Madeline's Bistro

Perhaps one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in as a vegan (perhaps in my life even) was at Madeline’s Bistro. Though I’d heard about this little restaurant in Tarzana as being the only real gourmet vegan restaurants in the Los Angeles area, it took me ages to finally go there. Finally, one Saturday when Shawn and I had to make a trip out to the far reaches of the west valley, we made Madeline’s our breakfast destination. The thing that enticed me the most was the promise of vegan beignets. Beignets are a rare treat on their own, but I’d never even heard of a vegan version. I had to have them. Of course I was not disappointed. The beignets were crunchy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. Instead of being covered in the standard powdered sugar, they came with a fruit compote. They were amazing. I could write this whole post just about those beignets. I wish I wasn’t writing this right now because now I want to go eat them. Ok, moving on. We also got the donut which was equally as satisfying. Without a doubt the best vegan donut I’ve ever had, soft and fluffy and delicately sweet.

Shawn ordered the chicken and waffles. Luckily I got to sample some. The chicken was a breaded seitan that was to die for. Again, quite possibly the best seitan I’ve ever had in my life. It was perfectly seasoned and well matched with the potatoes and gravy. The Belgian waffles were thick and crunchy. They definitely had a healthier taste to them with a nutty, grainy flavor.

I ordered the porcini-crusted tofu benedict since I am obsessed with vegan benedict. This was a pure delicacy. The hollandaise was lightly flavored and the whole thing was perfectly seasoned. It was an amazing combination of vegetables and tofu with just enough sauce to compliment the dish without overwhelming it. In other words, it was amazing.

I really was so impressed with everything that we had. If you’re going to try Madeline’s, you must go for brunch. It’s honestly not that far from where we live, but just far enough that we pretty much only go for special occasions, which is perfect.

Halloween Cookies

Due to popular demand, and because perhaps we are insane, we decided to have another Halloween movie marathon this weekend. To go with our new set of movies, we of course needed a new set of treats. This time I went with cookies, since I really am a cookie girl. I made the sugar cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking. This is my go-to recipe for sugar cookies because it’s pretty straight forward and makes a good amount. They’re not blow you away good, but they’re good and the royal icing is amazing so they make for good party snacks and gifts. Not to mention they’re so much fun to decorate.

For a little variety I also tried out the recipe for the chocolate crinkles, since I imagined they’d have a festive look to them. They’re soft and fudgey on the inside, sort of like little brownie bites. I cooked them on the shorter side so they would be softer, but perhaps they would have been nice crunchy. While they were well liked, I wish they were more chocolaty.

We were lucky enough to have the lovely FoodEater make us the mac and cheese I’ve been dreaming about. It was so good. I have to admit that I am not a daiya fan but it worked really well in this dish. It was cheesy but did not have the sticky weirdness that daiya can have on pizza. My favorite part was the seasoned bread crumbs on top that gave it more texture and flavor than just standard mac. The whole dish was completely eaten in less than an hour.

We learned some very important lessons during this movie marathon: If you go looking for the cat, you will probably die. If you get cats thrown at you, you will definitely die. If you try to kill cats, you may get brutally beaten by the man at the hot dog stand and eaten by rats. Most importantly, Christmas is a very scary holiday.

My favorite ghost cake

Vegan Ghost Cake from Shawn Bannon on Vimeo.

I had posted this video previously but it wasn’t anywhere near Halloween so I thought it deserved to be brought back for another go around. The little ghosts are made from Dandies vegan marshmallows and frosting. I think it’s possibly the cutest cake I’ve ever made. Enjoy the video. Weee!

Thanks!

I wanted to say thank you. Thanks to everyone who reads this blog. Though I technically started it in 2007, it was only in August of last year that I was really inspired to post with some regular frequency as well as improve the quality of the blog itself. In the past year I have tried to work on the quality of every aspect of the blog, by improving the writing, photos and content itself. So thanks for coming back and commenting and inspiring me even more.

Thank you to all the bloggers out there who I am able to share a sense of camaraderie with. Thanks for writing thought out reviews, sharing your well crafted recipes and posting drool-worthy photos. Thanks especially to all of you in Los Angeles who I’ve been lucky enough to share a meal with and dork out on vegan food.

Thank you all for being vegan, and if you’re not, for at least being interested enough that you might try it out. Thanks for being someone who I don’t have to explain why I don’t like bacon to or why I get plenty of protein and calcium without meat and dairy. Thanks for loving food as much as I do and caring about animals/your health/the earth/whatever your reason is to make the right choices about what you consume.

And and extra big thank you to Shawn (yeah that’s Studiodrome in case you were confused) for being the most awesome boyfriend ever. Thanks for taking so many of my photos and teaching me how to be a better photographer and letting me borrow your camera even at really annoying times. Thanks for testing all my crazy recipes and letting me ask you detailed questions about every dessert instead of just letting you enjoy them. Thanks for telling me stories from your vegan journey and making me more confident. Thank you for getting excited about all the things I do. <3

Pure Luck

I don’t usually review local restaurants. There are enough awesome vegan blogs that cover the Los Angeles area that it’s really just not necessary to get my two cents in. I do have to say one thing though, I love Pure Luck. I just do. I love going there. I love their food. I love their beer. I can’t honestly think of one thing that I don’t like about the place. I know a lot of people have complaints about the inconsistency but I go there at least once a week, and though I’ve had a few off days, it’s fantastic 99% of the time. I can’t think of another restaurant that I could bear to eat at so often. I’m gonna go ahead and say that Pure Luck is officially my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles (today anyway).

My absolute favorite dish is Kristen’s Carnitas wrap. It’s filled with seasoned jackfruit carnitas, avocado, tomato, lettuce and vegan ceasar dressing. Ok it also comes with pickles and onions but I go without them. It’s so freaking good. Go order one now if you haven’t had it. Seriously. Pretty much everything is delicious though. I highly recommend the fried spring rolls as well, that you can see above.

Another great perk about this place is that Scoops is right across the street so you can get a tasty vegan ice cream afterward. Also, it’s in perfect biking range from where we live so we usually get a nice ride there and back. Yay!