The Best Vegan Friendly Spots in Los Angeles, According to Plant-Based Influencer Remy Park
plus my recent South Asian cookware collaboration and where I ate life changing varenyky
Hello! Hope you have had some great meals this week. I’ve been trying to cook at home way more (the amount of breakfast tacos I make is truly ridiculous), but I did finally get to visit this restaurant I’ve been obsessing over ever since I first learned about it last year. It’s called Mom, Please and two really wonderful Ukrainian women I happened to sit next to at an event told me that they feel it’s the only great Ukranian restaurant in town. They first opened in Playa Vista, but recently opened a second location on Wilshire which is much, much closer to me! Perhaps dangerously close.
Growing up in Michigan, with proximity to a lot of Polish cooking, I’ve long had a fondness of Eastern European cooking even though it tends to be much subtler in flavor and bit heavier than the foods I generally like to eat. But my body craves pierogis, varenyky, and pelmeni on the regular. The varenyky here are filled with silky smooth mashed potatoes and wrapped in the most tender dough, cooked in a super creamy mushroom sauce and served with a crazy tangy sour cream. Run, don’t walk, to Mom, Please if you are in LA.
In some fun news, I did a South Asian cookware collection with my friends over at Made In and it’s now available through their website! When I signed my cookbook deal, I thought about how difficult it was to source quality South Asian cookware without stealing it from your mom or dealing with sketchy Amazon orders and so I sent them a DM, and two years later, after much iterating, here we are! The AMRIKAN collection, named after my cookbook, includes a Tawa (perfect or dosas and other flatbreads, a Kadai (or flat bottom wok perfect for anything saucy or fried), and a masala dabba to keep all your spices in. You can also see me cooking two recipes from my book — the aloo paratha quesadilla and saag paneer — and the behind the scenes of how the collection came together. Fun fact is that both pans also work on an induction stove!
PURCHASE COLLECTION HERE | PREORDER AMRIKAN HERE
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Today’s Guide is from Remy Park, who you might know as @veggiekins on Instagram. Remy is vegan and shares a ton of really creative (and often healthy!) recipes based on her Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese heritage. I love her inclusive, non-preachy approach to cooking and her very cute aesthetic. Remy has a cookbook called Sesame, Soy, Spice coming out on March 26, which you can pre-order here! LA is a city brimming with vegan options (though not all of them are great!) So I asked Remy to put together a list of her favorite vegan spots:
REMY PARK’S FAVORITE VEGAN-FRIENDLY SPOTS IN LOS ANGELES
Planta
This is my favorite place to bring non-vegans because they make amazing food that you'd never know is vegan and the dining experience is a little more upscale. They've got great mocktails and I always order the truffle udon noodles, cucumber mule (mocktail), bang bang broccoli, dragon roll, and the crispy rice dish.
Baker's Bench
Absolutely the best vegan croissants I've had in Los Angeles. Another spot you wouldn't know was vegan! I love the plain croissant, pain au chocolat but there are always fun seasonal pastries to choose from too. You can't go wrong!
Pura Vita
A great spot for vegan Italian food and it's very gluten free friendly too. I love their "in bloom" pizza which is a white pizza with shallots, sumac and more and I love their arancini too.
Pine and Crane
Not all vegan, but super vegan friendly and a great place to have casual Taiwanese food. I recommend cucumber sesame noodles, scallion pancakes, the eggplant dish and the bok choy dumplings.
Love Organic Cafe
This is my favorite spot to order takeout from and it's all vegan with a focus on Thai and some Japanese dishes. I love the pad see ew with soy chicken, the spicy tofu crispy rice (a must!), the pad thai and drunken noodles.
Damian
Not all vegan, but a great option for special occasions and a really beautiful restaurant. Great non-alcoholic beverage options and amazing vegan mexican dishes. The menu changes but I last ordered the beans and they're amazing!!!!
Burgerlords
My go-to burger spot. What makes them unique is that they aren't just serving Impossible or Beyond patties like most other burger chains, they make a vegetable based patty in house that is delicious and takes 2 days of prep each week. Get the veggie burger, a side of tofu nuggets and any of their shakes.
Tonchin
This is another great spot to eat with non-vegans. They have a modern Japanese inspired menu with ramen and lots of sides. I always order the spicy ginger miso ramen and the kimchi mushroom starter. Don't forget to order the shaved ice (just ask for the honey cream on the side or removed.)
That is all for this week! Let me know in the comments below your favorite LA vegan-friendly spots or where to find great pierogi! Share this with your pals!