What To Do & Eat In Los Angeles | Vegan Adventures w/ Conscious Chris + Two $100 Visa GIVEAWAYS! (CLOSED)

16 Oct What To Do & Eat In Los Angeles | Vegan Adventures w/ Conscious Chris + Two $100 Visa GIVEAWAYS! (CLOSED)

Chris / Conscious Chris came into town last month for 10 days, so of course we had to make our way through LA and hit up as many restaurants + activities possible.

With a seemingly never-ending plethora of vegan food in Los Angeles, these 10 days did not make a dent in what is available to try, but we definitely hit up quite a few spots. Luckily, Chris will be moving to LA mid-October, so we have time to get to what we missed. I’m sharing with you all a bit of my personal experience each day of his trip, not only as a reference for you, but also as a personal reflection for me on one of the best week’s I think I’ve ever had. Reliving it here with you all is bringing nothing but a smile to my face 🙂

+ A GIVEAWAY!

Chris and I included in our adventure was 5 of the Top 52 #Vegforward Restaurants in the US: Gracias Madre, Plant Food & Wine, Sage Organic Bistro, Crossroads and Cafe Gratitude.

We want to give YOU a chance to try out some of these restaurants near you. We have teamed up with Open Table to offer a $100 Visa Gift Card to 2 lucky winners (one on my page, one on his) so you can get your grub on!

To enter:

1. Head to Instagram and follow @sweetsimplevegan and @opentable
2. Comment on this photo and tag 2 friends.
3. Then, double your chances of winning by entering Chris’s giveaway here.
4. Bonus entry: comment below on this blog post telling me which restaurant you would like to try out most from the Top 52 list!

US ONLY, Ends October 21, 2015.

Check out the Top 52 #Vegforward Restaurants, and #chooseveg this month during National Vegetarian Month, and onward!

Gracias Madre

Gracias Madre was our very first stop, straight from the airport. We started off with the gorditas {potato-masa cakes, warm salsa verde, avocado, cashew crema}, flautas de camote {two rolled tacos with sweet potatoes and caramelized onions, pico de gallo, guacamole, cashew nacho cheese, cilantro}, and for beverages both housemade ginger ale (pictured) and the vanilla maple cream soda. The gorditas will forever be my favorite item on the menu. Fried yet somehow fluffy and light, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. The flautas never “wow” me, but Chris wanted to try them. They arrived, well, burnt, and the only enjoyable part of the plate was the guacamole 🙁 Our beverages made up for that. The ginger ale had a crisp hit of fresh ginger, and was gorgeous in color, and Chris’s soda brought us back to an old favorite, vanilla coke. For entrees we ordered the bowls uno {romaine, brown rice, black beans, tempeh chorizo, guacamole, salsa, cashew crema} & tres {quinoa, kale, roasted squash, pesto cashew creme, white beans, peppers and onions}. Uno was a slam dunk, with the perfect kick of spice of the chorizo balanced out by the creamy cashew dressing. Tres, however, was a miss. Chris even bit into a piece of a metal twist tie :/ We were pretty bummed to only like half of what we had ordered, so we went all out with the fudge brownie {salted mezcal caramel, coconut bacon} + the addition of coconut vanilla ice cream. This made up for it + so so much more. Would we go back? Yes, we actually did (below), and we had a phenomenal meal + experience, so I just assume that this was an off day!

The Lai Family’s Famous Vegan Brunch

On Saturday morning, I visited the Lai family in Huntington Beach with Chris and Yvonne for an intimate brunch. The Lai family (Ted @wokwikside) spoiled us with a homemade vegan brunch…homemade everything!Ted served us polenta rancheros, peanut miso kale & quinoa salad, tater tots, bagels with various vegan lox (cooked carrots, raw carrots, and roasted red bell peppers), pickled red onions, and cashew cream cheese, chocolate dipped cheesecake + crushed almonds and vanilla cookies, mango and sticky rice with coconut sauce and roasted black sesame seeds and drumsticks with gluten-free cones coated inside with chocolate sauce, filled salted caramel cluster or snickerdoodle cashew ice cream, topped with homemade magic shell and vanilla cookies or salted almonds. I feel like that list could go on forever, the food just kept coming out! The Lai family is an all vegan family that I was introduced to at various vegan events/gatherings in Los Angeles. They are so welcoming and made us feel like a part of their family! They are some of the kindest people I have met, and I can’t wait until I get the chance to visit for brunch again.

Downtown Los Angeles

After brunch, while driving through DTLA to drop off Yvonne, she convinced us to take a quick stop and to shoot a few photos of Chris and I to add to our collection in LA. I am glad we did because we got some cute shots and I am in love with the below photo 🙂 We parked in front of Groundwork Coffee (108 W 2nd St) and picked one of the gorgeous art filled walls to pose in front of.We dropped of Yvonne, then I ended up working a bit that night so no excitement on my end. Chris, however, visited Real Food Daily, and it looked like he got a tasty meal! Check it out on his blog.

Crossroads Kitchen

Sunday mornings mean brunch, right? Unfortunately, I had woken up with a bit of a stomach ache and stuck to fruit (I should have ordered 5, it was tiny!) and a green juice, but I did try some of what Chris ordered and from that I am certain I will return: the Tuscan Eggless Frittata (organic tofu, baby kale, mushroom bacon, almond ricotta, truffle cream sauce, soy mozzarella and avocado), which I highly recommend. Those that we dined with {including Vegetaryn, check her out} ordered an array of dishes, including their vegan fried chicken and waffles, carrot lox and bagel, and a croissant sandwich. They have a little bit of anything you could want, ranging from my raw vegan meal, to vegan fried chicken; it is definitely a spot where everyone could find something they will be happy with, and somewhere I think a lot of you, if not all, will enjoy. I’ll be back someday to eat a proper brunch and then dinner, I already can’t wait.

Moon Juice

This shop is held in high regard for its celebration of the healing force of raw foods, and being in Venice, Chris and I had to make a stop and experience the magic of this place.Ever since I learned of this place from Dara Dubinet on YouTube, I knew that it was somewhere I wanted to go, and an experience, based on what she described it as, that I needed to have. When we talked into the shop, Moon Juice . They offer juices, milks, wellness shots, medicinal ‘moon dusts’, tonics, and cleanses. What came to my attention was that their menus listed the benefits of every item they sold {anti bloating, skin healing, energy booster, etc.}. We ended up ordering a ginger shot, a green juice {fennel, frond, cucumber, green apple, basil}, the date shake {hemp milk, dates, almond butter, maca, espresso bean, and cardamom.} and received a free shot of noni fire {noni, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, apple cider vinegar and trace minerals}. The shots were INTENSE, we even had to share what we went through on our snap chat stories, I wish we had saved it. Chris’s shake was dessert in a bottle, and my juice, according to him tasted like ravioli, although I thought otherwise. It was great, but not as good as the fennel + herb juice from The Springs LA.

Cafe Gratitude

A 100% organic plant-based restaurant located just across the street from Moon Juice: the Venice location is my favorite. The restaurant has a white color scheme, all of the menu items are listed as positive affirmations, and it is only a few blocks from the beach, giving it that laid back vibe. We tried the Whole {black beans, shredded kale + tahini} and Extraordinary {BLT with coconut bacon, romaine, tomato, avocado, chipotle cashew aioli & rice bean salad}.

Venice Boardwalk/Drum Circle!

We made sure out dinner ended prior to 7pm, so we would have enough time to walk down to the beach and watch the sun set over the water. We actually finished with time to spare, and were able to peruse though the boardwalk, and enjoy the local artists, music, shops, and puppies, puppies everywhere 🙂 We skimmed through and started to make our way to the water when, of course in Venice, we stumbled upon a drum circle and dance party. Eventually we made it down to walk along the water as the sun set.

My Epic Birthday Fruitluck!

Chris happened to visit during my birthday, so I was lucky enough to have him be a part of my celebration.This year, my family helped my friend Lauren and I put together an epic fruitluck (fruit potluck). We had pineapple boats, fruit moneys and dolphins, a fruit mandala, and so much more! You can see more photos from the party here.

Rahel’s Vegan Ethiopian

After the fruitluck, Chris and I met up with Jackie (Vegan Yack Attack) for what had to be one of my favorite meals while he was here, and my very first ethiopian dining experience. A small and cozy restaurant with a family owned feel, it is 100% vegan, and all whole food ingredients. Prior to dinner, a traditional hand washing ceremony is done at the table (I had missed it while in the restroom 🙁 ). We ordered a platter for three (HUGE), which comes with a variety of stews and gluten-free injera. I tapped out real quick, the meal was so filling but sooo good, I wish I could have kept going. My favorite stew was the spicy lentils, and I loved that each of us had a different favorite. With the leftovers, Jackie rolled up the injera and stews into a giant burrito and took it home. I never asked her how it was the next day, but now I definitely need to know.

Organix LA

We met up for lunch with our friends Yvonne, Sarah, Eric, Justine and Karl. Sarah and I kept it raw for lunch with fruit + green juices, and the others ordered puercos {marinated shredded jackfruit, BBQ sauce, slaw, mayo and pickles on ciabata} jackfruit pulled pork sandwich) and a southern belle, thanksgiving in a burger {chicken patty, mashed potatoes and gravy}. This was the first time I actually had tried the esteemed puerco from Organix, and it, well, blew my mind with how spot on not only the flavors but the textures were. It’s meals like this that put down the argument that meat will be missed when going vegan, there are so many alternatives, healthier alternatives, to anything that could possibly be missed, there are no excuses. 😉

Plant Food For People

A visit to my absolute favorite vegan taco spot with my favorite person is a must, right? Plant Food For People always brings me back to my first year transitioning into veganism. I, as well as my family, were hooked on these tacos, making it a point to visit their stand every Taco Tuesday to make sure we were doing it right. The jackfruit carnitas taco + chipotle mayo + NELA coleslaw is where it is at. Chris also ordered an everything taco (the name has left my mind) and their special of the night, mulitas, which were like quesadillas with a chipotle cream. There was no provided seating, so we just plopped atop the trunk of my car and enjoyed the tacos there. It was a beautiful night out and I was with Chris, so I didn’t mind at all 🙂

Griffith Observatory

An impromptu trip to the observatory and a night enjoyed in front of the beautiful views of the fading sunset over the city.This was not the first time I had visited the Observatory, but it was the first visit that was, I guess you can say, eventful, for me. I had previously only sort of skimmed through the exhibit, but this time, Chris and I walked all throughout. We made our way through both levels of the facility doing things like determining our weight on all of the different planets, we saw views of the city from the roofs and terraces, and even got to look through the large telescope they had out for the public.

Juice Served Here

We started our {Wednesday} morning right by partaking in juice flights at a local Pasadena juice shop. A flight is a tasting where you have the opportunity to try several beverages at one time. They are often done with alcoholic beverages, but in this case, we sampled a variety of their unique fresh, organic, raw vegan juices. We sampled the beverages one at a time together until the end, discussing each a small bit, and making sure we skipped the one with honey! I swear after each one, I thought to myself, yes, that one is my favorite. Although a tough decision, the next time I return I’ll have to go with the green milk, it was a winner.

Real Food Daily

Post juice, we went to Real Food Daily, a organic vegan restaurant in Pasadena. I appreciate this place because along with more {I guess you can say} gourmet intricate and dishes, they offer simple and light macrobiotic meals. I wasn’t very hungry, so I enjoyed a mango smoothie + spirulina, and Chris had the banh mi {lemongrass tofu, pickled carrot, daikon, jalapeno, cucumber, aioli, baguette, cilantro, thai basil + lime}. I just had to take a bite of his sandwich, because anything lemongrass, you can count me in! I don’t know how valid my opinion would be here, but I still say go and try it, I would go back for it! 🙂

The Springs LA

The best of, well, every world, this raw vegan holistic wellness center located in the Arts District of Downtown LA has it all. The Springs LA contains a raw-vegan restaurant, organic juice bar, yoga studio, spa, shop filled with local vendors and during certain days, the center of live music. It is a sanctuary, to say the least, and should not be missed when in Los Angeles. If any of you have checked out my YouTube channel, I spent my birthday morning at The Springs for yoga and a massage, an experience for the books that I hope you all can check out for yourselves.The Springs was the perfect spot for Chris and I to not only get some awesome raw vegan food, but to also post up and work on our computers for a few hours, as it is the perfect lax atmosphere to do so. Plus they have great backdrops for photographing my merchandise 😉

Intelligentsia Coffee

Sooo we may have visited this spot a handful of times in the 10 days, but once you visit, you will understand just why we kept going back. We even went twice in one day, its the real deal. The almond milk lattes + the dirty chai’s won us over. Initially, one of the workers at the Silverlake location had informed us that the chai was not vegan, but once reviewing the ingredients, we discovered it in fact was and went right in for it our next visit. Chris ordered his beverages warm, while mine were iced, and we both thoroughly enjoyed and recommend them for you to try out.

Hike to the Hollywood Sign

One of the most ‘LA’ things we did while Chris was visiting was a hike up the Hollywood sign. I had attempted this hike prior, but always got lost and never made it up to the top, so this was as exciting for me as it was for Chris. Luckily we were able to beat the heat with an early hike, but we still worked up a big sweat, the incline was killer! Of course in the end none of that mattered as the views made it all so worth it. Being able to pause and take a step back from all the hustle and bustle of LA was refreshing,

Cafe Gratitude

Post-hike we HAD TO have the best meal we could get, so a Cafe Gratitude brunch it was. We arrive 20 minutes prior to the brunch menu closing, so we hurriedly chose a few items on the menu but I think we did well in that pinch. Chris ordered the ‘bonita’ breakfast tacos {sprouted probiotic brown rice, black beans, salsa fresca, avocado, cashew nacho cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds + corn tortillas} and I chose the ‘open-hearted’ {two gf buckwheat flax pancakes, maple syrup + fresh fruit}.

Shojin Sushi

Something during the week had sparked a craving for ramen, and Chris was due to try their revered vegan sushi, so this was the perfect date night spot. I ordered the ramen revolution {brown rice noodles, kale, avocado, sprouts, garlic + spicy miso broth} & Chris ordered the pirates of the crunchy 2.0 and the crunchy tiger hidden dragon rolls + miso soup. My soup was spicy, but the cooling avocado in the mix made it palatable, and after the initial buuurn, quite delicious. The food was perfect, as expected, but what is most notable is the experience while you dine, with a very zen atmosphere mixed with their prevalent passion for overall health and vitality. They shared their mission statement with us while we dined, and made sure that we knew they cared about us, and loved us, although strangers. I left so happy, excited to be back soon 🙂

Angel City Brewery

Located right down the street from Shojin, nestled into the heart of the arts district of downtown LA. The public house as, of course, a bar with a selection of beers, but also a great two story space to hang out, play games {we tried darts and cornhole}, and just have a good time. Chris and I dominated at cornhole btw, vegan power all the way.

82

We had visited Barcade in Brooklyn while I was out visiting New York, so we made it a point to visit its equivalent in LA while he was here. Luckily, this arcade bar was only a short walk down the street form the brewery. They had a live DJ and a large selection of games to choose from, many that I had not ever played before. There is even a room solely dedicated to pinball machines, The only down was the cloud of cigarette smoke on the central patio and the group who hogged Street Fighter from us all night, but I guess I understand, I would have probably stuck around there for a bit too. Regardless, it was nothing but a good time!

Kreation Kafe & Juicery

We wanted to start our morning with acai bowls, so we headed to Kreation on Abbot Kinney to do just that. This spot has a wide array of juices, smoothies, nut milks + more. Unfortunately, their ‘amazebowls were not specifically acai and only a few options, but either way it was a great start to our day. We got chlorphyll water, the acai amazon bowl and the tropical coconut Jungle bowl. I assumed that this spot was vegan according to the philosophy it shares, but was surprised to find it serves meat, dairy and eggs :/ The bowls and juice are great, don’t get me wrong, but I think that our next acai bowl outing will have to be at a plant-based establishment, and hopefully with more than 3 bowl options!

The Yoga Collective

A quaint little studio across the way from Cafe Gratitude, yoga was much needed after having our busy week. A challenging vinyasa flow, paired with a short but effective meditation in the middle and live acoustic music courtesy of our instructor, I left not only feel invigorated but also relaxed 🙂

Venice Beach

Chris and I actually swung by Cafe Gratitude to pick up a watermelon hibiscus juice, kombucha and a giant ginger shot to share after yoga, then we walked down to the beach before our late lunch. We took a dip in the water right away {to cool our sand burned feet}, then we laid out on our blanket and napped on the beach, it was the perfect afternoon, and our tans were on point after 😉

Plant Food and Wine

Post beach we had a fancy lunch in Venice, CA. We were kindly given a tour of the restaurant property and academy, and although the patio was of such a perfect setting to dine in, it was too hot for us to be outdoors so we opted to sit inside by a window, for photo purposes of course. We started off with a cheese plate: mixed peppercorn cashew cheese, white truffle cashew macadamia cheese, raw fennel crackers, pickled plums peaches and beets, mustard seeds and micro arugula. I personally was not a fan of the peppercorn, but the white truffle ohhhh my you need to order it! Our seats inside, unfortunately, did not shield us from the heat. This location has ceiling fans, but seemed to have no air conditioning, so it began to get very warm very fast. We scooted over to the next table, our lunch went on and there was even more to come! We couldn’t decide on which dessert to get, so we ended up with two, the gluten-free almond chocolate chip cookies with hemp vanilla ice cream, and the blackberry, raspberry and blueberry sorbet platter. My favorite of the sorbets was the blueberry, but the cookie sandwich won me over for favorite dessert of the day.

Thrive + Moby’s Birthday

We ended our Friday night at the launch party for a Thrive Magazine issue + Moby’s birthday. It was an all vegan event that gathered not only the vegan crowd from Los Angeles, but also a lot of familiar faces from around the country. There was live music, dancing, goodie bags, and free products, including Kombucha and Upton’s Jackfruit. It’s always fulfilling to be able to a part of such a passionate and like-minded community. All of the individuals we were able to connect with are really what made the night what it was.

Gracias Madre {Brunch}

As mentioned above, we returned to Gracias Madre, and it redeemed its position as one of my favorite vegan restaurants in LA.We decided to go for brunch before we both headed to work,

Hollywood Farmers Market

Out of all the farmer’s markets here in Los Angeles, and believe me, there are quite a few, I always find myself frequenting the Sunday Hollywood market. With 160 farmers, live music, prepared artisanal foods, baby goats (yesss!!), raw sugar cane juice, I never leave disappointed and always find something new to try.This week, we picked up fresh tiger stripe and black mission figs, booty-ful peaches, red plums, and raw sugar cane juices, in ginger lime and detox {ginger & cayenne}, two I had not yet tried and but will go back for in the future if I want to splurge. We enjoyed these for breakfast on our trip to The Gentle Barn, no fig was left behind!

The Gentle Barn

Although I have lived in Los Angeles all of my life, it saddens me to say that this was the first time I had visited this magical place. But based on the experience we had and the immense amount of joy that I felt while visiting, it will not be my last. This nonprofit animal welfare organization provides sanctuary for abused animals who would not otherwise be able to find homes. I encourage anyone who can make it out to Santa Clarita, CA to visit and support their cause.The Gentle Barn houses more than 170+ animals, from cows, horses and pigs to turkeys, llamas and emus, plus so many more. It is open for tours on Sundays, and it is completely vegan, not allowing any food products derived from animals on the property (yaaas). While Chris and I were there, I cuddled with the cows, pet pigs, turkeys, goats, sheep, etc., fed the horses carrots, and ultimately felt reassurance, if that is even the proper word, and confidence, in the life that I am living and sharing with others, supporting the important cause of saving these beautiful beings all over the world who are being mistreated, abused, and devalued. I was humbled by the experience, and although I did feel overjoyed in the presence of these animals, I also was a bit saddened by the reality of the neglect that exists in the world. Thank you Gentle Barn for sharing the love emanating from your sanctuary, and for spreading such a powerful message, and supporting such an important cause <3

LACMA

Chris and I finally got around to visiting one of the museums in LA on his last day in town. We browsed through a few of its exhibits, which include art of all media. I most enjoyed the Pavilion for Japanese Art as it included a genre of art that I has not seen much of prior. We weren’t here for much long, and I felt preoccupied by the fact that Chris was leaving that night than to really have given my full attention to the artwork. Although our visit was pretty lax, I felt we made the best of the time we had {plus its always a nice time with Chris anyways} 🙂

Sage Organic Vegan Bistro

The last meal of our mini vacation I guess you can call it was a pizza night at Sage in Culver City. They had such an extensive menu it took us about 15 minutes to decide what we wanted for at least an appetizer, but I was very pleased with what we had ordered.We started off with the avocado bruschetta, garlic rubbed bread, the classic tomato topping _ diced avocado. After our appetizer, we moved on to our pies, and they were devoured! I ordered a custom pizza with breaded eggplant and artichokes, while Chris went with the caprese (dill cashew cheese, basil, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, and topped with a balsamic reduction). I liked his pizza and all, but the topping was in small rounds throughout, I would have liked if it was spread all over like mine, but regardless the flavors were spot on the crust was extra thick and fluffy, just the way I like it.

Santa Monica Beach

We brought our time together to a close with a view of the sunset on the beach. Well, we were unable to see the sun actually set as it was covered by nearby mountains, but the color changes were still prevalent and beautiful nonetheless. We snuggled up by the water and stayed until it was dark (and when our parking ended), I really never wanted the night to end.

Thank you Chris for making these 10 days the highlight of my summer, I’m excited for many more to come <3

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