In my last post I mentioned taking an interest in being less of a hermit, so I’ve been checking out what options are available to me for working outside of my cave, specifically veggie friendly eateries with free WiFi. I seem to have hit the motherlode with Cafe Muse, located on Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood’s little theater row. Their website describes Cafe Muse as: “the place where a group of vegetarians & non-vegetarians can meet up and all find something they like to eat… With delicious comfort foods, a creative vibe, coffee that will keep you buzzing, and free live entertainment showcasing local talent”. While I haven’t partaken in any of their live events, I’ve enjoyed their great food and strong tasty coffee, so I’m happy to report that they’re all that and more.

Cafe Muse is mostly vegetarian & vegan and they boast of being “proud to have some of the BEST soy products on the market – including our fabulous soy chicken, which is light, moist and delicious – you won’t believe it’s not the real thing.” I’ll vouch for that as well, their fake chicken is perhaps the most realistic I’ve had anywhere… check it out:

This is the Buffalo Chicken Wrap: “grilled soy chicken in a hot sauce with red onions, romaine lettuce and ranch dressing (ask for the vegan ranch). Served on your choice of whole wheat (not vegan), tomato-basil or spinach tortilla and choice of sweet potato fries, side salad or tri-flavor tortilla chips”. As you can see the soy chicken is identical to the real thing, and tastes very genuine as well. The buffalo sauce is nice and spicy, and the crisp & fresh lettuce cooled and balanced it out. Along with my wrap I had to try their sweet potato fries, which were excellent. They fried them to the perfect state of crispiness and served them with a delicious sweet & tangy BBQ sauce.

On a follow up visit I tried their Veggie Burger. They’ve got two veggie burgers to choose from, the GardenBurger which is not vegan and a vegan burger soy burger. I asked the nice woman who runs the place if the vegan burger was one they buy or homemade. She told me it was one they buy and readily told me the name, but I forgot what she told me. Doh! It wasn’t any of the common brand names that I recognize. The burger comes on a “whole wheat bun, with fresh tomatoes, chopped red onions, mixed greens and Dijon mustard / vegan mayo”. You can add on cheese or avocado for a bit extra. The burger pattie was decent, not particularly memorable as far as veggie burgers go, but not bad. It was helped along nicely by the mayo and avocado. Same choice of sides as above, and this time around you get a little better look at the sweet potato fries. These could easily become a dangerous new addiction.

They also have an enticing selection of regular and vegan desserts, including delicious vanilla and chocolate cupcakes by No Whey Baked Goods of the vegan Twinkie fame. As you may have already guessed, that’s the vanilla cupcake pictured above, and it was every bit as tasty as it looks… right down to the remaining bits of frosting that I licked off of the eco-friendly to-go container they sent me home with it in.

Cafe Muse really does seem to have something for everyone, from their satisfying selection of wraps and sandwiches to their build-your-own salad offerings. They are open pretty late on most nights (til 11pm during the week) and serve breakfast from 9am til noon… make-your-own burrito or scrambles all include vegan options, or you could try their vegan corned “beef” hash or even order a vegan pancake. From my perspective, this place has everything I could want in a coffee house while at the same time being more like a full-service restaurant. Whether you’re looking for a place to eat, to get some work done or to just hang out and get wonky on caffeine, Cafe Muse has it all!

www.cafemusela.com