The Discerning Brute: fashion, food & etiquette for the ethically handsome man

Brunch at Flore, Silver Lake, Los Angeles

Eating a delicious brunch on a sunny sidewalk surrounded by friends and rescued pooches is a pitch I’d like to send to the universe for my afterlife.

Thankfully, I got to have this pleasure in the material world in Los Angeles this week while dining at Flore in Silver Lake. If you are a sandwich-lover, or a weekend-bruncher, this is your new go-to spot. And if you have pups that like to eat the crumbs you drop (or the full plates of brown rice and veggies you order for them) there’s no need to leave them home.

The menu was extensive, but we agreed to share everything and ordered the Veggie Frittatta, Daily Soup, Crispy Kale, Tempeh Reuben, Tempeh Tu-No Melt, and the Eastsider Seitan Tacos. Everything was delish, but the highlight was the outstanding Frittatta, which was a delicious egg-free quiche with broccoli, mushrooms, onion and kale. It was crisp and golden on the outside, and tender and savory on the inside. The vegan butter-cream chocolate cupcake was also fist-slam-against-the-table-worthy. More, please! Look at what we ate, and don’t drool on your keyboard:

3 Comments

joshuakatcher, March 25th 2010 | Tags: flore, los angeles, organic, silver lake, vegan, vegetarian
Posted in dogs, food, green, Health, organic, restaurant, travel, Uncategorized, vegan, vegetarian

Cru Intentions

Cru in Silver Lake, Los Angeles

Silver Lake in Los Angeles has become a hotbed of vegan dining. I stopped by Cru for a mostly raw, totally vegan dinner. The vegan joints in LA are notoriously lacking in decor – so I was very impressed with Cru’s dim-lighing, large black and white photographs and sleek, modern details. The atmosphere was great – and crowded on a sunday night, which Zoe informed me is also unheard of in LA. I started with a Watermelon Grenada and the Fig Paté with Cashew Cheese (not aged or as good as Dr. Cow’s, but still delish!) Zoe started with the Ceasar Salad, which was mostly just romaine lettuce and avocado. My entree was very good – Raw Ravioli with Marinated Shitake and Arugala Salad. The ravioloi had the same Cashew Cheese as the appetizer. Raw food is so filling, but i managed to save room for Zoe’s cooked entree. Zoe ordered the Chana Masala over Quinoa which was amazing! Definitly the highlight of the meal. I’ll be stopping by Cru again!

2 Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, September 10th 2008 | Tags: cru, dining, los angeles, raw, silver lake, vegan
Posted in food, green, organic, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian

City of Angels

I always thought of LA as a big, dirty strip-mall that extended for miles in every direction. Now, however – after visiting for a few days with an amazing tour guide, I think of LA as a big, dirty strip mall with tons of vegan joints for miles in every direction. I arrived in LA with a suitcase and a big bag of Dr. Cow’s Tree Nut Cheese to share with the west coast.

Here’s some highlights:

Vegan Spot, Silver Lake
3206 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Vegan Spot had some yummy sandwiches. I had the “Cheesy Roast Beef” and Zoe had the “Philly Cheese Steak”. They thin-slice seitan, and smother it in onions and melted-vegan cheeses. It was pretty scrumptious.

We headed over to a wine and cheese party where we ate copious amounts of Dr. Cow’s Tree Nut Cheese with the likes of Skinny Bitch: Rory Freedman, Emily Deschanel, Ari Solomon of Scent of Scandal, Karen Dawn and Paula the pitbul of Thanking the Monkey, among other amazing veggies!

Good Micro Brew & Grill
3725 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Casa de Sousa
213 703 5236
634 N. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(Located on historical Olvera Street)

We shared some Pinkus organic vegan beer over Hemp-Nut and Blue Manna Dr. Cow’s Tree Nut Cheese at Good Micro Brew & Grill. This appeared to be their only known vegan beer – and lucky for us – it’s a really delicious, light German beer. The Germans don’t use Fish Bladder (AKA isinglass) in their beer. Thanks Germany! This places serves meat but they have some decent veg options like the orange tofu. Ana loved the cheese! She works with Guayaki Yerba Mate, and gave me mate and a gourd!

Then we visited the historic Mexican district of Olvera Street and had vegan Mexican-chocolate lattes at Casa de Sousa, a vegetarian Mexican cafe!

5 Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, June 12th 2008 | Tags: Ari Solomon, Casa de Sousa, dr. cow cheese, Emily Deschanel, Good Micro Brew & Grill, Guayaki Yerba Mate, isinglass, Karen Dawn, los angeles vegan, Olvera Street, Pinkus organic vegan beer, Rory Freedman, scent of scandal, silver lake, skinny bitch, Thanking the Monkey, tree nut cheese, vegan cheese, vegan spot
Posted in dogs, fair trade, food, green, holiday, organic, restaurant, travel, vegan, vegetarian