Everybody comes to Hollywood

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.

How many snacks?

I have been busy catching you up on the amazing meals I enjoyed during my recent Southern Californian vacation, but a lot of what I consumed wasn’t from any restaurant.

Check out the photos below of all the vegan snacks I got my chubby, queer hands on. There is a huge range of plant-based products featured, some of them are my old favourites and some are newly discovered tasty treats.

Do you like the look of any of the following snacks? Are any of your faves featured? If you could only pick one, which one would it be?

How much

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?

Mighty goodbye

It hasn’t even been a year since I first blogged about the glorious vegan food vendor The Mighty Fork so it is with great sadness and shock to find out that the people behind it have no future plans to trade.

London has lost one of its only world class, 100% vegan food providers. The Mighty Fork were a shining light in a slate grey Victorian  sky filled with hummus and falafel. Their gourmet dogs were loved by many and the capital is a decidedly less adventurous food landscape without them.

Owner and founder Rita sent the following tweet this morning to her devoted fans via Twitter.

I followed this tweet up with an email to Rita, asking if this really is the end of her vegan hot dogs on the streets of London.

She replied that there are no plans for The Mighty Fork in the future and she has no plans to return to street food. Rita also stated it was important to her to get word out to the people who have supported her business. She loved meeting the thousands of people she served vegan street food to and is thankful for all the new friends she made along the way.

It turns out that the final outing for The Mighty Fork was the roller disco I held to raise funds for Sea Shepherd. I’m glad I had the good sense to eat two of their delicious creations on the day.

Much love to The Mighty Fork for the brief enjoyment they gave to London vegans.

Grow your business

A curious press release made its way to my inbox this morning. Curious because it concerns the British Library and Ms. Cupcake.

Intriguing, right?

Watch cooking

Along with a lot of other west London based vegans, I often complain that not a lot happens for plant eaters on this side of the city.

Well, here is one event.

Angela Malik has just opened a culinary school in Ealing and is set to host a vegan cooking demonstration next week on June 5, 2014. The event will be a chance for attendees to watch a vegan Chinese meal be prepared from scratch before diving in for some tasting.

The event website states that you will observe the creation of wood ear salad with coriander, pock marked old woman’s tofu and stir fried Chinese greens with sizzling oil. Then you will eat it!

The tickets are available now. I would love to hear what this event is like if you go along.

Let’s hope this is just the start of more vegan events in the forgotten western part of the capital.

Throw all your hands up

Some wondrous food adventures were had during my recent Southern Californian vacation, but none quite as joyous and inspiring as Anthem Vegan.

San Diego is one of the must-visit destinations for plant-based food lovers and one of the most convincing reasons is this 100% vegan market stall. Anthem Vegan is a labour of love for its activist owner Patrick who serves up some of the tastiest food I have ever had the pleasure of devouring.

The stall travels around various locations in San Diego and my pal Steven and I made sure we crossed paths with it at the Pacific Beach Farmer’s Market. I was overwhelmed by the gorgeous menu and infinitely more so by the food itself.

Hello old friend

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!

Chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake

Fresh lemonade with agave

Raw cocoa shake

Vegan chicken and waffles

Drive thru

San Diego has everything to make this FGV happy.

Vegan donuts? Plentiful and decadent. Can I get nutritious and delicious soul food that is still cruelty free? Sure thing. Gay dive bars, Native Foods, gorgeous beachside neighbourhoods, farmers markets everywhere and vegan Mexican food? Yes to all of it.

Then surely it doesn’t have a fabulous vegan fast food restaurant with drive through window? It couldn’t that awesome, right?

Check it out. Evolution Fast Food is what every compassionate person deserves to have in their life.

Cake glory

I wanted to share this photo for two reasons.

1. Oh my. Can you believe how amazing these giant vegan cupcakes look? I saw this incredible line up in Whole Foods Market San Diego and was more than impressed. Come on London stores, get on it. I want over the top vegan cupcake designs.

2. I didn’t buy one. I was so overwhelmed by the choice I actually couldn’t decide on one. I stood there for roughly five minutes and then walked away calmly. I am a bad FGV, for sure.

Which one would you have picked?