So after my gaffe last week, of confusing Flore with Flore Cafe, I convinced Jane we needed to head on back out to Silver Lake. Last week I reviewed Flore in Silver Lake. This time, we were off to Flore Cafe (really).
Jane had the Breakfast Burrito, and I had the Tu-No Melt, and of course, we shared. The Breakfast Burrito was okay, but not something we'd enthusiastically recommend. You could do this at home with better results. It had too much rice and potato and was very bland. And there's only so much hot sauce you can use! Everyone recommends the tofu benediction, we should have gotten that instead. Next time.
Flore Cafe Tu-No Melt
As for the Tu-No Melt, I'd wanted to try it when we were at Flore, but ordered the Quesadilla instead (which was delicious and I didn't regret my decision one iota). Flore Cafe also offers the Tu-No Melt, so this time I had to order it. It was delicious.
Overall, we were pleased and will definitely be back. Everything tasted really fresh. We really recommend both Flore and Flore Cafe. But I want to stress, the ambiance in these places is not wonderful. They both resemble an eatery or deli more than a restaurant. But the food is fresh and good, and the service we received was wonderful in both locations.
Just in case you're confused, here's a quick primer:
Flore Cafe is a vegetarian restaurant
Flore is a vegan restaurant
Flore Cafe is at 3206 W. Sunset Blvd
Flore is at 3818 W. Sunset Blvd,0.5 miles down the block!
Flore Cafe used to be the Vegan Spot
Flore is the original restaurant (they are owned by the same person)
Flore Cafe serves breakfast all day long
Flore breakfast served until 1 pm.
But no matter which restaurant you wind up eating at... YUM!
So tonight I learned that Ira Black, guitarist for Lizzie Borden, was in the Los Angeles County jail system this month for a misdemeanor charge. Since I don't know anything about Ira Black that news didn't make much of an impression. However, Mr. Black was on a hunger strike... why you ask? Because the prison system does not offer vegan/vegetarian fare to the prisoners. Now I can see the institution's point of view. If they had to cater to every individuals diet they'd have their hands full, and it's a prison after all, not a country club! But they do make exceptions for religious beliefs and medical diets.
Personally, I'm not a huge proponent of prisoners rights. If you commit a crime and wind up in jail, you're there to be punished, you're not on vacation. Having said that, I do understand the need to ensure the basic needs of prisoners are met. But I don't think that means catering to everyones varied diets. I don't know how prisoners are fed. I envision a cafeteria line with a few basic selections.
The county might do well to consider feeding all inmates a vegan diet. It would cost the taxpayers a lot less to feed the prisoners, and it would be beneficial for the inmates health, also resulting in a cost savings to the county/taxpayers, especially for those long term prisoners. You've probably all heard about California's fiscal woes ($40 billion deficit), so cost savings should be reason enough to consider transitioning the prison system to a vegan based diet. I'm off to draft a letter to the prison system.
If you'd like to contact the Los Angeles County jail, you can write to them at: webemail@lasd.org.
(It appears Black was released from jail on the 14th. Source: The LA County Sheriff's Department Inmate Information Center.)
For those of you who don't know, this weekend is the Super Bowl. The culmination of the 2008 American football season. And perhaps the most watched event annually. PETA's "Veggie Love" Super Bowl campaign has been banned by NBC. My first reaction was where did PETA get $3 million for this ad? (Super Bowl spots will start at $3 million for 30 second spot. - Source: Reuters) My second reaction was the Super Bowl is not the appropriate forum for a vegetarian ad... then I saw the spot, and I thought to myself, "This time those folks at PETA know what they're doing."
According to PETA, NBC nixed the ad, saying it "depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards." Personally, I don't agree... with all the Viagara and Cialis they market, this should be right up their alley!
I haven't written much about happenings in the vegan community recently. Jane and I have been pretty busy over the last 3 months, and football takes up a large part of my weekends during the season. I'm such a fan that whenever we're invited to something on a Sunday (during football season), Jane will often decline, telling the host/ess "Lane attends the church of the NFL on Sundays." Well, football is almost done, so that means we're looking at things to fill up our weekends.
Anyway, here's the first green event of the season... If you're going to be in the Pasadena, CA area on Saturday, you may want to stop by the first annual Neighborhood Green Fair which will be held at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, 301 N Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91103. The event takes place from 10am to 4pm.
It sounds like it will be a fun day. There will be live music all day long. There will also be movies and children's activities. For adults, there will be displays, films, lectures, and entertainment, which will showcase innovative green products and services. There will also be "healthy" food available. I'm wondering if that includes vegan fare. Since this is a "green" festival I would hope that veganism will be touched upon at the least, but I expect that the focus will more likely be local foods.
If nothing else, Jane hopes to pick up some drought tolerant plants at the fair. They'll be selling them there, and it looks like we might be facing water restrictions again this year.
