Our first stop upon landing in LA was at a wonderful little family owned restaurant aptly named Vegan Glory. This small restaurant serves up some of the best vegan food in LA, all influenced by traditional Asian flavors.
Each of us (me, my sister, my mom and my dad) ordered one of the lunch special curries in different colors: green, yellow or red. The yellow curry with vegan shrimp (yep! shrimp made of soy) was our favorite! Surprisingly the shrimp had both the texture and flavor of shrimp and its uniqueness made it a very memorable part of the meal! The lunch specials come with purple rice, a side salad, and an egg roll - a very generous amount of food, all of which were delicious. This remains our favorite vegan meal from the trip; Vegan Glory certainly lived up to its name.
For Fathers' day breakfast we headed over to Shaky Alibi. I know, sketchy name right?, but after reading about this little waffle shop in the airline magazine during the flight, we wanted to give it a try. Selling only Belgian waffles and a multitude of morning beverages, this quaint little eatery lets you customize your waffle with toppings ranging from fresh blueberries to a slather of speculoos. I opted for a more traditional variation with fresh berries and pecans, but you can create some pretty wild combinations with what is on the menu here. Keep in mind though, that all of their waffles come with a dusting of powdered sugar - even the savory ones (with eggs and sausage), so if sweet and savory isn't your thing, stick with fruity toppings. I would definitely recommend trying one of their hot teas, which pair perfectly with the waffles and are served on a little tray with an individual tea pot and mismatched ceramic tea cup. This cute breakfast shop is an instant favorite!
After spending the morning exploring the gardens at the Huntington Library, we worked up a pretty big appetite, bringing us to our second vegan meal of the trip. Just inland of Santa Monica Pier lies RFD (Real Food Daily), a vegan hotspot in LA. Toby Macquire ate here just hours before us! This vegan restaurant is the type that creates a vegan spin on classic American dishes, like mac and cheese or pizza. The humongous burrito was fantastic - and big enough to feed four - and while the food was pretty obviously vegan-ified, it was fun to try classic favorites in a new way. We loved the star factor that this restaurant ensued and the waiters assured us that Toby Macguire wasn't the first celebrity to drop by.
After watching Mario Lopez filming Extra we debated leaving the Grove to make our reservation at Katsuya, but we ultimately decided not to pass up a good bento box - and we are very pleased we didn't! The meal started with miso soup and salad - both of which were better than any we've had before: both intensely flavorful while enticing our appetites for the meal to come - and then came the bento box. The very reasonably priced, 14 dollar bento box. I got the vegetarian version, which came with veggie sushi, mixed vegetable tempura, and tofu steamed and served with some sort of red chili pepper/ shitake mushroom sauce. Overall the meal was satisfying but light and very delicious. I preferred the california roll (that came with the salmon bento) to the veggie one, probably just because I am a crab lover, but you can definitely taste the fresh ingredients used here. The tempura was crispy and not greasy at all, and the iced green tea was strong and refreshing, perfect to wash down this classic Japanese meal. Fantastic lunch! Now back to the Grove...
Back at the Grove we found the first bubble tea on our California adventure inside the Farmers' Market. There was a tea stand set up with hundreds of tea tins filled with exotic dried leaves and flower petals. I selected a rose green tea with no milk and no sugar - I can't stand sweet tea. It was good, but I prefer the floral flavors of the tea at Momoko in Austin, TX - I find they have more floral flavor and less green tea flavor. Overall, not an outstanding tea.
P.S. if you are looking to try the best bubble tea around, Momoko in Austin makes the best. Select a light flowery tea with half sugar or else it is much too sweet to enjoy.
Who can come to Los Angeles without going to Disneyland? Not this family of Disney lovers! Coming with slightly low expectations after enjoying Disney World so highly, we were not expecting to be wowed by the much smaller Sleeping Beauty castle, or the classic - albeit few- rides. We ended up spending the whole day here and wanted to spend another on the recently erected California Adventure. It was the most fun we'd had so far and didn't want it to end. Another plus to this "happy place" was the food! Micky Mouse everything: from pretzels to ice cream, everything tastes better in Disneyland!
Our last meal in LA before heading out to Santa Barbara and on to San Fransisco, was enjoyed at Off Vine. A charming cafe style restaurant located in a small, yellow-painted house just outside the heart of Hollywood. Again, we found plenty of vegetarian options. Pictured above is the non-vegetarian chicken salad (really light and yummy!). I ordered the pistachio crusted vegan chicken breast served with green beans and mashed potatoes. I love the new vegan twists on classic foods and this was no exception! I couldn't even tell that I wasn't eating real chicken and I love that this meal was light but also very satisfying.
At this restaurant, we also experienced perhaps the best chocolate souffle we ever will (outside of France). It was rich, airy, and not too sweet. Notice the cute individual ruffles of whipped cream - no worrying that you won't get your fair share. Also notice how someone dug in before the picture could be taken - it was just to inviting!
That pretty much sums up our days in Los Angeles in food. Santa Barbara and San Fransisco are coming up in the next post, so stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment