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

Cowboys & Indians brings an interesting fusion to the table, combining Indian food with Mexican food. Sounds kinda weird and like it might not work, but it most certainly does. This place has been around for a while with their flagship location conveniently connected to The El Rey theater on Wilshire Blvd., and the owner is the same guy who started Electric Lotus (another tasty Indian restaurant). The spot on Wilshire is tiny and almost more like a snack bar connected to the theater, a great place to get a quick bite before seeing a show, while the new place on Sunset smack dab in the middle of Silver Lake’s hipster district is more of a sit-down restaurant where you can chill out and enjoy a full meal.

I got to check out the new Cowboys & Indians last week with my homegirls-who-lunch crew, the lovely Miss Sara T. and the equally luscious Miss DoubleD. and we all really enjoyed the experience. One of the first things that caught my attention before even entering the restaurant was their sidewalk sign:

As I mentioned on my Twitter at the time, I love it when places that aren’t vegan tell you right on the menu what is (note the Tofu Bhujiya). It’s the little things that count. This is apparently quite a popular sentiment considering how often it’s now been retweeted, and repeated. While I didn’t get to try their tasty sounding vegan breakfast options as shown on the sign (we’d already missed the 3pm cut-off time), most all of the options at Cowboys & Indians also have a vegan version, and the staff seemed to be very vegan friendly, offering up information on ingredients when they knew the answer, and going back into the kitchen to ask questions about stuff they weren’t sure about. Here’s the basic stuff vegans will want to know: all the curries are vegan, made with coconut milk. The tortillas are vegan. The regular naan breads are not vegan but the whole wheat naan is.

We started our meal with a few shared appetizers.

First we tried the Vegan Samosas. These were MASSIVE! Due to the angle of the picture, the true size of this monster is not being done justice, it’s about the size of both my fists held together… huge! One would definitely be enough for two people, it’s the largest samosa I’ve ever seen before.

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What’s in a name? When I first heard about Sky’s Gourmet Tacos I thought to myself, “just how gourmet can a taco possibly be”?, and then, “Do I even want a gourmet taco?”. Well, after eating a bunch of their food, Sky’s has turned me from a Doubting Thomas into a true believer with their unique and generous specialties.

Gourmet food is not something I’m terribly interested in. I’m much more of a farmers market stall & food truck kinda gal than I am the “spend $80 to eat small portions with three different forks” type. Don’t let the word “gourmet” in Sky’s name put you off though, this place is neither hoity toity nor overly expensive, they certainly don’t skimp on portion sizes and they don’t give a crap if you make a mess and eat with your hands.

Located on Pico between Fairfax & LaBrea, Sky’s Tacos is tiny little restaurant that you may have even driven past without knowing about the delicious vegan bounty awaiting you on the inside. While Sky’s does serve a full menu of meat & cheese items, they’ve got an equally substantial vegetarian menu just begging for you to have veganized.

This gorgeous hunk of food is the Veggie Quesadilla ordered all vegan. It comes with their own vegan meat, beans and a giant heap of vegan cheese (Follow Your Heart) inside and out. Basically what you’re looking at are two tortillas that have been stuff to overflow with grilled vegetables and cheese, then layered on top with a massive amount of beans and their amazing fake meat, then piled high with even more cheese.

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Papa George’s Hy Mart Deli has been a North Hollywood staple of tastiness next to the giant golf shop on Lankershim for over 20 years. Due to skyrocketing rent and a landlord that has apparently been a dick to them for the past two decades, the little family run shop has moved into a new location. Locals need not fret though as the move was into a more spacious spot just across the street. Now they’re right on the other (west) side of Lankershim, directly behind the H. Salt Fish & Chips shop.

A true mom & pop operation, Hy Mart offers a wide variety of Mediterranean style sandwiches and wraps. It’s not an all vegetarian place so expect to witness people chowing down on stuff like roast beef, turkey and gyros, however what makes Hy Mart stand out for the rest of us are their delicious vegetarian and easily veganizable specialties.

Their yummy falafel is made fresh daily and they even make their stuffed grape leaves from scratch (my latest addiction). They’ve got a number of different vegetarian wraps and platters, and most of these are set to come with labni yogurt or feta cheese, but if you are so inclined you can ask them to leave those off and what you’re left with are some pretty fantastic vegan options.

I always get the same thing but the “Shahkloot Special” is so far from boring that the repetition never gets old. Lavash bread wrapped around tabouleh, olives, cucumber, mint, basil, avocado, hummus, falafel, tomato, pickles, tahina, lettuce and pepperchinis (no feta, no onions, extra spicy is the way I order it). It’s always huge and always delicious.

Hy Mart is one of my favorite places in the valley to get a satisfying and cheap lunch. The family who runs this deli is super cool, so I’m happy to see they’ve pulled off their migration into a nicer, more spacious shop and I wish them much success in their new location.

Hy Mart (look for the “Sandwiches” sign)
4795 Vineland Ave #C
North Hollywood, CA 91602
(818) 506-7264

The folks over at SunPower Natural Cafe, the lovely raw restaurant in Studio City, wanted me to pass along this info about their Valentines Day specials. Here’s the lowdown:

Enjoy a 6 Course romantic Valentine’s Dinner at SunPower Cafe in our newly remodeled dining room!

Sunday February 14th 5-9pm
With Live Entertainment!

Both Raw and Cooked versions available for each course:
Appetizers: Raw Cabbage Tacos with Nacho Cheese / Vegan Tofu Cabbage Wraps
Soup: Raw Tomato Basil / Vegan Butternut Squash
Salad: Mango Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans and cranberries with Raspberry Dressing
Entree: Heart Shaped Pizza
Entree: Raw or Vegan Lasagna
Dessert: Chocolate Cup with Rum Cherry Custard / Additional raw layered dessert to be announced!

Whether as a couple or with friends, feel special with a unique dinner at SunPower Cafe! Price: $45 per person (paid by Feb. 13th), $55 per person (day of event). Seating 5pm to 9pm.
Reservations Essential: 818-308-7420 or ronald@sunpowernatural.com

Sounds delicious. SunPower manages to make raw food taste decadent. I’ve been back there since my last post about them so this is probably a good time to show you some of the good stuff we got to try.

To start, Bruschetta. “Zesty tomatoes and garlic on crunchy toast.” When my plate arrived it was so much more action packed than that simple description.

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Did you get to hang out in oldschool pizza parlors when you were a kid? How great was Shakey’s with their big wooden booths and delicious pizza you could keep going back for more of, pie after pie? My parents threw me a birthday party there when I was in first grade, I have fond memories. My friends and I switched to loitering at our local Pizza Hut after school when I was in junior high. I haven’t been to a place like that in years considering they’re a cheese & sausage fest, but finally we vegans get to experience that kind of pizza hang out fun again, nestled deep in the west valley at the Woodland Hills Pizza Cookery.

Pizza Cookery is an archetypal wood paneling era pizza parlor… giant tables matching the walls meant to seat groups and families, comfy seating, children running around being obnoxious, saw dust on the floor, overflowing pitchers of beer, and a new addition to the love affair we’re having here… entirely separate Vegan and Gluten Free menus. It’s actually quite astonishing when you walk into this place and it’s all red-blooded, meat eating America like, and then you get handed your very own vegan menu, just for you. This place is lively and packed on the weekends (though we were seated within less than 5 minutes of waiting), and it’s one of the most well integrated restaurants I’ve been to so far that caters so well to both carnivore and vegan satisfaction. Nothing fancy, just a good old fashioned good time while kicking back with tasty food.

First the pizza- the pizza rules. They use Follow Your Heart cheese, and they use it well. My fellow foodeaters Alix & Shawn and I ordered a large 16 incher with mushrooms and vegan pepperoni. They also have a vegan smoked chicken as well as all the usual pizza toppings like bell peppers, black olives, tomatoes, and also fresh basil, garlic, cilantro, pineapple, jalapeño, eggplant, sun dried tomato, artichoke hearts… basically anything good you might what on it. The pizza was huge and smothered in melty-hot vegan cheese, tangy tomato sauce and a truly delicious crust. [If you are one of those people who don't eat their pizza crust, know that I consider you a weirdo.] They also slice it up all funky to maximize the amount of slices you can share, you end up with oddly shaped yet fun to eat mostly rectangular slices, I got one that was an oblong triangle shape. You can also order smaller pizzas or even mini individual sized versions.

For the gluten free set, they’ve got you covered with a staff that’s trained in separate food handling ready to make you gluten free pizzas, pastas and salads.

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I like Chinese food but it usually takes a back seat if I’m given my choice between it or far more exciting Asian cuisines such as Thai or Vietnamese. That said, I’ve reignited my love for it after revisiting a restaurant I’ve neglected for far too long, Garden Wok in Reseda. Part of the reason I’d been away for so long is that Garden Wok is located just a couple miles away from my favorite restaurant in the entire universe, Vinh Loi Tofu… so whenever I’m in the neighborhood Vinh Loi usually wins me over. Not this time however, and I’m glad I strayed for once as the food at Garden Wok is superb.

My last visit to Garden Wok was way back in 2007, and I really enjoyed it then too. Their menu is extensive, offering Cantonese-American style cooking, 99% of which is vegan, while a few of their faux meats do contain whey (and everything is clearly marked on the menu so there’s no confusion). If you don’t like meat analogs this isn’t really the place for you… while they do have noodle dishes, soups and the like, their specialties revolve around the amazing things they do with fake chicken, beef, pork and fish. This stuff is delicious, homemade, and nothing like the same old stuff that all the Thai places are serving (which all tastes the same and may or may not be vegan). You don’t have to worry about mystery non-vegan ingredients imported from Taiwan finding their way into your food here, Garden Wok makes it all from scratch using stuff like taro root, yam, wheat gluten, mushrooms and seaweed. What they do with those ingredients is something extraordinary.

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Good news, the excellent, mostly raw food restaurant Cru in Silver Lake is now open daily for lunch! Daytime service is from 11am-4pm, with dinner starting up from 5:30pm-10pm.

Previously their only daytime hours were on the weekend, now it’s everyday with a special brunch on Sundays from 11am-2:30pm. I haven’t been to the Sunday brunch yet so I don’t know what goodies are on that menu, but I can tell you that I so enjoyed their new daily lunch that I went back two days in a row. Cru was already one of my favorite restaurants, now it’s become even more so.

The daytime menu features a selection from their regular menu, which inlcudes quite a few new dishes since my last visit. There’s a nice selection of appetizers, wraps, and even stuff like their take on a raw pizza, a tostada made with raw vegan chorizo, rice bowls, über healthy salads and more.

Bruschetta is pretty much at the top of the appetizer food chain. I love love love it. The Bruschetta Rustica at Cru isn’t the traditional version as usually served on thick crusty bread, but they’ve got the essence down pat, and this reinvented raw(er) version is delightful.

It comes on sunflower flat bread with chopped tomato & basil and cashew cheese. I believe the saucy drizzle along the plate is a pesto infused oil. Everything about this bruschetta tasted so fresh and clean, the cashew cheese was delicious and the tomatoes perfectly ripe and full of flavor (in January!).

You know what’s even cooler about Cru being open for lunch? It’s that they’re also serving breakfast and brunch inspired dishes, all with a unique and tasty twist. The dishes I’ve had so far all sound so simple on the menu but then when my meals arrived, I was dazzled by the presentation and tastiness of it all. Behold:

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It’s safe to say that in recent years Vietnamese food has replaced Thai food as my favorite Asian cuisine. It’s really exciting to see more and more restaurants starting to cater to vegans and vegetarians as Vietnamese cooking grows in popularity. While Vinh Loi Tofu will always remain the reigning champ among all Vietnamese restaurants (no one else even comes close as far as vegan food is concerned), it’s nice to see other places offering animal-free options as well.

We recently visited the newly re-opened Vietnamese Soy Cafe in Silver Lake and enjoyed their limited but satisfying vegan offerings. Today let’s visit another vegan friendly Vietnamese eatery, this time across town in Highland Park- Good Girl Dinette.

Located right around the corner from the vegetarian Mexican restaurant Cinnamon, Good Girl Dinette serves up simple, clean and mostly organic ingredients sourced from local farmers markets, and transforms them into what they refer to as “American diner meets Vietnamese comfort food”. And it’s as good as it sounds! There is enough on the menu to keep both the carnivores and the herbivores happy.

We’ll start at the heart of any decent Vietnamese meal, with a hot bowl of Pho. Pho is a traditional soup usually made with all manner of horror inducing cuts of meat, beefy broth and exotic spices. Luckily for those of us who want the delicious taste of a well-seasoned Pho soup without all the beef juice, Good Girl Dinette makes an all-vegetarian version just for us.

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