London vegan news, reviews & events
I’m currently in California where I’m enjoying sunshine, friends and a hell of a lot of fabulous vegan food.
The place where these three components met in perfect unison was the 6th Annual Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival. Thousands and thousands of revellers converged on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for a day of drinking, eating and socialising.
Check out some of the impressive food photos I shot on the day, as well as photos taken by my friends. Try not to drool.
I’ve woken early on the morning of the 6th annual Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival due to jet lag. My body is struggling to adjust to the time difference on this trip. I want to sleep when I shouldn’t and can’t when I should.
I’ll take advantage of this early rise to update you on a few of the gorgeous food experiences I’ve had here in California.
Hope you’ve eaten already.
Apologies to my loyal non-Californian readers who have been suffering through post after post about vegan food well out of their reach. Maybe you can think of it as the motivation you need to scrape some savings together and get away on holiday. Make Southern California your next vacation destination.
So really, these tempting posts of decadent dishes are a public service. My civil duty to inspire the plant-inclined people of the world to broaden their horizons.
To carry on in this completely selfless fashion, let me tell you what you are missing by not eating at Doomie’s Home Cookin’ in Hollywood.
Doomie’s is the FGV version of heaven. Vegan pulled pork sandwich served with mac and cheese? Check. Cocktails and cold beer? Check. Decadent vegan desserts and sweet treats? Double check.
If I lived in Hollywood, I would most certainly develop an unhealthy emotional relationship with this meat free restaurant. Their menu is what you would show someone wanting to understand the term comfort food.
The only thing that I can’t approve of is the fact Doomie’s offer cow-derived cheese on request. Their food is so utterly delicious and out of this world, offering dairy seems such an unnecessary concession. I can’t imagine that any diner would feel short changed by eating the vegan versions. It is all staggeringly good.
Check out my meal photos below, including the bonus photo of the jumbo vegan burger Doomie’s served me during the Los Angeles Vegan Beer Festival.
Being a frequent traveller, I am used to the exorbitant prices charged for food items at airports. I am not sure if the food vendors are paying a premium for the space or they have just discovered people will pay anything because they are trapped in that location.
Let’s play a guessing game.
How much do you think I paid for this vegan salad at Los Angeles International Airport last week? The answer is below the photo in US dollars. Take a guess and then scroll down to see how close you were.
Ready for the answer?
There are some food places on the planet that fit like an old, vegan shoe. You almost don’t get excited when you enter because it’s more of an all-encompassing, comforting feeling. Almost as if you have come home.
This is how I feel at Flore Vegan Cuisine.
When you get to Los Angeles, make Flore your first point of call. The menu is brimming with delectable and nutritious dishes that will have you wishing you lived in the neighbourhood. There is simply too much good stuff to try in a handful of visits.
That said, this FGV is a creature of habit. I know what I love and I get it every time. The Flore chicken and waffles is the stuff of legend. This vegan brunch item is one of my favourite things to eat in the entire world and I would most definitely eat it every day if given the opportunity.
Follow Flore on Twitter and get to LA as fast as you can. Those vegan chicken and waffles aren’t going to eat themselves!
If you had to choose one city to eat in for the rest of your days, where would you settle down? Imagine for a moment that you couldn’t leave the city limits of your chosen locale… I wonder which vegan-friendly city you would choose. My choice is a no-brainer.
Los Angeles.
Not only does this supercity house some of my favourite vegan eateries in the world, it no doubt possesses the largest number of vegan individuals anywhere on the planet. Lots of vegan people equates a stunning range of plant-based restaurants that are truly world class. Native Foods Cafe. Veggie Grill. Cruzer Pizza. Rahel. Real Food Daily. Seed. The list goes on and on.
And then there’s Flore Vegan. Oh my.
What the world (and this FGV) deserves is vegan fast food. People need to be able to access cruelty-free comfort food on a grand scale. I like to think it is just a matter of time until a global-reaching fast food chain takes on the cruel and unhealthy giants of conveyor belt eating. I also have a hunch it could very well be Veggie Grill.
This chain of plant-based restaurants is remarkable not just for the delicious food served, but also how mainstream and accessible it all is. Locations are dotted around Southern California in strip malls, plazas and markets. The interior is low key and tasteful while the staff offer the kind of service you would expect from a polished, speedy turn-around fast food joint.
Veggie Grill is always on my to do list when I visit Los Angeles and I made sure I stayed true to this pattern during my last vacation. My meal at the Veggie Grill in the Los Angeles Farmers Market was superb. Let’s run through my order:
Have you ever sat there in front of your laptop/computer/smart phone/tablet and drawn a complete blank when wondering what a FGV sounds like? Live in ignorance no more!
This weekend marks my first foray into being a radio show guest. The wonderful, charming and talented Jose Maldonado is graciously allowing me to keep him company during his weekly show dedicated to all things Smiths and Morrissey.