Take A Bao – Studio City, CA

Take A Bao is so far the best Asian fusion restaurant we’ve been to in the valley. On this particular night we ordered take out, but the interior has a great atmosphere with a slight oriental decor along with a full bar. The menu is a mix variety of Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese cuisine made to accommodate the taste buds of Americans. When we first found this place we came at least once a week. They have a wide variety of great food, but our favorite dishes are the Korean BBQ short rib and Tempura tofu and Chinese eggplant.

The Carnivore ordered the Korean BBQ short rib, which is similar to traditional Korean bimbimbap. It has grilled short rib, house kimchi mix, bok choy leave, fried egg, scallions and spicy Korean red chili sauce served with white or brown rice. The combination of these ingredients mixed with some sriracha sauce will make any mouth drool.

The Vegan ordered the Tempura tofu and Chinese eggplant which is kimchi marinated crispy tofu, warm salad of baby bok choy, chinese eggplant, baby corn, scallions and finger chilies served with white or brown rice. It is divine and will give you every reason to come back, especially during happy hour for $7 cocktails. The sauce they use in this dish is the perfect compliment with the veggies and tofu.

Take A Bao has several other great dishes. I have a friend who really enjoys their Salmon. They also have delicious Tom Yum Soup that is vegan and gluten free. Take a visit, you won’t regret it!

Carnivore rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★½

Vegan rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★½

Check our yelp for even more great reviews.

Cheers!
Nikki & Ron

Vinh Loi – Reseda, CA

Ask any vegan and they will tell you Vinh Loi in Reseda, CA is the best vegan restaurant in the Valley. The owner and chef Kevin is an Ironman triathlete and is known as “The Iron Monk”. The restaurant is decorated with hundreds of metals and awards he has received over the years. Not only is he well accomplished, but a very good chef and all around nice guy. You will not leave his establishment disappointed.

Ron has known of this place for several years and had ordered their tofu pudding to go, but never had the courage to dine in and order some vegan food.

Ron and I have eaten here several times. We have tried our best to experience new dishes as there are several great options. On this particular night we ordered the vegan “chicken” nuggets with peanut dipping sauce as an appetizer and I am pretty sure we will order this every time we go! We both agree that they taste better than “real” chicken nuggets and the peanut sauce accompanied with some chili sauce is in one word “YUM!”.

Ron (the carnivore) ordered the Porridge. It is rice congee (rice soup) seasoned in vegetable broth. It come with shiitake mushrooms, vegan shrimps, bean sprouts, lime and Chinese donuts. The porridge and the Chinese donuts go together like peanut butter and jelly. Note that Chinese donuts are not like American donuts. He would describe them as deep fried breadsticks without the loaded sugar. This dish is very close to Ron’s heart as it is very common to eat this for breakfast in Indonesia (Chinese Immigrants brought this tradition of eating porridge and donuts in the morning).

I (the vegan) had the Vegan BBQ duck with sesame. It came with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, pickled carrots, and sauce with brown rice. This was very good, but it is not my favorite dish at Vinh Loi. Bun Bo Hue is one of my favorites and is what I would recommend to first time visitors.

In summary, we highly recommend this place to both the vegan and the carnivore. Everyone will leave satisfied!

Carnivore rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★½

Vegan rating: 5 stars our of 5 stars – ★★★★★

For more reviews: yelp

Cheers!

Nikki & Ron

Thai Teak / Thai Vegan – Santa Monica, CA

Thai teak also known as Thai Vegan is a “hole in the wall” kind of restaurant that serves Thai vegan cuisine. It’s located on Main street, across from “Urth Cafe” (there is parking on Hollister Ave). It reminds us of college life again. The food is very inexpensive (most expensive item is $7.75) and they give big portions.

The carnivore ordered the Tofu Panang Curry. I’d say that this dish has all the ingredients of Panang Curry minus the fish sauce. We ordered the Dumplings as an appetizer. The taste was ok. This is not the best vegan Thai place in Los Angeles area, but in comparison to the prices, I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The vegan ordered the Pad Thai. I did not enjoy my dish as much as I enjoyed Ron’s Panang Curry. I would not order it again. I also did not like the dumplings as I thought they tasted like something you would buy from the store and heat up in the microwave. What I did enjoy was the fresh coconut. You can never go wrong with a fresh coconut!

In summary, I think we would both agree that staying open late is a bonus for them as I am sure their biggest customers are drunk college kids looking for a quick bite. The atmosphere is definitely a hipster attraction.

side note: They also have a nice juice and smoothie bar that gave us free samples, which is something I would go back for.

 Carnivore rating: 4 out of 5 stars – ★★★★

Vegan rating: 2 out of 5 stars – ★★

As always check out other reviews on yelp.

Cheers!

Tony’s Darts Away – Burbank

Crafted beers and signature sausage is what makes this place great for the carnivore and the vegan. This restaurant/bar is located in Burbank area just a few blocks from the Flappers Comedy Club. As a vegan it can be difficult to find a restaurant/bar that serves food you can eat. A lot of times you are stuck with a house salad or french fries, but this place makes an enjoyable bar experience for anyone with food restrictions. Although they serve a little more than just sausage, almost anything can be made vegan on the menu. They also specialize in crafted beers that Ron and I did not try, but from the other yelp reviews it wouldn’t be a mistake to buy one. This place is great for before or after a long day/night.

Nikki (the vegan) ordered the “Vegan Apple of My Eye” which is a vegan apple sage sausage topped with brown mustard, vegenaise, griddled onions, slaw, and mango melon salsa. It was sweet and savory! I have to add that this place is probably one of my favorites so far. You can come with a bunch of friends, enjoy a game and relax or come for a drink and dinner before or after a movie. I will definitely go back and if you haven’t been I hope you check it out!

Ron (the carnivore) tried the “Vegan Hot n’ Spicy”. The sausage tasted amazing and was very similar to a beef dog. They also put USR (Ultra Super Red) hot sauce, creole mustard, jalapeños, and some peppers on it. Being a spicy food fanatic I’d rate the spiciness as 3 out of 10. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience! I’ll be back for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

Lastly, when you go, try the Pyntch’s Mad Sweet-Potato Fries which is tossed in maple-chipotle glaze 
and crushed almonds (made vegan and non-vegan) they are the best sweet potato fries we have ever had!

Vegan rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★½

Carnivore rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★½

Cheers!

We’re Engaged!

Ron and I are engaged! He proposed the Sunday before last, which is why we haven’t posted a new restaurant. However, I’m sure you don’t care and all you are wondering is how did it happen!?

On Sunday, Ron took me to the place we had our first date, which was a vegan friendly restaurant called “Hugo’s” (We did a blog about Hugo’s Tacos previously). Hugo’s is the main restaurant that serves more than just Mexican food. After lunch he took me to El Matador Beach in Malibu. While we were there we came across a caricaturist and Ron asked him if he would draw us. After about 20 minutes, he presented us with a picture of Ron proposing to me. That’s when Ron got on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. And of course, I said Yes! After his proposal we had an engagement photo shoot. But, that is not the end. After we arrived home he told me to change so we could go out again. He surprised me with an engagement party with some of my friends. It was wonderful! I couldn’t asked for a better proposal or a better man to pop the question.

Pictures taken by Huy Hoang

Vegan Plate – Studio City, CA

Do you love Thai food? The sweet, the spicy, the savory flavors that Thai food brings to the world is what I would call mouth watering magic.

This past weekend Ron and I went away for the weekend to Lake Arrowhead. We got home last night exhausted and decided ordering take out was the best choice.

We ordered from Vegan Plate in Studio City, CA. It is an all vegan place that provides mostly Thai cuisine, however they do have some wraps and burgers.

Nikki’s Review: I ordered the Pad Thai dinner combo which came with soy chicken, a side salad, brown rice and a fried spring roll. The Pad Thai was nice, I do think some more bean sprouts and scallions would have added alot more flavor to it. The side salad was amazing. I even ate Ron’s. The dressing was divine! The fried spring roll was mediocre and the brown rice had a touch of sweetness that made it quite flavorful. I would get the salad again and will probably try the curries that they have available to compliment their flavorful brown rice.

Ron’s Review: I ordered the Spicy Noodle combo. My vegan girlfriend ordered it for me and she ordered it with “extreme spiciness”. The meal is a combination of flat rice noodles, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, beef tofu, and sweet basil. I noticed that they also used red chili pepper to make the noodles extra spicy. The noodles came with a fried spring roll, a small scoop of brown rice and a pint of salad. There is nothing special with the fried spring roll, brown rice, and as you already know Nikki ate my salad. But the noodles are AMAZING. The amount of sauce, salt, and basil are just right for the noodles. My prediction is that they used a combination of bean sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil for the stir-fried sauce. I’d give the meal 4.5 stars and I’d definitely come back.

Vegan rating: 3 out of 5 stars – ★★★

Carnivore rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars -★★★★½

Have you been here before? Tell us about your experience in the comments. For more reviews check out yelp.

Cheers!

 

Doomie’s Home Cookin’ – Hollywood

Instantly when you see the words Home Cookin’ life gets a little bit sweeter. You start to relax inside knowing you are going to be taken care of and are about to eat food that warms you up inside. That is exactly how Ron and I felt when we went to Doomie’s Home Cookin’. This is an all vegan American restaurant. You will get an assortment of burger, sandwiches/wraps, mac and cheese, biscuits and gravy and the best American comfort food, fried chicken. Being a carnivore, Ron was a little skeptical. How can you make fried chicken, vegan and taste good? It’s possible!

We ordered the nachos per the waitresses suggestion and I am glad we did! They also have Jalapeño Poppers, but they were out. We will try them next time we go.

The Carnivore ordered the fried chicken, potatoes, roll and corn on the cob. After waiting for some time, finally my meal arrived and to my surprise I was at KFC ;). the Chicken tasted real. It had all the features of a good southern fried chicken. In the drumstick they even put a wooden stick in it to make it feel like a real bone. It seemed the chicken breast and the drumstick were made of different ingredients to accommodate for the differences in white and dark meat. I preferred the chicken breast. It was amazing!

The Vegan ordered the Big Mac with fries, which is on the “secret menu” that everyone talks about on yelp. I had to try this McDonald’s imitation and I was amazed at how much it tasted just like a Big Mac. I almost wanted to double check with the waitress to make sure it was actually vegan.

We waited a good 45 mins for our appetizer and then another 30 minutes for our food after that. We were very unhappy with the timing of our food. It seemed some people were getting their food on time and others were getting it late. Not sure what happened. It seems from yelp that this is an ongoing issue, but needless to say, It is worth the wait. We recommend arriving a lot earlier or order ahead of time and get take out. The waitress was very nice, apologetic and gave us a free dessert (we chose the Tiramisu). It was decent, but there is nothing like the real thing. (This coming from the vegan). We also got a fruit danish and chocolate croissant to go for breakfast the next day and they were great! The chocolate croissant being the better of the two if you had to pick one. 🙂

Vegan rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★½

Carnivore rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars – ★★★★★

Have you been to this restaurant before? Did this review help you in choosing your next place to eat? Let us know in the comments. We would love to hear from you.

Cheers!

Vegan World – Studio City

We missed you this past week. We seemed to have lost time, and it is now a new week. Ron and I had some things to do and take care of last night, so we got delivery from Vegan World. They are an all vegan American and Asian Cuisine restaurant. They have anywhere from burgers and fries to curry dishes and fried rice. Knowing that it is a predominant Asian staff we went with ordering the Asian cuisine and it did not disappoint.

Together we ordered an appetizer of Orange “Chicken”. Wowza! It was good. You could tell they cooked it with real orange slices (as they were in the dish) and didn’t just drown it in artificial orange marinade from the store.

The Vegan ordered the Kung Pao dinner with Mixed veggies only. The dinner came with a side of brown/black rice, a fresh spring roll and a side salad with peanut sauce. Who doesn’t love peanut sauce? It can make anything taste good. Have a bad batch of cooked veggies, put some peanut sauce on it – magically delicious! Rice tastes bland – peanut sauce! Salad needs some “OOMPH” – peanut sauce!

The Carnivore ordered the Chinese Soup which came with broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, onion, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro and tofu. It reminds Ron of his early childhood memories of eating tamarind soup in Indonesia. He will definitely get it again when feeling homesick.

For dessert we got the vegan lemon cake. It was delightful. I have a big sweet tooth and anything lemon screams “EAT ME!”. Ron did not care for the lemon cake, saying it was too sweet. They also gave us a free coconut pancake for ordering more than $30 dollars of food. It cost us $40 with delivery charge, not bad for 2 people, plus leftovers! We both enjoyed the coconut pancakes. They were perfectly light and fluffy!

Vegan rating: 5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★★

Carnivore rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★½

Have you been here before? Leave us a comment letting us know what you ordered. We will try it next time and let you know what we thought. Also, please feel free to recommend places to eat as we are always looking for new places to go.

Cheers!

Photos courtesy of yelp.

Real Food Daily – Santa Monica

This weekend we had some of the best vegan food we have had. Real Food Daily is a must-go-to restaurant when you hang in Santa Monica area. It is a casual dining place just walking distance from the famous 3rd street, and a short walk from the Pier. As you enter the restaurant, you can already experience the ambiance of healthy cooking and healthy living. The warm and kind service by the hostess and waiter is a plus as well. Real Food Daily has a variety of seasonal vegan cooking.

We started with the seasonal baked Yucca Fries served with sweet mustard and spicy aioli. Ron had to fight me to finish them off. The carnivore tried the real food burger. The patty is made of lentil stacked caramelized onions, arugula, chipotle aioli, and house made pickled jalapeño to give it a kick. Everything is placed in a delicious toasted ciabatta. The burger is also complemented with a house or caesar salad. The vegan had the Kung Pao which is a stir-fry of vegetables, lotus root, marinated tempeh, peppers, chipotle cashew cheese, avocado, jicama slaw and spanish rice. It is to die for! If I had room I would have ordered another one, it was so good! We finished the evening with two scoops of chocolate peanut butter ice cream. This may seem like a broken record, but it was good!

Real Food Daily has a huge variety of different plant based cuisine that both the vegan and the carnivore will enjoy. We hope you will take our word for it and try it out. They also have additional locations in Pasadena, West Hollywood, and inside LAX.

Vegan rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★★½

Carnivore rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars -★★★★½ (The best vegan I have had so far)

If you have tried other dishes at Real Food Daily comment below and let us know. We will be sure to try them next time!

Cheers!

Hugo’s Tacos – Sherman Oaks

When is it not taco time? If for some tragic reason you are indecisive about what to eat, tacos are always a good idea. That was the case with Ron and I, so we went to Hugo’s Tacos. A vegan-friendly restaurant perfect for the vegan and the carnivore. If you have never been to this location, prepare to eat outside. You will order and they will call your number when it is ready. However, some other locations have indoor seating. 

If you are a vegan, there are several options to choose from the menu, as they can make almost anything vegan.They have a large variety of meat options, such as chicken, carne asada, carnitas, and soy chorizo and mix veggies for the vegan, along with everything Mexican you can think of. They even have vegan froyo! YAY!  I ordered the Soy Chorizo Taquitos with guacamole, beans, salsa and lettuce, which I am not sure I would order again. However, I have been here before and ordered the mixed veggies tacos and bowl and they are both very good! Ron (The Carnivore) ordered the carnitas burrito and from the silence the entire time he was eating, saying he enjoyed it is an understatement.

Vegan rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★½

Carnivore rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars – ★★★½

Overall, we like this place and will probably visit again when we want a quick bite. As always, check out yelp for more reviews!

Cheers!