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28 August, 2014

That time I ate all the vegan food in Los Angeles

Until about six months ago I never so much as entertained the thought of voluntarily going to Los Angeles. I’ve been to all but three of the fifty states and have traveled extensively within many of them, but Southern California did not register on my interest list. I’d already seen 90210.

Beer changed my mind. Beer and food. I co-organise London Vegan Beer Fest, so it seemed only reasonable to attend the vegan beer fest to end all beer fests: LA Vegan Food and Beer Festival. I was in the country anyway (albeit 3,000 miles away), so what the hell?

I won’t be wordy. For once. Lots of photos below, but none of Crossroads because it was dark and anyway it was one of the worst and most disappointing dining experiences of my life (although management recognised my poor experience and fully comped what little I had).

Viva La Vegan Grocery Store

LA was having a crazy heat wave while I was there, so I thought I’d walk a few miles from Venice Beach to Viva La Vegan in Santa Monica under the gaze of the direct sun. The store’s air conditioning was broken, but the sight of three freezers of vegan ice cream made me feel better, even if I couldn’t have it all. I would keep this place in business if it existed in London.

vegan grocery store

Viva la Vegan grocery store in Santa Monica

Flore Vegan Cuisine

I’d heard a lot about the brunch here, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. Biscuits and gravy sadly haven’t caught on in the UK, and nor has the brilliant concept of savoury and sweet breakfast food on the same plate. Naturally I had cheesecake for dessert.

Biscuits and Gravy and chocolate peanut butter cheesecake at Flore Vegan

Biscuits and Gravy and chocolate peanut butter cheesecake at Flore Vegan

Locali Conscious Convenience

I’m not sure whether MSG or the reuben sandwich are my soul food, but I’m certainly not going to turn either one down. This Locali sandwich is massive and also sells half portions, but who on earth would want to do themselves out of all the reuben?

Reuben sandwich

Vegan Reuben from Locali Deli

Sage Organic Vegan Bistro

Another favourite from this trip, the beer garden at the Culver City location is welcoming (and they have decent beer). I could eat these tacos every single day for the rest of my life and be happy.

KindKreme ice cream and fish tacos from Sage Organic Vegan Bistro in Culver City

KindKreme ice cream and fish tacos from Sage Organic Vegan Bistro in Culver City

Stuff I Eat, Seed Kitchen, and Doomies

Stuff I Eat was my first stop after leaving LAX, and it was a nice welcome to the city. Soul food is the ultimate comfort food, so it’s hard to be disappointed by it.

The burger from Seed Kitchen was 10000% better than I expected after seeing all of the macrobiotic information posted about the place. Maybe I ought not judge based on that, but I was sort of expecting a meal of bland on bland and it was anything but. Highly recommended if you’re in Venice.

The big mac from Doomies is the ultimate in holy shit this exists and it’s vegan and OMFG how am I going to actually eat all of this? I had half for dinner and half for breakfast. Doomie deserves an award.

Soul food platter and enchilada pie from Stuff I Eat, burger from Seed Kitchen, vegan big mac from Doomies

Soul food platter and enchilada pie from Stuff I Eat, burger from Seed Kitchen, vegan big mac from Doomies

LA Vegan Food and Beer Festival

An event to remember, I can’t put into words how wonderful a feeling it was to be surrounded by so. much. food. and. beer. And that every single thing was vegan. My only complaint was that I wanted it to last for a few days instead of a few hours, so I could have a fair chance at trying it all (but don’t worry, I made a solid effort).

LA Vegan Food and Beer Festival

LA Vegan Food and Beer Festival

Previous Post: « LA: Vegan Mexican dining (and judgement) at its best
Next Post: Vegan Mofo 2014: Thai Food and Travel »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laughfrodisiac says

    September 01, 2014 at 3:09 am

    Oh my goodness! Amazingggg! Why didn’t you take me? I’ve never been. Now I’m mad. Also I want to know all the dirt about Crossroads will you tell me later also I assume you are talking about the Britney Spears/Zoe Saldana/Pennsatucky road trip movie???

    Reply
    • Kip says

      September 01, 2014 at 3:04 pm

      Let’s reenact that movie, except no boys.

      Reply

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  • This is laap tod, a deep fried version of a popular salad in Thailand. Laap is a sour and spicy salad made with ground meat, lots of herbs, and crunchy ground toasted rice. To make laap tod this mixture is made into meatballs and fried. As you can see, it's perfectly possible to make a vegan version. I'll be serving this, along with the items below (subject to ingredient availability but I'm not anticipating any hiccups sourcing), at my next supper club on December 6. There are still a few tickets left. Link in bio and all that.⁠
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🟢Moo grop gratiem: Crunchy faux pork with fried garlic (welcome snack)⁠
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🟢Kaeng Boom Bae + Ajat: ancient Javanese inspired curry + cucumber relish⁠
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🟢Pad bai yee raa kaprow: aromatic shiitake + holy and tree basil stir fry⁠
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🟢Plaa takrai nam makaam: fried faux fish with tamarind and lemongrass sauce⁠
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🟢Yam woon sen: spicy, sour, sweet glass noodle salad⁠
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🟢Lon kapi: faux shrimp paste and coconut cream relish with crudités⁠
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🟢Woon cha Thai: Thai tea jelly⁠
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🟢Lod chong: Pandan noodles in sweet coconut cream⁠
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#ลาบทอด #วีแกน #วีแก้น #อาหารเจ #มังสวิรัติ #vegansofldn #veganlondon #veganinlondon #londonvegan #londonvegancommunity #veganlondlife #veganlondoner #londonvegans #londonveganfood #londonveganeats⁠
#thaisupperclub #vegansupperclub #supperclub #londonsupperclub #eatwith #londonsupperclubs #londonveganevents #veganevents⁠
#อาหารไทย #thaifood #veganthaifood #aroihere #vegan #bestofvegan #veganmeatballs⁠
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  • Khao som and jin lung (sour rice and Shan-Thai meatballs). Working on a menu for an upcoming supper club (stay tuned – likely January).⁠
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#ข้าวส้ม #จิ๊นลุง #อาหารไทใหญ่ #taiyaifood #วีแกน #วีแก้น #มังสวิรัติ #อาหารไทย #อร่อย #thaifood #veganthaifood #thaifoodstagram #northernthaifood #vegancook #vegandinner #foodstagram #totastemaker #bhgfood #gloobyfood #foodiesofinstagram #veganvultures #veganfoodspace #veganeatsplease #veganfoodspot #bestofvegan #eeeeeats #veganmeatballs #lotsofoil
  • 🇹🇭 Khao sen nam dtai are the noodles of dreams. A prevalent Tai Yai food in Mae Hong Son, these extruded rice threads are served with a pork tomato broth. Here @omnimeat is used in place of pork. Pork rinds, also easily made vegan, are common accompaniments. Another usual dish to occur alongside khao sen are papaya fritters (kang pong). A massive thank you to @napatcs mother for making us this incredible meal!⁠
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#ข้าวเส้น #แคบหมูเจ อาหารไทใหญ่ #แม่ฮ่องสอน #khaosen⁠
#vegan #veganfoodshare #veganfood #veganeats #noodles #noodleslover #noodlesfordays #noodlestagram #วีแก้น #อาหารเจ ⁠
#อาหารไทย #อร่อย #thaifood #veganthaifood #วีแกน #มังสวิรัติ #thaifoodstagram #vegansofinstagram #whatveganseat #vegansofig #feedfeedvegan #bestofvegan #veganfoodisnotboring #thevegansclub #veganeatsplease #veganmeals ⁠
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  • 🇹🇭 During the vegetarian festival in Phuket there are hundreds of vendors hawking vegan grub. Most of the dishes served are either Southern or representative of favourites from regional Thai cuisines that have become uniformly appreciated and available across the country.⁠
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Then there's Raan Jay (as in older sister, not the vegan diet jay) Rin (a name, I think) Aahaan Nuua (Northern food), who offers an immense spread of Northern Thai foods. I bought a selection, including nam prik noom (a relish made with grilled long green chillies) with pickled bamboo shoot, kaeng prik makua yao (long green aubergine stir fried with chilli, oil, sichuan peppercorn, galangal), kaeng ho (a Northern curry where at least one curry is stir fried with glass noodles and other bits – a great way to use leftovers), kaeng kanun (jackfruit curry – how good is it to see jackfruit without BBQ sauce?), kaeng hua plee (banana blossom curry).⁠
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The only problem is there's no garlic during the jay festival and Northern food is incomplete without it.⁠
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Northern Thai cuisine is, unfortunately, quite underrepresented in the Thai food repertoire outside of the North itself, and I have heard central and Southern Thais express negative opinions about the food from this region because it is so unique compared to other parts of the country.⁠
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#วีแกน #วีแก้น #อาหารเจ #มังสวิรัติ #อาหารไทย #อร่อย #thaifood #veganthaifood #thaifoodstagram #northernthaifood #vegantravel #vegantravels #vegansofinstagram #thaiveganfood #jackfruitcurry #getinmybelly #hypefeast #veganfeast #veganphuket #phuketvegetarianfestival #อาหารเหนือ #น้ำพริก #น้ำพริกหนุ่ม #เทศกาลกินเจ #เทศกาลกินเจ2562 #เทศกาลกินเจภูเก็ต #droolclub #feedfeedvegan #bestofvegan #vegan⁠
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  • in🇹🇭 Lunch with @veganmiam at Dok Bua restaurant in Phuket. Thank you @napatcs for the recommendation! The crying tiger mushrooms and lemongrass tamarind fish were the standouts.⁠
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⚪Khao pad nam liap: fried rice with chinese olive, served with pineapple, sour mango, sweet mock pork, long beans, cucumber, chillies, carrots.⁠
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⚪Moo kua glua: Phuket special dish that means toasted salted pork. This was simple but good, served with carrot and kaffir lime leaf.⁠
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⚪Plaa takrai nam makaam: tamarind and lemongrass fish.⁠
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⚪Kaeng ped look chin: red curry with bouncy fish balls and aubergine.⁠
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⚪Sai krok pad tao hoo: hot dogs and tofu with vegan oyster sauce.⁠
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⚪Suua rong hai: Crying tiger made from lion's mane mushroom.⁠
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#อาหารไทย #อร่อย #thaifood #veganthaifood #thaifoodstagram #aroihere #ginraidee #กินไรดี #eatandshout #วีแกน #วีแก้น #อาหารเจ #มังสวิรัติ #ภูเก็ต #veganfoodtravel #vegan #vegansofig #แกงเผ็ด #veganrestaurant #happycow #veganphuket #เสือร้องไห้ #ข้าวผัด #vegangram #veganthailand #vegansofinstagram #veganfoodtravel #foodtravel #veganlunch #veganmeals ⁠
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  • 🇹🇭The more I travel in Thailand the more mindful (in the sense of being informed, not full of woo) I am of deviations in regional cuisine. I snuck into my friend's makeshift kitchen at the vegetarian festival tent in Hat Yai in order to witness her in action. I had to snap this photo quickly before she emphatically pushed me back out front ("you go sell my food! Go sell!"). ⁠
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This is her kaeng som, or sour curry. In the rest of Thailand, to differentiate from the central style of sour curry, this curry is referred to as kaeng luang. The word luang translates to yellow, only this is not the mild coconutty yellow curry on restaurant menus outside of Thailand. By contrast kaeng luang is redolent with fresh turmeric and chillies that set your innards alight. ⁠
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#แกงส้มเจ #แกงไทย #แกงเจ #อาหารไทย #อร่อย #thaifood #veganthaifood #thaifoodstagram #aroihere #vegantravel #eatandshout #วีแกน #วีแก้น #อาหารเจ #มังสวิรัติ #hatyai #เทศกาลกินเจ #เทศกาลกินเจ2562 #vegan #veganfood #veganeats #vegancurry #thaicurry #veganmeals #vegandinner #gaengsom #sourcurry #veganthailand #vegansofig #veganinthailand⁠
  • 🇹🇭 @englishhaze and I frequently argue over what constitutes a reasonable breakfast. To him there are only a few passable menu items while I do not understand the European and American restrictions on breakfast foods. One of my favourite breakfasts are noodles in any form, but especially noodle soups and kanom jeen. This Thai extruded rice noodle is the only noodle eaten with curry and probably the only one not attributed to China Despite the word "jeen" being a reference to China or Chinese people, kanom jeen are most likely Mon Burmese in origin. 
Pictured here are kanom jeen kaeng kari gai jay (yellow curry with faux chicken) and kanom jeen kaeng tai pla jay (fermented faux fish entrails curry). The former is rich and sweet compared to the latter, which is a Southern fire bomb. There are loads of condiments served with kanom jeen. Heaps of fresh herbs and vegetables are especially common. The selection here is slightly limited, with cucumber, jackfruit, pickled mustard greens, preserved turnip, blanched morning glory, and bean sprouts.

#ขนมจีน #ขนมจีนเจ #แกงไตปลา #แกงกะหรี่ #อาหารไทย #อร่อย #thaifood #veganthaifood #thaifoodstagram #kanomjeen #currynoodles #วีแกน #วีแก้น #อาหารเจ #มังสวิรัติ #เทศกาลกินเจ #เทศกาลกินเจ2562 #เทศกาลกินเจภูเก็ต #vegan  #veganfood #veganeats #vegantravel #vegansofinstagram #vegansofig #feedfeedvegan #bestofvegan #veganfoodisnotboring #veganbreakfast #foodhistory

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