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vegetarian

CROSSROADS–VEGGIE DELIGHT

Posted on by Gigi in Dining Comments Off on CROSSROADS–VEGGIE DELIGHT
crossroads

crossroads

Reggie and I have been on our vegan journey for the past four years. We have explored raw vegan, vegan and vegetarian diets, and have settled into to a vegan/raw vegan combo that serves our lifestyle well. We love good food and are happy with the influx of vegan restaurants around the southland. Tonight we decided to try Chef Tal Ronnen’s Crossroads restaurant, a plant based fine dining eatery located on Melrose, surrounded by trendy designer boutiques, a perfect location for a girls lunch. Tal Ronnen author of The Conscious Cook has a large celebrity following including Oprah among others. Crossroads opened this past March, the space is beautiful, and sophisticated, not your 70’s style “hippie” joint.

dining room

dining room

Our server Chloe was wonderful, she quickly told us about the menu and made excellent suggestions for us since this was our first visit. Before our vegan days we were  fishetarians, we had cut out chicken about 15 years ago, so I must say there are a lot of seafood favorites that we missed, so I was happy to order the vegan crab cakes and the artichoke oysters. I love the seacakes at Real Food Daily, but I must say these “crab cakes” were delicious as well and the presentation was just like “real crabcakes”, now the artichoke oysters were fan-ta-bu-lous, I can’t even imagine how they came up with that recipe–so good.

artichoke oysters

artichoke oysters

crabcakes

crab cakes

Reggie being a bread person ordered the fall squash puree flatbread, which was sort of like a light pizza topped with mustard greens. Chloe also recommended a scaloppini parmesan which reminded me of eggplant parmesan which was also good. We also ordered the beet salad which was fresh and delightful. We ordered a total of  5 small plates and we were satisfied, not stuffed. We finished with a pumpkin tiramisu which was a gluten free pumpkin cake finished with a pumpkin  creamy topping-yummy.

flat bread

flat bread

beet salad

beet salad

pumpkin

pumpkin tiramisu

Fresh Artisian cocktails as well as a nice wine list are also availible. I will be going back very soon.

Crossroads Kitchen 8284 Melrose avenue Los Angeles for reservations 323 782 9245

Gigi

Gigi

Xoxo,

Gigi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT…

Posted on by Gigi in Dining, My Life, Well-Being Comments Off on TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT…

I’ve always been a foodie, I loooooove decadent, flavorful, preferably ethnic vegan food. Growing up, my earliest memories are of both my parents in the kitchen cooking. We never had convenience food, which at the time would have been something like frozen TV dinners. At that time I had no dietary restrictions, I ate everything, meat, chicken, seafood etc.. As time passed and I became a young adult, I denounced all red meat and existed on seafood and chicken. My husband was raised vegetarian, but he too had converted to the seafood/ chicken plan. Shortly after my son was born, I gave up chicken and became a “fishatarion” , sushi, salmon, crab, shrimp, and my favorite ahi tuna became the mainstay of my diet. I ate so much seafood that four years ago, I was diagnosed with mercury poisoning. So I gave up seafood overnight and became a vegetarian/vegan. At the time I had a friend who was a raw vegan and she shared with me the benefits of a raw vegan lifestyle and helped me make the transition. I felt great and enjoyed learning about and making gourmet raw vegan food. Currently my diet consists of lots of raw vegan food and some cooked vegan food. I find that adding some vegan food works for our lifestyle, especially when traveling. I love all the raw vegan restaurants in my area, Au Luc, Cafe Gratitude, M.A.K.E., and Planet Raw to name a few but I did not want to restrict my dining options to a few spots. So I have become a master at tweaking menus at main stream restaurants to fit my needs. I’m amazed at how chefs are happy to come up with interesting vegan alternatives other than green salads. This past weekend we went to the Lazy Ox, the name alone made me think this was going to be problematic. What a surprise!

Husband & I At Lazy Ox

Husband & I At Lazy Ox

Our Delicious Dinner

Our Delicious Dinner

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We had grits with curry oil, mushrooms and kale,- blistered shishito peppers & lime, -caramelized cauliflower, chili flakes and toasted almonds,- beet salad with white balsamic & hazelnuts,- Black tuscan kale salad with preserved lemons and apples, and not pictured a green salad and a mushroom risotto, everything was delicious and full of amazing flavors.

What type of diet do you follow?

Xoxo,

Gigi

Lazy Ox Canteen, 241 South San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, 213 626 5299 Reservations a Must (it’s a tiny place only seats about 50)

 

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I am Gracious, Grounded, Passionate, and Cool-Cafe Gratitude

Posted on by Gigi in Dining Comments Off on I am Gracious, Grounded, Passionate, and Cool-Cafe Gratitude

Each day I am reminded that a vegan lifestyle is becoming more mainstream. My local Starbucks now carries green juice, not a sugary imposter, but pure cold pressed juice made from identifiable veggies.

Green Juice

Evolution Green Juice

Green Juice

Green Juice

Many restaurants are now offering a large variety of vegetarian options, no longer regulated to a cardboard processed frozen veggie burger. I am amazed at the selection and surprised at how accommodating chefs are with their vegetarian diners, some are even offering vegan, gluten free, and raw vegan items.

Cafe Gratitude

Cafe Gratitude

Cafe Gratitude is one of my favorite vegan restaurants. They hail from the bay area, and have made their mark in the city of vegan angels. No matter when I go, there is always a long line of LA peeps waiting for a table or a spot at the communal table. This past week I had the great fortune of dining there twice, each time equally delicious. Cafe Gratitude is 100% organic vegan, specializing in gourmet raw and cooked vegan dishes. The entrees are named for various validations, such as “I am Gracious, I am Grounded, I am Passionate, I am Cool etc., so when you order, it immediately starts the dining experience in a positive light. I am in love with “I am Passionate” a raw living soup made with heirloom tomatoes and strawberries, it sounds like an odd combination, but oh so good.

Cafe Gratitude

Cafe Gratitude

Parking is crazy, there are a few spots in their lot, and the rest is street meter parking with ticket hungry officers lurking waiting to give you a $53.00 parking ticket (I got one because I was not perfectly parked within the lines). Go when you have time to relax, this is not an in and out dining experience. Leave room for desserts, they are incredible. I had “I am awakening key lime pie” which was so light and creamy, full of flavor, you wonder how are these desserts are so decadent, the “real thing” wishes it was this good.

Cafe Gratitude

Cafe Gratitude

Cafe Gratitude

639 North Larchmont Blvd.

Los Angeles 90014

323 580-6383

Open daily 10-10

Go do your body a favor and stop by Cafe Gratitude. Venice location opening very soon.

xoxo,

Gigi

 

 

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