L.A. Vegan Beer & Food Fest 2013

Yesterday was the 4th annual Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival. Last year I was a volunteer, but this time around I wanted to roam around and enjoy the fest free of responsibility. My husband and I met up with some awesome friends and had an amazing time eating great food, drinking beer (full disclosure: I do not like beer! I tried a few and really didn't like any of them except for the one cider I found and the kombucha beer), enjoying amazing music and meeting new people.

My friends Jeremy & Lucy - that's me in the middle.

It's so refreshing to attend an event where you know you can eat and drink everything there, no need to hound each vendor for their ingredient list. I would love to see more vegan events like this in L.A. throughout the year! There were so many people - I love what a large vegan community there is in this city.

Photo Credit: Zombie Eye Photography

On to the food! We ate so much, but only hit about half the vendors. There was a lot of yummy looking food I didn't get to try - it's hard to pace yourself and still try one of everything!

First stop, the Seabirds truck. I knew the line for this one would get long so we ordered our Battered Avocado tacos right off the bat. Just as amazing as I remember them being last year! Certainly one of my favorite vegan dishes ever.

Next stop was The Frankenstand - always a treat, great vegan hot dogs, but today we tried their special Cannibal sandwich.  Super good - the green sauce was amazing.

After a brief pause from eating, I moved on to some vegan tamales. These were made with soy meat and beans. It's been SO long since I've had a tamale and this one definitely hit the spot!

Sometime after the tamale and sampling numerous beers I did not like (nothing against the beer makers, I've just never been a fan of beer) - we came across the beverage highlight of the day (cue singing angels): Unity Vibration Kombucha Beer. I think I drank about 17 glasses of this stuff. It was light & refreshing. The raspberry was delicious, and the ginger was a perfect way to settle my stomach so I could get back to eating more stellar vegan food. Plus - it's gluten free!

After waiting in a line that did not move for 20 minutes hoping to get some jambalaya, we gave up and went to Tony's Darts Away for a seitan french dip sandwich. The au jus was to die for!

Couple more glasses of kombucha beer later, we went back to Seabirds for potato & cheese taquitos. Super crisp and tasty, though not as fantastic as the avo tacos. I could live off the creamy sauce they were topped with.

There were also some french fries from Fresh Fries and a dynamite roll from Shojin consumed during the day but I forgot to get pics of those.

Overall the day was a mad success and I cannot wait until next year! My friend Melissa and I even got to meet the Happy Cow!!

**The one drawback of this year's fest was the bathroom situation. I'm not a fan of porta-potties, but I will use them in dire situations. Unfortunately there was no water in the hand washing stations every time I checked throughout the day and no way was I going to use the bathroom without being able to wash my hands after :( There was also a massive line most of the day. I know this year was the biggest turnout they've had, so hopefully next year they will improve on that.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

This is an easy vegan baked eggplant "parm" (I didn't have vegan parmesan so I used mozzarella instead). Much healthier than a fried version.

What you will need:
1 large eggplant
1/2 cup soy milk
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 jar marinara sauce
3/4 cup vegan mozzarella shreds
salt

1. Slice eggplant in 3/4" slices, layer in a strainer in a single layer and sprinkle with salt. Lay a plate or casserole dish on top of the eggplant. This will draw extra moisture out of the eggplant. Let drain for an hour or so. Remove slices from strainer, and pat with a dry paper towel.

2. Preheat oven to 400°. Put soy milk & bread crumbs on 2 separate plates. Dip each side of a piece of eggplant in the soy milk and then breadcrumbs and place on a lined cookie sheet. Repeat with all pieces.

3. Bake for 5-6 minutes on each side.

4. Pour half of the marinara into a casserole dish, layer on the eggplant, cover with the rest of the sauce then sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Quick & Easy Nachos

I came home from work on my lunch break yesterday and I was STARVING, so I took a quick inventory of what I had on hand and whipped up this super easy dish! I'm not going to put measurements on these because you can make as little or as much as you want.

What you will need:
Tortilla chips
Vegan Cheese
Black Beans
Salsa
Avocado

1. Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Spread out your chips and sprinkle with vegan cheese and black beans (I use Trader Joe's Cuban black bean because they have chilies and onions in them and are the bomb!). Bake in oven for about 10 minutes, keep your eyes on it so your chips don't burn.

3. Once cheese is melty, remove from oven, sprinkle with salsa and layer on sliced avocado.

4. Stuff your face with this incredibly delicious meal.

Flore Vegan Cuisine

Located on Sunset Blvd. in Silverlake, Flore is an Organic Vegan Restaurant featuring a deli counter and sit down indoor/outdoor service.

This morning the husband and I made the trek out there from West L.A. to enjoy a lovely vegan brunch. We got there just before noon and the place was hoppin. Luckily we only had to wait about 5 minutes for a nice table outside (great for people watching). The staff is uber friendly and attentive, which is always a bonus.

I started with a Basic Green juice consisting of kale, celery, parsley, apple and lemon. SO yummy. It made me feel all healthy and stuff.

For our meals, I ordered the Breakfast Burrito stuffed with tofu, potatoes, tempeh bacon, avocado and cashew cheese and the man got the Blueberry Banana waffle.

My burrito was super flavorful and delicious. I loved that the whole thing was grilled, giving a touch of crunchy texture to the tortilla. Yum. My husband devoured his waffle and said it was really good as well. We both left feeling full and satisfied, though I'm a bit sad we didn't grab any of the amazing looking desserts in the case for later.

Their brunch menu is pretty large for a vegan place and everything on it sounds awesome. We will definitely be back to try out some of the other dishes. I can honestly say that Flore is one of my new favorite weekend breakfast spots!

L.A. Vegan Beer & Food Fest 2012

Last year I was moving to L.A. the same day as the Vegan Beer Fest and I was so bummed I couldn't go; I was determined to get to it this year. Luckily, I saw the call for volunteers in time to get on the list and got to be part of the action! Funny thing is, I really don't like beer at all, but I knew this would be a great place to meet a ton of super cool like-minded folks...and I was right!

The Third Annual L.A. Vegan Beer & Food Fest was sponsored by Tony's Darts Away, QuarryGirl and The Roxy (where the event was held). These guys did such an amazing job pulling together a ton of beer and food vendors and live entertainment. I love the t-shirts we got as volunteers!

Proceeds from the event benefit the California Wildlife Center and these lovely ladies were there to represent!

My job for the day was "roamer" which meant that I went wherever I was needed: grabbing things for vendors, letting other volunteers take breaks etc. At first I felt a little lost, but I got to wander around and meet a lot of cool people. It also gave me a chance to sample a lot of the vegan food that was there. I started off with a delicious Franken dog from The Frankenstand, a vegan sausage made with sun dried tomatoes and basil - YUM!

Next up I had a vegan maple bacon donut from Amanda's Bakery, which was pretty freakin tasty! My only wish was that I could have tried this just baked and warm, but it was still really good.

 

After I did some grubbing, I went to relieve some fellow volunteers who were pouring beers behind the bar of the VIP lounge. I have never poured a beer from a tap in my life, but I got a quick lesson and after a few tries I was an expert. Maybe a career change in my future.....

Once I was ready to try more food, I had to go check out the tacos from Seabirds Truck as everyone was raving about them. I ordered one jack fruit taco and one beer battered avocado taco. Both were good, but OM MY GOD that avocado taco changed my life. One of the best things I have ever tasted! I'm sad this is an Orange County truck, but I will definitely be stalking them to see when they come back to L.A.!

Once the event was over and everything was cleaned up, M Cafe was kind enough to donate a ton more food for all the volunteers to munch on and chill out after a long day of beer slinging!

Then, as if I hadn't had enough to eat during the day, the husband was determined to go to Mohawk Bend for dinner that night. They were actually at the Fest, but I didn't get a chance to try their Buffalo Cauliflower, so that's what I ordered and oh man, they were delish! Lightly battered florets smothered in spicy buffalo sauce and served with vegan blue cheese dressing. Totally hit the spot and was a perfect ending to a day full of food, fun and sun!

I can't wait for next year's event!! Thanks to everyone who made it happen!