Best Selling Vegan Products
If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can now order vegan chicken at Chipotle.
This option is not available at all LA area Chipotle restaurants. In fact, it's only available at two of their stores:
- 244 South Beverly Dr. - Beverly Hills, CA 90212
- 121 N. La Cienega Blvd., #114 - Los Angeles, CA 90048 (right by the Beverly Center)
For some vegans, the idea of eating in an omnivore-oriented restaurant is not palatable (pardon the pun) because, by eating at this type of establishment you could be said to be supporting the unnecessary slaughtering of animals for food. But PeTA is urging you to try the vegan chicken at Chipotle, and we are too. The more people who ask for vegan fare, the fewer animals who are ultimately slaughtered. And, if we can get the fast food chains to start carrying vegan fare as part of their standard menu, then omnivores who don't have the slightest idea what "vegan" means might find themselves eating vegan. Of course, it's "fast food" so there's the whole issue of whether or not it's healthy food, but that's fodder for another post.
If you live in the Beverly Hills area, or if you'll be visiting, I urge you to go to either of these two Chipotles and order the vegan chicken burrito. This mock-meat burrito features Garden Blend: mock chicken strips marinated in chipotle adobo sauce and then grilled. The burrito also comes with black beans, rice, and toppings. Bring your friends. Bring your carnivore friends and offer them a taste. Let them see that they can eat well without having to eat meat. The only way that vegan food will become accepted into the mainstream food establishments is if the restaurants feel that enough people are willing to order the product.
So if you live in Los Angeles, or happen to be visiting, make sure to go to either of these two Chipolte restaurants and order the vegan chicken burrito.
Best Selling Vegan Products
I've been informed by Jane that Today is National Margarita Day. I must admit, I've never heard of it before, and if I'd given it any thought, I would have tied that in with Cinco de Mayo. However, any excuse is a good excuse so we will be going out for Mexican food and margarita's tonight. Mexican is one of the easiest cuisines to veganize. Simply start with Rice and Beans. We usually get a fajita and split that as well.
Just a reminder... there can be pitfalls. Some restaurants prepare their rice using chicken stock, and some use lard in the preparation of their beans. In order to be on the safe side, ask your server to check with the chef. We've had good luck ordering black beans -- so far none have bee prepared with lard.
Best Selling Vegan Products
Shojin's Caterpillar Roll
Jane and I are off to Montana for a week. Since it looks like vegan dining will be Taco Bell and The Pita Pit, we figured we'd get a quick fix from our favorite vegan restaurant, Shojin.
As always, dinner was fantastic. We started our dinner with our all time favorite, the Caterpillar Roll. When we first went vegan the idea of "vegan sushi" was a bit of a joke to us. Sushi was fish, and we had loved it. But let me assure you, we are converts. This roll starts with a base of Shojin's barbequed seitan and is topped with sliced avocado. YUM! We've tried other vegan sushi, but this is our absolute favorite.
Our next course was the Barbequed Seitan. It's sliced seitan with some kind of light barbeque sauce. In our opinion, Kimiko (Shojin's master chef) makes the best seitan. It's far and away better than any other we've ever eaten.
Shojin's Seitan Pepper Steak
One of the reasons we enjoy Shojin so much is that they are constantly changing their menu. They keep the core items, but add things as certain foods become seasonally available. Our main course was the Seitan Pepper Steak, which is one of those new things. It was delicious. If you haven't tried Shojin, and can get to Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles, go... you won't be sorry.
So we're sated, and hopefully our expectations of our food options in Montana will be exceeded.
Click here for Shojin's website.
Best Selling Vegan Products
If you're in the Los Angeles / Orange County area, Veggie Grill is giving away free sweetheart (sweet potato) fries today, Wednesday, April 22nd, in honor of earth day. Just mention you heard it on KTLA. I heard about it on the news this morning and wanted to get the message out quickly.
We love the Veggie Grill. We've been about four times since discovering it last year. It's a little far from our home, so we don't go that often. Also, it's "fast food" -- but when you're in the mood for that kind of meal, it rocks! Even the omni's we've gone with have really enjoyed the food there.
Here's a link to the Veggie Grill Locations. They have three stores at the moment, two in Irvine and one in El Segundo - close to LAX (with plans to open another store in West Hollywood soon).
And happy Earth Day everyone.
