Loverboy in the Desert

Yeah, that's what I said, Loverboy! I know, what rock did they crawl out from under? I don't know but they were pretty great after all of these years! Being that they were doing the county fair and free park show circuit, we had to drive out to Palm Desert to see their old butts rock out. But it was well worth it!! A quick trip to the desert is always a fun treat for the soul and the tummy!

One place that needs no intro is Native Foods. They have locations in LA, Palm Springs and Palm Desert. It's a vegan paradise for fast food. From great pizzas, salads and scrumptious deserts, Native Foods will not disappoint. Check out their creative and mouthwatering menu at Native Foods.

It is an absolute must when you are in Palm Springs to have a meal at La Casuelas. Voted one of America's top 50 Hispanic Restaurants, there is no doubt why. They have a huge menu and almost any entree can be vegie or veganized. The black bean pizza or tostada is awesome as is there veggie enchiladas sans cheese. Their fiesta guacamole goes great with a big ol' margarita too!! See the yummy dishes at La Casuelas.

If you are in the mood for something deli like and quick, stop at Cafe Totonaca located in the Nature's Rx market . They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and everything is super tasty. their morning scrambles are delish as are their soy strip fajitas any time of the day!

If you want a little exotic flair from the east, definitely try Thai Smile (760- 320-5503,651 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262). They are not vegetarian but they have great veggie options and it is super tasty.

And lastly, if you need a quick pick me up, Cafe Zertz (250 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92262, 760-416-0980) is the ticket!! It's super cute and they brew up a mean cup of soy latte and serve up some good veggie sandwiches.

No need to starve out in the desert when you have all of these great choices in the oases that are Palm Springs and Palm Desert!

Yummy Yosemite

What can I say about Yosemite that you don't already know but WOW!! It really is breathtaking and I wish we had had more time but I'm sure we will be back soon ; ) From the short time we spent there, I still squeezed in time for a meal and did some research for next timehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gif!

We dropped into Curry Village to grab some souvenirs and in the gift shop they had scrumptious vegan cookies!! They also have a food courtish type commissary that had Mexican food, pizzas and a bunch of other lunch treats. I had a veggie tostada salad that was enormous and the guacamole was pretty damn good! Yosemite Village, like Curry Village, is inside the park, also has snacks and great selection of soups and salads.

If you want to live the high life at Yosemite instead of roughin' it outdoors with them there bears, definitely try a night or 2 at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Their main dining room has a gourmet menu that doesn't forget about those who chow on greens. They have soups that are veggie based, tasty salads and scrumptious entrees like pasta carbonara. They are great about labeling what is available veggie style!

At the Yosemite Lodge, their Mountain Room Restaurant is a vegan and organic haven. From vegan soups to quinoa based entrees, this is a nature lovers paradise and a must if you visit the park.

Just outside the park is the Wawona Hotel and dining room that also happens to be very veggie friendly. Fresh soups, salads and an assortment of veggie alternatives are always in season at this Victorian beaut of a lodge.

So if you are camping, be sure to bring lots of healthy goodies to sustain yourself during your explorations and lock them up good so the fuzzy wuzzy bears don't get to them first! But if they do, there is a nice size market in the park where you can re-stock. But even if you are roughing it, be sure to take a break and pop into one of Yosemites fine dining halls and eat up!!! Nature never tasted so good!!

"Goodbye God, I'm Going to Bodie!!"

That's a direct quote from a little girl whose family was moving to the infamous and wicked mining town in the 1880's. Now a genuine ghost town, Bodie, CA, is quite a step back into our nation's nutty past. On our way back from Black Rock City (Burning Man), we stopped into this town frozen in time before we passed through Yosemite.

Bodie has a great story and is worth the 8,000 ft mountain drive to get there. There are no inhabitants or services beyond the gift shop in Bodie so we stopped for dinner and slumber about 45 minutes past there in Lee Vining at Mono Lake. Lee Vining is a town of 300 people so you would think there wouldn't be a healthy morsel in sight. Wrong!! It was so easy and the people couldn't have been nicer.

Our first meal was at Bodie Mike's BBQ and I pigged out. They had a great veggie mexi burger (salsa in the veggie patty with guac on top!!) as well as a delicious soup and salad bar. I also saw that they had teriyaki veggie kabobs!They are at Hwy 395, Lee Vining, CA 93541, (760) 647-6432.

After a good night's rest, I popped into the Latte Da cafe (a few doors down from Bodie Mike's) where they served up organic soy lattes ; ) I broke fast with my travel buddies at Nicely's, directly next door to Bodie Mike's, where I got a big bowl of yummy oatmeal and fresh oj.

If you happen to pop into Lee Vining for some lake activities or before you head over the Tioga Pass into Yosemite, you can stock up at their local market with fresh produce and a ton of vegan, veggie and other healthy products like Amy's frozen goodies, tofurky and Odwalla juices. The selection was incredible and I highly recommend you poke in if you are thinking of heading into Bodie or Yosemite. Or if you miss the turn for Mammoth!!

Passin' Time in Pasadena

Home of the Rose Bowl and some beautiful architecture, Pasadena is one of the prettiest areas in Los Angeles. It is swarming with people every day as their Old Town section is perfect for a nice walk, shopping and unique restaurants.

One of the first places I ate at as a vegan 8 years ago was Orean. It is like a vegan dairy queen with ice cream, shakes and wicked vegan junk food. I love their tacos and burgers!! They are at 817 N Lake Ave,(626) 794-0861.

Among the many chain restaurants in old town like Cheesecake Factory, Louise's Trattoria and so on, there is one that I adore and that is Le Pain Quotidien. In the recent years they have sprung up across LA but it's so damn good ; ) Their soups are almost always vegan, their salads fresh and their tartines delectable. My choice is always the black bean hummus tartine. Look them up at Le Pain Quotidien.

Despite the commercial, mainstream shops and restaurants, there are still many unique places such as this terrific Brazillian spot, Chiara, 43 E Colorado Blvd,(626) 564-8696. I was able to munch on some plantains and rice and share some of their hummus that was actually very good. I had a little to much of their caipirinas as they went down super smooth!

Just outside of Pasadena, you can find one of the best veggie places around, Fatty's. Fatty's, despite the name, is veggie fine dining in the heart of Eagle Rock. It really is amazing and I urge you to try their ravioli, moussaca or strudel. You must stay for dessert and have their Fudgey!! All info for them is online at Fatty's Cafe & wine bar.

So whether you live across town or across the country, if you find yourself in Pasadena, there is no shortage of yumminess ; )

S-deux-dio City ; )

So I couldn't leave out the rest of my top places to chow in my old neighborhood. And might I add that it just keeps getting better and better. The nightlife, shopping and dining is becoming more and more hip and bringing the valley some good street cred ; )

All around town, I've been seeing these vegan thai places pop up. 2 of my faves are in Studio City. Vegan plate, 11943 Ventura Blvd(818) 506-9015 and Vegan Express, 3217 Cahuenga Blvd W,(323) 851-8837, have similar menus but are equally good. Plate has lots of combo dinners and sandwiches as does Express but they have breakfast all day ; ) The cowgirl breakfast with tofu scramble, faux chicken and pancakes will fill you up all day. And at Vegan Plate, I love their chicken wrap and chicken satay.

Tapas are super cool and trendy and Ole hits that spot. They have flamenco dancers a good music most nights as well as some tasty sangria. They have veganizable dish that will fill you up as will their yummy wine! 13251 Ventura Blvd,(818) 986-3190.

I know this is a chain but it's oh so good to us greenies! Panera has the bomb vegetarian soups like black bean, garden vegetable and southwest stew. Their salads and sandwiches can be veganized and their iced green tea is extra zingy!! Look for their Studio City location online at Panera.

Lastly, for nightlife, definitely Firefly. This bar and restaurant has a neat atmosphere that is library meets Moroccan patio chic.If you need to munch they have wonderful salads and the occasional garlic fry won't kill you. But the drinks are reasonable and the vibe is rockin' Firefly is at 11720 Ventura Blvd,(818) 762-1833.


Luckily, I'm only a 15 minute drive away from all my old faves ; )

Ode to Studio City

Ahh, the view from my daily hike at Wilacre Park that overlooked my old hood ; ) Studio City is a great little area in Los Angeles and jam packed with healthy and yummy places. This valley town is right at the base of the hill and offers shi-shi shopping and dining but with the feel of a small community. Some of my most favorite eateries are in Studio City so if you live in town or are visiting, it's just a stone's throw away from Hollywood, Universal Studios and just off the 101 freeway.

My first fave is Kung Pao Bistro. When I'd have a hankerin' for Chinese take out, this was the only way to go as they have a a fully vegan menu in addition to their traditional fare. Their veggie chicken drumsticks would make a carnivore salivate as do their veggie beef and broccoli and veggie orange chicken. They have all kinds of veggie stuff like shrimp, skewers, dumplings and more as well as plenty of real meat for your non veggie pals. They have 3 locations however, the one is Studio City is at 11838 Ventura Blvd, (818) 766-8686 .

My next addiction is Leonor's vegetarian Mexican. Yumm-alicious! They make the bomb vegan pizzas, enchiladas, empanadas and so on. Their guac could use a little salt but other then that it's really cheap and they give you a boat load. They have great sandwiches as well as again, non-veggies will enjoy this place as well. They have 2 locations, in Studio city you can find them at 12445 Moorpark St Ste C, (818) 762-0660.

Mexicali & Casa Vega are valley staples for killer mexican food and nightlife. Both places are always busy and full of hotties for those of you singles trollin' for love ; ) Mexicali has fantastic salads as well as awesome veggie burritos, enchiladas and more. If you are in town to star gaze, this is a prime place for it too. Be sure to come by on Monday's for their all night happy hour where the whole menu is 30% off - 12161 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604 (818) 985-1744. Vega has my favorite spinach enchiladas (I order with no cheese) and the most ridiculous vegetarian mexican pizza!! And of course, huge Margs ; ) Casa Vega is at 13301 Ventura Blvd, (818) 788-4868.

For brunch, lunch and dinner, Hugo's is the place. It's quite busy so expect a wait but it's totally worth it. Vegans and non-vegans can enjoy great meals from pancakes to pizzas to yummy entrees. They also specialize in great teas and juices and opened a taco stand across the road that is so good you'll want to run around the block screaming ; ) Hugo's valley location is at 12851 Riverside Dr, (818) 761-8985 and the Hugo's Taco Stand is at 4749 Coldwater Canyon Ave, (818) 762-7771.

And for those every now and again treats, Studio Yogurt and Humphrey Yogart are an absolute must. Trying to satisfy your sweet tooth and stay healthy is very difficult but either of these places can hook you up. Studio Yogurt always has a dairy free yogurt selection and each day is a new and unique flavor. You can choose any toppings you want from fresh fruit to sprinkles and carob chips. Humphrey's is just as delish with soy yogurt options that you can mix in any toppings and they also have wicked vegan milk shakes!! The mystic union is to die for - chocolate and peanut butter!!! Studio Yogurt is at 12050 Ventura Blvd Ste 105, (818) 508-7811 while Humphrey's is just up the road in Sherman Oaks at 4574 Van Nuys Blvd, (818) 906-2490.

There are still some of my Studio City haunts left to mention so check them out next week!!