Little Next Door - Los Angeles, CA

I have been wanting to go to The Little Door for a long time now but they never seem to be open when I plan to go so this time, I went to its casual version, little next door which is literally next door to the Little Door therefore, the Little Next Door :) crazy! Oh well.. It was good. Nothing much though, for vegans. Lots of cheeses and hams! I had a salad sampler $12.00 with three choices of deli salads from which I chose Quinoa (I'm pretty sure that's what it was although it doesn't show on their online menu), lentil and fresh fruit salads. It was good but, nothing spectacular. Sorry but I have to be picky with salads since I make salads at home almost every day, and I have to say, I love my salads!
My mom, who went with me, had a sandwich (not vegan) I don't remember what it was but I think it had cheese. I remember her saying she didn't see cheese on the item list before she ordered it. But she's not vegan, she just tries to lower the amount of animal products she eats. I am actually the only almost completely vegan person I eat out with (confession time, yes I eat some sea food sometimes) and even though everyone respects me and my diet choices, they also make fun of me when I start "I have a question... does it have any butter, milk, cheese... in this?" I don't mind, I also think it's funny!
I thought it was a little over priced for the whole simplicity aspect of a casual restaurant but it is a pleasant space, with an open front patio and a pastries gallery for the non-vegan customers. It might be a nice place to stop by for a cup of coffee (which I saw some people having) if you drink coffee (I don't). Not sure I'll go back, maybe.
LITTLE NEXT DOOR
Tel: 323.951.1010 8142 West 3rd Street, LA CA 90048 www.thelittledoor.com

Comme Ca - Los Angeles, CA

I don't recommend this restaurant for vegans, although it is worth going if you are not very hungry and would be happy with a small salad and french fries. That was what I had!
They served fresh yummy small french roll baguettes (sorry I don't know what they call those smaller baguettes) with butter which I refused and just had my bread dry. I guess I could have asked for some olive oil but probably didn't see how it would work since they didn't bring us small plates for the bread. I had to improvise something with the paper that the baguette was rapped in since I couldn't help myself from spreading bread crumbs all over the table. It was my mother's birthday dinner so I wanted to be respectful, after all, we are not french.
For appetizers, someone at my table ordered the famous french onion soup, "Soupe A L'oignon Gratinee" ($9.00) it looked good. Others got the "Roasted Beet Salad" ($10.00) and the "Mushroom Risotto" ($14.00). I stuck with the bread!
Should we care about what other people ate, that is not vegan friendly? hummm, guess not. So I will skip to what I had for my entree. The "Salade de Legumes" (market vegetables, artichokes, romain hearts $12.00) and a side of "Pommes Frites" (better known as "french fries" $7.00). The salad was ok, not bad and definitely nothing I would call "special" but it got me distracted. I had to add a lot of salt and ask for olive oil. It came with dressing on the side but it was creamy so I didn't want to risk.
I had a cocktail with my dry baguette, which I had no idea what it was since I asked the server to "surprise me"! but it was good. During the meal I had a glass of Chardonnay.
I will have to mention what all the guys at the table ordered, the steak and fries "Steak Frites" $28.00 which was funny. The steaks looked pretty good and the guys were all pleased with it.
My sister is an expert in creme brulee which she had to order, taste and critique. She didn't like it.
So, not a vegan friendly restaurant but, if you feel like experiencing a new "hot spot" in LA at least you can get away with salad and pomme frites.
It is a pretty restaurant, a little noisy but nice.
8479 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles, CA900698479 tel/ 323.782.1178 http://www.commecarestaurant.com/

Spadra - Fullerton, CA

The restaurant is located in a landmark building in Fullerton. It is very outdated and it could use some nice remodeling :) It was nice that all tables had table cloths on giving the feel of a more elegant restaurant but it definitely lacked in other areas. The bread served had been warmed or maybe toasted, I'm not sure, but it was crunchy at the ends which within a few minutes when the bread cooled down, became a little unpleasant. The basked was filled with sliced pieces of bread while they could have served less bread and fill it out when needed, with fresh, warm bread.

Pricing was good and all entrees are served with a small salad and "one"! brushetta. The salad was Costo packaged style salad which I personally, am not fond of and the brushetta.. wasn't really what I would call a brushetta but simply a few pieces of tomato served on a thin, slightly toasted, slice of bread.

I had a glass of Merlot that was well priced and served on a larger size of glass than usual. The entrees were tasty and plenty. I ordered the Spaghetti Puttanesca (Fresh garlic, olive oil, capers and black olives in a white or red sauce, I chose red sauce no cheese).

Overall, the food was okay (salad needs to be fresh!) and the restaurant needs work. The outside of the restaurant definitely sells a different image from what you get inside.

http://www.spadraristorante.com/

136 E. Commonwelth Ave.

Fullerton, CA 92832

Tel: (714) 447-0775

Ago - Los Angeles, CA

This is a well known Italian restaurant in Los Angeles, owned by Robert DeNiro and its chef Agostino Sciandri by whom the restaurant is named after.
I was very pleased with the service at this restaurant. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming! The portions are small but enough for a "small" person. I shared a fried calamari and veggies appetizer (I ate the veggies) and had Gnocchi (no cheese) as an entree. The food was good but I would expect better. One note for new comers, they serve a basket of breads and bred sticks that has an extra charge for it that is not mentioned until it shows on the bill. This is something common in Europe and South America so I understand if they don't ask you before serving in those countries but here, I think the server should mention the extra charge since most restaurants in America don't charge when bred is served. I think that basket of bread cost $10.

I am not sure if the menu on their website has been updated. I checked their online menu before going to the restaurant and once there, didn't find some of the things I had seen online. After dining there, I checked the online menu again and didn't find a couple of things on the online menu that I ordered at the restaurant so, be advised :)

I would definitely go back but mostly for the atmosphere and service than for the food itself.
http://www.agorestaurant.com/

Ago Restaurant
8478 Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel: (323) 655-6333

Swingers - Los Angeles, CA

If you live in LA you've probably been to Swingers or at least heard of! This Diner has two locations, 802 Broadway in Santa Monica, CA (310) 393-9793 and 8020 Beverly Blvd. in West Hollywood, CA (323) 653-5858 both locations are open until very late 3AM Santa Monica and 4AM West Hollywood depending on days.
I used to go to Swingers somewhat frequently during the time when I used to stay up late, since this was a while ago, I hadn't been there in a long time and didn't remember what the menu options where. Recently in LA for a friend's band performance that ended late, feeling hungry I suddenly remembered that I used to make fun of the veggie burger at Swingers. Yeah, before I stopped eating meat, I used to think that if one wanted to eat a burger that it had to be a "real" burger otherwise, what would the point be? Anyway, those times are gone and I don't see veggie burgers as an escape for someone who is craving a "real" burger but doesn't want to eat meat but simply as a sandwich. I never feel like eating burgers anyway.. Oh well, back to Swingers... this is a hip, old school diner. Especially the Santa Monica location that seems younger than the West Hollywood one, they made a diner with traces of the 50's in the decoration as well as a lot of details from the new era! The food is good and as I just recently found out, they have a few good options of vegan and vegeterian meals on their menu. I was very happy to not have to pick items out of the recipe and at the same time eat at a regular restaurant where not only vegans eat. I had the "Vegan Wrap" and it was really good! so good that I want to go back. It was cheap too! I think the vegan wrap costs around $7.00. I'll make sure about the price next time I go back :)

http://www.swingersdiner.com/

802 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA
Tel: (310) 393-9793

8020 Beverly Blvd.
West Hollyood, CA
Tel: (323) 653-5858

Little Dom's - Los Feliz, CA

I heard a lot about this brand new restaurant and was very excited about going there for the first time. This is Dominick's baby, therefore Little Dom's :) How cute! If you haven't been to Dominick's, it is located on Beverly Blvd. in West Hollywood http://www.dominicksrestaurant.com/. I warn you, these are NOT VEGAN FRIENDLY restaurants!!! They are very Italian, everything on their menu has lots of meat and cheese :( That was why I got so sad! I had been to Dominick's before but it was a while ago, before I became vegan so I didn't completely remember what the menu looked like. All I remembered was that I liked the food, thought it was a little over priced and that the restaurant had a very cozy atmosphere and nice decoration. So I really expected Little Dom's to be even better. My mom recommended this new restaurant even suggesting it as a location for my birthday celebration coming up in March. Obviously she knows I am Vegan so, even knowing it was a regular Italian restaurant I thought there would be some meatless, cheeseless options or something I could work out with the chef. Little did I know. No, there was nothing for me to eat and I got very frustrated!!! In the end, I was able to work something out. After much thinking, checking every single option on their very small menu selection and asking if there was anything that could be altered and sadly failing... I came up with pizza! Yeah, no I did not want to order pizza simply because I had just recently started making my own vegan pizzas at home and was very proud of them. I usually don't like to order things I can cook because I get very upset if the restaurant can't make as good or better as I can. Because then, what is the point of eating out?

Anyway, back to the pizza... so I ordered pizza. Their pizza option is a base of dough, tomato sauce, house made mozzarella cheese and basil for, I think $10. Then you add any toppings you like (from the list) for an additional $1 each. I asked for no cheese, obviously! and added mushrooms, arugula and olives (I think), all the OK Vegan items :)

You know what? It was really good!!! The pizza dough is unbelievable! It needed more tomato sauce and I asked for extra olive oil, but that crust... really good!

So, the restaurant is really cute, nice and pleasant. The hostesses and bartenders (we sat at the bar, the restaurant was packed and even getting there at almost 10PM, we still waited for about 30 minutes to be seated. We didn't have reservations) were all very friendly and helpful. It is not a very affordable restaurant and the servings are relatively small but enough (for most people, I would guess). Worth a try if you are looking for a new interesting restaurant in the LA area. Just remember... you'll be stuck with the pizza option, or a salad (they have one option of salad)! Or you can just go for a drink. This is a brand new restaurant, three weeks old maybe? so they might be accepting suggestions for the menu. Maybe I'll make one :)

Little Dom's - 2128 Hillhurst Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027 (323) 661-0055

Macaroni Grill - Everywhere

For those who don't know this restaurant,
this is a popular chain of Italian restaurants. I wouldn't say this is a very healthy option of places to eat but, it's not a bad option either. Every now and then, I have to admit I crave that substantial type of bread before a meal, like the one they serve at their restaurants. Sometimes I do like to eat at these family style type of restaurants but since I became Vegan I've been having a hard time finding good options of meals at most common restaurants. I've been often going to Macaroni Grill for a while now simply because I live in North Orange County and don't know (or maybe just aren't any) many options of "nice" restaurants around where I live. Very recently I decided to try Macaroni Grill's make your own pasta option and I was very pleased with my creation. I've known about this option in their menu forever but never liked the idea of having to come up with my own meal at a restaurant since I already do it at home.

I didn't know they have a list of items to select, which makes it easier to think of things to ad to your pasta. On this list you can select the type of pasta you want (I chose whole-wheat penne), sauce (I chose the Pesto. Had to return it once I realised they added butter to the olive oil even though it wasn't mentioned on the ingredient list, but they brought me a new one exactly how I ordered), then you can add 3 toppings (I chose sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and mushrooms). It turned out really yumy! And it's only $8.99

Always remember to mention NO CHEESE or ANY DAIRY or EGGS!!!

Here is their "Create Your Own Pasta" order pad http://www.macaronigrill.com/menu/cyoppdf/cyop_printable.pdf

Now if your friends want to go to Macaroni Grill, don't worry thinking there won't be anything for you to eat other than salad :)

http://www.macaronigrill.com/