[Update Nov. 5, 2009: Sadly SnackBar has closed and is no more. It's now been turned into a trendy burger bar. Puke]

I love it when places you wouldn’t expect to have anything vegetarian, not to mention vegan, end up having great vegan options. Such is the case with SnackBar, a cool bar in Hollywood tucked away off Cahuenga Blvd. inside Space 15 Twenty -a small yet cute & funky outdoor mall (consisting of a great bookstore and a few shockingly overpriced clothing & jewelry stores). Along with all their snazzy drinks, Snackbar also has a full menu of burgers, salads, sandwiches and snacky things, most of which involve meat and/or cheese, but for a number of pleasing exceptions…

Ah Sweet Potato Fries, a perennial favorite of mine. They use actual sweet potatos, the yellower variety, not the orange variety many call yams but which often show up as sweet potato fries -meaning, these aren’t super sweet. They were awesome however, very lightly salted, perfectly cripsy on the outside, soft and piping hot on the inside. They weren’t at all greasy and seemed more liked baked potato wedges than something that had come out of a fryer, but I can’t say for sure. On that note, I didn’t ask if there was a seperate fryer (I kind of doubt it), so if you need to know that, ask them first.

If it’s a sandwich you’re interested in, SnackBar has you covered. They serve what they’re calling “Tramezzini”, aka, “crustless finger sandwiches”. Yeah, that’s a fancypants name for “they cut the crust off”. The vegan version available to try is the Avocado : Lettuce : Tomato : Vegenaise. It was small as I’d expected it would be given the description, but I was pleased to see it wasn’t super tiny either. It was pretty basic, but basic was pretty tasty, and for a vegan sandwich in a bar in Hollywood where they took the time to cut the crust off for me, that’s not too shabby.

But now for the pièce de résistance, the reason you’re going to go to SnackBar and thank me afterwards. That reason my friends is the “B’faux-lo Wings”… pseudo buffalo wings made from seitan. Who would’ve thought a place like this would be hiding such a scrumptious vegan delicacy? And oh man are these delicious! The texture is thick and chewy, the sauce is hot & spicy & sweet & sticky at the same time, truly lip-smackingly, finger-lickin’ good. They normally serve it with a ranch dip which would have gone a long way in helping me to cool down the heat burning through my lips and mouth, but sadly the dip is not vegan (ask for them not to bring it). Didn’t matter too much as these faux-wings are so incredibly awesome on their own. Seriously, go eat these… they’re so good that you won’t even mind the heartburn they’ll be causing you later on.

The seitan wings are made in-house and I had a chance to verify with the chef that they are indeed vegan (he knew what that meant and assured me they weren’t made with eggs or hidden dairy). Again though, I don’t know how they are prepared, baked or fried? Beats me. Separate fryer? Beats me. This is not a vegan restaurant so I don’t expect they’ve gone out of their way to build in a 2nd fryer or grill, so caveat emptor. My waitress, who may have also been the bartender was very sweet and helpful, though I could tell she didn’t know what I was talking about in regards to questions about the food being vegan. She was nice enough though to go and ask in the back for me, and came back with all the right answers.

They also offer a veggie burger with sauteed mushrooms which is vegan if you get it without cheese (I haven’t tried it), and a number of salads which can again by veganized if you go cheeseless and they even have grilled tofu as a protein option. Note that the grilled green beans on the snack menu are not vegan as they are grilled in butter.

I’m not a bar person or much of a drinker, but every now and again when the mood strikes me, I can get my drink on with the best of them. I was in one of those moods when I went to SnackBar, especially after I read about the “Pimm’s Iced Tea”- Gin : Pimm’s : Lemon : Mint : Ginger. It was lovely (and strong). I think that if I were the sort of person who likes to visit bars regularly, I’d come here often. In fact, I probably will go often anyways now that I know the seitan buffalo wings live there. I went during the day so it wasn’t very crowded at all, and the comfy & shady outdoor seating was a nice and relaxing spot to just chill out and eat yummy, vegan bar food and get tipsy. I have no idea what it’s like there at night, I’d imagine it gets a lot more douchey as most bars in Hollywood tend to do when the sun goes down, but who knows. Maybe you do and can let me know in the comments? I’m liking the idea of making late night stops here for a quick drink and some chow. It’s totally walkable from the Vine Metro stop so don’t let drunk driving be your excuse.

There’s some very mixed reviews of this place on Yelp, but it seems like most of those complainers went looking for a good bar or a good burger, while I went looking for good vegan specialty food, so your mileage may vary. From where I was sitting and drinking, the bar, food and service all seemed alright to me. To my fellow vegans out there, I’d say consider a visit to SnackBar as a special trip for one delicious thing in particular, the buffalo wings which you NEED to go try ASAP. Everything else you discover while you’re there, be it another of their tasty vegan snacks or a stiff drink, should be considered an extra added bonus.

SnackBar
1520 N Cahuenga Blvd., Ste 7
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 871-1220
www.snackbarltd.com