I was down on Melrose to photograph some street art which of course lent itself as the perfect excuse for lunch at M Café de Chaya. But really, who needs an excuse when food this good is just a hop, skip and a jump away?
What we have here is the “Carolina-Style Barbequed Seitan Sandwich” consisting of “thinly sliced grilled seitan basted with our own zesty barbeque sauce and piled high on a house-baked whole heat bun with grilled onions, pickles, and creamy (vegan) coleslaw”. I got it with out the onions, natch, and had the peanuty kale salad on the side.
Maybe I was just really hungry after all the walking I’d just done (Highland to Fairfax thru the Melrose alleys then back up thru the alleys across the street). but everything about this meal was phenomenal. The delicious seitan was chewy and meaty, the texture reminding me a bit of Chinese restaurant-style BBQ pork (you know, the kind that’s usually some ungodly shade of florescent pink). The BBQ sauce was excellent, more on the sweet side than the spicy side but still with a nice, peppery kick to it. The bun was perfectly fresh, nicely toasted and had that wholesome goodness flavor to it. The salad was lovely too, the flavors of kale and peanut playing very well together.
I have yet to taste anything at M Café de Chaya that isn’t amazing. May that day never come.
i can’t look at your blog before lunch… i would eat there everyday if i had that kind of cash. i drive by every morning on my way to work and it is so tough not to stop for a piece of morning coffee cake or some veggie rolls and salad for lunch.
Scott: If you’d like I can install a script that blocks you from accessing this website each day before 3pm. Not really :)
And for sure that’s the one main problem with M Cafe, they are way too expensive.
Damn & yes, please!
wow, that sandwich is quite authentic-looking – sounds like a great restaurant!!
VeggieGirl: Yes, this is one of the tastiest places to eat in the city… hands down. One of the more expensive too unfortunately…
Wow that looks good!
I haven’t been here yet. You keep pointing out all these restaurants I need to try and never seem to get around to.
Lan: I do the dirty work so that you don’t have to.
Great Picture! I used it on my blog Forkable in my post about how to make seitan from scratch. Thanks!
[...] TO: Making Seitan from Whole Wheat Flour (Courtesy of ToLiveAndEatInLA.com)Seitan, an Asian meat substitute, is made from whole wheat gluten, the protein of the grain. Whole [...]