Post Punk Kitchen Forum

The husband and I just moved here so we're getting our proverbial vegan tootsies wet in SD. Anyone else in the OB/Pt Loma/Pac Beach area who could lend some sage advice to a couple of noobs?

OB: People's Co-op! The best. They have a vegan deli upstairs and a great selection of locally sourced organic fruits and veggies. And then Stephanie's Bakery is right down the street. There's a Rancho's nearby (I haven't been to that location yet) and there's a raw place; look up Peace Pies or check them at the Wednesday pm OB Farmer's Market!

Welcome!

And Stephanie's is the best, but don't rely on their website for accurate store hours, I think you have to call. Or you'll stroll up perfectly within business hours to find out they've been closed all day and don't open on Tuesdays or something weird like that. But if you get there at the right time, it's cool because you can get your strudel and take it to the beach to eat it.

Stephanie's is vegan? I look out my kitchen window and I see their pink sign. And there's a deli upstairs in @ People's? A VEGAN deli?!?!

Dude. My whole world has been blown.

[Yes I'm aware I just wrote 'Dude']

omg, you live across the street from Stephanie's and you didn't know it was vegan!

holy crepe! their baked goods are great, especially the black forest streudel and their pizza is off the hook!


tell us where you've eaten and we'll tell you where else you need to eat! oh and you live in OB, so if you haven't been to Rancho's get there immediately!

We haven't eaten out anywhere yet, so I suppose we need to start, like, immediately. Yeah, when I sit at the kitchen table and I look out the window [normally, not craning my neck or anything] all I see is that big bright pink sign. I honestly thought it was shut down because it never seems to be open. But I guess that has to do with their weird hours. Oh I'm so excited now!

While there will always be a giant hole in my heart where Mandarin Dynasty used to be, if you're willing to venture a little East to North Park, try Loving Hut.
There's going to be a Vegan Thanksgiving Celebration Sunday, Nov. 21, at UCSD's East Ballroom. Tofurkey is providing the roasts, and guests are supposed to bring a side or dessert. Admission is $5 with food, or $15 without.

This sounds awesome! We don't really know anyone here yet nor do we have any family west of Florida. Thanks for the heads up!

I go to UCSD! How did I not know about vegan Thanksgiving (outside of my house)! To try and be helpful I will add that you should go to Sipz. It's not in your hood, but it is crazy tasty. They have all different types of Asian favorites with your choice of mock meats (I love the chicken Thai basil) and veggie sushi! And, for some reason, they make awesome banana cake!

If someone was going to visit San Diego for a few days what would you recommend seeing/doing/eating? I like museums and nature or historical stuff, not so much touristy group bus tours or whatever. Is it easy to get around without a car?

Sipz, OMG yes. Sipz. Yummmm.

Pixel: I love Balboa Park. There are gardens galore. The Prado restaurant has a great black bean soup (tell them to hold the sour cream or whatever) and awesome hummus that everyone gets automatically with these crispy flat bread thingies.

Anyway, so yes, just for wandering around, or the Japanese Gardens or the rose garden or the succulent garden or the arboretum garden. (If you like gardens or plants, Balboa Park is a great place.)

I'm ever so glad that we ended up here! I <3 you San Diego for not only staying classy but for also offering some really incredible vegan deliciousness!

Totally don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but Sipz has been pretty sketchy over the years. They had peanuts with gelatin that were used for garnish and peanut sauce for years which I personally saw with my own eyes. They have been on and off with soy meats with whey and/or eggs but they will never honestly say this even though people saw the ingredients on the bags. A former employee who is vegan (the owners are not vegan) informed us some of the sauces had fish sauce as an ingredient. The drinks contain "non-dairy creamer" with no other info as to what that means and are imported from Asia so they most likely contain casienate like virtually all "non-dairy creamer." The place is for sure sketch.

Good places to eat.... Evolution (formerly Nature's Express) next to Balboa Park. Pretty good and it's 100% vegan. "Chicken" chipotle sandwich is the best thing there by far. It's all fast food and pizza.

OB People's as everyone else has said. The deli is almost 100% vegan although there is cheese for sandwiches and I believe the soup crackers aren't vegan. The food is awesome though.

Stephanie's has some killer desserts but they are quite pricey these days and the quality went down.

My favorite place to eat in San Diego hands down is Harar Ethiopian on El Cajon and Texas. Just get the Vegetarian combo, delicious. All the San Diego Ethiopian places have vegan food but that's my favorite of all the different restaurants.

Most people LOVE Pokez downtown. Mexican food with vegan options. Huge burritos, fajitas, etc. Just be warned, they only have one deep fryer and they deep dry meat in it, so chips, chimichangas, rolled tacos, flautas, etc. are out if you are bothered by that.

Also, Jyoti Bihanga in Normal Heights is a vegetarian cult-ish restaurant. They have a great Neatloaf sandwich (but you MUST ask for it to be vegan otherwise the loaf has eggs and cheese). Also they have Sunday brunch 3 Sundays of the month and a good portion of the food is vegan.

David

PS. Native Foods is opening in SD sometime in the near future. That should be awesome.

I am so excited about Native Foods opening! They were supposed to open in 2010 according to something I read a while ago, but that obviously didn't happen. I even emailed them about it and they said they had no idea when it would happen.
Have you been to Loving Hut? If Sipz is really that sketchy Loving Hut is a good Sipz replacement and they are all vegan and a national chain, so I trust them.

Due to things being how they are, we're really on a tight budget. Thus our MoFo theme is "on a budget" [very creative, I know hehe]. Anyhow, our three year wedding anniversary is coming up in four days and my birthday is next month so if we decide we want to go out to eat, we have to make sure it counts. So I need two vegan spots in San Diego that's really worth the money. Go.

My boyfriend and I had our last anniversary dinner at The Prado in Balboa Park, which I think someone mentioned earlier. Sit outside on the patio--it is gorgeous. They have a veggie platter that is not on the menu and is amazingly tasty and changes depending on what kind of veggies they got in that day. Ok, it might be a plate of sides, but it is the best plate of sides I have ever eaten. I was still vegetarian when I had it, though, so you would probably want to talk to them to double-check if they can make it vegan-friendly.

Another option is George's California Modern near La Jolla Cove. Really nice place with awesome views of the ocean. The back page of the menu is all vegetarian, with those dishes that are vegan or veganizable (pretty much everything) clearly marked.

Slightly less fancy shmancy, but still nice is Alchemy in South Park (right next to Hamilton's!). They have a three course veggie prix fixe every Wednesday that always has me drooling (you can see the menu on their facebook page).

I've also been hearing really good things from friends about Spread in North Park. They are a farm-driven small plates restaurant. I think it's technically a vegetarian restaurant, but from what I have heard, lots of things are already vegan or are veganizable.

Hope this helps!

Thanks! Always appreciate the feedback!

did you want fancy dinner or just two recommendations for restaurants?

If I wanted a non fancy dinner out I'd probably go to Jyoti Bihanga and get the vegan neatloaf platter or sandwich. Or, I know it's your anniversary and all, but Stephanie's makes awesome pizza, so I might just get a pizza and a few desserts from there. That won't break the bank, but it will still be super yummy. Or maybe dinner at Ranchos and dessert from Stephanies. Oh! or Sushi Deli in hillcrest!

Oooh Sushi Deli! Get the veggie combo and take it to Balboa Park to eat. One of my favorite date-y things to do!

Stephanie's works for us because, like I said before, we can see it from our kitchen window right across the street. As for Ranchos I've been told to go there too so this sounds pretty workable.

I've also been told about Loving Hut. Anyone's input on that?

Loving Hut is awesome. They have a really good chicken drumstick something or another that was kinda weird but tasty! And pho. Everything I've had there was awesome, though.

And it's affordable! I remember being surprised at our check when we had gotten two appetizers and two entrees, but I don't remember the price exactly.

Not exactly the fanciest of the fancy, though. If I was going for some sort of mood I'd probably do Ranchos. I don't know if you can eat outside at that Ranchos, but do that if you can! I love their little porch thingie.

Excellent. We're not really fancy schmancy kind of people. Very very casual. So Loving Hut sounds good! Thanks Fee

yeah. loving hut is great! i also have liked everything I've gotten there!

Spread is amazing. I always want to go there but it is pricey. It is right near the North Park Ranchos so you could check it out and go to Ranchos if you don't like what you see. They have always accommodated and the food is awesome.

I love Lovin' Hut and hate that it is closed on Sundays. Predictable and delicious all the time. (Predictable being a good thing. Consistent.)

Question to the peanut gallery: What do you like at Ranchos? I don't go there often, but I always end up slightly disappointed. I think I like the idea of Ranchos more than Ranchos itself. But I could be convinced! Any suggestions? The only constraint is that I hate avocado...