VegOut Magazine Spring 2019

maggieeortlieb Welcome to LA and to the premier issue of VegOut LA Magazine! In this guide, we’ve compiled the best plant-based options the LA area has to offer. With more than 70 all vegan restaurants and tons of vegan-friendly restaurants, Los Angeles ranks as one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the world. Throughout these pages, you’ll find the best spots for vegan pizza, burgers, tacos, ramen, desserts, and more. From fast food to fine dining, LA has something for everyone. I suggest you begin your vegan food adventure on page 9 with this year’s VegOut Best of LA Awards winners, and be sure to check out the restaurant directory at the back of the magazine for a breakdown by neighborhood. From Venice to Beverly Hills to Echo Park, we…

TAMMIE ORTLIEB MANAGING EDITOR Tammie is an expert at bringing play and kindness into life. A long-time vegan with a master’s degree in educational psychology, she is author of Outside the Lines: Essays on Poverty, Possibilities, and the Power of Love. You can find her following her passions at tammieortlieb.com where she promotes a whole food, plant-based diet, acts of kindness, and daily play as key components of a healthy life. @tammieortlieb AMEEN TABATABAI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Ameen is a Seattle-born transplant survivor who has built a foundation of experience in biomedical engineering, clinical research, digital technology, and management consulting. Through his own health journey & passion for research, Ameen embraced the power of plants to heal and free his body from a lifetime of autoimmune disease and is now focused…

ALL ABOUT THAT FALAFEL Vegan menu favorites include the Falafel Burger (a falafel patty loaded with tahini, secret sauce, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and pickles and served with sweet potato fries), The Traditional (falafel wrapped in pita and stuffed with tahini, secret sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles), Garlic Falafel Fries (garlic fries topped with falafel, tahini, and secret sauce), and the 7-Layer Falafel Bowl—seven layers of falafel, hummus, rice, salad, pita chips, tomato, secret sauce, and avocado. Two brand new items to hit The Falafel Factory menu are their Fala Tacos and Vegan Chickn’ Shawarma Tacos—so delicious! The team dreams of adding more trucks to the business and serving a wider area. Miriam shares that she and Nael would eventually like to distribute their falafel in area grocery stores, making the…

BEST ALL-VEGAN RESTAURANT MONTY’S GOOD BURGER BEST VEGAN-FRIENDLY CHAIN RESTAURANT CHIPOTLE BEST DESSERT DONUT FRIEND BEST FROZEN TREAT COCOBELLA CREAMERY BEST BAKED GOOD CINNAHOLIC BEST DONUTS DONUT FRIEND BEST PIZZA PURGATORY PIZZA BEST BURGER MONTY’S GOOD BURGER BEST BRUNCH SAGE VEGAN BISTRO BEST RAMEN RAMEN HOOD BEST VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT CAFE GRATITUDE BEST NACHOS CENA VEGAN BEST TACOS VEGATINOS BEST BURRITO VEGATINOS BEST BAR /BREWERY MODERN TIMES BEST FOOD TRUCK WORD OF MOUTH BEST POP-UP VEGATINOS BEST MAC & CHEESE AVOCADAMAMA BEST SANDWICH MENDOCINO FARMS BEST LOCAL BRAND VEGAN POWER CO…

WEST TO EAST First, we brunch in Venice. Plant Food + Wine on Abbot Kinney offers a unique vegan brunch, featuring items like their Bananas Foster Pancakes and Smoked Tofu Florentine, in a gorgeous outdoor setting. For those who aren’t “breakfast people,” pop by TOMS Flagship Store on the same street to grab a latte and check out the back patio for some shoe shopping—yes, it’s a shoe store and cafe. And if caffeine isn’t your thing, you can always grab a fresh juice or smoothie at Pressed Juicery or Kreation. After brunch, continue to window shop along Abbot Kinney, watching for celebrities and snapping selfies in front of the street’s many Instagrammable walls (look down the side streets to spot them). And before you leave the area, be sure…

1 MONTY’S GOOD BURGER KOREATOWN & RIVERSIDE Monty’s Good Burger offers the quintessential, all-American cheeseburger, only it’s vegan. Instead of choosing fancy toppings like melted truffle Gruyere cheese, crispy onion rings, or piles of bacon, they focus on perfecting the classic burger, complete with caramelized onions, iceberg lettuce, pickles, a house sauce (akin to Thousand Island dressing), and one or two juicy Impossible patties. Pro Tip: Always order a double! The owners here understand there’s a need for more late-night vegan food spots in LA, which is why the Koreatown location is open ‘til 1am Thursday through Saturday and 11pm every other day of the week, and the Riverside location is open ‘til 11pm every night. 2 CHICANA VEGANA POP-UP If you can catch this family-run, plant-based Mexican pop-up at…