The Unvegan

Recent Posts

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10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus

‘Meat’

Fighting for Frankies at India Jones

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Hello Frankie.

I visited the India Jones truck at good old First Fridays evening on Abbot Kinney. The area was pretty packed, but I had been following India Jones on Twitter and was eager to try them out. When I got there, Mr. Jones himself was dealing with a horrible skater punk who had decided to steal a can of Pellegrino. It was an uncomfortable situation, because the skater guy was obviously a terrible person, and luckily someone stepped in and grabbed the can to return to Jones. One of his idiot friends decided to hit the truck with his skateboard and ran away, because he was like a child, and although Jones chased after him, it was to no avail, the buffoon had gotten away. After seeing this, my hunger for some food from this truck grew even more. Jones was willing to defend his truck and fight against dumb hooligans, so I was happy to support. And by support I mean order food.

Getting Fried at Asian Soul Kitchen (CLOSED)

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It’s a sooouuuul truck.

Combining Asian Food and Soul Food is kind of an interesting concept, and in doing so the Asian Soul Kitchen truck was born in LA. I decided to follow them on Twitter because their twitter name of “itsbentobaby” sounded pretty awesome to me. I found them on Abbot Kinney and took a look at their menu. Although some of their specific Asian foods like yakisoba looked good, I needed something with a lot more meat to it. To get that fix, I turned to their Lollipop Chicken.

Subpar-BQ at Barbie’s Q

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The Q stands for quixotic.

So for my final truck on the Haiti Fundraiser day, I decided to visit an old truck that I still haven’t gotten the chance to try out. This was Barbie’s Q, “A Rollin’ BBQ Joint.” The idea of getting BBQ from a truck has always sounded kind of suspect, but my buddy told me it was pretty good, so I trusted him. I also trusted the looks of the man taking orders outside the truck that looked like he had just walked out of a Willie Nelson concert or a shootout at the OK Corral. Or both.

Further Fusion at Kabob Express

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Not flashy

Joining the flashy and stylish trucks at the Haiti Fundraiser was an old-fashioned looking truck called Kabob Express. Fusion is a pretty big part of these trucks and Kabob Express has embraced that with their Mexi-Terranean fusion. Mexican and Mediterranean food is kind of a fusion match made in food heaven. Schwarma is awesome and that succulent meat can be thrown in pretty much anything to make it taste better. Kabob Express knew that and took advantage of it by offering schwarma in tacos and burritos. Hoping to save room for more food, I ordered myself a Mexi-Terranean taco.

A Pretty Happy Hour at Capitol City (CLOSED)

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Oh you know…just wingin’ it.

Some bars are known for their food, some bars don’t have any food (losers) and some bars happen to have food, but aren’t exactly known for it. Capitol City, a semi-new sports bar in Hollywood is one of the latter. Nonetheless, there was a football game to be watched and it happened to fall during happy hour, so Capitol City became my dinner and drinks destination for the night.

First off, their happy hour is pretty badass by the looks. It includes some pretty decent beers, including Blue Moon for four bucks, which is as good as you’re gonna get in Hollywood. Drinks aside, they have some great-looking $5 appetizers, so after downing a couple Blue Moons, I decided to order their wings.

Half Off at Luna Park

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Three little piggies.

Apparently Henry’s Hat isn’t the only place that sends out half-price coupons. Luna Park, part of the same family with Henry’s Hat, also partakes in these amazing deals. So the last time Luna Park sent out an offer, we headed out to the Miracle Mile area to check out what Luna Park was all about.

The first thing I noticed on their menu was they had a beer called Skyscraper Bulldozer Honeyweizen. I was so excited to see this, since my favorite beer is Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss, so I made sure to order this immediately. When I drank it, I was pretty happy. It’s a bit sweeter and thicker than Honey Weiss, but definitely a good choice since I can’t get that beer out here. Unfortunately, this is the only place I’ve ever seen that beer, so hopefully I’ll be able to find it again sometime.

Going Green at La Sirena Grill

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Green sauce!

Heading into La Sirena Grill in Laguna Beach, I really had no idea what to expect. I had followed a friend there and hoped for the best. Walking in, we were somehow immediately in line to order from the counter. The line wasn’t terribly fast, though, so I had some time to figure out what to order. I was pretty impressed to see that the place used only grass-fed beef and free-range chicken. I don’t usually go out of my way to find restaurants like these, but I’m always happy when I do. Most importantly, though, the price of the food hadn’t been jacked up like it usually is when something is green or organic.

A Classy Lunch at Bottega Louie

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An open kitchen, always in motion.

Walking into Bottega Louie in downtown for lunch, I really had no idea what to expect. My girlfriend had told me it was some sort of market, but I found that it was also a bustling restaurant. And this was no ordinary bustling restaurant. There wasn’t just one kitchen, but multiple kitchen-esque stations that were in plain view for everyone. There was movement everywhere and a waiting list to get a table. For lunch! I knew this place had to be good.

Crunchy Beef from Sorabol (CLOSED)

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Does this look good to you? Why?

EDIT: This location is closed, but miraculously Sorabol lives on elsewhere.

Since Korean BBQ has never let me down and the Century City food court has also never let me down, I decided to check out Sorabol, the Korean BBQ place in the Century City food court. At the time it seemed like a great idea. I walked up to their stand and saw a few different food items hanging out in heating trays, so I chose their beef short ribs. They looked a bit dry, but the woman behind the counter ladled some sort of Korean sauce over them. They came with noodles, rice and some vegetable sides. I dismissed the vegetable sides and paid my 10 bucks, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I was wrong.

Eating Meaty at Paul Martin’s

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There is nothing short about this rib.

If you’re getting tired of food truck writing, well, you are in luck. Today unvegan is jumping back into the brick and mortar world with a visit to Paul Martin’s American Bistro. Paul Martin’s is exactly the kind of restaurant a lot of Americans are looking for in the new decade. A creation of restaurateur Paul Fleming and Brian Bennett, it isn’t too expensive, but is definitely upscale. Perhaps more important than that is its supposed dedication to serving organic, sustainable and local foods. It’s a great concept that I can get behind, but pretty ineffective unless the food is good. Using my heightened unvegan senses, I checked them out for lunch to see if organic, local and sustainable translates into a good meal.

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