Every once in a rare while you get to taste something that is so delicious and such a cut above the rest, that even while you’re experiencing it, you realize that this very moment is going to be memorable. That’s how I felt on my recent visit to Shojin, the vegan Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo. Specifically, my rapture revolved around their exquiste BBQ seitan, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

You may recall my previous visit to Shojin restaurant back when my lucky friends and I were invited to their special pre-opening tasting dinner. That meal was excellent in every way, so it’s a mystery to me as to why I hadn’t been back since then.

To correct this oversight, one of my lovely foodeating assistants treated me to lunch at Shojin. The lunch menu had a limited selection from the full menu, but there were plenty of great options to choose from. To start our meal, our main entrees were served with soup and a side salad.

Even though it was a really hot day outside, the warm soup was light and refreshing. It was a delicious quinoa soup made with fresh organic vegetables that our waiter proudly and excitedly let us know had been acquired fresh just a few hours earlier at the nearby farmers market. Awesome! The small salad was crispy, tasty and super fresh as well.

We also ordered the Cold Green-Tea Buckwheat Noodles: Garnished with shiso leaf, grated radish and ume paste (pickled plum), mixed sea vegetables, kaiware sprouts (sprouted daikon radish seeds) and scallions, topped with roasted sesame seeds and nori (seaweed). This was beautiful and came served with a slightly salty, I’m guessing soy-based dipping sauce. I really liked the green tea noodles but I’m not a huge fan of sea-flavored stuff, and this had a bit too much of the ocean going on in it for my taste. If you are a lover of all manner of seaweeds and sea veggies, this one is for you.

Ah, but when our main dishes arrived is when things got really exciting! We both ordered the Shojin Style Bento Box which changes with different daily specials from three kinds of traditional vegetable dishes, brown rice and a choice between the Crispy Seitan Cutlet, Barbecued Seitan or Garden Seitan ball. Thank goodness there were two of us so we could each try the others! I went straight for the BBQ seitan while she got the cutlet.

From top left to right up there, first is the Kale & Mashed Tofu Salad: lightly steamed kale in mashed tofu & sunflower seeds. This was ok but the flavor was very simple, almost bland, so it was a little bit overwhelmed by the other stronger flavors it came served with. On the top right is a hijiki seaweed, carrot and gobo salad which I wasn’t crazy about. I know I should get over it because it’s all so healthy for me, but still I can only take so much of that sea taste. A little goes a long way.

On the bottom left of the bento box are some of the most deliciously prepared lotus roots that I’ve ever tasted. These were so good, done in the traditional Japanese style, but done perfectly. Then we get to exactly what made this a meal I won’t be forgetting any time soon… the barbecued seitan.

Shojin’s BBQ seitan is pan fried with their secret sweet soy barbecue sauce. It’s fantastic, I’m literally drooling right now as I’m remembering it, trying to explain it to you while knowing that mere words just aren’t enough. I’ve never had seitan that tasted anything like this before, the texture was the work of a true seitanic master.

This will probably gross some of you out, but have you ever tried eel before? Yeah, real eel from a sushi restaurant. Well, eel does not have a fishy taste at all and has a very silky, fatty texture a lot like salmon (eel sushi is usually not served raw, but grilled). Ok, gross part almost over- point being that this seitan achieved that same type of texture which reminded me a lot of eel… it was silky and had a fatty mouth-feel to it, without being at all oily or greasy. Slighty crispy on the edges with a meaty bite to it, this seitan is what finger licking good is all about, though I did not use my fingers. The BBQ sauce was totally amazing, sweet and savory and bold and just… wow!

Here’s a close-up of my friends pick, the Crispy Seitan Cutlet: Deep fried crispy seitan cutlet with home made miso demi-glace sauce. This was equally great, the seitan we already just discussed was incredible… so just imagine “incredible” times “fried” and this is what you’d get.

We both loved it, all of it, even the parts we didn’t love. The BBQ seitan seriously blew me away and I can’t wait to go back there to get the full order of just that. The folks who run Shojin are just so friendly and eager to please that the whole time we were there we couldn’t wipe the smiles off of our faces. It’s almost like going to a fancy spa, but with great food instead of a massage. While it’s true that the location is a little odd (inside a Japanese mall on the edge of Little Tokyo that’s about to become a Korean mall), I actually really like going there. It’s a totally different world, and Shojin offers a wonderful way to experience it. Go there for the lunch specials or go there for a more elaborate dinner with unique Japanese desserts. Either way it’s a win/win situation.

Speaking of dessert, it’s one of my favorite reasons to visit Little Tokyo. In particular, my sweet tooth satisfies itself at Fugetsu-Do Sweetshop which specializes in traditional mochi treats.

“Mochi is a Japanese confection, found usually in the shape of a small, round rice cake which can be eaten with condiments such as kinako (roasted soy bean flour), manju (sweet red bean paste), soy sauce dip, and seaweed. Traditionally, mochi is made by pounding steamed glutinous rice in a large wooden mortar, called the usu, with a wooden mallet called the kine. Mochi-tsuki is the Japanese term for the old-style method of pounding the steamed glutinous rice used to make mochi.”

They’re usually filled with sweetened red, white or azuki beans as well as various tasty fillings. Most all of them are completely vegan. I’m 100% addicted to mochi desserts and if left to run wild in their cute little shop, I could do both myself as well as their inventory some serious damage.

We got ourselves a nice assortment. Those on the top row that are wrapped in shiso leaves are my favorite. They are called Kuzumochi: Mochi filled with sweet azuki bean paste. Their website says that this is a seasonal item which is only available in the month of July, but they usually seem to have it available whenever I got there (and this was mid-August when we got them). While they are sweet they’re also slightly salty, a really nice combo. The pink ones are filled with white bean paste and the texture reminds me a lot of… wait for it… testicles. It’s true, but in a good way. Soft, chewy & tasty pink baby testicles. Don’t blame me, I didn’t invent the stuff. I don’t remember exactly what the other two had going on, but you can rest assured it probably involved some kind of sweetened bean (if I recall correctly the orange ones were indeed orange flavored). Mochi treats are awesome, and frankly, I’d rather see mochi take over the world than cupcakes.

I suggest indulging in a fun and filling afternoon in Little Tokyo. Ease the stress factor by riding the Metro into Downtown and choose your own adventure depending on which of the nearby stations you exit at. Head on over to Shojin on 3rd St. at Alameda for a remarkable lunch, then walk on down to 1st to Fugetsu-Do and get your fill of sweet mochi to wash it all down with. Don’t forget to enjoy all the fun stuff in between, you’re going to need to walk off some of that food.

(Update) - I just also discovered that Fugetsu-Do has a branch location inside of the Mitsuwa Market, which guess what… is situated inside of the same mall as Shojin! I have not had the mochi from there and I would still suggest checking out their main shop on 1st because it’s really cute, but now there’s no excuse to avoid the mochi if you’re at Shojin, since all you’ve got to do is walk to the other end of the mall to get yourself some. Sweet.

www.theshojin.com
www.fugetsu-do.com

You’ve seen & heard me rave on about the alarmingly good food at Vinh Loi Tofu. Vinh Loi is in my opinion not just one of the best vegan restaurants in Los Angeles, but some of the best food, of any kind, anywhere. I’m so not exaggerating. The food that Kevin Tran brings out from that tiny little window in the wall behind him takes flavor and ingenuity to an entirely new level. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hardcore vegan or a guiltless meatlover, the meals being served at Vinh Loi transcend all such labels.

If you’ve been there before one of the first things you noticed was how tiny the place was. Cute and clean, but very small, with a little market area in the back. The exciting news is that all this has changed! The big counter that took up a lot of the front room has been replaced with a much nicer and smaller unit, opening up a large area of the restaurant for more tables and chairs, it’s a lot less crowded now. Also the market area has been removed, creating even more seating in the back. It’s now a really comfortable space for a sit down meal (it was ok before but this new layout is a big improvement).

More importantly, not only is there now a nice new color menu with pictures, but Kevin is also constantly creating new dishes and re-inventing old ones… for example, he is indeed now serving his very own version of vegan Pho. That’s right folks, you heard it here first! Go try it… tell me how it is, I haven’t had it yet. See all those tantalizing looking dishes up on the wall? Those are just some of the newer dishes added since the menu was printed. The hardest thing about eating at Vinh Loi is deciding what to order!

And decide I eventually did. For this visit I picked the Curry Udon with Chicken.

The chicken, vegan of course, is made from some magical concoction which once began as a soybean. What I can tell you is that it’s unlike any sort of fake meat items you’ve ever tried, tasting both authentic and yet not so real that it’s too real, with flavors that just burst in your mouth of heat and ginger and lemongrass and multitudes of goodness unrecognizable to mere mortals such as myself. There’s no point in thinking of it as a meat substitute, it’s something else entirely. And that’s only the chicken…

The curry covering these perfectly cooked udon noodles is simply not something that my limited culinary vocabulary is able to properly describe or do justice. This is by far one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. Seriously, there’s no way around it, these noodles are just phenomenal. The flavor starts off for me as a Japanese style curry, but how it takes off from there in it’s entirely own directions is something of legends. This is the curry of the Gods right here. There’s plenty of veggies in there as well, cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, and as you can see a giant heap of fresh and glorious cilantro. The chilies are too hot for me even though I do like things rather spicy, but if you can take the heat these will rock your socks off.

I’m telling you, this dish kicks all kinds of ass, proving once more that vegan food isn’t all pansy-hippy-granola. There’s at least 30 or more new dishes up on that wall that I haven’t tried yet… what’s a girl to do?! Vinh Loi’s also now got extended hours (open everyday from 9am to 9pm!) and a brand spanking new website as well, so click on over, then drive on out to humble Reseda to get your serious eating on: www.vinhloitofu.com

My advice? Go hungry… go very, very hungry!

Hello friends! It’s been a long and introspective one month plus since you last heard from me, the time away was much needed. I’d like to thank you all once again for your kind words and thoughts during what was a whopper of an ordeal for me… and I’m so glad you’ve stuck around because I’ve got a ton of food tales and photos to get you caught up on. I have a feeling that some of my groupies out there are at the edge of their seats in anticipation of some drool-worthy vegan food porn, so how about we just dispense with the niceties and get to the heart of the matter? In this particular case, the heart of the matter equals breakfast.

One of the upsides of personal calamities is that they tend to make me forget all about being on a diet… which brings me back to breakfast. This is one of the fabulous vegan tofu scrambles at Real Food Daily. I can’t remember the exact name and try as I might I cannot find their breakfast menu online anywhere, but whatever it’s called just know that it’s divine. From what I recall it involved avocado, tomatoes and spinach topped with their yummy cashew cheese sauce which comes in regular or jalepeno. I, being a devotee of spice chose the later. This came served with hemp bread, vegan butter and choice of fruit or hash browns (I already mentioned throwing diets and giving a shit about carbs to the wind, right?).

Here we have yet another scrumdidliumptious breakfast at Real Food Daily, which you might have figured it out by now is one of my favorite places for a delicious and comforting morning meal (not that I would turn down a visit for lunch or dinner either). This time around it was the omelet with avocado, spinach, spicy cashew cheese along with tempeh bacon. Their tempeh bacon is to die for… a perfect texture and smoky flavor that to someone like me who hasn’t eaten bacon in many years, tastes awfully baconish (in a good way). The omelet itself is a thing of beauty… far surpassing anything that would come from an egg. It was crispy on the outside with a well-cooked eggy feel on the inside… both chewy and flaky at the same time. I absolutely loved it and ate up every last crumb of the stuff. I had the hemp toast again but this time opted for fruit instead of potatoes.

As far as I’m concerned, you can’t go wrong with breakfast at Real Food Daily. FYI, I’m talking about the West Hollywood location, I have not been to the one in Santa Monica yet. Despite the not cheap prices (come on, it’s all organic, kosher & rad) and regardless of the occasionally hard-to-find parking and often über-hipster/celebrity patrons, the food at this place truly is good: real, healthy and unpretentious. The next time you’re feeling like crap and are up and mobile before 3pm (on a Sunday… just found out this is the only day they do brunch), head on over there and set yourself up with a plate full of anything on their breakfast/brunch menu and you’re sure to leave feeling a lot more positive about the day ahead of you.

On that note, here’s to moving forward and feeling good. See you all soon with more gastronomic indulgences!

I recently let you all know about the new vegan Thai restaurant that just opened up here in North Hollywood, Lotus Vegan. I’ll refer you back to that post for the info and lively comments (New vegan Thai food in NoHo: Lotus Vegan)… for now I’m really just in the mood to talk about food.

This exotic dish, the Silver Noodle Salad was what I had on my most recent visit, and it was delicious. “Glass bean noodles mixed with soy chicken, soy shrimp and chilis in lime juice”. Yum… so good!

Not being a fan of onions I spent a minute picking those away to reveal the goodies underneath. What makes this dish a hit is the fantastic lime dressing. I’ve had some lime based dishes and salads at other Thai places where they’ve either just used straight up lime juice with nothing else (too sour), or they mix it with some herb or spice that I don’t like which gives it the distinct taste of dirty butt. Not that I know what dirty butt tastes like mind you, but I can send you to a few Thai joints where they’ll gladly give you a sample. Thankfully, this dish had no butt flavor whatsoever! I loved the dressing, sour but not too sour, pungent but not too pungent, spicy but not too spicy… ok, you get the idea. Both the soy chicken and soy shrimp are very tasty, though I would have liked a few more pieces of the shrimp. Slimy, slippery glass noodles are always fun to eat, and the greens and veggies were crisp and fresh.

Now let’s go back to the future. This last weekend was my birthday (yay me!). Because dorkiness apparently doesn’t go away once you hit middle age, I managed to take a major nosedive while climbing my steps, landing with all my force and weight on my right knee. Hard…. on concrete. Thankfully I didn’t break any bones, bust my kneecap or cause any permanent damage, but I did for all intents and purpose seriously mess up my knee and ability to walk for a few days. [This did not stop me from attending, eating my way through and hobbling around at Worldfest... to be blogged about soon!] While I was laid up at home with an elevated and ice-packed leg, I called Lotus Vegan up to bring me a delivery. If I’m going to be stuck at home on my birthday, you best believe I’m going to be doing it in style.

Talk about over indulgence! I swear I didn’t eat this all in one sitting. And it was my birthday, so shut up. From left to right: That’s the Hot & Spicy Green Beans (aka Prik King) with tofu and their awesome brown rice. Prik King has always been my favorite Thai dish, and I love how they prepare it here. In the middle is the lovely High Protein Salad and tahini dressing, right top has got the glorious sticky rice & mango, and in the front right we’ve got the quesadilla, made with vegan mozzarella cheese and served on chapatti bread. Their cheese does not contain casein and is very, very melty. It melts to an almost liquid consistency then firms up pretty quickly. Careful when biting into it as the drippy cheese is hot! But don’t let it sit for too long either because the cheese will cool fast. That’s not likely to happen though because it’s so tasty that you’ll want to scarf the whole thing down right away. Unless your name is Scott, in which case, would you pass me your quesadilla please? I will gladly eat it :)

I didn’t want to leave you all weekend looking at something ugly like that last Anthony Bourdain post, so I will leave you with something much prettier, and I’ll bet, much tastier too.

This is the garbanzo bean (chickpea) salad sandwich at Pure Luck, which I think might have a fancier official name to it but I don’t have the menu in front of me. In all of it’s straightforward simplicity, I’d have to say it was an outstanding sandwich. It’s like a really good chicken or tuna salad sandwich, minus the animal bits and mayo (they use Vegenaise). The texture of the beans is thick and chunky, with some celery in there too I believe… it really does have a nice meaty bite to it that is neither pasty or mushy. They’ve come up with the perfect combo of seasonings to where it’s just right, truly a delicious sandwich that leaves you licking your fingers after each bite. I always love their bread here too and this lightly toasted and tasty bun was no exception. Don’t get me started on tasty buns.

This sandwich is usually served with fries or their yummy vegan Cesar salad but they were happy to oblige my request for the Potato Pals instead (fried gnocchi). The garbanzo salad can also be ordered as part of a larger salad, a full meal in it’s own right. This sandwich is a newer addition to the Pure Luck menu, and like everything else I’ve had there, it surely did not disappoint.

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

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!