The Unvegan

3/8/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

A Great Decision at Ana Maria’s

While thousands of fools were waiting in the long lines of the LA Street Food Festival to get the same food they could get any night from those Twittering food trucks, my buddy and I made a great decision to head for a different part of downtown LA. This was the Grand Central Market, a glorious collection of restaurant stalls, produce vendors, butchers and more. Almost dead center in this gem of a market was a Mexican place called Ana Maria’s. We took a page out of my Asian handbook and decided that since this place had the longest line, it had to be the best.

Ana Maria's Downtown LA Grand Central Market Grand Central Square Los Angeles Meat Mexican Restaurants

3/5/2010 Heroes and Villains

Hal Johnson and Joanne McCleod: Unvegan Heroes

So the Olympics are over, but if they have taught us anything, we all know that Canada is a pretty sweet place. I may be partial to the country since I grew up an hour from the border and took advantage of the 19+ drinking age in Ontario. Or I may be partial to the country because I am half Canadian and am enamored by both curling and hockey. Whatever the reason, I’ve now discovered a new reason to love Canada and it is called “Body Break.”

Body Break Canada Hal Johnson Heroes and Villains Joanne McCleod Olympics

3/5/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

A Shiny Shiny Beacon (CLOSED)

On a cold, wet afternoon, I was hankering for some lunch when I saw a beacon of hope in Culver City. No, not just any beacon, but a restaurant that was actually called Beacon. This name was just so similar to bacon that I had to try it out. Well, also I had heard some pretty good things about the place. The lunchtime crowd was pretty big, but my girlfriend and I still found a table pretty easily. Beacon was an interesting blend of Asian and American fusion, featuring dishes like “black” edamame (which sounds like an even scarier version than regular edamame) and Miso Braised Short Ribs. By far the most confusing part of the menu was figuring out which dishes were salads and which were sandwiches, since they both fell under the header of “Salads and Sandwiches.”

American Asian Beacon Burgers Culver City Hamburgers Los Angeles Restaurants

3/4/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

I Could Use More MoMo Sushi

They say mo’ money, mo’ problems. And by they I mean Puff Daddy and the Family. But for me, MoMo Sushi is less less problems. To start off, MoMo Sushi is anything but trendy. It sits in a tiny little corner strip at La Cienega and Olympic with 3 or 4 other shops and a 7-11. Although the inside is certainly Japanese, it doesn’t have any of that overdone Japanese decorum that makes trendy places look more Japanese than Japan itself. So for a sushi place, MoMo already had me happy before I looked at the menu.

Japanese Los Angeles Momo Sushi Pico-Robertson Restaurants Sushi

3/3/2010 Reviews Culver City

Newbied at Kay ‘n Dave’s

A long time ago, I was planning to write a review of the then-new Kay ‘n Dave’s in Culver City. At the time, they had a late-night happy hour that was pretty sweet, but before I could write about it, they put the kibosh on it. It left a bad taste in my mouth that prevented me from going to Kay ‘n Dave’s again for a long time, but when I finally went back over the weekend, I was a new man, just looking for a good meal.

Cantinas Culver City Kay 'n Dave's Los Angeles Mexican Restaurants

3/2/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

Overpaying at Overland Cafe (REBRANDED)

EDIT: Overland Cafe has become The Overland, which is basically the same, but somehow cooler.

Often packed and with a line out the door, Overland Cafe sits in the Palms neighborhood just down the street from me. One of their biggest draws, in my mind, is their champagne brunch, featuring all-you-can-drink champagne for 5 bucks until 2:00 pm on weekends. This price doesn’t include the orange juice required to make mimosas, but is still a pretty good deal. Unfortunately, that is just about the only thing that is a good deal there.

Bacon Bagels Breakfast Brunch Champagne Los Angeles Overland Cafe Palms Restaurants Sandwiches

3/1/2010 Reviews Mobile

Domo Lomo Arigato (CLOSED)

Although it seems like I’ve reviewed just about every truck on the streets of LA, there are still a few waiting for an unvegan visit. Lomo Arigato is no longer one of these. This truck dishes out Peruvian food and although they don’t fuse this with any sort of Japanese food, they still threw the word “arigato” into their name. This confused me, but I couldn’t let the strange name distract me from food. There were only three dishes in their menu and although they all looked pretty good, I decided to order their namesake, the Lomo Saltado.

El Segundo Food Trucks Lomo Arigato Los Angeles Mobile Peruvian

2/25/2010 Rants and Raves

Vegetarians Have Small Brains

And in unrelated news: water is wet, winter is cold and the sky is blue. Of course vegetarians have smaller brains, how else to explain their insane diet? According to an article on Signs of the Times, written by Unvegan Hero Barry Groves, so much of brain size is determined by fat intake. As he says, “About half our brain and nervous system is composed of complicated, long-chain, fatty acids.” Plants don’t have these fatty acids and our bodies aren’t exactly capable of making them ourselves. But you know what are capable of producing these fatty acids? Dumb herbivores.

Apes Barry Groves Brains Primates Rants Vegetarians

2/24/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

My Free Jack in the Box Sandwich

Some say the best things in life are free. But that can’t really be true, because food is one of the best things in life and it is rarely ever free. And when you really think about it, is anything really ever free? I mean, maybe it doesn’t cost you money, but it could cost you time, or effort, which are sometimes costlier than actual money. But I digress, this is not a philosophy blog (or IS IT?!), this is a food blog of the highest standards, which is why when Jack in the Box said they were giving away their new sandwiches for free yesterday I took a ride to try them out.

Bacon Chains Fast Food Free Jack in the Box Los Angeles Meat North Hollywood Restaurants Sandwiches

2/24/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

Like Bacon at Pico Kosher Deli

When some Kosher cousins of mine came to visit LA, it was time for me to pay another visit to Pico and Robertson, also known as Little Israel. Once again, it would have been a waste to go to a Kosher place on the dairy end of the spectrum, so we went to Pico Kosher Deli to get some meat going. Sometimes it’s hard for me to get meat without topping it with a cheese of some sort, but the deli had something interesting to top their meat, while still staying Kosher.

Burgers Delis Hamburgers Kosher Little Israel Los Angeles Meat Pastrami Pico Kosher Deli Pico-Robertson Restaurants

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