R. Ritchie

gathering for the Urban Food Crawl

Unless you live in some sort of vegan utopia where all your friends are herbivores (or Portland), it's almost a guarantee that dining out with meat-eating friends is going to be a disappointment for at least one of the parties involved. Either the vegan eats a bland salad at a steakhouse or the carnivore pretends to enjoy kale, seitan and carob. Whatever the case, someone ain't happy.

This conundrum is exactly why the weekly Urban Food Crawl tours are successful, fun and most certainly worthy of the $65 tab. Operated by Jen Bardekoff and Sheri Wheeler (with the help of two tour guides), the L.A.-based company began last August as a way to showcase restaurants with vegan options and spirited ambiance. As crazy as this sounds, these two attributes aren't always a given when dealing with veggie-friendly joints.

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A. Scattergood

cappuccino-vanilla shake at Orean

A missing comma and a forgotten "p" in the word "cappuccino" aren't the only omissions from the drive-thru menu at Orean the Health Express on Lake Avenue in Pasadena. While the menu itself says the vegetarian fast-food joint serves shake flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, chai, peanut butter, cappuccino and something called "strawbwerry," the most obvious error is not telling customers just how much better these soy-based vegan shakes taste when you add vanilla to every order.

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Jim Thurman

Dosas, Woodlands, Chatsworth.

Mention vegetarian food to most carnivores and the result is often a pained expression followed by a series of jokes about sawdust and paper. You need to get these people to Chatsworth. Woodlands features a south Indian lunch buffet and a large menu, but the real star here is on Wednesday nights, the Indo-Chinese Dosa Dinner Buffet.

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jacromer

Former President Bill Clinton, one of our featured famous vegans, is making quite a name for himself in world of diet books. According to Time magazine, he's attached his name to three diet-related books since losing 24 pounds on a vegan plan he adopted before Chelsea Clinton's wedding in 2010. Though he's written his fair share of books (his latest, Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy, hit shelves on Nov. 8), Clinton has yet to delve into writing his own dietary literature. Instead, he's "blurbing" for books like Think and Grow Thin by Charles D'Angelo, a book offering an 88-day plan to "change your life."

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Guzzle & Nosh

Red Hill: interior (left), butternut squash agnolotti (middle), tentative menu (right).

It's hard to have a stealth opening with wraparound windows, but look closely and you should see Echo Park's Red Hill opening in the next few days, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

When we first reported on Red Hill back in April, it was one of two restaurants Jason Michaud (owner of Local) was planning to open. Chimú, a terrific Peruvian takeout eatery next to the Grand Central Market has come and gone, replaced by Local Express.

Michaud thinks Chimú failed because of price-point and location: "I think we were a little too expensive for the neighborhood. I think we should have brought the prices down a couple of dollars. And I think if we'd had a different location where could serve beer and wine and dinner, I think we would have had a chance," he says. These days, he's focusing on Red Hill. [Photo gallery after the jump.]

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Guzzle & Nosh

The Farmer sandwich at Daily Dose.

One of the truly great pleasures of a small cafe or restaurant is being in the presence of people who love what they do. Pop into Daily Dose and you'll likely find co-owner Sarkis Vartanian working the counter. Ask him about the daily sandwich special and a small plate of beef kebab might arrive at your table (gratis). Mention the accompaniment for the scone and you'll learn that the macerated grapes come from his mother's garden, while the sauce is a persimmon syrup and blueberry-red wine reduction. This is a man with an eye for detail, a fetish for "local" and a boundless desire to share it all. The focus is precise, but the sandwiches at Daily Dose are delicious and sloppy in the best possible way.

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Krista Simmons

Last month we received the sad news that the Village Coffee Shop in Beachwood Canyon would be shutting it's doors. But lucky for locals, the former greasy spoon will be getting a bit of a healthy makeover courtesy of Patti Peck, former owner of the Edendale and Millie's Cafe. Peck currently operates her own catering company, and is looking forward to reopening the restaurant in March.

"The menu hasn't changed since 1972, so I think that people will be happy to have a few healthier choices. It'll reflect the updated, freshened way Californians eat," says Peck. The cafe's name will be changed to Beachwood Cafe, a name that she says locals have been calling the shop for years anyhow.

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Guzzle & Nosh

The Larder at Maple Drive: End of Summer Sandwich

The joke about the End of Summer sandwich at The Larder at Maple Drive is that in temperate Los Angeles, this sandwich could probably be served nine months out of the year. Here, in the land where summer extends from early July to late October, bracketed by months of mild, sunny afternoons and random heat waves, ripe produce is always in-season. Still, everything Suzanne Goin touches seems to turn to gold, even a simple sandwich of tomato, eggplant, cheese and basil.

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www.yrousseauwines.com

Tofurky! Let's Toast! (Center: Yannick Rousseau, Y Rousseau Winemaker)

The problem with those incessant Thanksgiving food and wine pairing write-ups in every food publication this time of year? They all presume the food on your table will most certainly be Saveur magazine-worthy. Been there, drank that.

We wondered, what wine would we bring if a friend announced they are serving Tofurky (Surprise! Unless you happen to be a vegetarian, then congrats!) to go alongside their aunt's canned -- definitely not fresh -- green bean casserole? And yes, of course there will be boxed gravy on the side.

We asked several top winemakers to give us their pairing suggestions for that very meal, and they offered up a great list of bargains (and a few go-all-out Tofurky or regular turkey splurges, too). One caveat: They could not choose their own wines.

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D. Gonzalez

Soba Noodle and Tofu Salad at Bloom Cafe

Salads can be stealthy. Rarely does one say, "Lets go out for salad," yet a salad craving can hit anytime and anywhere. During the heat for some cool crunchy relief. Even during the winter as a break for the usual hearty fare. Salads are found on many menus regardless of cuisine, but sometimes the best versions are found in the most unexpected restaurants.

Since salads are more composed than cooked, by their nature they can adapt to myriad international tastes. And because most 'ethinic' salads are considered more interpretation than authentic, it's helpful to look at them through the lens different cuisines to give them a fresh look. At least, so we found with the salads at Savoy Kitchen, Torihei and Bloom Café.

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