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.

Crossroads

Last month Tal Ronnan opened a new plant-based restaurant on Melrose in Los Angeles called Crossroads. The vegan community here has been all a-buzz about this place and for good reason! The husband and I and two of our friends went there for a dinner a couple weeks ago and it did not disappoint. Vegan fine dining - AWESOME!

Since the menu consists of small plates, we pretty much ordered one of everything plus the daily specials. It was a great way to try everything out. Here are all the pics and my thoughts on each dish:

I started with a cocktail: Melrose Mule - vodka, ginger beer, lime, cucumber, mint & banana pepper - YUM!!!

First starter: lentil flatbread w/ leek pate, smoked white bean hummus, & tomato braised banana peppers. The white bean was my favorite, so smokey and delicious. The tomato was also very good. The leek I wasn't impressed with.

Second starter: Flatbread w/ Pistachio kalamata tapenade & spicy roasted cauliflower. Really, really good. Salty, nutty and cooked to perfection.

Third starter: Kale Caesar Salad (special menu item) - I have to say one of THE best salads I have ever had.  Crispy kale, creamy dressing and amazing saltiness from capers. 

Spiced Chickpeas: I could have eaten an entire bowl of these. I love me some spice and these had just the right amount.

Red Quinoa: not my favorite. It wasn't bad, just nothing incredibly special about it.

Cassoulet: Another one that was ok. The lentils were not very flavorful, but the veggies on top were really good!

Artichoke Oysters: I'm still thinking about these, I may just order 5 plates of this dish next time I go. So much flavor and very inventive!

"Crab Cakes": Another dish I would order over & over again. With dishes like this, no one needs to eat real seafood. 

Kale Spanakopita: YUM, YUM, YUM!

Risotto Stuffed Banana Pepper: So...um. This one looks incredibly, um,  manly.  Beyond that, it was my least favorite dish, the risotto was undercooked and the pepper was WAY too spicy.

Gardein Chicken (special menu item): This was actually really really good even though there wasn't anything super special about it.

Tortelloni: another amazing dish. The almond cheese was to die for.

ON TO DESSERT!!

Chocolate Bundt Cake: it had me at chocolate. Holy crap this was good.

Cappuccino Ice Cream w/ Florentine Cookie: also amazing.

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta: pretty damn good, though it would not be my normal dessert choice. 

Cookies & almond milk!!

Overall, an amazing dining experience. SO much good food, the service was attentive and friendly and the atmosphere is chic and upscale. I can't wait to go back!