Vegan eats in the larger SoCal area

So, I haven't written in a while because as it turns out, June has been an even busier travel month for us than May was! OK, we only went to LA and Palm Springs, but as a SD based blog, I figured I may as well suggest some good veg restaurants in the surrounding areas.

The first place we went to eat in LA was our favorite standby, Real Food Daily. The food here is always good (albeit quite filling so watch out if you're going dancing later), the atmosphere is really nice, they offer outdoor seating (meaning our dog Juno gets to go too, although he actually has to sit outside the seating area on the sidewalk), and they are entirely vegan (and I believe all or mostly organic as well). They don't take reservations, but I've never had to wait for a table, even though there's always some customers, as it is a popular restaurant.

We also tried a great place that's new to us, called the Vegan Joint. I had a delicious mock fish dish (the Fish Dinner) and really yummy vegetable soup. They also have outdoor seating and brought water for Juno (as did RFD). Their menu is extensive and affordable: check it out here. We will definitely be eating there again!

We grabbed some food to go at Vegan Glory, which while we love the fact that it's all vegan, is more of a fast food type atmosphere and quality of food than either of the aforementioned places. I was disappointed that the seaweed salad consisted only of the dark green seaweed and not the bright lime green stuff that I adore. This is one of many Thai vegan restaurant options in LA. I wish we had even half as many options in San Diego! But trends eventually trickle down here, so hopefully it won't take too long.

Next we went to Palm Springs. Much slimmer pickings here but we did manage quite well. Our new fav restaurant, Native Foods, is in a shopping center here. Even though that may not sound like the ideal location, they had lovely misters outside and shade that made it quite bearable and even pleasant to eat there (with Juno of course). Now this place has five different SoCal locations (alas, none in San Diego), so check out the site for exact addresses. We ate there twice and every single item we got was delicious. We especially loved the "Save the Chicken" Wings. The service was good as well.

We also ate at Pepper's Thai in Palm Springs after not being able to find another vegan only (or even veg only) restaurant. I'm kind of glad we didn't find another one, because I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best Thai restaurants I've ever eaten at! And I love Thai, so I've been to a few. The service was excellent and they cater to vegans (at least they catered to us), so please don't let the fact that they're not all-vegan stop you from trying them. They do have a vegetarian section on the menu, but you can also pretty much order anything on the menu and just have them make it vegan for you, which is what we did. I had the Ginger Chicken (with mock chicken of course; I checked to be sure it was vegan and it is), as well as a delectable house salad, the Tofu Fresh Rolls, and their Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream, which is vegan as well. It was amazing! It's made mostly with coconut milk and pineapple chunks and a little added sugar but most of the sweetness tasted as though it were from the coconut itself. The service was also excellent; our server after catering to our vegan ways, bringing water for Juno, and suggesting additional vegan options (such as that amazing ice cream), also brought us hand-picked apricots from their own tree! They were sweet and delicious.

Well, I'm signing off until next month, and I'll be back with more veg choices and news then!