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In Mar Vista, right across the street from Casa Sanchez, in a neighborhood of taquerias, lawn mower shops and bail bondsmen, is this little gem called LA Vegan.
It is in a small space, not particularly cute or comfortable to dine-in (read: takeout), but clean and staffed with capable and friendly servers. Similar to the other vegan cafes I have tried, California Vegan and The Vegan Joint, the menu is mostly Asian fare, with lots of ways to eat your tofu or fake meat. And they deliver!
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On my first visit, I ordered an appetizer of corn fritters ($6.95), which were five small corn pancakes, served with a sweet and sour syrup with cucumber. A nice sweet and savory combo.
I like to call food like pancakes, french fries and sugar “vegan junk food.”
When I venture to the vegan cafes, I go because I want lots of vegetables, but I usually end up with at least one (or two) high-carb-fried-vegan-junk-food items, like these tasty spring rolls…
Sweet Here and Sweet There
Cute little deep fried spring rolls ($4.95) with a (very sweet) sweet and sour sauce.
My next meal from LA Vegan was delivered to my home for free (well…free with a $12 minimum order), and this meal was healthy.
I ordered one of their dinner specials: Lentil loaf with steamed vegetables and brown rice ($8.95).
The lentil loaf tastes much better than it looks — it is savory and a bit sweet from the onions and bell peppers mixed in. It came with a vegan aioli, which I dipped the vegetables in.
I couldn't resist ordering something fried (and I had to reach that $12 minimum), so I ordered some vegetable dumplings ($4.95).
They were enjoyable and satisfied my ever-present meat/fat/salt cravings…along with a glass of Galician Albarino , and the meal was perfect.
LA Vegan is a wonderful addition to a funky area that seems to be changing pretty quickly.
LA Vegan
4507 S Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
310-574-9888
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