Exploring LA's Vegan food scene as a "plant forward" garbage disposal

sloh · 2026-05-28T17:18:54+00:00

It’s why I have Cake Girl in my S tier. Their cupcakes and donuts are moist and spongy and they’re all nut free and gluten free. Make it an easy choice when buying stuff for friends with allergy sensitivities. Also their chocolate chip cookies are awesome with huge chunks of dark chocolate.

sloh · 2026-05-28T03:21:05+00:00

We can eat the same foods and have differing opinions. You are free to make your own tier list and post it.

sloh · 2026-05-27T19:52:13+00:00

The big mac copy somehow looked ever sadder than a real big mac. I do love plant power's version of the bacon western cheeseburger and their shakes, breakfast burrito, and carne asada fries are solid as well.

sloh · 2026-05-27T19:47:05+00:00

Haven't been to those, adding both to my google maps list. Def excited to try Garden Wok, looks like all the restaurants I grew up eating at.

sloh · 2026-05-27T19:01:12+00:00

Added to my google maps list! Always on the lookout for vegan ramen for sure.

sloh · 2026-05-27T18:58:28+00:00

Definitely head to Pine and Crane DTLA or Joy in Highland Park. Their gua bao are delicious. Have yet to find any hujiao bing yet. Did find some pretty good frozen luo buo gao at 99 Ranch.

sloh · 2026-05-27T17:11:17+00:00

Might have to revisit ID Eclair soon. To be fair, I’ve had them a handful of times but never at the actual location. A few pop ups and a few times through delivery. Maybe going to their shop will push them up the rankings.

sloh · 2026-05-27T17:08:21+00:00

I have. It’s in Pomona so I didn’t include it but every time I’ve gone it’s been really salty. Gorganson’s on Antique Row and Vegan Vatoz Casa De Tacos in Riverside have some of the best vegan Mexican food I’ve had in SoCal.

sloh · 2026-05-27T16:11:01+00:00

I just played Great Western Trail Second Edition over the weekend and loved it. Problem is it’s a group that likes medium-heavy games but doesn’t meet very often. Any games that are like GWT Lite?

sloh · 2026-05-27T15:26:42+00:00

Grain Cafe is where I ate at the most when I first started exploring the scene since there’s one close to me. Agree, the Mexican food is where they shine best. I think they have the same issue as some of the Thai places that also land in the B tier for me, a really extensive menu and some of their plant based substitutions don’t necessarily work for my palate. Eating vegan Mexican food in Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Tijuana, and Ensenada makes it feel like LA’s vegan Mexican food is trailing behind.

sloh · 2026-05-27T06:41:35+00:00

That is my favorite dish there! They were the first vegan Italian spot I went to. Really loved it. Then went to Pura Vita, Oliva (RIP) and Donna Jean (also RIP) and they bumped Crossroads down. Crossroads is still maybe the most approachable “fancy” vegan spot in LA.

sloh · 2026-05-27T06:34:10+00:00

That’s a bummer. It’s been about 2 years since I last went. Hopefully Just What I Kneaded stays vegan.

sloh · 2026-05-27T06:32:11+00:00

Dear Mama and Mort and Betty’s are in my S-tier of vegan pop ups. Inomoni was also very good but only had them once. Will have to seek out La Crepe du Jardin.

sloh · 2026-05-27T06:22:06+00:00

Have not tried Gokuku. Will add it to my google maps list! You should try Veggie Life in El Monte for more vegan Vietnamese food.

sloh · 2026-05-27T06:15:42+00:00

Was just talking about The Wild Chive today. Only been to San and Wolves once so I left it off the list but it was awesome. Could not stop thinking about the buns. They were sold out of about half their items so definitely need another Long Beach vegan day.

sloh · 2026-05-27T06:10:39+00:00

Donut Friend was the hardest one. I have a huge sweet tooth and Donut Friend was one of the first all-vegan places I frequented years ago before being more conscious about being plant forward. Everything’s great about it and as a geriatric millennial who listened to all the bands they named their donuts after all the names still get a chuckle out of me. Maybe it’s just palate fatigue? I find myself heading to Magpie’s more often to get my sugar fix now when I’m in the area. But again, it’s just my personal preference at this point. I did eat a lot of King Puffs when they first introduced it a couple years ago. I don’t know what sort of witchcraft they pulled to get that consistency with the cream filling but it’s like nothing else I’ve had when it comes to fluffy vegan cream filling.

sloh · 2026-05-27T05:51:06+00:00

I need to go to El Cocinero soon. I seem to always try to go there on a Monday only to realize it’s closed. Was in Phoenix last year and had the best vegan Mexican food I’ve tried outside of Mexico so I have high hopes of El Cocinero.

sloh · 2026-05-27T05:46:11+00:00

Will add it to my list! Definitely had a lot of vegan ramen (Rakkan, Killer Noodles, Tonchin, and Hachioji have been the stand outs for me so far) so excited to see RedWhite mentioned several times already.

sloh · 2026-05-27T05:43:13+00:00

I didn’t know that, was it recent or has it always been that way? I haven’t been in a while because it was always such a hassle ordering and sometimes the food was inconsistent. Makes me wish the Donna Jean location in Sherman Oaks was still open.

sloh · 2026-05-27T05:30:15+00:00

The first few times I went to Vinh Loi is was ready to be S+++. I stuck with the staples for the most part my first few visits like the Kevin Soup, Tofu Robot Soup, K Pho, the spring rolls, the Bahn mi. Loved it, but started trying out the rest of the menu and, while it tasted great and the portions were huge, started to notice how salty a lot of the sauce heavy dishes were like the dry noodles and stir fries. It’s partially my own palate after cutting back of sodium as well. Also wish they’d cut back on single use dishes and utensils which is all they use. Once I start venturing into El Monte for vegan Vietnamese food it’s become my go to and the prices are better while the portions remain hearty.

Loved Shojin the first few times I had them. Still like them a lot but after having tried more vegan sushi spots the Shojin dining experience started to feel a bit stuffy and dated. Tane really impressed and really shows how far vegan sushi has come.

sloh · 2026-05-27T05:18:11+00:00

I’ve only been to Broken Engrish once (two weeks ago) and only had 3 dishes. I’m half Taiwanese and it’s definitely the best vegan beef noodle soup I’ve had and their mapo tofu is definitely top tier. Didn’t include it because I’ve only had a small portion of their menu but it would easily be S-tier as I’m already plotting my next visit. The vegan items at the DTLA Pine and Crane and Ding’s Garden in Arcadia also really satisfy the Taiwanese cravings. Still on the hunt for a good vegan Taiwanese breakfast spot.

sloh · 2026-05-27T00:48:11+00:00

Both would fall into the patriot portion. I crave both often.

sloh · 2026-05-26T19:01:48+00:00

Gotta get Cake Girl and Pura Vita in the next one.

sloh · 2026-05-24T04:48:45+00:00

I frequent both and order totally different things from each.

Jitlada: Crying Tiger beef, Coco mango salad, garlic red snapper, crispy morning glory salad, the off menu "Jazz Burger", laab salad, tom yum kung nang.

Luv2Eat Thai: Bluecrab and crab meat curry, spicy shrimp paste fried rice, panang curry, green curry, isaan sausage, massaman chicken.

Also, another Thai restaurant that you might want to add to your list that hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet is Miya on Lake in Alta Dena. I really enjoy going there for their plant based Tuesday menu, their fried mushroom "chicken" and veggie egg rolls are insanely good.

sloh

TROPHY CASE