LA Eateries?

[TL]

I usually just throw up my hands in exasperation when I get to LA and do the usual Real Food Daily thing for almost every meal, but I found the 3 mile walk under the blazing sun to Café M de Chaya, at Melrose and La Brea, worth it for the the insanely good vegan Benedict they have - a toasted open-face baguette, piled with tomatoes, kale (instead of spinach), tofu and yam hash/scramble, tempeh bacon, and a creamy (vegan) hollandaise sauce capping what was easily the best meal I've had in a month.  The fries are also amazing (and somehow macrobiotic, like everything here  ), and come with a home made ketchup that I couldn't place all the ingredients of, but definitely got its color and some of its flavor from beets!  The meal, as good as it was, was not, however, worth a 3 mile walk under a blazing sun back to where I'm staying, so I called a cab.
I've been to and enjoyed the Elf, in Silver Lake, a few times, but their hours are so limited and weird.
Poquito Mas for lunch yesterday (as per The Kid's recommendation) was good, but I was more in the mood for something with refried beans, which they didn't seem to have at all.  Dan Tana's is fun for dinner, but let's face it - Vinnie's in Bloomfield, NJ is just as good, if not better, and 1/4 the price!  I did meet Harry Dean Stanton there once (at Dan Tana's - not at Vinnie's), and I guess that chance is what you're paying for, but sheesh - $22.00 for a bowl of spaghetti with tomato and basil?  Vengono, uomini...
I've been here for two days already, and I've got two more to go.  Any other recommendations?

[evan (giggles)]

i just ate at a cafe m saturday. i'm not vegan (nor macrobiotic) but it's one of my favorite places to eat in LA. i had the tomato, soy cheese and pesto panini with a side of fries and their weird, vibrantly-colored macro ketchup. the breakfast enchilada (when they have it as a special) is great. i've tried the fake pulled-pork sandwhich too, and the teryaki rice bowl was great (options of tofu or salmon, i think). i highly recommend everyone go there. elf in silverlake i didn't like very much. but their menu was a bit limited for my immature palate. i wound up having to order the bleu cheese mac and cheese, and i'm not a huge fan of bleu cheese. also, they can't just serve regular water to their patrons, it has to be cucumber water. a bit too poxy for me.

i recommend soy cafe on hyperion. they keep weird hours, but if you're available mid-day/afternoons to eat there, it's right next to hyperion tavern. excellent vietnamese / vegan options.

poquito mas is pretty good, but you might want to try any of these places: the mexican place across the street, casa de campo, is one of the best mexican places in the 'hood. great nachos you can fill up on before your meal arrives. very crisp and airy, with great salsa. embarrassingly enough, one of the best burritos i've had here came from the truck that shows up near the Von's parking lot (reservoir/alvarado) at 6pm nightly. they even make their own hot sauces. yesterday evening i was in pasadena and went to "the health express" (i think it's on lake?). they make a vegan chicken teryaki burrito that was quite savory. sunday morning i got drunk with some friends and we wound up at the burrito place on sunset in silverlake near descanso, with the orange exterior? they make a pretty good burrito, i had calamari in mine, others had salmon or shrimp or veggies. i've heard great things about yuca's on hillhurst. if i go this week i'll report back. i've also heard good things about el gran burrito on santa monic.

patra burger in echo park, right down the street from my place, is where i eat most often. you'll never spend more than $4/$5 for a meal and they make (i believe) one of the best burgers i've had since moving here. for a breakfast meal of eggs, bacon, fries, and toast, it's $3.99. of course, in-n-out and fatburger and astroburger are gastronomical bliss if you don't mind eating fast food. one of these days i'm going to get up the courage to order the fried egg, bacon and chili cheeseburger at fatburger. masa on sunset in echo park (right near the echo) supposedly makes a phenomenal deep-dish pizza, but i haven't tried it yet. i wasn't hungry enough when i went, so i just got a fancy-pants ham/cheese croissant. just like father's office in santa monica (good burgers - some say best in the la-area), they're a bit snobby. you can't make any substitutions or modifications to anything on the menu.

[Sarah]

Why aren't conventional french fries considered macrobiotic?  Are potatoes somehow ineligible?  I tried to check this online to no avail.  A simple search on "macrobiotic french fries" resulted in a single hit, a Laurie-suitable "Chubby fat male twink" site. Once my blushes subsided, I removed the quotation marks around my search terms and came upon, among others, a site that offered a standard recipe, involving potatoes and corn oil, and a macrobiotic receipt, which featured wholewheat flour, salt, baking powder, and corn oil.  Why the latter is macrobiotic and the former not, I do not know.  Can anyone explain?

 

[Laurie]

Whatever you do, avoid this Ethiopian restaurant, the name of which escapes me. You know, unless you really, really like stew. Stew, stew, stew, and more stew. And for dessert, stew. Oh, and a side of sunflower stew. Yikes.

I was with Daddykins last time I went out West. He's veeeeeeeg and also a major food snob. We both loved Vegan Glory. I highly recommend it, especially if you love Thai food as much as I do. Try the papaya salad and spicy eggplant.

[Denim Gremlin]

on Hollywood near the corner of Hollywood and Western theres a little vegan Thai place I go to alot. it's called Rock A Vegan, there's no sign but theres a big neon sign in the window that says vegetarian. It's not anything out of this world but it's good and was right around the corner from me. but you can find a lot of vegan or vegetarian Thai places in that area. there's another one farther west down Hollywood called Truely Vegan i think,  I haven't been there yet.

also on Sunset is an amazing vegetarian Indian place called Paru's. The food is a little pricey but it's worth it, you get so much and it's all delicious. they are also really cool about making things vegan. I suggest the Punjab Glory.
http://www.parusrestaurant.com/

I wish I could help more, I've only been in LA for a few months so i haven't gotten a chance to fully explore the options but as a fellow vegan I can empathize with you. It's rough out there sometimes

[buffcoat]

If you want good eats, look for a giant, tall, thin brown hat (to distinguish from the Brown Derby).  Grote knows what I'm talking about.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

If you want good eats, look for a giant, tall, thin brown hat (to distinguish from the Brown Derby).  Grote knows what I'm talking about.

Hey, man, I just live in the walk-in.  I don't eat the food, I sleep in it.

[Jouster]

on Hollywood near the corner of Hollywood and Western theres a little vegan Thai place I go to alot. it's called Rock A Vegan, there's no sign but theres a big neon sign in the window that says vegetarian. It's not anything out of this world but it's good and was right around the corner from me. but you can find a lot of vegan or vegetarian Thai places in that area. there's another one farther west down Hollywood called Truely Vegan i think,  I haven't been there yet.

I'll vouch for Truly Vegan.  Consistently good, and right down the street from UCB Jr.