The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘Mexican’

1/20/2010 Laguna Beach

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.

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1/11/2010 Mobile

The Launch of the Komodo

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Invite only!

Last week I was invited to an event called TOAST N’ TASTE, presented by Urban Daddy. The event was by invitation only, so first off, thanks to Dana for the invite. Not only did I feel awesomely elitist for being invited, but the event was free and featured the launch of the Komodo Truck. This newest truck in LA has confirmed the trend that many food trucks have been leaning towards. Basically they make some good food and stick it in tacos (and burritos in Komodo’s case, although on this night they were only making tacos). I suppose the idea is to keep withe the concept of street food and to make it easy to eat. Fine by me, as long as it tastes good.

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1/6/2010

Taco Bell’s New Beefy 5-Layer Burrito

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Cheese Goo!

I few months ago, one of the dirty old Taco Bells near me was knocked down. At first, I was upset, but considering the fact that this Taco Bell was only open ’til 11:00 pm (even on weekends!), it wasn’t a huge loss. Then, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, construction began on a new Taco Bell in the same place! For months I have waited with bated breath for the grand opening. Driving by it every day, there was no sign as to when it would open, other than the increasing amount of lights and paint. Finally, I passed the new Taco Bell last week and saw patrons inside! A grande opening indeed! I took this as a sign that I needed to stop in and test out their new Beefy 5-Layer Burrito.

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12/24/2009 Mobile

A Food Trailer Named Derb’s Gourmet (CLOSED)

This is not a truck.
This is not a truck.

One day I received a random Twitter follow from @derbsgourmet. It piqued my interest so, I decided to follow them and found out that they were a new food truck called Derb’s Gourmet and set to launch in a couple days. Not only that, but they were launching at a bar right down the street from me, Bigfoot West. The sheer convenience was a sign that I had to try them out.

I arrived at 10:00, since that was supposed to be their launch time and saw that this was no normal food truck.

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11/12/2009 Mobile

More First Fridays with the Flying Pig (CLOSED)

Who wouldn't eat from a bright pink truck?
Who wouldn’t eat from a bright pink truck?

EDIT: While the truck is grounded for good, the Flying Pig has spawned some brick and mortar that may or may not be anything like the truck.

For my second course on First Fridays in Abbot Kinney, I headed out to one of LA’s newest food trucks, the Flying Pig. When I first read about this Mexican-French fusion truck, I wasn’t too amazed by what I read. Fusing Mexican food with Asian is one thing, but to try to fuse it with French as well seemed like a strange niche that I didn’t need to explore. Lo and behold, my opinion changed when I saw the truck and the happy customers outside of it.

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10/30/2009 Mobile

More Food Trucking with Don Chow Tacos (CLOSED)

Not quite as shiny as the other trucks...
Not quite as shiny as the other trucks…

Although the Grilled Cheese Truck is the newest member of LA’s fleet of food trucks, Don Chow has already been roaming the streets in search of hungry night life for months.

The truck isn’t nearly as shiny as Kogi or Nom Nom, but I’ve never felt the need to be served from a shiny establishment. In fact, when I did catch up with the Don Chow truck in Venice, the cheap sign had fallen off and it looked like any other generic taco truck. Good thing my girlfriend noticed a small sign on the front of the truck ensuring us it was Don Chow.

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10/26/2009 Ontario

Some Much-Needed Mexican at El Torito

There be onions hidden in there.
There be onions hidden in there.

After a long drive back from Phoenix, I was willing to eat about anything. Luckily in Ontario, we came across El Torito, a Mexican sit-down restaurant that is all over California. I actually saw El Torito in Istanbul, which has kept me from going for a long time because I question their authenticity. Nonetheless, I had put off El Torito for long enough and I was so damn hungry.

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10/13/2009 Los Angeles

Taco Tuesdays at The Spanish Kitchen (CLOSED)

Objects in picture are smaller than they appear.
Objects in picture are smaller than they appear.

Looking to once again find a winning Taco Tuesday, I headed to The Spanish Kitchen near West Hollywood to see what they had to offer.

What they had to offer was pretty impressive. They had a huge selection of tacos ranging from adobo grilled chicken to spicy shrimp and all were priced at 2 bucks. At the time, each meat automatically came with its own salsa, but I see now that the menu offers every salsa with every meat so the eater can customize to their heart’s content. Despite not having this option before, they still had some fun-looking tacos.

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8/27/2009 Mobile

Almost Deja Vu at the Nom Nom Truck (CLOSED)

Like a shiny beacon of Vietnamese-ness.
Like a shiny beacon of Vietnamese-ness.

A little more than eight months after my first taste of Kogi BBQ, I found myself once again standing in the parking lot of The Brig, eager to take on another food truck inspired by the fusion of Asian and Mexican food. If so much hadn’t changed in the food truck scene of LA since that first taste of Kogi, I would have felt some intense deja vu. Since the arrival of Kogi, it feels like a new food truck is unrolled every week. From the architecturally inspired ice cream sandwiches of Coolhaus to the beautiful women running Baby’s Badass Burger truck, I almost feel like LA offers more food on wheels than it does in restaurants, with more coming. Nonetheless, the official opening of the Vietnamese and Mexican fusion Nom Nom Truck was exciting for me, and I made my way to The Brig in Venice to see if I would have a new friend on wheels.

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7/29/2009 Santa Monica

Classy Mexican at Border Grill

Sickly looking green stuff on my quesadilla!
Sickly looking green stuff on my quesadilla!

It’s pretty rare, but sometimes it’s good to break free of Mexican fast-food and slow, yet still greasy Mexican food. To make this jump, I went to the Border Grill in Santa Monica and attempted to class-up my Mexican repertoire.

They actually had a surprisingly welcome selection of unvegan options and I was torn between a few of the dishes. The steep prices may have ended up playing a role in my final selection, which was still pretty pricey at $15. This was one of their specials, the Chicken Adobo Quesadilla. Adobo is a great seasoning, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. It came with manchego, panela and cotija cheeses inside, and mizuna salad, salsa fresca, guacamole and sour cream on the outside. I ordered mine without the mizuna salad and although I’m not entirely sure what “mizuna” means, I know it involved vegetables I didn’t want to eat.

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