The Cauldron Spirits and Brews in Buena Park, CA

After checking out Spook Show a few weekends ago, I realized I was close to The Cauldron Spirits and Brews, a new witch-themed restaurant and bar that opened up in Buena Park right across from Knott's Berry Farm. I couldn't turn down grabbing a few drinks in a spooky bar and I was stoked at the opportunity to finally check it out!

The bar and restaurant is described on their website as: "...a dark fairy tale witch-themed sanctuary for the ultimate sensory experience with unpretentious sophistication through a variety of fresh quality cocktails, local craft brews and familiar yet unexpected tastes presented with impeccable service in a comfortable, social atmosphere." 

Take a peek inside of this bewitching bar below:

Spooky Travels: San Diego Mini Get-Away

San Diego's Museum of Man at Balboa Park

Apologies that I have not been updating as much as I would like here, but things have been so busy lately (in a good way) that I haven't had much spare time to do things I enjoy, like write here! I did want to share with you a mini get-away I was able to take last month. I recently got promoted at work, so I decided to treat myself to a quick weekend get-away in San Diego. San Diego isn't very far from me (about an hour and a half to two hours), but I hardly ever get down there. I had been wanting to try some new vegan restaurants down there, so I booked an AirBnB for Mister Spooky and I and we took a Friday off to visit SD.

Where to Eat Vegan in Orange County California

If you are attending Natural Foods Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center this week or just visiting Orange County in general, you'll be pleased to know that there are many vegan restaurants to visit! Since I live here, I decided to create a list of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants for visitors. I'm gearing his list more towards my vegan friends that are in town for the Natural Foods Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center, so I've organized everything with that starting point in mind. Unfortunately there aren't that many vegan options within walking distance of the convention center or at the convention center itself (besides all the samples at Expo West and a few scarce vegan options), so you will need a car (or a Lyft) to get to most of these places around Orange County, but they are well worth it!

Hangar Bar at Whole Foods Market in Tustin, CA

Hangar Bar's vegan Cauliflower Nachos and Beast Burger with fries!

Whole Foods Market at The District in Tustin, California just got a major overhaul that included the additions of a brand new Mendocino Farms and Hangar Bar inside the store! This is the Whole Foods I frequent the most, so I am ecstatic to have two new restaurants inside the store that offer lots of vegan options! Now I can grab a bite before shopping, because we all know shopping hungry at Whole Foods just leads to trouble.

I've already had Mendocino Farms, so I decided to try some of the vegan options at Hangar Bar, which of course also has a full bar serving lots of beer on tap as well as specialty drinks. Since I'm not much of a drinker, I went straight for the food! I was surprised at how many vegan options they did offer, each of which was clearly marked with a green circle with the world "vegan" inside it (just be careful since the vegetarian options are also marked with a green circle - the only difference is that they say "veg").

Hugo's Tacos in Los Angeles, CA

Churros and crispy soy chorizo tacos

Hugo's Tacos is a small walk-up taco stand in the Atwater Village area of Los Angeles (they have other locations as well) with clearly marked vegan options. I have been dying to check this place out, and since I spent a weekend not to far from this location in October I was able to visit twice! Cuz we all know you can never have enough tacos, right?!

Their menu is pretty big, and most of their items are veganizable (or already vegan). They have tacos, burritos, nachos, burgers, tamales, tortas, breakfast burritos, and even churros and soft serve, all of which can be made vegan! Everything on their menu is clearly marked as vegan or items which can be made vegan. They also have clear distinctions for items that are or can be made gluten-free and vegetarian. I really appreciated how easy their menu was to read and how easy they make it to order vegan items!

Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles, CA

Crossroads Kitchen is an upscale vegan dining establishment on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles that serves up small plates of decadent food from Chef Tal Ronnen. It has a romantic, sexy atmosphere, with twinkling candles on every table and dim lighting throughout the restaurant. Some people find it a bit pretentious, but I have been wanting to try it for a long time and was finally able to go in October!

I was excited to try out their comforting Italian classics (veganized, of course), like all their pastas, which I had been drooling over on their menu for months! I am Italian, and usually I don't trust any restaurants with pastas, but I was willing to give Crossroads a try. I choose to dine there early on a Sunday night, not only for decent lighting to take photos of food but also since we were going to see Delusion, an immersive horror play (I wrote about that HERE if you are interested!), right after dinner.

Vegetable in Studio City, CA

There are so many vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants in Southern California that I have a running wish list of those I haven't been able to get to yet. There are SO MANY I haven't visited yet, and Vegetable used to be one of them, despite rave reviews I've heard about it.

The restaurant is tucked away in Studio City, right below Universal Studios. It is located where SunCafe used to be, and I have to say I love what they have done with the space! The ambiance is cozy, even though I feel like they were able to squeeze more tables in. I also love the black chalkboard wall on one side and a brick wall on the other side. It feels modern and retro at the same time, if that makes sense.

Ike's Love and Sandwiches in Newport Beach, CA

Vegan Pilgrim at the new Ike's in Newport Beach!

Ike's Place is a fast-casual restaurant that started in Northern California, but is starting to expand due to their popularity and awesome sandwiches. They now have locations all over the Bay Area, a few in Arizona, and several in SoCal, including the newly opened Newport Beach location in Orange County, which is called Ike's Love and Sandwiches. It's located off of MacArthur Boulevard close to John Wayne Airport in a small strip mall. The new location is spacious and clean, with plenty of seating inside and a few patio seats outside.

Mini Vegan Food Crawl through LA

Despite being stuffed at Eat Drink Vegan fest (read about that HERE!) a few Saturdays ago, I was ready to eat all the vegan food all over again when I awoke from my food coma that Sunday morning. Naturally, my friends and I decided to do a mini food crawl of vegan spots in Los Angeles, which was pretty much the best and most delicious idea ever! Below you'll find pics of our vegan adventure, which included stops at Donut Friend, Mohawk Bend, Little Pine, as well as the vegan shop Moo Shoes!

Restaurant Review: By Chloe in Los Angeles, CA

I finally got to try the brand new By Chloe that opened recently in the new 365 by Whole Foods market up in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. Of course, I have been drooling over the original By Chloe restaurants that opened in New York City, so you can imagine how excited I was that we got our very own version here in SoCal!! Since this version of By Chloe is attached to the Whole Foods store, it is a little small, but I think they did a great job with utilizing the space, and there is a variety of seating, from a larger communal-style table, to bistro-type seating and even a few little booths. The design itself mirrors that of the NYC By Chloe restaurant and is fresh, airy, and adorable.

Restaurant Review: Zombee Donuts in Fullerton, CA

As I was in the area to attend the sixth annual Abracadaver Halloween Market (read about that HERE!), I knew I HAD to finally make a stop at Zombee Donuts in Fullerton, California. Though this bake shop isn't all vegan, it does offer up a different vegan doughnut option every week. How could I pass on a zombie-themed sweet shop with vegan doughnuts? I just can't believe I've waited this long to visit Zombee Donuts!

I stopped in on a Saturday morning around 10 AM and was immediately delighted by their spooky-chic decor. The store had a lovely gothic feel combined with fun zombie decor! Think the doughnut shop of a gothic princess who also happens to be a fierce zombie hunter! I immediately felt at home, as the vibe was very inviting, plus the service was quick and friendly.

Restaurant Review: Burgerlords in Los Angeles, CA

A few months back I finally got a chance to check out Burgerlords in Downtown LA. Burgerlords is a no-frills burger joint in Chinatown with a simple menu, including vegan burgers. They only have a walk-up window where you order your food, but they do have a few picnic tables where you can sit. Plus, it's fun to wander around the center it is located in, which features Asian architecture and a Bruce Lee statue!

Burgerlords only serves burgers and fries, plus a few bottled sodas and water. Their simple burger menu and walk-up window are two reasons they've been compared to In-N-Out. The main draw for me, of course, was the promise of a vegan In-N-Out style burger! I used to love In-N-Out back in my college days before I went vegan, so I was stoked to have the same experience again at Burgerlords.

New Vegan Bowls at Flame Broiler

You know it is definitely the year of the vegan when a chain restaurant makes a menu change for the first time in 21 years and it is to add a vegan item to their menu! The Flame Broiler, a fast-casual restaurant chain with locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma, made its first menu change since its founding (!!!) to include a brand new vegan option for its customers. The demand for plant-based entrees has sky-rocketed, and The Flame Broiler has wisely met this need with a healthy, vegan charbroiled tofu bowl that everyone, vegan or not, can enjoy.

Vegan Donuts at Vegan Pizza in Garden Grove, CA

This past week, Vegan Pizza (located in the Anaheim-Orange-Garden Grove area), started making their own vegan donuts!!! There are already so many vegan donut options in Orange County (The Donuttery, Donut Bar [now Crafted Donuts], Cafecito Organico, Poqet Donuts, etc.), but you can NEVER have too many vegan donuts, that's just a fact! So of course I was ecstatic to check out their brand new spankin' donut selection!

Restaurant Review: Cafe Gratitude in Newport Beach, CA

Cafe Gratitude breakfast!

Cafe Gratitude recently expanded into Orange County with the opening of its newest restaurant in Newport Beach, California. Though there are several Cafe Gratitude locations up in Los Angeles, I had never been to one, so I was excited that one was opening so close to home! 

Gratitude is 100% plant-based, with 99% of their items being vegan - the only items that you need to watch out for are honey and bee pollen in some of their drinks and/or dishes. These are usually noted on the menu descriptions, but you can also ask your server to be sure. They also have many gluten free options and they use organic ingredients whenever possible.

Vegan Tacos Coming to Danny Trejo's New LA Taqueria

As reported by the LA Times yesterday, Danny Trejo, a badass genre-favorite who has had roles in films like Machete, From Dusk till Dawn, Grindhouse, and countless others, is opening a taqueria called Trejo's Tacos in Los Angeles in the coming weeks, one which will have VEGAN TACO OPTIONS!! According to the LA Times, Trejo said, "Here, we wanted to include everybody, so we have a great vegan menu and gluten-free menu." Not only is Trejo's Tacos inclusive of vegans, but they also donate anything left over after the restaurant has stopped service to a local homeless shelter!

Restaurant Review: Shojin in Los Angeles, CA

Can you believe I've never dined at Shojin, the premiere vegan sushi restaurant in SoCal?! I can hardly believe it myself! I was finally able to get there for lunch on my birthday last weekend. Shojin is all vegan and offers organic Japanese cuisine. Besides being vegan, many of their items are gluten-free and they can cater to other food allergies as well. It has two locations - the one I visited is in downtown LA, the other is in Culver City. The interesting thing about the one I visited in DTLA is that it is inside a Korean shopping mall! Once we parked in the adjacent parking structure (Shojin will validate for 2 hours, parking gets a bit pricey after that), we wandered past karaoke bars, Korean BBQ places, Daiso, etc. before heading up to the third floor where Shojin is located.

Restaurant Review: Little Pine Restaurant in Los Angeles, CA

Little Pine is a new vegan restaurant in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles that was recently opened by long-time vegan and animal activist Moby (who also happens to be an award-winning electronic musician and producer). As soon as it opened (way back in November) I've been DYING to go, and decided that my birthday last weekend was the perfect time to dine at Little Pine.

Though I was very excited to eat there, I had heard mixed reviews on the restaurant, (though all the dishes I had seen shared on social media looked delicious!). I prepared myself by gathering recommendations from friends who had eaten there previously, scouring Instagram for other pointers, and then excitedly headed there for dinner there last Saturday night.

Restaurant Review: Organix in Los Angeles, CA

Organix is a small specialty (and mostly vegan) grocery store tucked away in a small strip mall in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles. It also happens to have a tiny deli slinging some of the most delicious sandwich and burger creations in Southern California! While I've enjoyed many of their dishes at various vegan festivals and events, this was my first time visiting their actual location. Their deli has a pretty extensive selection of vegan sandwiches, burgers, tacos, burritos, and so on to choose from. Some of their creations include the mouthwatering Puerco sandwich ("marinated, slow-cooked and baked shredded jack fruit, homemade BBQ sauce, homemade slaw, vegan mayo and pickle on ciabatta bread"), the Mac Daddy burger (or vegan Big Mac, with "two vegan housemade beef patties, three sesame buns, vegan cheddar cheese, housemade Thousand Island dressing, grilled onions, lettuce, and pickle"), the Bacon Western Cheeseburger ("housemade vegan beef patty, battered and panko-encrusted onion ring, homemade coconut bacon, vegan mayo and housemade BBQ sauce on a sesame bun"), and many more! This time, though, I only had eyes for their Southern Belle, which is a sandwich with a battered and panko fried vegan chicken patty, mashed potatoes and gravy served on a bun.

Restaurant Review: Donut Friend in Los Angeles, CA

Donut Friend!

In case you aren't familiar with Donut Friend, they are a Los Angeles-based donut shop specializing in custom, build-your-own donuts, as well as having many delectable signature donuts to choose from. Most have adorably clever names based on bands, like their Jets to Basil, S'Morrissey, Fudgegazi, etc. Fun fact: The creator of Donut Friend, Mark Trombino, is a multi-platinum music producer, drummer, and recording artist, who has produced, engineered, and mixed tracks for artists including Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, Finch, Motion City Soundtrack, and All Time Low. As a drummer, he has also recorded and toured with Drive Like Jehu, aMiniature, Night Soil Man, and First Offense. So now you know where all the awesome donut names come from!

Donut Friend is a true vegan donut mecca in SoCal. I've been lucky enough to try their donuts on several occasions (at the Vegan Street Fair and when generous friends decided to share their Donut Friend haul), but I've never actually been to their storefront in Highland Park! Shocking, I know!! Well, the Saturday after Christmas that all changed, as I set out on a vegan food adventure! I've already talked about my first stop that day, at Ramen Hood in DTLA, and my second stop was none other than Donut Friend (and my third stop was Organix).