What I Ate in LA
I made my third trek to Los Angeles of the year because my vegan butcher friends from Scotland were there on holiday. Hilary and Alberto founded Sgaia’s Vegan Meats and I’ve been drooling over their food via the internet for the past couple years, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to meet them.
Our meal at Kitchen Mouse is pictured above, and I enjoyed the Breakfast Tacos with tofu, and they had the Avocado TLT and Tempeh Reuben. The space is bright and cheerful, and everything was delicious.
We started with dinner at SunCafewhich is always a must-visit for me. I’d recommend anything on the menu. Sweets from the trip included the fresh and decadent Cinnaholic cinnamon rolls pictured above.
Wednesday evening was spent indulging at Plant Food + Wineand The Butcher’s Daughter in Venice. The Plant patio is peaceful and chic, and we shared the cheese plate which features three different nut cheeses.At The Butcher’s Daughter, we shared vegan Crab Cakes, the pizza special, the Butcher’s Burger, and an ice cream sandwich. Everything was packed with complex flavors and textures, and we all wished we had more room in our stomachs so we could keep eating.
Hilary wanted to try Ramenhood in the Grand Central Market, which is where PBJ.LA recently opened so I opted for the Italian and an almond milk Cafe Au Lait. I can’t wait to go back and try one of the more traditional PB&J sandwiches there, but the Italian is tasty! It includes toasted pine nut butter, basil cherry tomato jam, arugula, EVOO, balsamic, and I added vegan smoked provolone.
When I first arrived, I had some time to kill before meeting Hilary and Alberto so en route to my Airbnb, I swung by Stuff I Eat and packed in the Soul Food Platter. Everything was perfect, especially the mac and cheese. The platter also includes yams, BBQ tofu, kale greens, black-eyed peas, potato salad, coleslaw, and a cornbread muffin. It’s enough to share between two people so I wasn’t quite able to finish the entire thing on my own, but I would order it again.
It’s hard to believe I ate all of this food in a matter of 48 hours! This might have been some of my favorite food that I’ve eaten in LA so far, and it was so amazing to spend time with Hilary and Alberto. They even brought some of their vegan meats from Scotland for me to try! What a special experience to hang out with these amazing entrepreneurs from halfway around the world. Hopefully the next time we hang out will be in Scotland!