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

We speculated, we pondred, we assumed, we questioned, we fretted, we hoped… is the Vegan Spot closing or what? Our cries for information have been responded to in the comments section of my Vegan Twinkies post by one of the owners of the Vegan Spot. Here’s what she tells us:

hey guys,

i just wanted to clear something up about the vegan spot. i am co-owner of the place, and after months of hard work trying to get it up and going, i have decided to leave to pursue other opportunities. the vegan spot was my first restaurant, and definately a learning experience as well as a labor of love for me. ultimately, i just felt overwhelmed with working so much there, and that i was letting other important opportunities pass me by. my partner was much too busy with her other endeavors to buy me out and take over, so we decided to sell the place. we are selling the restaurant as a whole, recipes and full training included. that way, it can continue to be the vegan spot and to bring you those reubens and twinkies that you seem to love so much. :) i also want to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews and support. that is the sole reason i went into the restaurant business…to feed people good vegan food, and watch them smile. feeding people spreads happiness.

p.s. hopefully, you’ll all love my next place just as much, (maybe more??)
i’ll reveal more details of my future pursuits as they unfold. ;) until then, rest assure that the vegan spot isn’t going away anytime soon….

Comment by s. rad

So there you have it, straight from the source. We’re left to wonder just how easy or difficult it will be a for a new owner to come in and maintain the same level of awesomeness, but we’re certainly fans and rooting for the best… both for The Vegan Spot and for whatever either of these groovy vegan ladies do next. Thanks for stopping by to fill us in s.rad, I have just one request… please keep feeding us!

After I wrote yesterday about The Vegan Spot listed for sale on Craigs List, reports have started to arrive from my network of agents on location.

Agent QuarryGirl gleaned the following: “they say they are not closing, but trying to sell to someone that will preserve the biz.”

Agent Nemesis reports from the scene: “they said they were just re-organizing the restaurant because one owner was leaving. they were going to have healthier food and getting rid of a lot of menu items.”

Good work team! But still, I had to know more. And for crying out loud, I had to have one of those vegan Twinkies!

I arrived at The Vegan Spot happy to see that they were not only still open, but also ready and able to feed me. Not only that, but I could see right there in front of me in the cold case two trays full of the much coveted Twinkies, one tray of the regular and one all chocolate.

But let’s back it up a sec. I asked the fellow helping me at the counter what the deal is with this place being for sale on Craigs List. He seemed surprised and didn’t know what I was talking about, said he hadn’t heard anything about it being for sale or closing. Hmmm. I think he might have been very new there and probably not the right person to ask.

Right away I notice there’s a vegan Reuben on the menu, so of course that’s what I’m going to have to try. I asked the guy if the Reuben is made with tempeh and he said yes. Later when the sandwich arrived it was not made with tempeh but with seitan and tofu, which was equally fine because it was delicious.

From the menu: The Reuben: Tangy blend of corned “beef”, tofu cheese, sauerkraut, thousand island and soy mozzarella served toasted warm. We’ve talked many a time about just how much I love me a good vegan Reuben sandwich, so you know it’s got to be good when I tell you that after just one bite this one soared high up the list of all time best. It tastes more like a traditional “real” Reuben than any I’ve had yet as a vegetarian. It’s their perfectly well seasoned and meaty seitan that makes it so delicious, follow that with the thousand island (Follow Your Heart maybe?) and sauerkraut and it’s just like being in a good Jewish deli. A Jewish deli that serves vegan Twinkies.

The regular flavor Twinkies won out despite my having been tempted by the chocolate. I wanted to get the true experience, I wanted the original. I wanted to see how well they compared to real Twinkies.

Dudes, these are soooo much like real Twinkies! They’re actually way better than real Twinkies and being that they’re vegan the extra bonus prize is that your yummy dessert contains no crap that will kill you, or beef fat… yay!

I found these to be a bit more dense than a Hostess Twinkie, which I remember as being more fluffy. This was a good thing though, it was rich and thick and the flavor was spot on. The filling was so great, and generous too… no one likes a wimpy Twinkie. I’ll say these were about as close as you can get to the real thing without being the real thing and still being vegan. These are truly quite an improvement on the original… an upgrade if you will…. the highly evolved gourmet version that all regular Twinkies aspire to be. Kudos again to their creator JennShaggy, who the next time she offers me Twinkies, I will be powerless to refuse.

On that note, I have no final words for you on what the deal is with The Vegan Spot. Hopefully there will be no final words and they’ll continue to operate and serve up fantastic vegan food for the masses, or even just for me. Perhaps someone in the know will stop by and let us adoring yet concerned fans know what’s the what. The best I can offer you in these uncertain times are these words of advice: get while the getting’s good.

Hello fellow Foodeaters! Sorry to leave you all hanging for so long without any foodporn to tide you over. You poor things, you must be famished! I’ve been very busy working on version 2.0 of To Live and Eat in L.A., and that’s what’s been keeping me from writing (don’t worry, nothing can keep me from eating). In just a few more months I’ll be celebrating my two year vegan anniversary, which will also mean that this blog has been kicking ass and taking names for that long as well. Can you believe it? In the spirit of such celebratory awesomeness, I’m working on a major upgrade for this site both in terms of a snazzy new design and a more functional layout. I’m aiming to have this all ready to go very soon, so don’t be surprised if you come here sometime in the near future and it all looks different… the content of course will remain the same. In my humble opinion, I’m thinking it’s going to rock your socks off.

In the meantime I’ll take a much needed break from all the drama of trying to force Wordpress into doing what I want to let you in on some news that’s got a few of us Los Angeles vegans in a tizzy… word out on the street is that our much highly regarded new favorite lunch place, The Vegan Spot, is for sale. I found the “restaurant for sale” ad on CraigsList offering the restaurant for “quick sale” at $75K, with everything included. This comes as rather shocking news considering that the food at this place is so incredible, and also because it appeared that they were doing really well. There have been rave reviews from myself (see my take on the vegan Philly Cheesesteak) as well as all of the usual suspects. The vegan Twinkies sold there by JennShaggy have become a legend unto themselves, even landing them a write up in the L.A. Times. So what gives? It would be so sad to see this fantastic vegan food haven disappear, or worse, get purchased by someone who doesn’t know what they hell they’re doing… I would hate to watch them go downhill under new ownership. Anyone rad out there have the $75K handy to help rescue this little treasure?

For now, I can hear the growing chorus of voices out there… “but Foodeater, where is the foodporn you promised us?”. Fear not my food perv pretties, you shall not be leaving here today teased or denied. While I have no more Vegan Spot goodies to share with you at this time, what I am able to offer you comes from right up the street at their incestuously connected sister location, Flore. I’ve already let you gawk at my raw jicama tacos from Flore, and I’ve also let you fondle my seitan quesadilla, so how about I let you slide right into 2nd base with my Avocado and Seitan salad?

A bed of mixed greens with sliced avocado, daikon sprouts, grilled seitan, tomato and red onion (no thanks). You get a choice of dressings, I picked the miso as suggested by the super friendly waitress (they are known for having a somewhat disinterested staff… the exception is this nice gal whose name I don’t know, but she’s always fast & sweet & deserving of good tips). I’m not exactly sure what the dark sauce is but I got a tinge of tamari from it. This salad totally hit the spot, everything so perfectly fresh and the seitan grilled to magical perfection. I don’t know how they do it but their seitan tastes remarkably like chicken. If you are someone who’s still having a tough time getting over the meat addiction, give Flore’s seitan a try… I guarantee it will help to scratch that itch without adding any dead chicken karma weight to your conscious. This delightful lunch was shared with Your Vegan Mom to one side of me, and (celebrity spotting alert) Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes!) at the table to my right. There’s nothing better than enjoying a leisurely lunch with a fine vegan mama while sitting a mere three feet away from a villain with the power to slice off the top of my skull to get at what’s inside my brain. These are the things that help keep life exciting.

What… you’re ready to go again so soon? Alright… let’s have at it.

This is the Portabella Panini: marinated grilled portabella mushroom with soy mozzarella, kale and creamy dill dressing on organic ciabatta bread. Served with potato salad, side salad or fruit. I of course, citing a lack of fattening carbs that day, opted for the potato salad.

This is my favorite sandwich that I’ve had at Flore so far, which is saying a lot because they’re all good! Before I picked it up or tasted it my first impression was that the bread looked dry. I couldn’t have been more wrong, this bread was incredible… oven fresh and really just so delicious. The mushrooms must have been marinated in some sort of secret nectar that only highly evolved 3rd degree elite chefs have access too because I’m telling you, this flavor was off the charts… fantastic. Anyone out there not like mushrooms? It’s only because you haven’t tasted these yet. The soy mozzarella had a thick consistency to it, almost more like a cottage cheese texture and the dill dressing pulled everything together into one cohesive collection of yum.

You know how every once in a rare while you come across one of those those legendary sorts of sandwiches, the kind that come to mind when you’re impossibly far away from where they’re located, and stuck fantasizing about just how much you’d give up for one bite of a perfect sandwich? Well my friends, this is that sandwich… and all you have to give up for it is a little over $10. It’s not super cheap but after eating it you will be in such awe that you’ll request they charge you extra for it just for having allowed you the privilege of eating it. Yes, it really is that good.

In summation, go eat at Flore all the time because your mouth & body will thank you… if they ever go out of business you don’t want to be the one to blame. And since no one has any clue what’s happening with The Vegan Spot, I’d suggest getting out there as soon as possible if you have any intention of ever trying their cheesesteak, Twinkies or any of the other great stuff on their menu… before it’s too late!

Update: See the follow up post here- The Vegan Spot continued: Reubens & Twinkies

I was never big into giant meaty sandwiches even when I still ate flesh. There’s just something about a bunch of thinly sliced, dripping pink meat smothered in oil and onions that’s always been repulsive to me. Pastrami sandwiches, Reubens, Roast Beef and Philly Cheesesteaks were just never the stuff my foodie dreams were made off… not the real versions of them anyway.

Now, we’ve already discussed just how much I love me a good faux Reuben sandwich, but how about some other variety of previously disgusting cuisine made lovable? That’s where The Vegan Spot in Silver Lake comes to the rescue with their remarkable all-vegan Philly Cheesesteak.

I’d previously read some good reviews of this place over at the Your Vegan Mom and Quarrygirl blogs and I couldn’t wait to try it out for myself. The Vegan Spot was started by one of the women who also opened Flore right up the street, so I figured it had to be good. And good it was!

Alright, so I’ve never had a real Philly Cheesesteak and the one time I visited Philidelphia I got dumped and had a miserable time. What I can tell you about this sandwich though, without having anything to compare it to, was that it was fantastic! They make their own meaty stuffing and cheese sauce there, and while I have no idea what they’re doing back there in that kitchen, it’s nothing short of pure vegan genius. The meat I believe is some sort of seitan concoction, thinly sliced and to me reminiscent in flavor and texture to a Greek style gyro. It tastes and feels incredibly realistic… real enough to fool my meat-loving dad into thinking it’s the real thing, and real enough to probably freak-out the vegetarians out there who can’t hang with faux-meats. Me, I love the faux… so I say bring it.

The cheese sauce was some of the best pretend cheese I’ve had anywhere. It was supposed to be like cheddar, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t have that sharp note to it that cheddar is known for. I could tell it had mustard in it, and most likely (totally guessing here) it had nutritional yeast as well. Amazing how they got the flavor and texture so close. Would a bonafide real-cheese eating connoisseur think it was real cheddar cheese? No, mostly likely not, but they probably wouldn’t consider that crap that’s kept in heated buckets at the local 7-11 for nachos to be real cheese either, and apparently it is. Unless someone went in there with a “I’m going to hate everything vegan just because it’s vegan” stick up their butt (you know the type), they’d be hard pressed not to admit this stuff is the bomb.

Here’s a close-up so that those of you out in the middle of nowhere can partake in the fantasy, imagining yourselves about to bite into this miracle of decadent indulgence smothered in cruelty-free melted delight…

The sandwich came served on a thick and fresh French roll along with an equally fresh side salad. It would normally also come with grilled onions, but… ewwwwww.

I absolutely loved this beast of a meal and can’t wait to go back and try everything else on The Vegan Spot menu. Los Angeles has been all abuzz about the vegan Twinkies that they serve as well, created by the lovely JennShaggy. The only problem is that they are so good and so popular that they’re selling out faster than the poor girl can bake them! Every time I’ve been there in search of a Twinkie they were out, but I sure hope the stars will align for me one of these days so that I’ll end up there at the right time and get to try one.

They don’t seem to have a website yet so I have no choice but to point you to the very mixed reviews over at Yelp:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-vegan-spot-los-angeles.

The reviews range from those who fanatically love the place to those who judge it based on the fact that they don’t like being served by hipsters and/or hippies or who’d rather complain about the murals on the walls than talk about the actual food. Whatever… don’t go into the heart of the most hipsterfied neighborhood in town if you’ve got a problem with “hip” people serving you, problem solved. The food was awesome, the place was clean and the people working there were all friendly and helpful… what more do you need? Try the place out and make up your own mind, I’m willing to bet you’ll leave happy and stuffed. If you do manage to snag a couple of Twinkies while you’re there, please save one for me!