Helming the Studio City kitchen, Jerry Yu delivers vegetarian—mostly vegan—dishes devoid of mock meats and omnivorous similes. Yu relies of the breath of organic fruits and vegetable adorn with nuts whipped into luscious sauces. On paper the preparations sound simple, but they comes together like magic on a plate.
… Vege • ta • ble (Los Angeles, CA)
Hefty plates of fresh housemade pasta fill the dining room of downtown Los Angeles’ Maccheroni Republic. Chef Antonio Tommasi and Jean-Louis de Mori, the founding team behind Italian mainstays Locanda Veneta and Ca’Brea, dialed back the swank to create a breezy trattoria tucked away from bustling Broadway. For a traditional setting, the menu—with prices in touch with reality—is surprisingly vegan friendly. A handful of standard (or easily modified) vegan items litter the menu, plus at least one hand written special can be found on the chalkboard. With pride, the menu boldly state that all their pastas (except squid ink) are vegan.
… Maccheroni Republic (Los Angeles, CA)
“Menchie’s CEO to debut fast-casual pizza concept”
Yeah, that headline didn’t catch my attention either. Another businessman entering the quick service assembly line pizza game is old hat these days. Executive Chef Peppe Miele is another name I glossed over. Then I saw Senior Chef, Mario Vollera, and immediately booked my visit to MidiCi Neapolitan Pizza.
… MidiCi Neapolitan Pizza (Los Angeles, CA)
Life changed a lot this year. My beloved Slice was laid to rest along with my monthly pizza column. Unsure of future writing pursuits and research, I meandered through restaurant news in Los Angeles but have been mostly disconnected from it all. Slowly, the void filled with vegan food options research throughout Southern California. In the most lovely happenstance, just as I was feeling comfortable speaking on vegan dining options, The Vedge put out an open call for writers. I had a new writing home with a new vegan focus.
The Vedge writers are a dedicated group located across the country who will be sharing national vegan food news and reports. I’m thrilled with my first post, The Springs LA Combines Raw Vegan Food with Yoga, Music, and Pure Class, and look forward to sharing many more vegan adventures.
The Californication of Detroit’s popular vegan pop-up dinner series Chartreuse unveiled this month as the Zoetic Supper Club. In the spring of 2013 Chef Corinne Rice moved to Venice, CA, bringing her organic, plant-based pop up dinners with her. A graduate of the raw culinary Matthew Kenney Academy, her dinners express restrained elegance bursting forth with complex flavors that I’ve rarely encountered in raw vegan dining.
… Zoetic Supper Club: A Vegan Pop Up Dinner (Los Angeles, CA)
When people describe a restaurant as “Classic Italian,” I’m often confused. Do they mean dried boxed pasta drowning in red sauce or hand rolled al dente noodles bathing in olive oil. I always hope they mean the lather and I always hope it’s just like Dominick’s.
An impromptu weekday lunch with my mom finally brought me to Goldie’s. The living wall beckoned us from the street but offer little shade for a midday meal. Fortunately, the interior proved to be lovely. Designed by the restaurateur Nick Mathers, it’s been described as Frank Lloyd Wright-meets-lumberyard which doesn’t make any sense to me at all. This is clearly a mid-century derived design accented with Moroccan tiles and knock-off Wegner Elbow chairs.
… Goldie’s (Los Angeles, CA)
Anyone who has read a book authored by Julia Child or M. F. K. Fisher knows the compelling and historical context of French cuisine. Much of western cooking is driven by the pâté laden, coq au vin covered, lorrained or moules frited plates of this lovely tradition… but none of it persuades my vegetarian interests. So when I stumble upon a French restaurant with tantalizing vegetarian options, it’s a cause for celebration.
And that is exactly what I found at Ba Restaurant in Los Angeles’ Highland Park. The stand out dish is the Mushroom Brûlée ($11), a shallow ramekin of roasted wild mushrooms smother in buttery brie. Flamed licked, the charred edges of cream and rind deliver a faint bitter note, offsetting the earthiness of the dish. A mellow and magnificent starter, far too rich to eat alone.
… Ba Restaurant (Los Angeles, CA)
My 2011 post on vegetarian options at wedding remained one of my most viewed posts on this blog! In the past two years, wedding have become all the more vegetarian friendly… so for your brides, caterers or food porn lovers out there searching for silent/loud/delicious vegetarian options for your affairs, here are my favorites from the past two years:
… The Vegetarian Option: Weddings 2013
I am not creature of habit. But after nearly 5 years working in NYC’s Murray Hill there were two things you could count on:
When I moved to Los Angeles, the crisp onion and smashed lentils of Mujadara exited my life. But two years later, thanks to an invite to try a new vegetarian/vegan friendly menu at Urban Garden, it’s back in my common rotation! But, while UG’s mujadara is decent, what sends me over the edge here the Garlic Sauce!
… Urban Garden (Los Angeles, CA) [CLOSED]
The Veg Foodie 