To Live and Eat in L.A. – A Vegan Food Photo Blog

Why a sad vegan you ask?

• The big news being passed around in hushed, somber voices amongst L.A.’s veg*n foodies is the premature closing of most everyone’s favorite restaurant, Doomie’s. It was with heavy hearts that we read Doomie’s bulletin on Myspace which broke our comfort-food loving spirits:
  

  We are closed!

  Doomie’s is now CLOSED for business. We would like to think of it more as a hiatus as we are looking for a new place to relocate and planning on reopening, hopefully sometime by the end of the year. Until then, however, keep posted as we will give out details and any updates we may have.We’re working on having a whole lot more goodies and surprises on our reopening!

  If you want to be put on our mailing list for any updates, send an email over to Doomieveg@gmail.com. Also, if you have any parties or events that you would like catered, we’re still available for catering! Thank you all for your support and your patronage during our first three months; we like to think of this as an appetizer to your vegan/vegetarian appetites. We’ll see you all soon!
  -Doomie’s Home Cookin.

  If you never got a chance to try Doomie’s, for now my friends… you are shit out of luck and worse for the wear. See my original review of Doomie’s for a taste of what you missed out on. We’re holding out hope that Doomie’s really will resurface, and in the meantime there’s talk of planning an event for the sole purpose of having Doomie cater the hell out of it. More news will be posted here should this actually manifest.
  

• After that, I need some good news, how about you? Ok, here’s some: Quarrygirl has found the “Best Vegan Pizza Yet!”, and it’s located right here in downtown Los Angeles! Imagine that, one door closes, another opens. Read all about QG’s adventures at Purgatory Pizza, then drive on over and bring me a slice, would ya?

  While you’re at it, you should also check out Quarrygirl’s epic Best Vegan Cheese: Pizza Challenge. These people are serious about their pizza folks, so if you want to know what’s what on the tasty melty vegan cheese front, you’ll enjoying reading about the lengths this couple have gone to in order to determine which faux-cheese is best.
  

• On an even grander scale of dedication, have a gander at Ethical Pizza. This guy has an entire website devoted to vegan pizzas, breads and baking, with a heavy emphasis on testing out various vegan cheeses. Talk about finding your niche!
  
  
• More news on the sweets front, listed below are some interesting upcoming new book releases which are now available to pre-order from Amazon.com. I get a teeny, tiny referral fee for anything you buy at Amazon if you use my links, so I sure do appreciate you doing so… every little bit helps to support my eating habit this website!

  BabyCakes: Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery
  by Erin McKenna

  Babycakes is a world famous vegan bakery in NYC and now they’re putting out their first cookbook full of some of their most coveted culinary secrets. Praise for the book includes:

  “In this book, Erin has finally shared her trade secrets – the ingredients and techniques that lend BabyCakes’ desserts the flavors, textures, and happiness-factor you’d find in the best patisserie. The highest praise I can offer is this: follow her recipes to the letter and you’ll fool them every time.”
  -Tom Colicchio (from the Foreword)

  “At BabyCakes NYC I can eat what I crave without harming my lovely animal friends–or myself. Every since that first fateful day, I’ve been waiting for this cookbook.”
  -Natalie Portman

  “I have multiple food sensitivities…and I’d pretty much given up on the idea that I might be able to have a worthy treat every again. I was so excited to discover BabyCakes NYC, because not only can I eat everything they bake, it’s all delicious!”
  -Zooey Deschanel

  “The BabyCakes NYC banana bread is the best I’ve ever had and something I simply can’t live without.”
  -Mary Louise Parker

  “Thank all that is holy for BabyCakes NYC…”
  -Pamela Anderson

  For vegans (or anyone) who like to bake and make desserts, the Babycakes book is going to be a must-have. To get it delivered to your mailbox as soon as it’s released, click here to pre-order.

  (Speaking of Pamela Anderson, how awesome is she for convincing the high court of Mumbai, India to sterilize stray dogs instead of killing them? Pretty darn awesome.)
  

• Is ice cream more your thing?

  The Vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy-Free Ice Cream that Tastes Better Than the “Real” Thing
  by Wheeler del Torro

  “Ice Cream – Vegan Style brings the pleasures of the ice cream parlor into the home with 150 recipes for delicious frozen treats that are so rich and creamy, they’re better than the “real” thing. Developed by vegan Wheeler del Torro of Wheeler’s Frozen Desserts, these “faux” creams feature soy and nut milk blends and all vegan-certified ingredients, making them suitable for both vegans and those with lactose intolerance and other dairy aversions. With a few simple churns of the ice cream maker, you can bring Wheeler’s delicious and innovative desserts into your own home. The recipes are divided into sections based on their main ingredient or inspiration, such Fruit Flavors, Japanese-Inspired Flavors, Nighttime (Alcohol-Inspired) Flavors, and Sorbets. There’s also a chapter on Toppings, including sauces, brownies, and cupcakes.”

  You know you’ll want The Vegan Scoop as soon as it’s out, so click here to pre-order.
  

• Won’t someone think of the children?

  Well someone did think of the children, a vegan in fact who put together a charmingly illustrated book for kids all about why we don’t eat animals.

  That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book About Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things
  by Ruby Roth

  From the description:
  “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals uses colorful artwork and lively text to introduce vegetarianism and veganism to early readers (ages six to ten). The book features an endearing animal cast of pigs, turkeys, cows, quail, turtles, and dolphins. These creatures are shown in both their natural state- rooting around, bonding, nuzzling, cuddling, grooming one another, and charming each other with their family instincts and rituals- and in the terrible conditions of the factory farm. The book also describes the negative effects eating meat has on the environment. A separate section entitled “What Else Can We Do?” suggests ways children can learn more about the vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, such as:“Celebrate Thanksgiving with a vegan feast” or “Buy clothes, shoes, belts, and bags that are not made from leather or other animal skins or fur.” This compassionate, informative book offers both an entertaining read and a resource to inspire parents and children to talk about a timely, increasingly important subject.”

  If you have kids or perhaps a vegetarian friend with some of their own little varmits, this would make a great gift or teaching device to empower vegetarian kids with what they need to know about why their parents don’t feed them the same crap all their other friends get to eat. If I’d have learned about factory farms at an earlier age, I would have stopped eating animals that much sooner. Click here to pre-order.
  

Those are all the tidbits I have for you today… a bit of bad news, a bit of good news, and a bunch of tasty stuff in between.

1. Quick Bites: The “I’ve been super busy” edition.
2. Quick Bites: short but sweet
3. Quick Bites: cuz who doesn’t like a quicky?
4. Babycakes bakery opens in L.A!
5. More new vegan cookbooks to get excited about!

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