitting down?) “Mango Couscous Cake“. Oh joy… mango is the king of all fruits as far as I’m concerned so I can only imagine how good this is. She even goes so far as to say that this mango version is the easiest one out of all of them to make… and I kid you not when I tell you that the basic recipe is beyond easy.

You can read all about it and find the recipes in her succinctly titled post: Craving Couscous Cake. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that couscous and dessert don’t go together… the revolution has only just begun!

Hugo’s Tacos in Studio City is a wonderful little oasis of taco stand goodness right in the middle of the valley, smack dab between a gas station and the 101 freeway, with a number of satisfying vegan options. You’ll find them across the street from Whole Foods Market and catty-corner to the Hugo’s main restaurant (yup, same owners).

Hugo’s Tacos offers a number of basic and classic Mexican dishes such as tacos of course, as well as burritos, taquitos, tostadas, tortas, salads and bowls… most of which also involve rice and beans in some form or another. You get your choice of filling which would be either one of the meat options or one of the two vegan options, which are either the soy chorizo/potato/zucchini mix, or the grilled veggie combo of corn, zucchini and string beans. Or if you wanna be extra piggy, get both (this works particularly well on the salad or in a bowl). You also get your choice of salsa, all of which they make there and are genuinely fantastic.

On a recent visit I got the Salad: “Romaine lettuce, green beans, corn, zucchini, pico de gallo, cotija cheese and vegan spicy caesar dressing.” I had them leave off the cheese and bring on the soy chorizo, which is vegan and made from Soyrizo. This stuff is so good… if crack were made from soy, this would be it. It’s very rich and meaty tasting, so if you don’t like mock meats I’d stay away from it. However if you do still enjoy all the flavor and feel of the stuff without the guilt, dig in. Their vegan caesar salad dressing is excellent too. As you can see the salad is huge and could easily feed two people.

On another occasion of particularly reckless abandon, I opted to try the taquitos in all of their deep fried, vegan glory. These also involved the soy chorizo & potato filling and they come served with delicious (and you guessed it, vegan) organic white beans, lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo, tomatillo sauce and cotija cheese (which you’ll want to remember to ask them to leave off for full veganization optimization). These taquitos are perfectly crispy and frighteningly good… well worth the occasional naughty indulgence of greasy goodness. Just do it and don’t look back.

Last but not least, yet another way to enjoy Hugo’s yummy soy chorizo… stuffed inside of a burrito. Flour tortilla with organic spanish rice, organic white beans, choice of filling (soyrizo please!), choice of salsa, onion & cilantro. Ok, so I asked for them to leave off the onions and give me the honey chipotle salsa and it’s like heaven has suddenly exploded in my mouth. If you no longer consume honey, obviously the honey chipotle isn’t for you, but if that is an ingredient you do still allow… oh mama, it’s to die for… sweet & spicy in all the right places. But as mentioned above, all of their salsa rock.

From their website: “Our Jalapeno Tomatillo salsa, for instance, is a descendant of a salsa served at a small taco stand in Tijuana. The Salsa Negra traces its lineage to Michoacan where dark red guajillo chilies are given a special roasting on open fires.”

Sounds good, right? What’s cool about Hugo’s Tacos too is that it’s another great spot to have in your arsenal for when you’re eating with folks who aren’t vegetarians… because all of the food here is delicious, so everyone in your group will leave very pleased… and very full.

And check out what I just learned: their rice pudding is vegan too! I’ve never ordered it because I always thought it was made with cows milk, but I just found this on their website: “Organic basmati rice, saigon cinnamon, tahitian vanilla, organic cane sugar, organic rice and soy milks. A sweet vegan option.” Fancy that!

A visitor named Michael has dropped in to bring the good word of a brand spankin’ new Los Angeles vegan restaurant and internet cafe that just opened up last weekend, Village Vegan Cafe. Now I must first pass along to you my disclaimer; that being that I have not yet visited this establishment and have not tried their food, so this is not a endorsement. I don’t usually promote anything if I haven’t personally first tried it myself. That said, Village Vegan Cafe sounds like it’s got the potential to be my new favorite restaurant, so I’m very eager to try it and of course will report back once I do. In the meantime, news this good shouldn’t be kept a secret, so here’s the lowdown:

We are proud to announce and invite you to come in and taste the Soul/Mex creations of the Vegan Village Cafe during it’s opening week. Below you’ll find further information about the restaurant and what it has to offer. We look forward to seeing you here!

You’ll be amazed by Vegan Villages tasty natural vegetable meals: BBQ dumplings, tostadas, burritos, wheat burgers, falafel sandwiches, vegetarian shrimp po boy and soy ice creams to name a few. Once again, Jewel Thais-Williams, the nationally honored community health activist is opening the Vegan Village Internet Cafe, serving up some of the best vegan Soul/Mex cuisine in the greater Los Angeles area. Located on the corner of Norton and Pico, The Vegan Village Internet Cafe is poised to be the closest thing to your mother’s kitchen, save the meat.

The menu is an eclectic mix with everything from a homemade apple cider dressed Wakame Salad to soy fried Hot Wings. Some of the menus highlights include the Nutmeat Chili Wrap made with Brazilian nuts and assorted veggies all wrapped in a marinated collard green leaf, or try the BBQ Tofu dumplings fried in sunflower oil and then smothered in a smoky BBQ sauce. Looking for a light meal? Vegan Village also offers salads ranging from Raw Kale Salad to the best Potato Salad this side of the Mississippi. Let us not forget about desert. Come in and try the Coconut and Almond Bar made with raw almonds, coconut, liquid lecithin, dates, agaves and carob chips or just sit back and enjoy the Sweet Potato Pie.

Jewel is also the founder of the Village Health Foundation which provides affordable, accessible, and effective professional services in complementary medicine to the community. She is an authority on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. Now she is, once again, reveling her love of cooking and healthy, sensual dishes for all to enjoy.

Vegan Village is located at 4061 W. Pico Blvd. It is open daily from 11am till 9pm seven days a week. For more information you can check out the website at www.veganvillagecafe.com, or call at (323) 766-9773.

Sure sounds great on paper, right? Can’t wait to try it! Note that this is in the same location as where Soul Vegetarian used to be, but it’s a new business with new managment. Considering how good Soul Vegetarian was, I’m now even that much more intruiged…

Now for something completely different: here’s a delicious new breakfast special on the menu at Hugo’s, the Mung Bean Fritters.

“Three fritters made with sprouted mung beans blended with zucchini, green pepper, green onion and Chinese 5 spice. Topped with two poached eggs, sauteed leafy greens and an apple-mint drizzle”. I had them substitute the eggs with grilled tofu.

This was a really great dish. Being that they’re called fritters, I was expecting something more… well, fried. I assumed they’d be kind of like potato pancakes (you know, with shredded stuff like latkes) but instead they’re like regular pancakes and they didn’t taste or appear to be fried which is actually a good thing. I’d say they were more like savory griddle cakes. The flavor was delicious, delicately spiced and not too oniony for my taste. The apple-mint drizzle is what made this a real stand-out, being both sweet and minty at the same time, much like an Indian chutney, but with apples. Overall, a perfect breakfast.

This is very exciting news! Nearly a year and a half of running this blog and I just got my first hostile anti-vegan comment… awesome! When I started this food blog I sort of expected a lot more of this sort of negative stuff. I was pleasantly surprised however to find that nearly all the feedback I’ve received has been exceptionally positive.

A charming fellow going by the name of “Leonard Bungard” dropped by to comment on my post about the Veganizing of Anthony Bourdain recipes that’s been going on over at Hezbolla Tofu. Leonard, clearly a master of the English language, took time out of his busy schedule of competitive baby back rib eating to say the following:

“fuck vegans long live the pig eater”

Short but sweet, don’t you think? And Leonard, you are so right… I’d love to fuck a vegan! Vegans smell nice and they taste good too. The next time I meet a sweet and sexy one that I take a liking to, I might just go for it. For a single vegan gal in Los Angeles, looking for some quality vegan lovin’ can be tough Leonard, so I appreciate the encouragement.

As for the longevity of pig eaters… well Leonard, I’ll leave you to do your own research in regards to the health effects of eating pigs. Here’s a good place to start: Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Pigs. But Leonard, what I don’t understand is why it makes you so unhappy that we vegans do not eat pigs… after all, it means more bacon for you and Anthony Bourdain, right? Clearly it’s a win-win situation for us to stay vegan Leonard: less heart disease and colon cancer for us, more chicharrones for you.

While Leonard’s eloquent commentary has now been deleted (though I will cherish it forever in my heart), perhaps you’ve got something you’d like to say to him directly? Considering that he took the time to leave his email address I’m going to assume that means he’s interested in receiving more information about veganism, the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, animal rights, cruel factory farming, etc… You can contact Leonard at his more than likely bogus email address: lbungard@gmail.com

Do you ever feel left out by the whole Pinkberry thing? What’s a vegan to do in an age of mass frozen yogurt proliferation with nary a vegan option to be found among them? One option would be to head on back over the hill to Valley Village on the edge of NoHo for a dairy-free treat at Menchie’s.

Menchie’s could be considered one of the many Pinkberry knockoffs but they’ve got a pretty cool twist. Everything there is self service, from the yogurt to the toppings. You pick your size of cup and fill it with however much softserve goodness you want of whichever flavors you like, then pick your toppings. Your culinary creation is then placed on a scale and priced by weight.

They’ve always got at least one dairy-free flavor to choose from. This is the reply I recieved when I sent an email to ask if they carry anything vegan: “We typically have at least one non-dairy flavor everyday. Our non dairy flavors are sorbets rather than yogurts. Currently our sorbet flavor is Kiwi Strawberry.” The ingredients are not posted so I do not know if the dairy-free means it is 100% vegan or not. However given that it’s a sorbet (fruit+sugar+ice) and is advertised as dairy-free, I’m not concerned about something hidden being in there. Caveat emptor.

They also have delicious smelling waffle cones which I’m certain are not vegan… but they sure do make the place smell nice as they’re cooking. Ok, so then after you’ve got your cup of yogurt/sorbet stuff, you head over to the toppings sections. The first one’s got a nice selection of fresh locally grown fruit. Amongst the yummy yet non-vegan goodies like brownie pieces and cheesecake I was overjoyed to discover that they also had soft little bite-sized mochi nuggets (Japanese glutinous rice treats). The flavor is mildly sweet and the texture is perfectly chewy like a soft gummybear. The second toppings station has all the dry stuff like sweet breakfast cereals, nuts, sprinkles, candy pieces, etc… trust me, there’s a lot there for people to choose from and vegans will not be feel deprived.

On the occasion that I was there, the dairy-free flavor was “Mango Tango Sorbet”. I topped it with fresh mango and plenty of mochi- this combo made me one happy foodeater. The sorbet is very nice with strong mango flavor, slightly sweet yet also a bit tart. The fresh sweet mango on top livened up the whole affair and the chewy, gooey mochi-ness of it all was really making it work for me.

The colors inside are somewhat garish and I feel bad that the people who work there are made to wear those awful costumes uniforms. Also, if you’re going to try and take a picture inside like I did, be prepared to get chastised by the manager who will tell you that photographs are not allowed. Isn’t it ironic how some of these places flip out on you for taking pictures when most likely all you’re going to do with them is turn around and send some free advertising their way? That said, I liked my mango-tango and mochi indulgence a bit too much to let the no-photography smackdown police get to me. After all I still got my picture, didn’t I?