ShopEatSleep

B-Wing Salad at Veggie Grill. Photo by Brian Goodman.

Growing vegan restaurant chain Veggie Grill continues to surprise me. The first time I ate there, I was skeptical of its food because I’m not a big fan of faux meats, but Veggie Grill’s menu manages to please crunchy granola vegans without alienating meat eaters. Now the restaurant has added tasty new items to its menu, including hearty dinner plates and a crab cake sandwich — yes, seafood!

Keep Reading

Mohawk Bend, Echo Park’s new restaurant in a converted movie theater with an impressive 72 beer taps, is a great place for a drink and light meal. Appetizers and salads, as well as a nicely curated beer list, are the stars here, and the atmosphere is lively if a bit crowded. But where Mohawk Bend excels, it overreaches in other areas, especially when it comes to burgers and pizza.

Dining room at Mohawk Bend

...and behind the curtains, the back room

Keep Reading

Chili Cheese Fries at The Veggie Grill

Just when you thought you had The Veggie Grill figured out – it’s tasty, but no, the meat isn’t real – The Veggie Grill surprises you. There’s a secret menu!

As with many secret menu items, these dishes are variations of items already on the menu. The one we tried were the chili cheese fries, which uses the restaurant’s signature sweet potato Sweetheart Fries topped with the Bean Me Up chili, vegan cheese and sour cream, and garnished with chopped tomatoes and parsley. This is a huge dish, so be prepared to either share it or to bring at least half of it home. The chili cheese fries are tasty but heavy. Who knew vegan food could be so substantial?

Keep Reading

Broccolini bruschetta with kimchi (left) and smoky eggplant caviar hummus (right). From Hungry Hungry Hanh.

West Third Street’s BreadBar‘s Chef Noriyuki Sugie (that’s Chef Nori to you) has teamed up with author Kim Barnouin to create recipes for the upcoming “Skinny Bitch: The Cookbook,” and you can have first crack at those recipes. Starting tomorrow, BreadBar will be offering special vegan dishes and meals that are being considered for the cookbook.

The “Vegan Greetings” menu will be offered from Wednesday, Dec. 9, through Saturday, Dec. 12 and again from Wednesday, Dec. 16, through Saturday, Dec. 19 for dinner only. Chef Nori will extend the event to Dec. 20 and 21 if there are enough additional reservation requests. You’ll be able to order à la carte (dishes will range from $8 to $15 each) or as a four-course prix fixe menu for $25.

No word on what’s actually on the menu, but Barnouin and Chef Nori have teamed up before, so maybe the dishes will be similar.

UPDATE: Expect to see dishes such as fried tofu with seaweed salad and white sesame sauce, salad pizza with garnishes changing daily, and lentil tacos in a corn tortilla with avocado, salsa and fresh cilantro.