Went to Seed Bistro in West LA last week....

Ok, so Seed Bistro is high-end vegan food.  But, let me tell you something, this place is FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD! The salad was amazing and the seitan was even better.  I could have done without the penne and the risotto (slightly heavy/oily).  This place has an amazing wine/beer selection, including GF beers! Desserts looked great too.  Make your significant other take you there for date night ASAP!

arugula, green bean, crunch walnuts, soy blue cheese dressing

seitan pepper steak, watercress,
fork mash potatoes

gluten-free penne bolognese á la ruška, lentil, oregano

risotto

Native Foods HAPPY HOUR?!

Cheap Vegan Food....That's actually DELICIOUS????

YESSSSS, PLEASE!

Saigon Rolls

Fridays, 3-6pm, half off all appetizers.....GO!

VINH LOI TOFU is BOMBBBBBBBB!

 First, check out the website.

Then, drive there IMMEDIATELY!

Third, try EVERYTHING on the menu! They have vegan desserts too : )))

Vinh Loi Tofu

Yummy Treats/Places to Try!

1. All of Lenny&Larry's Complete Cookies! This is their newest flavor....You can find them at the Mobil Gas Station on Reseda/Burbank in Tarzana, along with a bunch of other vegan goodies they sell  :)) 
2. Earth Bar Menu  - Showed you a pic in my last post.  Their shakes are YUMMY.  Get there NOW. 
3. Liquid Juice Bar  - in WeHo...never been but heard great things.  Great menu filled with yummy shakes, acai bowls, and wellness shots.  

Urth Cafe Review

Urth Cafe is probably one of my top 5 favorite cafes in Los Angeles. It has amazing salads, soups, sandwiches, organic coffees and teas, and ethnic dishes (i.e. Mediterranean platter, tostada salad, sushi roll).  Many of which are vegan/vegetarian (they also carry soy cheese, almond milk, rice milk and soy milk!) To top it off, they have several vegan dessert options, including this chocolate cake:

 DELISH! If you going vegan, here are some must haves at Urth:
1. BOBA! Every single vegan kind they can make!
2. Soups: Vegetarian chili, tomato rice, broccoli
3. Sprout Sandwich, w/o cheese
4. Urth salad and Urth Farmer's Salad (no cheese), Greek salad (no cheese), Tostada (no cheese)
5. Vegan Panini Portabella
5. Mediterranean Platter! YUMM!
6. Vegan Quesadilla & Tamales
7.  Granola, Oatmeal
8. Any omelet with tofu!
9. Vegan Cookies!!!
10. and lastly, DURING HOLIDAYS: VEGAN PUMPKIN PIE & VEGAN CHOCOLATE TART!!

Urth Cafe has 4 locations: 1 in Bev Hills, 1 in WeHo, 1 in SaMo, and 1 in Downtown...Get to one ASAP!

Kind Kreme...Come to my bellayyy plz

KindKreme is good.  KindKreme is reallyyyy goood. Really reallyy goood. And I mean, everything.  Everything there is delicious, decadent, creamy, milky, and satisfying!  On this day, I opted for the ice kreme shake! Sooooo refreshing on a hot day! Go NOWWWW...You'll thank me soonafter.



Here's there website: KindKreme


PS- They recently started serving savory food items as well!

I'm baaaaackkk!!

Ok, so I was having some major technological issues the past few months....But I'M BACK and ready to get on track with VeggieHiddenTreasures!


I've visited and enjoyed several noteworthy restaurants and will discuss them shortly in upcoming blogs. Happy reading!

Milky's Vegan/Pareve Frozen Yogurt! on Robertson near Pico!

Milky's Frozen Yogurt: http://milkysyogurt.com/

This place is AWESOME for us vegans...Not only is it soft-serve, and have 4 vegan flavors daily, but all the vegan flavors are made with organic soy milk!! DEF try the chocolate and strawberry ( they also had vanilla and caramel, but preferred those two).

Also, the owners are this sweet, adorable couple, so go in and give them your much deserved business!!

Veggie Grill WeHo

I had the Carne Asada on a Bed of Kale

Took Moms here for her b-day lunch.... 

Mom had the All American Stack Burger

She's not a vegetarian and she loved it...So maybe you will too.

They have several locations in the LA area: WeHo, Farmer's Market, SaMo, and a few more.  Make your way out and give it a shot! One of my personal favs there is the All Hail Kale Salad!

M Cafe - Beverly Hills

So, just to clarify: M Cafe is NOT VEGAN. Ok, now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about the food.  It's famous for its Big Macro burger (a play off McDonald's Big Mac) with a side of Kale with Spicy Peanut Dressing Salad:

The Kale Salad is one of my favs...The burger was good, but a bit dry. 

We also ordered 2 of the Deli Case Selections: 

Sesame Soba Noodles and Quinoa Salad with Beets

Loved the Soba Noodle Salad, the Quinoa was so-so.  All in all, M Cafe is yummy and has great options for pescatarian vegetarians (fish eaters) and vegans, alike.  Just found out they are also carrying Babycakes treats! YUM!

PS: I hear the Vegan Benedict is great here! Next on my list!

Did I mention I LOVE COFFEE???!

Random? Well, I really really REALLY love coffee.  Pure, black, straight-up, no sugar, no milk, nada, just the good strong black italian stuff. yum.

So I was at the Americana in Glendale today and found this adorable, authentic espresso set for sale at the cafe (Deluca's Italian Deli) that we had lunch. FYI, Deluca's has great food as well, and good vegetarian (some prepared vegan foods from the deli case) options.  Check out the menu here: http://delucasdeli.com/menu.html (I ordered the combo salad option: Capponata, Insalata di Farro, and a Wild Rice Salad with Marcona Almonds)

Anyways, I had to make me some espresso AS SOON AS I stepped foot into the house, and I did... So how was it?

Well, I love coffee, the stronger the better, so I felt the espresso fell a little flat in terms of strength and depth of flavor.  It was still good and enjoyable, but I think I'm gonna head out and get me some fresh Italian espresso beans and grind them up myself, to get the best espresso experience!

Either way, this machine is adorable, easy-to-use, and gave me an old-school, European feeling that I loved.... So...very glad I got it and plan to use it DAILY :)

BABYCAKES - DTLA

YUM! YUM! YUMMMMM!!!

Chocolate Dipped Mini Donut, Brownie, Red Velvet Cupcake

BASICALLY, if you haven't been here yet, GET YOUR BUTT HERE ASAP! IT'S AWESOME!  (although, I must admit, the red velvet cupcake wasn't moist at all.  The frosting kinda made up for it...) Usually, EVERYTHING IS BOMB, but def give the WAFFLES, BROWNIES, AND DONUTS A SHOT....YUM ATTACK CENTRAL!!!!

Mendocino Farms - Downtown LA

I'm tired so I'm going to get straight to the point: THIS PLACE IS CUTE. ADORABLE. CROWDED. AND IT HAS PRETTY DARN GOOD FOOD. 

This was on my "food bucket list" and I'm glad I was able to make it out for lunch. I ordered the "My Vegan Trip Through India" and it was HEFTY.  I could only eat half of it but it was pretty good, a little heavy (if I had to make any criticism) but good nonetheless.

This place offers 2 VEGAN SANDWICH OPTIONS and it also had 2 prepared salad options that were both PHENOMENAL! One black eyed pea salad and one spinach salad.   I was also informed that they usually offer 1 VEGAN SOUP, although they didn't have one today :(

The food is GOOD and definitely worth a shot.  Next time I go I will be trying the mexican style sandwich and maybe some vegan chili and I'll let yall know how that goes...

Figueroa Produce Market - Highland Park

I was in downtown LA today for some work/school stuff and decided that it would be the perfect time to make that long-overdue trip out to Figueroa Produce in the Highland Park area of LA.  So, it's FAR, really FAR, and it's tucked into this tiny little store in a huge shopping center.

After I finally found it and went in, I saw what a cute, charming little local market this actually was.  I made my rounds through the aisles: fresh produce, lots of vegan/vegetarian options, the famous match meats, jackfruit, non-cheese cheeses, cupcakes, breads, etc.  But I gotta be honest here, as EXCITED as I was to go there and get a vegan sub sandwich and the oh-so-famous jackfruit tamales, I couldn't get around the strong RAW BEEF smell permeating the store.  It really ruined my appetite and the experience for me, unfortunately...

They carry Dr. Cow, Teese, Daiya, and a few more...

Either way, I did pick up some stuff from the store (and enjoyed meeting the very nice owners of the place): 

I had tried both of these at the Natural Food Expo & was DYING to get my hand on some since!

SCOOPS Westide - Vegan Ice Cream

Scoops has opened up their second location on the westside near Culver City: 3400 Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034.  Here's their twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scoopswestside.


They make fresh batches of ice cream daily with weird/fun concoctions and they usually offer 2 non-dairy varieties as well!  Yesterday's were Non-Dairy Blueberry Pomegranate and Non-Dairy Coffee Hazelnut.  Honestly, BOTH WERE MAGNIFICENT! UNREAL! DELICIOUS! ARE YOU SURE THIS STUFF'S REALLY VEGAN?????

1 scoop is two flavors. Your first "scoop" is essentially two scoops.

I asked myself that couple times whilst stuffing my face with the good stuff.  And, yes, to our surprise and joy, IT IS 100% VEGAN!


So, go get you some and let me know how awesome it truly is :)

NEW Fresh Corn Grill - West Hollywood!

Fresh Corn Grill has been a favorite among Westsiders for the past few years since it opened in Westwood and now, to many people's (including myself's) excitement, they have opened their second location here in my neck of the woods: WEST HOLLYWOOD! Fresh Corn Grill boasts an awesome, clean, fresh American-style menu stocked with pizza, pasta (gluten-free option), salads, bowls, soups, veggie side dishes, ....

The food tastes great, and as a vegetarian you have MANY OPTIONS.  Here's a looksie at the menu:

VEGAN Options: BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP, FRESH CORN GRILL SALAD,  FRESH CORN TOSTADA SALAD (no cheese), GREEK SALAD (no cheese), GREEN SALAD, ALL SIDE DISHES, FRESH CORN VEGETABLE BOWL WITH TOFU, GRILLED VEGETABLE PASTA (GLUTEN FREE OPTION)

Went there yesterday and ordered some vegan stuff for myself, while my non-vegan fam ordered non-vegan, which they seemed to love (Sundried Tomato Pizza, Grilled Chicken Tacos, Grilled Chicken Sandwich).  Here are some pics:

Butternut Squash Soup

Fresh Corn Grill Salad

The soup was a bit too sweet for my taste, but still good enough to eat.  The salad WAS BOMB! Yummy, charred, smokey vegetables in a crisp salad with DELICIOUS DRESSING.... VERY GOOD! Also, my sister's side order of cabbage salad WAS DELISH! Cabbage with Grilled corn and basil...Great Combo!

All in all, great place for omnivores and herbivores...Definite Recommendation!

Mrs. Winston's Green Grocery

 Two locations in Santa Monica & one in Century City, MRS. WINSTON'S GREEN GROCERY is truly LA'S BEST!  What a gem!  Here are pics of the one in CC...

It has a Sandwich Bar, a Salad Bar AND a Soup Bar! And all three ARE UNREAL! Amazing selection (especially for VEGETARIANS!) and meat-eaters alike! Fresh, clean, abundant, yummy, organic, hormone free meats, and did I say VEGAN???? They offer at least 10 different vegan meat-like options ( Vegan Pastrami is viewed in pic, Vegan chicken salad, etc).
You can make your own sandwich with different kinds of breads, meats, cheeses, spreads, etc.

They also have a soup bar with 4-5 different options, of which half are VEGAN! And DELISH!

Salad bar is amazing too, they have a Vegan Chocolate Pudding too!

Can't wait to go back for more!!

NATURAL PRODUCT EXPO WEST.... a bit delayed...

So, I know I'm a week late.  But, to my defense, I ate A LOT there, and had EVEN MORE to eat from my take-homes, so I needed some time to eat, digest and now, write.  So, the pic above is of 1/40th of all the stuff I was given at the show to take home.  This is on top of the MILLION of sampled foods there.  So, yeah, I'm still digesting!

Don't get me wrong, this expo was the most AMAZING event I have ever been to, TRULY!  I mean for someone like me, a foodie, a vegetarian, and a lover of anything NATURAL, it was PURE HEAVEN.  All the big names were there: Amy's, Daiya, Double Rainbow, Soy-Licious, Chicago Soy, Yogi, Kind Bars, Lara Bars, Tom's Toothpaste, Gardenburger, Macrobar, Organic Sunshine Burgers, TaDah!, Eden Organic, Tea's Tea, Cas Cal, Steaz Teas, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Prince Tahini, TerasWhey, Liberte Yogurt, Sol Cuisine Vegan Gluten-Free Burgers, EatPastry Vegan Cookie Dough, Stonewall's Vegan Jerquee, Hodo Soy Beanery, AND A MILLION MORE...

I STILL have bags and bags (and bagsss) of stuff from them.  I think the best and easiest way to go about this is name some of my top favs (That I can still remember).  So, here it goes:

Matt's Muchies (Premium Fruit Snack)- Island Mango
Stephen James Luxury Organics - Beauty Bar
Crunchfuls (Cereal)
TahDah! - Lemon-Garlic Hummus Falafel Wrap
Organic Sunshine Burgers - Falafel
Soy-Licious
Chicago Soydairy Dandies VEGAN MARSHMALLOWS & TEESE CHEESE
Amy's Pizzas
Daiya
Hodo Soy Beanery
EatPastry Vegan Cookie Dough

There's so much more that I'm probably leaving out. BUT, if and when I do remember, I will do an UPDATE!  Please feel free to comment on this if you guys were there and have any favs of your own!

Followers...

Thought I'd throw this out there, in case any of you want to follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/melmoradi.

That's it. Have a nice weekend :)

Fig & Olive Los Angeles - Review

Fig & Olive (a NYC restaurant) opened up their flagship West Coast location in Weho last week (off of La Cienega/Melrose Place).  Checked it out Wednesday night...

Variety of Crostinis (some half eaten...)
TOP FAVS: 1. Mushroom, Truffled Artichoke, Parmesan
2. Manchego, Fig, Marcona Almond

Fig & Olive Salad: Lettuces, Fig, Apple, Manchego, Gorgonzola, Walnut, etc.
UMMM....ONE OF THE BEST SALADS I'VE HAD...EVER!

Provence Vegetables & Burrata
GOOD, NOT GREAT. PESTO RICOTTA WAS INTERESTING...

They start out your night by bringing a trio of olive oils and some delicious pastry-like foccacia bread to your table. 

In addition to the things shown above, we also ordered the PENNE FUNGHI TARTUFO and it was pretty darn good. But, then again, you could put Truffle oil on the bumper of a car and it would be BOMB so...

Other things were ordered, but weren't good enough for a mention here so if you do go make sure to order the Crostinis I mentioned and the salad.  All the desserts are AMAZING too!

BTW, Vegans: some of the crostinis are vegan, as are some of the Vegetable and Soup dishes.

Organic Japanese-Style CREPES in Bev Hills...SO GOOD!

So, my cousin has been raving about this place for months now and today, finally, I had a chance to give it a try.  It's called Harajuku and here's the website: http://www.harajukucrepe.us/.

I was curious what made them Japanese instead of French and the owner explained to me that Japanese-style crepes are much simpler, thinner, and healthier (with use of fresh, natural, simple ingredients).  They don't overstuff and overdo their crepes - Making them deliciously light and perfect for on-the-go munching! What's more, Harajuku Crepe strives to use seasonal, organic ingredients in their dishes!


Here's a pic of my Earl Grey Tea flavored crepe batter filled with organic peanut butter and bananas and strawberries!

They offer lots of options, from breakfast crepes to savory crepes and yummy decadent dessert crepes....

During my chat with the owner, I kept pushing for the addition of a VEGAN crepe on the menu and he said he was trying to come up with one and should have one available SOON! SO EXCITING!

Vegan Yogurt and Vegan Fudge Pops??!!! YUMMM

Here are some must-haves when you go to Whole Foods for your regular groceries:

 ---> REALLY HELP with that Chocolate Fix! Vegan!

This vegan yogurt has AMAZING BENEFITS! It's FULL OF FIBER: 7g per 1 cup serving! Full of Protein! And filled with Essential Minerals, most imp IRON AND CALCIUM!! DEF give it a shot! They also come in smaller, one serving size portions!

FAUX meat can be ....... GOOD???!

So, I have never been a huge faux meat kinda vegetarian, but today's food experience made me eat my words. Bought some Chicken-less Pulled Chicken in BBQ Sauce from Trader Joe's today.  Listen, I don't like fake meat, I usually rather just have veggies and beans and nuts and call it a day, but THIS WAS DAMN GOOD.  Tasted like real down-home bbq, saucy, meat consistency, sweet, tangy (I like it extra tangy so I added some dijon mustard in the cooking process).  Stuck the pulled "chicken" in between a whole wheat toasted bun with a shmear of mustard and a side of homemade broccoli slaw coleslaw and a pickle! It was the BOMB!!!!  Here are some picks of the packaging:

It is made with mostly Wheat Protein, so NO BUENO for those that are doing the GLUTEN FREE thing, sorry :(

It's very healthy: low in calories, fat, sugar, and high in protein and some minerals!

It's really really good, trust me! Give it a shot the next time your at TJ's, just remember to add some mustard (if you like some tang) and/or some red pepper flakes (if you like it spicy)!

Friday Funday....Cafe Muse in Hollywood!

So, since I had one of the toughest school weeks yet this semester, and because one of my best friends is visiting from Israel, I decided to make today a Friday Funday.  "What is that?" you may be wondering. It's exactly as it sounds, a day of FUN.  My girlfriend and I (aiming at the whole two birds/one stone concept) got our cardio by walking from weho to hollywood and then eating some bomb food at Cafe Muse (off of Santa Monica Blvd., few blocks after Highland).  Here's the website:http://www.cafemusela.com/.  It's a cute little cafe with some organic/mostly vegan/vegetarian (they have tuna and cheese) foods.  We tried some of the vegan chili and it WAS BOMB.  Full of beans and I think some soy beef.  Started off with some iced coffees and iced teas.  They have a good menu with lots of options: from veggie sandwiches and mock meat sandwiches, to salads, nachos, wraps and egg dishes (or tofu).  We ended up ordering the Grilled Tofu wrap with Sweet Potato fries on the side. It was a YUMMY asian-style wrap...the tofu was grilled with onions and soy sauce. IT WAS VERY GOOD. My friend said the sweet potato fries were bomb too, and so was the BBQ sauce it came with!

An hr later, my other girlfriend joined us and she ordered the Mexican wrap.  She liked it, although she is a meat-eater and complained that it was "kinda boring."  I think she just said that because she would hate to admit to having actually liked anything vegan. LOL. Anyways, it looked good, crisp and yummy to me! Here are some pics:

My Vegan Grilled Tofu Whole Wheat Wrap:

My Friend's Vegan Mexican Wrap with Whole Wheat:

My vegan-phobic friends also ordered the chocolate chip cookie for dessert and said it was moist and chewy! One complaint is I wish they had home-made vegan sweet treats to choose from (they only had the vegan prepared cookies/cakes) :(

Everything else on the menu looked GREAT and really sparked my interest...I wish I had more of an appetite!  I will DEF be making my way there again, to try some of the other sandwiches and wraps!

PS: They also have live entertainment here at night! And offer wine and beer!