Chef Dalan Moreno is a spiiiiccccyyyyy cook, in the best way possible. The food here is so original, even when he plays off of and reinvents mainstays you’ve seen before. Bonus points for the portion sizes: they are huge.
Jim’s Choice: The Kale Salad is my fave with the tahini dressing. It’s fresh, light and lemony. For brunch, I’m all about the French Toast with the homemade strawberry jam. YUM.
Steve’s Choice: For lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong with the Crunchwrap. It’s crispy and creamy and so so tasty. For brunch, try the Breakfast Sandwich if you’re not starving, but if you are, go for the Breakfast Crunchwrap. He puts an hashbrowns in the center. Order a side of the spicy mayo for some extra snap.
Lean into your healthier side with a meal at the Acai Girls in Notting Hill. From bowls to salads to brunch items, this place offers a bunch of vegan options as well as choices for your omnivore pals. Bonus points go out to the super-friendly staff behind the counter.
Must Have:
Vegan Waffles with fresh fruit, dairy free yogurt and maple syrup. Pro-tip: ask for a side of peanut butter to come with it – so good to have a little savory/salty accompany your bite of sweet.
Address: 81 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill (check website for other locations)
FYI – this is such a fun street to walk up or down, either direction, both sides have tons of specialty shops and stores. Enjoy the waffles then walk ’em off (which I think we’ve recommended in other posts as well).
FYI Pt. 2 – they get busy on weekend mornings, especially Sunday – plan accordingly if you want to dine in, tables go fast.
Now we know what you’re thinking: who goes to Paris for Italian food? Fair question indeed, my friends. But just like visiting anywhere, after a few days of a specific cuisine, you start craving other flavors. So on our fifth night in Paris, we were like what else can we have that doesn’t come with a free croissant? Calm down, that was a joke. Croissants weren’t free.
Off the beaten path, in the middle of a cozy neighborhood not far from the Arc de Triomphe, we found the charming and delicious Gusto Italia restaurant. Gonna start by letting you know this is not a full-on vegan only restaurant. That said, they had plenty to offer and they were happy to turn almost any dish on the menu vegan.
Highly recommend the Arrabbiata Pasta – which, yeah we know, is pretty much vegan wherever you go. It was damn tasty here.
Shout out to the owner and staff who were extra friendly. This place may very well be family-run ’cause they certainly made us feel like family. For a great meal in a quiet area, give Gusto Italia a try.
THIS(these) PLACE(s) GET A 10 OUT OF 10 RATING FOR VEGAN DELICIOUSNESS.
Seriously.
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. You can not go wrong at CTK (as the locals call it). Chef Tanya has been doing this vegan sandwich thing since the 1980s. You love the ’80s. You love the music, the acid washed jeans, the big bangs hiding your forehead, all of it. She went on to create and run Native Foods – #IYKYK – and now has these two locations:
Palm Springs – it’s a small space where you can order area and shop but they have a seating area two doors down or do what we do and order it to go online, pick it up, bring it home and eat then jump back in the pool.
Palm Desert – Huge space with plenty of seating and a coffee and baked goods area and a creamery.
Must Haves (this is going to be difficult because we love everything on this menu):
Pastrami Mami – it’s a vegan rueben – so tasty, the sauce, the pickles on top, amazing
Modern Hippie Veggie – cool and crisp and refreshing to eat in the heat
Smoked Chick’n Pasta – it’s a side you can get in the take-away fridge – fantastic
Mac N’ Cheesy – so yum yum yum – again it’s a side in the take-away fridge
Creamery – any and all of these dairy-free ice creams are the best you’ll ever taste
On top of all this, Chef Tanya is an animal advocate, supporter and volunteer who has worked for years with the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and other organizations. She’s one of the good ones – that’s for sure – so give either – or both – her places a stop-in and/or online order. We have meat-eating friends who are obsessed with CTK and will literally forego their need omnivore need because this spot is better.
Address: 706 S Eugene Rd, Palm Springs & 72695 CA-111 Unit A6, Palm Desert
Steve here: I took my 80+ year old mom here and SHE loved it. And trust me, she is not someone easy to please when it comes to food. “Is this spicy??! I can’t have anything spicy!” Here’s hoping she’s not reading this. If she IS reading this, well then, HI MOM!
Every item on the menu is 100% plant-based and they’ve won multiple ‘Best of Phoenix’ awards including two this year alone. And they made Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the US in 2024. So yeah, they got the goods and their goods are damn tasty.
UNIQ is located in a shopping mall and it can be a little tricky to find but then most smaller places are in Phoenix because they only allow signage so high as to not take away from their mountain views (I am not making this up, Google it). Fear not, you’ll find it and when you do, you’ll be glad you did.
Pro-tip – Get the Parmesan Truffle Fries. They’re worth it. You’re worth it. Never forget: fries tell no lies.
Address: 7730 E McDowell Rd Suite 108-B, Scottsdale
WORLD GONE GOOD celebrates everyday people making good happen each and every day.
From vegan superstars including New York Times Best-Selling Author, Kathy Freston, to two-time Master Chef competition player, Alejandra Schrader, to animal rescues including the Tennessee Cow Farm, Vintage Pet, and Unity Farm Sanctuary, to badass community organizers John Oberg and Jessica Cruz, this show has plenty of good to spread around.
And with 225 episodes, plus another 30 pieces of bonus content, you’ve got all the good you need ready and waiting.
Steve here: So I was visiting my niece in Philly and I said let’s go into NYC. We hopped on the Amtrak and were whisked right into the city where we walked around and enjoyed our day. I asked her what she wanted for dinner and she was good with anything so I said there’s this vegan Italian place I have wanted to try forever called Coletta and she said let’s go. One of the best food-eating-related-decisions of our lives.
We each started with a glass of white wine and their Olive and Rosemary Bread. Perfect start, perfect landing. We moved on to a glass of red wine and their Puttanesca Meatballs, again, nailed it. For our dinner, we were like, well, we’ve already had some wine and the delicious bread and meatballs, let’s just order something to share. So we got the Spaghetti Carbonara and the Hot Honey Pizza because clearly we have trouble saying no. And in this case, it was a damn good thing:
Spaghetti Carbonara was insane – couldn’t even tell it wasn’t full-on cream-based with pancetta, it’s spot on and amazing. I will say it’s not a giant portion of pasta so if you come hungry (and you don’t have two glasses of wine, bread and meatballs first), get a starter or salad first. Just bein’ honest.
Hot Honey Pizza was next-level-holy-crap-what-is-even-happening-right-now? Warning: don’t be fooled by the words ‘hot’ or ‘honey.’ This pizza is for people (like me) who love food with a kick. And damn does it deliver the kick. Wow. Just wow. So so SO GOOD.
And yes we also got sides of the Truffle Mashed Potatoes and Parsley Garlic Knots because we need our vegetables. Stop judging us. I already told you we have trouble saying no.
FYI – City Root Hospitality offers a collection of premiere vegan restaurants including Coletta, Santir, Anixi, and more. Check the website for more info and locations.
We happened upon this independently-owned cafe while shopping. Relaxed, comfy interior + super nice staff + most of the menu is oat-based = a tasty good time. Not 100% vegan – they do have eggs, cheese, chicken, salmon, etc. – so bring along your omnivore friends and fam. No judgments. Well OK yeah SOME judgments but we were raised right and do it behind your back. Awwwww!
Jim’s Choice: Vegan AND gluten free? Go for the PB&J Bowl with peanut butter, raspberry & chia jam, bananas and the equally delicious and mysterious Oatis topper. And the banana bread is killer.
Steve’s Choice: Blueberry Business pancakes. Full stop. Blueberry & lemon compote, blueberries, toasted almonds and maple syrup. Go crazy and ask for an extra side of peanut butter. You deserve it.
Hugo’s, celebrating their 45th anniversary this year, holds a special place in our hearts because it’s where we had our first date back in 2007. The photo above is of us in 2017, 10 years later, back having our own anniversary dinner at the exact same table.
The menu here features eats for everyone: from omnivores to vegetarians to vegans, Hugo’s has got you covered. They have the best breakfast & brunch menu(s) in LA and a grouping of items are available all day long.
Must Haves:
BREAKFAST/BRUNCH: Pumpkin Pancakes – vegan AND gluten free
BREAKFAST/BRUNCH: Chocolate Chip Pancakes – vegan AND gluten free
LUNCH/DINNER: Reuben Sandwich – spicy good
LUNCH/DINNER: Build Your Own Plate – you can pick your favorites and create your own masterpiece
GET. THE. FRIES. We repeat: GET. THE. FRIES.
Note: They’ve now added Just Eggs brand egg substitute, which is our fave, so you can ask them to sub that in for any egg dishes.
Pro-Tip: Make a reservation and/or get their early. Locals know how great this place is. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you/back us up.
Maybe we’ll have our 20th Anniversary party there? Let us know if you want an invite.
Address: 8401 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood (second location in Studio City)
Welcome to the first positive impact bakery: Baguettes, croissants, cookies, and sandwiches—all the bakery staples are offered in 100% plant-based versions, meaning they’re meat-free, fish-free, butter-free, milk-free, cream-free, and egg-free. Instead, they offer 100% natural plant-based alternatives that are up to 90% less carbon-intensive. Thank you for attending our Ted Talk.
Now on to the choices of eats – which are plentiful – and so damn good. We went there three times. That is how damn good we are talking. Berets off to Rodolphe Landemaine and the entire team for making deliciousness happen.
Jim’s Choice: They have this pistachio pie but it’s kind of more like a cheesecake – it’s hard to describe it other than to say GET IT.
Steve’s Choice: The plant-based chick-in on a crunch baguette – amazing. They also have all these different focaccias with all these different topics – the one with black olives was tops.
Do You Have Anything Vegan? 