Vegan catch up

I am a bad blogger. I fully admit this.  I don't update my blog nearly enough. However, there is some yummy catch up to be had. First off, I tried the Whole Foods avocado balsamic sandwich. I gotta say there were some really delicious elements and some that were off.  First of all, my sandwich was drowned in balsamic vinaigrette, like I seriously had to mop up the mess. This struck me as funny since I always have to beg for extra vegan pesto spread on both sides but maybe the balsamic is runnier and just squirts easier. I don't know. I can't hold it against them.  The avocado was delicious but I think I will ask for sauce on the side.  Oh and I didn't have the cheese obviously.

Next, Becca broke me down and I ate sushi. Shame on me I know but it was her birthday. Baby wants and baby gets.

Then we tried out Masa of Echo Park. I've meant to get there sooner but like all things, it takes me awhile to get around to anything.  Becca and I went there with our friend Jim and his girlfriend.  I ordered the deep dish pizza because Quarry Girl raves so much about it.  Now I will make this caveat: I did know going into it that they use corn meal in their crust, which means I am allergic to it.  I can't digest corn (tears for me I know.) However, I have never tried Teese Cheese and I love love love pizza so I figured what the hell.  We had a couple of beers and waited for 45 minutes for the pizza. I got the California veggie which had sundried tomatoes and spinach.  The Teese was great but I wasn't in love with the pizza. Part of this prolly stems from the fact that I realized even as I ate it that I would have an impending skin inflammation at any time.  But there was something too sweet about the sauce. I've never had Chicago pizza either so it confused me a little. I won't lie.  However, the bread they brought out was delicious even without butter and I really enjoyed the ambiance. I will definitely be going back.

Finally, we had brunch at Flore and tried a couple of the new items. I ordered the fritata with fruit.  Now this is a gluten free recipe as well as vegan. It was a tad dry but this is the gluten free of it all.  I will say the kale and onions on top were really what sold me on the dish. It was so flavorful and awesome.

Becca ordered the biscuits and gravy. She is a big fan of the meaty dish so she didn't love this.  However, she admitted that it was good for being vegan. What can I say? As hard as I try, she just refuses to being converted lol.  However, the gravy was a little on the sweet side. I would have preferred a more savory flavor. The potatoes (with kale underneath) were divine. Again I realize more and more that I am powerless over kale. I would swim in it if I could

So there you have it. This was the week or so in wrap-up. Becca and I also ate some Mexican (beans rice for me) and went to a tequila tasting which was pretty sweet.  This week I'm hoping to get my Veggie Grill on because I have a coupon for a free meal for my birthday. Muwah haha!

Flore

Last night I met up with an old co-worker of mine that just returned from a three month journey in India (cue jealousy).  This is a guy that made over $50,000/year working at a major studio for a boss that never showed up to work. Literally he didn't have to go to work unless he felt like it. He gave it all up to do some traveling and now couch surfaces while he looks for a temporary job until he goes back to school. Obviously I'm more than jealous now.  One of the cool things about this transition however is that he is now a vegetarian and agreed to meet me at an East Side vegan restaurant called Flore.

I ordered The Wrap, which is brown basmati rice, roasted veggies, kale, baked tofu and dill dressing all wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla.  Honestly I'm not usually a wrap kind of girl. While I like tortillas, I don't LOVE them. Wraps are usually more Becca's style. I suppose part of me knew I would never finish it all and could give the left-overs to her (for which she was totally grateful at 10 pm when she finally stopped working and burst into tears over the stress of starting her new job while still working at the old). The Wrap was delicious but what made this all the more amazing was the POTATO SALAD. Omg this was amazing, tasted perfect despite all animal products. I practically gulped it all down in one swallow while trying to politely maintain a conversation with my dinner companion. I didn't get to take a picture of it because I always feel a bit awkward when in the company of work-related friends.  Suffice to say that Flore will be on my list of second go around restaurants.

Then today I had the best beet salad from Whole Foods.  I love that they are embracing the whole vegan lifestyle in their display cases, although I did notice that one item said Vegan on the label but a closer look at ingredients clearly mentioned eggs and egg whites...hmmmm.  However, the golden beet salad was amazing.  The picture does not do it justice. Granted a medium sized container was $7 but I couldn't even finish it all at lunch.  The funny thing is I've always loved pickled beets and canned beets. However, I never realized there was such a thing as golden beets until I joined a CSA and started to embrace a vegan lifestyle. Now I realize there are a myriad of colors, shades and textures. My favorite is still the blood red beets that stain everything with their color but golden come in a close second. They're sweeter and soak in everything when cooked; in this case onion, parsley, oil and celery. Man I might actually head up to the fridge momentarily and finish them up!

Tonight Becca and I have dinner with one of my best friends. She is moving back to the Bay Area (again cue jealousy) and this is one of her last nights in town. I am so proud of her and we're heading to Toi so I'm excited to see what vegan cuisine options I have!  Cheers.

Flore
3818 W Sunset Blvd.
(at Hyperion)
Los Angeles, CA 90026