Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I just moved here, I've already been exploring the city, but there is so much I don't know yet....it's huge.

Tell me where to go, what to do, what makes this city great/terrible. I live on the east side, near Silverlake, but would love to hear about different areas too.

I'm moving there next year but I'm going to be in LA from Thurs the 28th to Nov 2nd if you want to meet up and explore vegan eats!

Things I love about LA: seeing places from all of my favorite movies (the LA River is really made of concrete, just like in Chinatown. Whee); near the beach; tons of veggie dining

Things I hate about LA: sitting in miserable traffic to get anywhere; lack of public transportation

Things that used to be good about LA: used to have beautiful weather -- now apparently we have the same weather as the Pacific Northwest. Hello fog.

I live in West LA, which I define as the area between Westwood and Santa Monica. I'm not from here though, so that might not be the official definition. Some things worth checking out near my neighborhood are:

Restaurants:

Real Food Daily (Santa Monica Blvd at 5th, Santa Monica)-- I don't care what anyone says; I love this place. Some of my favorites are the seitan club, the TV Dinner and their interesting specials.


Swingers Dinner (Broadway at 7th or so, Santa Monica) -- not vegan, but plenty of vegan choices like sloppy joe, breakfast burritos and homemade veggie burgers with avocado.


California Vegan (Santa Monica Blvd at Bundy, West LA) -- vegan thai food; apparently there are lots of these all over LA, but this one is closest to me. Tasty curry, thai iced tea and orange chicken.

Madelaine Bistro in the Valley (a 10 minute drive from here on weekend and a 2 hour drive on weekdays) -- I think this is the only upscale vegan dining in LA. It's fantastic.


Sites to visit:
the Getty Center, Santa Monica Pier, Will Rogers State Beach

My boyfriend and I are leaving this Saturday to drive to LA and then to Vegas!!! So stoked to go to Trader Joes on the way!!!

I am also a Real Food Daily fan; I think it's my favorite though I have not yet made it to Madelaines.

I love MCafe but I just read that the Culver City location closed? I am beyond sad if this is true.

Veggie Grill. Yummmmmm.

Oooh, restaurant suggestions, I haven't been to any of those places, although my boyfriend has been talking about Real Food Daily lately. It was my birthday the other day, but I didn't have time to celebrate, so I'm going to go out for a "fancy" dinner today or tomorrow, maybe I'll check that out. I really like Flore in Silverlake. Super delicious and all vegan (I think).

I am fascinated by the LA river--I read a book about it in school before I ever even thought of moving here and it was really interesting, lots of info. about why LA is so big (areas annexed just to obtain water rights), how the river was moved, and good general information about the city's history. I think the book was just called The LA River.

I love walking around and looking at all the vegetation here. I'm from the east coast and most recently Ohio, so the plant life is just so different. I love succulents and the contrast between urban and nature is wonderful here. Although almost entirely artificial and made by wasting a ton of water....but yeah. The architecture and mountains are awesome too. I think I'm going to try geocaching as a way to explore the city because it's outdoors, free, and looks like a lot of fun.

Surprisingly the driving hasn't been that bad for me, although WAY different than the small college town in Ohio I came from. I don't know if I would have made it without a GPS. I'm already on my second house here (in two months, it's been crazy) and being able to walk a lot of places was definitely a priority. That and allowing big dogs. Where I live now I can walk many of the places I need to go, which is wonderful.

Anyway, love the LA convos, looking to learn and explore as much as I can. VeganFood, message me closer to when you'll be here, maybe we can get together!

There's an LA River bike ride in the spring with varying distances (7 miles up to 60, I think) and all flat! I also love biking the beach path.

Driving around at certain times of the day is fine, but during any sort of rush hours it can be mind-bending. The GPS is a necessity for me, still, especially if I need to re-route on the fly.

Visit Point Dume in Malibu. It's beautiful.

must try chili addiction in west hollywood..sooo good and the owners are really nice!

I am flying out Thursday and will be there til Tuesday. I will pm you next week!

You must go to Pure Luck. They have fried pickle chips, yes.

Rahel Veggie Ethiopian cuisine... omg my mouth is watering just thinking about this.

Cruzer VEGAN PIZZA. I mean, come on. Shut the front door. It's amazing, and if you live nearby they deliver.

Flore is wonderful for brunch! If you like vegan benedict, you'll be a happy camper!

I know I have more. The best thing to do, really, is to visit the quarrygirlwebsite, they have been EVERYWHERE and took pictures. Dang, I'm hungry now.

OH NO! That can't be true! My heart would break. The Culver City one has the tapas and wine! What a bummer.

I'm from Santa Barbara, not LA, but the Mister and I occasionally make trips down which are often very food-centered and just returned from an overnight getaway.

I heartily second Pure luck. AMAZING.

Vinh Loi Tofu - vegan Vietnamese in Reseda, the owner is super nice vegan dude and they make all of their own mock-meats and tofu (must try the chili lemongrass tofu!)

Also already mentioned Rahel Ethiopian in little Ethiopia

All these restaurant suggestions have me pretty excited!!!

If you find yourself anywhere near the Mandoline Grill truck, do yourself a favor and hunt it down. Best lemongrass tofu ever. EVER. And the owner/chef, Mong, is super cool and loves her some vegans.

You'll also want to consult the results of quarrygirl's Operation Pancake, AKA Will Green Leaves Ever Get Their Useless shiitake Together.

That said, Pure Luck is pretty freaking fantastic and one of the first places I take omnis on my food tour of LA. Also on that list is Veggie Grill and Native Foods. I just can't resist that Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger. Speaking of which, Native Foods is apparently taking over M Cafe's lease in Culver City. So, I suppose it's not a total wash.

I haven't tried Shojin yet in Little Tokyo, but hot damn do they look tasty. Vegan Japanese food, including sushi? Yes please.

YES! I read that on quarrygirl, too. I am sad to see that M Cafe location go, but I am very happy to hear that Native Foods will be in a far more convenient location (for me, anyway)! I will be there when they open, with bells on!

The best veg food in LA is Follow Your Heart, out in Canoga Park. It's a hike to get out there, but it's 100% worth it. I moved away from Southern California about five years ago and I still dream about their burritos.

I'm a longtime Eastsider too - I've lived in Silver Lake, Highland Park, and Altadena and now Eagle Rock. There are so many great vegan options on this side of town. Not everything is worth a field trip, but if you find yourself out this way there are tons of choices.

Blue Hen, Eagle Rock - Really good, fresh Vietnamese food. Not all veggie but lots of vegan options.
Good Girl Dinette, Highland Park - same as above.
Four Cafe, Eagle Rock - lots of organic, good for a quick lunch.
O'Happy Days, Altadena - the most legit, 70's style, all vegan HFS and lunch counter. Crazy low prices on prepared foods. Always a soup of the day. I adore this place. You almost always get to share a table with retired rocket scientists and other neighborhood characters.
Bulan, Silverlake - crazy good vegan Thai. Crispy fish with green apples! Kabocha curry! So good.

Welcome, visitors! We promise the sun will be back in time for the holidays.

Is there a source on this other than quarrygirl though?

QG is more 'in the know' with the LA vegan scene than pretty much anyone else I know, and I haven't seen her 'scoops' be wrong yet. *shrug*

It was just posted about on the 21st, and I haven't seen any follow up either way. I suppose we will have to wait and see.

Yeah, I think we're just going to have to sit tight and wait it out. I haven't heard of it anywhere else, either. Has M Cafe actually closed yet? I'll have my friend works at Culver City scope out the joint for signs of life...

Are there any good vegan stores(not food)? I already know about Alternative Outfitters and may take a trip since I'm not going to be far from Pasadena but what else is out there?

I love RFD. It's about an hour from where I live, but it is worth the splurge. I know there are way more vegan options I have to try when I'm out there, but it's tough to pass up a sure thing.

I live in Silverlake now, after five years in mid-city.

My favorite vegan eats include:

Madeleine's Bistro (I ate their mock fish sandwich and thought what the fizzle, is this why people eat fish sandwiches!? It's f-ing amazing. I think it's the tartar sauce, honestly.)
Pure Luck
Flore (at Sunset Junction)
Native Foods (fingers crossed that they're opening a location in Culver City)
Cruzers Pizza
Bulan Thai Vegetarian (lots of vegan options, including vegan hot wings that are amazing)
Elf Cafe (all vegetarian, my absolute favorite in my pregan days, but still excellent with many vegan options)
Tony's Darts Away in Burbank (vegan sausages, vegan beers, LOVE IT)

I still haven't been out to Follow Your Heart, but it's on my list.

Someday we should have a Los Angeles meet up. :)

I LOVE the food in LA, I'm excited to come do a book signing in January, so I can eat myself silly.