Last night we picked up Jane's mom at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). She's visiting with us for a little over a week. En route home, we figured we'd stop for a quick bite to eat. You know, they just don't feed you on the airlines any longer, at least not on domestic flights.

I had been poking around the internet and found an interesting sounding restaurant, The Veggie Grill, near the airport. So off we went. Wow! This place is FANTASTIC! It's primarily a soup/salad/sandwich type of place. You walk in, look at the menu on the wall, walk up to the counter to place your order and they call your number when your food is ready. So, you know it's not haute cuisine. But let me tell you how really great it is...

It's so good that Jane's mom, who is not vegan, couldn't believe she wasn't eating chicken. We all shared our sandwiches. She had the Chickin' Marinara, I had the V-Burger, and Jane ordered the Island Getaway.

(Please excuse the poor quality photographs, we left our camera at home, so these images were taken using my phone.)

The Chickin’ Marinara Jane’s mom ordered actually reminded us of the chicken parmigiana we used to eat once upon a time when we lived in New York. (OK, we know it probably wouldn’t stand up next to the real thing, but we don’t eat the real thing any longer, and this was a more than reasonable facsimile!) The standard side is a side of cole slaw, which Jane’s mom said was good, but not remarkable (we neglected to ask if this was vegan, so we assumed they used real mayonnaise and passed on it).

Jane's Island Getaway sandwich was perhaps the least tasty of the three, but don't let that stop you from ordering it -- it was also delicious. It consists of coconut-milk battered tempeh with a glazed pineapple topping. Yum. Instead of the cole slaw, Jane ordered the steaming kale. As I mentioned previously, the three of us shared everything. I don't think Jane's mom really cared for the Kale that much. But she loved the pineapple topping.

I opted for the V-Burger to which I added a grilled portobello mushroom. And, instead of cole slaw, I opted for the sweetheart (sweet potato) fries. I would happily eat the burger again, but I don’t think the mushroom added anything to this meal. The sweetheart fries, were yummy, as expected.

The Chickin’ Marinara was really the winner though. It was tender and crispy and the marinara and peppers were just right. Jane’s mom heads out on an early flight and she and I joked around about hanging out at the airport when she leaves, long enough so that we can stop by Veggie Grill for lunch.

They have a location in Irvine, CA and this one in El Segundo, CA. If you’re in the area and aren’t looking for a sit down dinner with ambiance, this place is really worth checking out! They’re open from 11am to 10pm every day.

For additional restaurant reviews see our Vegan Resources page.

Jane and I tried a new (to us) restaurant tonight, Cinnamon in Highland Park which is a suburb of Los Angeles. We'd stumbled across reviews of this place a few months ago. After perusing the menu online, we decided we'd try it, but for one reason or another we hadn't gotten around to it until today. Wow. They basically cater to vegans. There are a few items on the menu that have egg or milk, but almost everything is or can be made vegan!

We arrived at Cinnamon a little before 5pm tonight, and were immediately told to choose a table of our liking. We sat down and looked over the menu. Then one of the chefs came over to take our order. We told her this was our first visit and asked what she recommended. She offered to bring us a sample of the various "meats" so we could try them and then make a more informed decision. The sampler, which was on the house, was a small plate of chorizo, wheat meat, and shrimp. We each took a bite and then looked at each other, hopeful expressions on our faces.

We ordered the Jumping Shrimp Cocktail as our appetizer. The mock-shrimp probably wouldn't hold up as shrimp if you've had the real thing in the recent past, but we haven't had shrimp in over seven months and were very pleased with the texture and taste. And it was a welcome change from the typical mock-meat proteins we've been having. The base of the cocktail (gazpacho?) was light and fresh and absolutely delicious. It tasted of summer. We will definitely order that again.

Even though we weren't all that hungry we decided on two entrees. Leftovers always make for a good lunch the next day!

I ordered the Soy Chorizo with Potatoes. It comes with rice and a salad, but I was offered beans if I wanted those instead of the salad. Since Jane's meal came with beans, we figured one of us should have the salad. That's pretty much one of our commandments. We always have salad with dinner. The Soy Chorizo was very tasty, with just the right amount of heat. The salad was unremarkable, but it was fresh. And I had corn tortillas which tasted freshly made to me (but the chef said they were purchased).

Jane ordered the Carnitas, with brown rice and black bean, and whole wheat tortillas. My first thought was "how bland." But she didn't feel like having the typical spicy Mexican dish we often order. As we ate a bit more, I revised my opinion. This dish was also something to be had again. Jane made herself little burritos.

After we were done with our meal, our server also brought us a hot beverage called Canelazo, which is cinnamon based, and resembles tea. Jane was told that it is also a bit of an aphrodisiac when rubbed into the skin with some crushed rose petals and honey. OK, Valentines Day is coming up, but that's a topic for a different blog. We passed on the raw vegan desserts, which are baked off-premises. Next time!

This unassuming little place may rapidly become one of our favorite vegan haunts. Although it has a very basic look to it, it's impeccably clean, and the chef who assisted us was knowledgeable, friendly, and very helpful. As an added bonus, they also offer free Wi-Fi. Wow, a restaurant with an entire menu to choose from, not just one or two entrees. Hallelujah!

This isn't my first post on Fatty's Restaurant, and it certainly won't be my last. Jane and I LOVE this vegetarian restaurant in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles.

We often go out to dinner on Saturday nights, it's our unofficial "date night." So tonight, even though it's pouring out, we decided to brave the elements and head over to Fatty's again. They don't have a huge vegan selection, but you're not limited to one entree, and it's really nice not to have to try and create a meal, as we usually have to do when we go out.

Tonight we tried the Roasted Vegetable Salad with tofu (photo above). The vegetables were cooked to perfection, and the balsamic glaze was delicious. I don't know that we'd bother ordering the tofu again; there was an additional charge ($2 or $4, I don't remember) and we only had 3 small cubes of tofu! But the salad was very tasty, and the presentation was beautiful.

We also shared the Cadillac Pizza. The base "sauce" is pesto. The topping was comprised of bite sized pieces of broccoli, zucchini, roasted onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and pine nuts. I'm not sure what the seeds were, sesame... or perhaps chia? Next time I'll make sure to ask.

The pizza was delicious. We got the larger size and brought a few slices home. They'll make for a nice snack tomorrow.

First, let me apologize to anyone who has missed our blogging since Thursday. We have been having DSL issues and I am now at my public library using their free wireless. It's certainly not the most convenient way of getting things out there, but it works, and it's better than trying to steal bandwidth from your neighbors! (That is, if any of them are still reckless enough to use an insecure wireless connection.) Anyway, back to the topic at hand!

Last week I ventured out and had Indian food for lunch, and was successful enough to find a few vegan dishes. So last night Jane and I decided to try our favorite Indian Restaurant again. We haven't been since we've become vegans. Our rationale for avoiding this restaurant is that it is home to one of our absolute most favorite dish: Chicken Tikka Masala, an obvious vegan no-no, prepared in a tomato cream sauce which is spectacular.

After 5+ months of being vegan, we figured we might be beyond pining for the Chicken Tikka Masala and wouldn't have any trouble passing it over. Thankfully, that proved to be correct.

We also asked our server for help in selecting items that were compatible with a vegan diet. He suggested the Channa Masala, which is garbanzo beans prepared in an onion and tomato sauce. This sounded similar to something Jane makes with okra, so we decided to try that. Our waiter also suggested the Bengan ka Salan, which is a sauteed eggplant dish prepared in a coconut-tamarind sauce. OUT OF THIS WORLD! We enjoyed it so much that we didn't even miss the Tikka Masala, and may have found our new favorite dish.

Of course, we skipped the naan, and did verify with this restaurant that it is indeed made with egg and milk. But Jane has scoped out a recipe for vegan naan on the internet and will be giving it a whirl some tine early next year. She's got enough on her plate with all the family / holiday things going on now. (You can read that as: I got "that" look for even daring to ask when she'd be baking the naan.)

Close to our home, is a wonderful vegetarian restaurant called Fatty's. Last night was our fourth visit there. Honestly, I don't know why I haven't blogged about them prior to today; the food is excellent, and many dishes are or can be prepared vegan.

We thought we'd tried all the restaurants close to home. We knew Fatty's as a coffee shop, which it was until about a year or two ago. Then they changed over to a dinner-only restaurant, by that I mean they are only open for dinner, and that only Wednesday - Sunday. Too bad! Anyway, we discovered they were serving dinner while walking by one day. What a lucky coincidence for us! Jane and I decided to go there for dinner last night, there was no arm-twisting involved.

We started with the Carrot-Ginger Soup. The presentation was a little better than this. We forgot to take a photo before I dug in! Sorry.

Jane ordered the Sloppy Joe which is an entree and came with a small house salad (or cup of soup, your choice). It was fantastic. It's some kind of veggie meat (we're guessing there's TVP in there) with a wonderful tangy sauce. The "bread" is some kind of phyllo concoction, stiffer than regular phyllo sheets, but definitely not something to eat with your hands. Although we did see someone trying, but his technique involved holding the sandwich upright and bringing his mouth to the food. Well, kudo's to him for trying.

I had pizza. When we were non-vegans, we used to order pizza for dinner one time a month. Often we'd order on the first, being unable to delay our gratification. Since this was the first weekend of the month, I was craving pizza. (I still haven't gotten past that and I'm not sure I ever will!) Anyway, I ordered The Zeppelin pizza (8" size). It was topped with mushrooms and vegan cheese and very good. Jane's thinking she could probably make it at home, and that's her criteria for whether she'd order something out or not. But I would have it again, and probably will!

As a side note, one of our previous visits was with our non-veggie cousins. They're very well off and used to the better things in life. We didn't realize it was a vegetarian restaurant, or we'd never have invited them; they love their steak. But they really enjoyed it and suggested we put it in our rotation. I mention this in case any of you are in the neighborhood...

We were very satisfied with our dinner, but couldn't leave without dessert. We brought "Fudgey" home with us. We'll have that later tonight, and you can read about it tomorrow!