Fast Food Vegan

Vegan Friendly: An Unbiased Review of Every “Beyond Meat” Vegan Menu Option at Del Taco

Every January healthy resolutions and organized efforts drive up the demand for vegan food and someone will proclaimed it the “Year of the Vegan.” Then February rolls around and the food world returns to the status quo. This February is different.

Towards the end of 2018, partnerships between thriving plant-based protein brands and the fast food industry were taking root. One of the biggest pairings here in Southern California was the union of Beyond Meat and Del Taco.

But, why?

While vegan options at fast food outlets may seem absurd—as an insider in the vegan community I can tell you that this has been the goal of many all along.

See, I often hear omnivores deflect vegan ideas, lamenting “…if only the food tasted good…”. But we all know that in reality, most Americans will eat plastic garbage if it’s cheap enough. And for new vegans, what many miss more than eggs and cheese are cheap convenient foods.

Home Cooking Vegan

Sweet Earth Foods

It’s not often that companies offer me products—and even rarer that I accept. But seeing as Sweet Earth already has a place in refrigerator, I accepted their mystery swag box.

This plant-based company, helmed by former Pepsico and Burger King important person Brian Swette and former Calvin Kline important person Kelly Swette, offers an ever growing array of refrigerated vegan meats and vegetarian and vegan frozen foods to grocery stores nationwide. Though known mostly to me for the unexpected burrito combinations, my box arrived with (2) frozen bowls and (2) mock meats.
… Sweet Earth Foods

Mexican Vegan

The Blind Burro (San Diego, CA)

It is becoming delightfully common to happen upon vegan staff at very non-vegan restaurants. Through the kindness of my server, Emily, I found my way through the menu modifications at The Blind Burro.
… The Blind Burro (San Diego, CA)

Pub Vegan

Vegan Friendly: The Far West Lounge by Modern Times in Encinitas

The Short and Skinny

Large windows open onto Highway 101, pulling the ocean breeze into Encinitas’ newest vegan food and beer destination.

The Vibe

Dozens of cyclist fly by as the crowd slowly forms outside of The Far West Lounge by Modern Times in Encinitas. Within 20 minutes of opening, the bar is full of breakfast sandwiches and beer flights.

Curling around a marble top horseshoe bar, friends sip beer as their kids climb the underlit stadium seating in soccer practice threads. The papered walls wear badges of the company’s strong “mid-century maximalist” branding—from trays of felted TV dinners to cross-stitch rackets by Modern Times’ inhouse “art gnomes.” In the corner, a mini mart offers beer cans, coffee beans, and Modern Times branded swag to-go.

American Catering Vegan Wedding

Jennie Cooks Plant Based Parties (Los Angeles, CA)

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Free cooking demo with (and old school Culver City people should recognize her) Jennie Cook! #surfas #culvercity #jenniecook #cooking #cookingdemo #losangeles

A post shared by The Veg Foodie (@kellybone) on Sep 27, 2014 at 11:06am PDT

There are few chefs I truly trust*—Jennie Cooks is one of them.

Beneath an angled mirror at Surfas, Jennie—my hometown culinary champion—poured a generous amount of olive oil into a pan and whipped up Sweet Potato Pistachio Fritters with Saba and Jaffna Potatoes. I sat there waiting for the non-vegan ingredient to get dumped in—a pat of butter, a drizzle of yogurt —but it never happened. As the Endive Avocado Potato Salad and Cape Verda Vegetable were passed around, I realized every dish she made was vegan—and that never happens on accident.

At that moment I knew I wanted her to cater an event for me. That event turned out to be my wedding reception.
… Jennie Cooks Plant Based Parties (Los Angeles, CA)

Vegan

Vegan Friendly: PlantBasedPopUp Offers Fine Dining Vegan Wine Pairing Dinners in San Diego County

The Short and Skinny

“Historically, food and wine events and prix fixe menus with wine pairings have centered around meat,” says PlantBasedPopUp founder Anna Keeve. “Because of this, plant-based eaters miss out on these tyes of experiences. It’s time to reframe the way we look at this concept of pairing food and wine.”

PlantBasedPopUp is here to change that, partnering with top-tiered restaurants to host monthly plant-based wine pairing dinners in San Diego County.

Chinese

Shangri-La Vegetarian (San Francisco, CA)

A pot of herbal Alternifolia Tea and plate of pickles arrive without notice—a fading hospitality in today’s nickle and dime culture. In the traditional Chinese-style, cabbage and carrots are quick-pickled in salt and then bathed in a sweet vinegar brine. The portion is just enough to wash away the muck of morning and rouse salivation.
… Shangri-La Vegetarian (San Francisco, CA)

American Vegan

Vegan Friendly: Comfort Food and Sustainability at Donna Jean in Banker’s Hill

The Short and Skinny

Donna Jean offers a vegetable forward menu with midwestern charm and California sensibilities.

The Vibe

Under the dappling of the summer sun, pink radish bulbs push through the dirt under the kale leaves and carrot tops surrounding Donna Jean’s patio. Between the magenta shocks of bougainvilleas, tables fill with dukkah-dusted turnips and pizzas dotted with smoked dates and pickled shallots.

Vegetables drive the menu—but all dishes are quietly supported by the spice and experience.

A midwestern boy at heart, Chef Roy Elam carries the lessons learned there—use everything, force nothing.

Filipino

Vegan Night 5: The Kamayan Experience

The scent of banana leaves filled the dining room of Trade Winds Tavern. We waited, sipping on wine and kombucha, for the orchestrated meal to begin. A parade moved through the dining room laying serpentine fistfuls of rice between each group as Coconut Mushroom Sisig—a chopped stew spiked with chilies and acid—and Vegan Adobo “Chicken”—proteins traditionally slow cooked in vinegar and spices—were ladled before us. Chopsticks gently tipped the display with shaved chilies (which I ate all of) while a large mound of Bicol Express—a coconut chili “pork” —reached for me as I reached for it.
… Vegan Night 5: The Kamayan Experience

Vegan

Vegan Friendly: Harvest By The Patio in Downtown San Diego

The Short and Skinny

In the shadow of the hot dogs and beer of Petco Park sits stylish, vegetable-forward Harvest by The Patio.

The Vibe

Tucked into the former Carnation Dairy Building, the walls of the first floor are lined with cold cases stacked with grab-and-go meals. The plastic clamshells beckon to game goers (you can bring your own food into the ballpark), while wooden stairs lead dine-in customers to the restaurant’s full-service bar and lounge.

Floor to ceiling images of rolling fields of wind swept wheat face the white subways tiles of the beer tap wall. The airy bar anchors the room with open wire shelving twinkling with an array of bottles.