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

Soul food is the new black. Just a few years ago, for most of us the concept of vegetarian and vegan soul food was unheard of. Today I know of at least three mostly vegan soul food restaurants in Los Angeles, and for all I know there might even be more.

Vegisoul Vegetarian Take-Out has been serving tasty vegan soul food in the West Adams area of South Central since 2004. Located very close to USC in an area that both suffers from a bad reputation and is lacking in healthy & vegetarian options, this is one of the last places you’d expect to find BBQ fake chicken, vegan ribs, assorted veggie burgers, seasoned seitan, blackened tofu and stuffed yams (their most popular item). And yet, there it is, beckoning to you from behind it’s welcoming yellow signs.

There’s so much good stuff to choose from at Vegisoul so it took me a while to decide what to order. I finally settled on the BBQ Combo: “Fibbs” (fake ribs) & chik’un, red beans, brown rice and choice of greens, spinach or cucumber salad. I really liked the fluffy brown rice and tasty beans. The cucumber salad was only lightly dressed but it was both fresh and refreshing. I hate onions but at least they were in big chunks that were easily dispensed with.
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Tags: bbq, macaroni & cheese, soul food

[UPDATE: Feb. 1, 2008] Doomie’s has closed :(

Here’s the original post:
At this point it’s no exaggeration to say that there’s a new vegan or vegetarian restaurant opening in Los Angeles every five minutes. The vegan Thai places seem to multiply like bunnies almost overnight, while the more specialized and unique vegetarian focused restaurants are in no sort supply either. It really is a good time to be a vegetarian in L.A. and everyone who lives here should count themselves lucky in regard to the sheer number of awesome food choices that abound. And now I’m happy to report there’s yet another new restaurant to add to the list… and guess what? It’s not Thai food!

Doomie’s Home Cookin’ just opened up this last weekend in the heart of Chinatown. That in and of itself is super awesome because there’s very little that’s edible for a vegetarian in Chinatown. The area is brimming with all manner of animal horrors everywhere you look, from chickens, ducks and whole baby pigs roasting on skewers in restaurant windows, to the shops along Spring St. that will sell you live sea creatures or poultry… you know, for those who prefer to slaughter their own (how quaint). Doomie’s is like a breath of fresh air in a sea of stench, and I mean that literally. Have you walked past any of those deathpits lately? The foul odors are unbearable. To counter this, Doomie’s shines like a 2nd story beacon, a helping hand from the upper balcony, happy to help you rise above the dubious carcass parties swirling on the streets down below.

Described as offering “meat free versions of classic American diner fare”, that’s exactly what you’ll find at Doomie’s… comfort food for your vegan soul. We’re talking appetizers like: Chili Cheese Fries, Fried Calamari, Buffalo Legs, Chicken Fingers & Shrimp Cocktail. Soups like: French Onion & Clam Chowder. And then there’s the main courses: a Classic Burger, a Chili Cheeseburger, Sloppy Joes, Philly Cheesesteak, Chicken Salad, Meatball sandwich, BLT, BBQ Pulled Pork, Chili Cheese Dog, Southern Fried Chicken, Pot Roast, Meatloaf, Chicken Parmesan, Country Fried Steak, Shrimp Scampi, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Lemon Chicken Picatta, Seafood Combo… and that’s not even all of it.

Don’t let the names scare you off, everything here is vegan! They do also offer real cheese for the non-vegans, so be sure to specify (but all the meaty bits are vegan, that is not a leg from a real buffalo!). Seeing as how I adore the jackfruit “pulled pork” sandwich at Pure Luck, I figured I needed to try the version at Doomie’s to see how it stands up.

First things first, the sandwich comes served with Doomie’s vegan macaroni & cheese. You know what? This was the best veganized mac & cheese I’ve had anywhere. The previous holder of that title was Taste of Life’s mac & cheese which is just divine. Well, if theirs is divine, than Doomie’s is for sure heaven sent… this stuff is the bomb! The best way I can describe it to you is to say that it tastes exactly as if it had come right out of a blue Kraft mac & cheese box. If you gave this to your average normal macaroni and cheese eater, they would seriously have no clue that you’d pulled a vegan switcharoo on them (no, I don’t advocate tricking people, but this would surely do the trick). This is seriously as authentic as it gets. I’ve had a number of different encounters with various vegan mac & cheese offerings in my day, and while even the best have been incredible good, Doomie’s wins by a landslide.

Now let’s get back to the sandwich… BBQ Pulled Pork, southern style. I’m no Southern gal so I can’t tell you if that claim holds water, but what I can tell you is that this sucker was finger lickin’ good… for reals, it was all over my fingers. I believe the faux-pork is seitan based and it’s all slathered up in a most delicious, sweet & smoky BBQ sauce. It was absolutely delicious, with the filling having an incredibly realistic meaty taste and texture… I kept thinking how I could feed this to any meat lover and unless told, they wouldn’t even guess it wasn’t real flesh they were eating. For those how can’t deal with fake stuff that tastes too much like the real thing, stay away from this beast because it will probably make you cry. On the other hand, those like myself who relish the taste and skills involved with recreating veganized versions of their meaty counterparts… you have met your new favorite sandwich. The entrees come with cole slaw and a side of fries, onion rings or fruit. Don’t you like how I pretended to go the more healthy and less fattening route by choosing fruit? Who do I think I’m kidding?

I had the opportunity to chat with the man himself, Mr. Doomie, who is an extremely cool guy (only extremely cool guys are allowed to wear Cocteau Twins t-shirts). His passion for good food is obvious and he’s wants to provide the vegan community with delicious food that does not compromise. He’s really intent on creating food that tastes as close as possible to the real comfort foods we all know and loved. His goal is to have it look and taste as real as possible and not like a wimpy, nutty granola vegan knockoff. He’s even devised a way to get fatty “skin” on his fried chicken, something I can’t freakin’ wait to try on my next visit. Hello? Did you hear that… vegan fried chicken… with skin, yo! Sure it sounds gross when you think about real chickens, but for me knowing it’s not a real animal does away with the gross factor completely and all I can think about is sinking my teeth in, and again, lickin’ some greasy fingers.

They’ll be adding more desserts in the future but for now another treat offered at Doomie’s is vegan J-ello, ehm, gell-o. Yup, now you can relive your childhood with blue and red j-ello, without having to ingest horse and cow bones in the process. How delightful! If only all childhoods could be bone marrow & cartilage-food free.

The g-ello was tasty with a tartly sweet punch of flavor. The texture is slightly thicker than real j-ello, a giveaway that it’s made with agar-agar. They did a good job though, it’s pretty easy to mess up with agar-agar and turn the whole thing into chewy rubber, but that was not the case here, the j-ello was quite a treat. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what other dessert offerings are yet to come.

Location wise, Doomie’s couldn’t be better situated. It’s on the second floor at 686 N. Spring St, inside of Roberto’s nightclub (that’s just down Ord St., the same little side street that Phillipe’s French Dip is on). They’ve got a giant space with an even bigger outdoor patio which provides stunning views of of Chinatown, downtown and beyond. What I love about this location is that it’s within a very short walking distance from not one, but two Metro stops. You can either get off at the Union Station Red Line stop or the Chinatown Gold Line stop, it’s pretty much the same distance from both (less than a ten minute walk). The one downside for them is that unless you know it’s up there, you really wouldn’t know it’s up there. That said, hopefully the word will spread quickly to help get and keep this place busy all the time… hey, I’m doing my part! Even though they just opened and are working out some of the kinks, I feel the potential here will be unlimited if they play it right.

To that end, I’ll admit I was a little bit confused when I first got there. I went on Sunday afternoon which is apparently the one day a week that the East Los Angeles Bikers Club (ELA) use the patio for a meeting. I didn’t know if I’d entered a restaurant or a sports bar. They were kinda loud and verging on rowdy… but unless you’re one of those people who’s afraid of everything and everyone, they weren’t intimidating… just boisterously friendly. At one point they all shuffled into a nearby room and disappeared for a while, apparently for their official meeting and then they all filtered out. They only gather out there on Sundays I was told, so if you just can’t hang with dark & handsome tattooed Latino biker boys surrounding you while you eat (hey, I ain’t complaining!), go on any other day (closed Mondays), otherwise just know that Sundays there will be a bit of an adventure.

In case you haven’t figured it out by now I’m super excited about this place and I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops. If everything else on the menu is as good as what I had on my first visit, my diet is in for a world of hurt.
www.myspace.com/doomieshomecookin

p.s.- they also have free WiFi.

Tags: bbq, jello, macaroni & cheese, sandwich

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

Tags: bbq, Japanese, mochi, seitan

I was down on Melrose to photograph some street art which of course lent itself as the perfect excuse for lunch at M Café de Chaya. But really, who needs an excuse when food this good is just a hop, skip and a jump away?

What we have here is the “Carolina-Style Barbequed Seitan Sandwich” consisting of “thinly sliced grilled seitan basted with our own zesty barbeque sauce and piled high on a house-baked whole heat bun with grilled onions, pickles, and creamy (vegan) coleslaw”. I got it with out the onions, natch, and had the peanuty kale salad on the side.

Maybe I was just really hungry after all the walking I’d just done (Highland to Fairfax thru the Melrose alleys then back up thru the alleys across the street). but everything about this meal was phenomenal. The delicious seitan was chewy and meaty, the texture reminding me a bit of Chinese restaurant-style BBQ pork (you know, the kind that’s usually some ungodly shade of florescent pink). The BBQ sauce was excellent, more on the sweet side than the spicy side but still with a nice, peppery kick to it. The bun was perfectly fresh, nicely toasted and had that wholesome goodness flavor to it. The salad was lovely too, the flavors of kale and peanut playing very well together.

I have yet to taste anything at M Café de Chaya that isn’t amazing. May that day never come.

Tags: bbq, seitan

Los Angeles county may be burning down around me, but that doesn’t put a damper on my good mood. Why? Well, because Pure Luck is now open during the day and serving lunch. That’s why.

Pictured is “Todd’s BBQ Sandwich: BBQ jackfruit “pulled pork” with pickles and vegan mayo on a french roll”. I loved it, truly a finger lickin’ good sorta thing. The bread was perfectly crispy yet chewy, the jackfruit deliciously meaty yet light and the BBQ saucy perfectly sweet and tangy. This sandwich for sure gets two thumbs up. It comes with french fries or salad, and my salad was great. You might recall my last report on Pure Luck was mostly positive expect for the not so good salad. I was quite pleased to find they worked out their salad issues since my last visit, and this one was generous, fresh and tasty. The vegan Cesar salad dressing is really good.

You really must try this unique creation. You won’t believe how well jackfruit can pretend to be pork.

These are the equally fantastic “Palatanos Tacos: fried plantains and onions in a corn tortilla topped with sweet cream”. Got mine without onions and they were just divine. Yes, divine. Really. I don’t know what the sweet cream is made of but I can tell you that it’s sweet, and that it’s cream and that it’s so yummy you’ll wish you had an extra bowl of it so that you could eat it with a spoon. The whole shebang is a little bit greasy, but after all, this stuff is essentially gussied-up bar food so you get what you came for. And now you can get what you came for at lunch time too!

Tags: bbq, jackfruit, plantains