Real Food Daily Restaurant
We finally made it over to Real Food Daily in Los Angeles. After having purchased the Real Food Daily Cookbook
We went early and were lucky enough to find parking easily. We'd read reviews that parking could be an issue. The ambiance was average, and unfortunately for us, the sun was setting while we were eating so Jane was blinded by the light. But the food was worth it. This is the best vegan food we've had to date!
We told our waitress we were newbies and asked her to recommend our eats. She suggested we start with the Better with Cheddar Nachos. Jane was all for that as the "cheese" recipe in the cookbook seems a little daunting, and the few experiences we've had with vegan cheese have been less than stellar. Our waitress also suggested we add the taco mix. So we did. We both agreed that we could skip the taco mix next time, but the nachos were really amazing. The cheddar cheese, tastes like cheese, and we should know - we've had real cheese as late as June!
The nachos come with tortilla chips, melted cashew cheddar cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, tofu sour cream, all piled high on your plate. There's enough there for four people as an appetizer for sure! And oh, can I rave about the cheese some more!
For dinner, we shared "Pandora’s Box" - which is one of their September specials. It's creamed tofu spinach in whole wheat phyllo dough pastry topped with mushroom gravy. It comes with two sides: the Athena cold barley salad and a marinated baby beet salad. Jane commented that the gravy tasted "brown." She didn't care for that, but the spinach phyllo concoction was more than edible. And surprise, surprise, the beet salad was truly delicious. Neither of us is big on "grain" salads (Jane absolutely abhors Tabbouleh), so I'll skip the review of the barley salad.
For dessert, we shared the Coconut Moon Pie. It was pretty good too. We're still having trouble transitioning away from non-vegan desserts. They're just not as good. So we mostly have fresh fruit, or the soy desserts we've previously blogged about that we get at Trader Joe's.
Overall, we lament the fact that the restaurant is too far to put it in our regular rotation. We really enjoyed our experience and will definitely be back.
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Unfortunately I feel that your waitress led you astray… Real Food Daily is my #1 favorite restaurant in Los Angeles and I really hope you get to visit it again soon.
Although the specials usually sound interesting, I rarely order them. Instead, I would HIGHLY reccommend their hummus and pita for a starter.
For the meal I go with the basic 3 or basic 4, which means you can make your own dish based on several menu options. The marinated tofu is not to be missed, the regular golden gravy (not the mushroom gravy from your special) is so delicious. I used to get the mashed potatoes, gravy and tofu with the vegetables of the day, but that is a very heavy combination. Now I’ve replaced the potatoes with sea vegetables and sometimes brown rice if I’m extra hungry. The house dressing is also very delicious, heavy on the tahini.
Thanks MaryAlice.
We’ll probably be heading out there again some time in early October. When we do, we’ll bring your recommendations along. Jane was especially happy to hear that there might be a better gravy alternative, she wasn’t overly fond of the mushroom gravy. The “heavy” dish sounds like a wonderful wintry meal, and if this weather keeps up that’s probably what I’ll order.
- Lane