Scoff as we may at Café Gratitude‘s notoriously over-the-top, self-affirming, hippie dippy naming of its menu items, we—like most Angelenos who’ve given the place a fair shot—love their food.

Health-minded, plant-based menu items with an ever-rotating roster of seasonal specials that more often than not leave you energetically satisfied, the café’s nomenclature, legitimately creepy cult-y origins, and general gestählt are a stand-up’s dream come true, but, at the end of the day, the reason for the small chain’s success is good food done well.

With crazy names. And employees being pressured to join the Landmark Forum. And wait staff asking you what you’re thankful for.

All that aside, we are personally thankful that they’ve teamed up Patina Restaurant Group—the group behind a bevy of well-regarded restaurants on both coasts and the Hollywood Bowl‘s myriad dining services—to make the Bowl’s take-out + dine-in options roughly 1000% more animal-friendly. In addition to take-out meals and desserts from Gratitude, Patina also offers a picnic basket you can order from the café’s latin-themed sister restaurant, Gracias Madre (one of our favorite spots in LA).

As Patina stated in a press release last month:
“Adding to the dining experience for 2015, Patina Restaurant Group has partnered with Café Gratitude and sister restaurant Gracias Madre, celebrated leaders in the plant-based culinary community. Café Gratitude and Gracias Madre will provide an expansive all-organic menu available at both Market Cafés, Rooftop Grill, The Wine Bar, and Staccato. New plant-based offerings presented through the collaboration include raw pesto kelp noodles, raw tiramisu, and more.”

Café Gratitude, pre-packaged offerings include a coconut bacon vegan BLT wrap (pictured below); raw pesto kelp noodles; a macrobiotic bowl with sea palm, shredded kale, and kimchi; “Yo Soy Bueno”, a Mexican grain bowl with cashew nacho cheese (also pictured below); and a number of other entrée and dessert items, including a raw vegan tiramisu (below).

For our money, everything we tried was great, but the BLT won for tastiness and ease-of-eating. The tiramisu was really good, but we’d recommend eating it right after buying it, while it’s still chilled.

And the vegan picnic basket from Gracias, which we saw from afar but have yet to experience first-hand, includes two tempeh “chorizo” torta with black beans, avocado, pico de gallo, pickled cabbage, and cashew crema; house-made tortilla chips; guacamole; roasted tomato salsa; pumpkin seed Caesar salad with cashew Caesar dressing; and a gluten-free fudge brownie with cinnamon chocolate sauce (serves two, $75). Pre-order the basket via the Hollywood Bowl to pick up at your leisure or have it delivered to your seat, all fancy like.

So, next time you’re headed to the bowl, not wanting weigh yourself down with home-made or store-bought animal-friendly options, and cool dropping some Los Angeles foodie-level cash on some food, we’d recommend the new offerings. You can rationalize/offset the cost by bringing some cheap libations from Trader Joe’s or something.

Sadly, in addition to jumping on the “plant-based” trend, Patina’s also jumped at the opportunity to be an asshole created by California’s overturning of the statewide foie gras ban earlier this year. So don’t be surprised by the various Bowl menus’ sudden saturation with that cruel product, including a—*sigh*—foie gras-stuffed burger.

Two steps forward, one step back?

On the plus side for the aforementioned stand-up comics who might be tired of Gracias Madre jokes, Patina also now offers a menu of “international and domestic spring waters carefully selected by America’s only water sommelier, Martin Riese”.

So have fun with that, guys.

Below, photos of BLT, Mexican grain bowl, and tiramisu, all paired with exceedingly positive namings. And Katie, who’s just all around positive as is.

In addition to getting back to New York from some work and play, we also headed over to eastern Pennsylvania for an old friend’s wedding that just happened to be one town over from the world-famous Vegan Treats, one of the oldest and best vegan bakeries in the US.

Started in ’98 by the talented baker + confectioner, Danielle Konya, the bakery has long served New York, consistently delivering cakes and sweets to vegan and vegetarian restaurants for years. Danielle’s Peanut Butter Bomb was a mainstay for our east coast birthday parties and responsible for winning over quite a few non-vegan friends to the wonders of vegan sweets.

So it was a pleasure to finally, after so many years, visit the source of our longtime sweet tooth joys this past weekend. Suffice it to say, the joint did not disappoint. I only wish my appetite could match the seemingly limitless, sugary bounty that Vegan Treats provides—curse you stomach!

If you’re in the Lehigh Valley area…or even if you’re not and you’re a fan, we’d definitely recommend a visit. Their brick + mortar’s open 7 days a week, 10AM-9PM Monday – Thursday; 10AM-10PM Friday – Sunday. You can also check Vegan Treats’ locator to see if anyone near you carries Danielle’s cakes, doughnuts, and other offerings.

Below, some of the many, many, many vegan treats of Vegan Treats, including but not limited to their highly recommended powdered raspberry jelly-filled doughnut; the Boston cream doughnut; chocolate-covered and traditional cannolis; gobs or whoopee pies, depending on from where you hail; a ton of nearly too beautiful to eat tiny cakes; and complimentary pins + straight-edge shirting (non-edible).

Another new vegan-friendly favorite restaurant we were introduced to in New York was Cafe Tibet in Ditmas/Flatbush (also known as Top Cafe Tibet), a small, unassuming space just above the Q train and next to the Cortelyou stop.

Though it’s far from totally vegetarian or vegan, the restaurant features what all vegans seek in ‘exotic’, non-American cuisine—a menu with a bevy of items labeled ‘vegan’ and staff that know what that term means.

The service is…let’s say not overtly or intentionally mediocre, they more come off with a friendly indifference, which might rub some the wrong way. We were pleased enough though with that end of things, especially given that the food was so good at such a great price.

We sat on the patio with friends, enjoying the return to über-urban dining as the train and coin-operated kiddy horse out front took turns punctuating our conversation for us and ordered what was likely way too much food.

Favorite among the offerings were the not-so-traditionally named Rock + Roll Fried Noodles with Tofu (pictured above), crispy pan fried noodles with teriyaki + fresh vegetables; the Veg Momos (not pictured), traditional Tibetan vegan dumplings filled with potato, cabbage, carrot, and green peas with a touch of sesame oil and black pepper; Tsel-Baklap (below), empanada-like vegetable patties with roughly the same filling as the dumplings; Thenthuk (also below), a traditional nomadic Tibetan soup with hand-pulled wheat noodles, vegetables, and tofu; and Tingmo, delectably filling steamed Tibetan twisted bread that’s only just not dough anymore.

Definitely worth stopping by for lunch or dinner and even planning a trip out to if, like us, you’d never had vegan-friendly Tibetan food.

Cafe Tibet is located at 1510 Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn, cash only, and open every day from noon to 1030PM.

After living, working, and being vegan in New York City for so many years, every visit back east these days is a race to pack in as much quality socializing, face-to-face client meetings, and carefully thought-out planning of each meal, striving to hit established favorites while also exploring newer offerings.

In the latter category, we visited The Fat Radish in the lower east side this most recent visit, a vegetable-centric (but far from vegan) pub-like café in a beautifully designed, airy, light-filled space.

The concept for the menus is genuinely intriguing—local, rich, seasonal vegetables infusing and redefining traditional hearty British fare—and there’s plenty for vegans to avoid on the menu, but there are also a number of great animal-friendly options at this omnivorous hotspot, including some inventive vegetable sides, salads, a portobello  sandwich, and a tofu quinoa bowl.

We opted for the restaurant’s namesake Fat Radish Bowl though—a beautifully done, substantial dish featuring rotating seasonal vegetables, beans, seaweed, greens, and optional tofu over brown rice, served with tahini, a ginger-carrot sauce, and pickled greens.

We’d highly recommend stopping by for a nice lunch or boozy snack next time you’re in the LES.

The Fat Radish is located at 17 Orchard Street and is closed Mondays. Because who likes Mondays? Full hours of operation on the restaurant’s site.

The simple beauty of a fried, farmers’ market green tomato sandwich.

Basically, cut a firm green tomato into 1″ or so thick slices, coat in cornmeal, and fry in a skillet with olive oil until tender—10 or so minutes. Veganaise up a generous slice of rustic bread and top how you like; in this case, we used sriracha, fresh dill, and fried shallots from the Thai market.

I’m afraid I have to report that we have played the part in the death of yet another rainbow-colored, paper-mâché burro, this one in honor of Katie’s coming birthday and a patio party with friends.

Also part of the party, handmade vegan tacos from our friend, Mick, at 100 Tacos, who we interviewed back in January. He debuted an exciting new addition to the menu this past weekend, the beer-battered seaweed-wrapped Baja tofu tacos (pictured below), and, I have to report, they were awesome.

Mick’s likely keeping this one a party-only offering (as opposed to the regular menu items he features when he’s at MooShoes and the area farmers’ markets), but he is available for private parties and we highly recommend booking him for your future shindigs. You can contact him via Instagram (email’s in his profile).

Rest in peace, you poor burro.

Below, a few shots of the tacos and party.

As every major media outlet is currently reporting, today is National Donut Day.

Yes, it is a slow news day.

As CNN informs us:

“Started by the Salvation Army in Chicago in 1938, the day honors the group’s “donut lassies,” who served treats and provided assistance to soldiers on the front lines during World War I. (And this isn’t to be confused with National Doughnut Day, which is in November and celebrates the actual food.)”

Donut lassies, eh? Alright, so, evidently, today’s more meant to honor the work of said female Salvation Army workers in the war, but that’s a branding issue, I’d say. If the Salvation Army wanted us to celebrate ‘lassies’ instead of donuts, they should have named it National Donut Lassie Day. Plus I can’t find any donut lassies around.

I can, however, find some amazing vegan donuts in this donut-/doughnut-saturated town. Chief among them, the many vegan offerings of Highland Park’s Donut Friend, a shop that takes the unique approach of giving their creatively made donuts punk, emo, and indie rock themed names, honoring the vibrant independent music scenes of the 80’s, 90’s, and aughts.

Odd taken at face value, but when you take into account Donut Friend’s owner + founder, Mark Trombino, drummer of the influential emo/post-hardcore band, Drive Like Jehu, things start to add up a little more.

Mark was gracious enough to take the time between prepping for National Donut (Lassie) Day and dealing with the drama of a breaking fridge to talk with us about the shops origins, why music-themed donuts works, and playing Coachella 25 years after his band’s formation.

raven + crow: Okay, so where in the world did this…very unique business plan come from? Don’t get me wrong—I absolutely love it, it’s just anything but expected, confection meets post-hardcore, emo, punk, whathaveyou.

Mark Trombino: Honestly it came from a visit I had to Donut Man in Glendora. The whole fresh fruit inside a donut kinda blew my mind a little bit. I wondered why every donut shop didn’t do it, and then wondered what would happen if you expanded on that idea, applying what Pinkberry was doing with yogurt to donuts. The music part didn’t come until much later. I think I was already pursuing Donut Friend full time when a friend and I started coming up with all these stupid names. At first I was reluctant to do it but the more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea of combining my past with my future.

What was the first Donut Friend donut you named—the inaugural friend? I assume the Drive Like Jelly?

Actually it was Jimmy Eat Swirl! I think the one after that was Rites of Sprinkles. Drive Like Jelly didn’t come until much later.

Love the Jimmy Eat Swirl. Speaking of the Jehu though, how was playing Coachella, man? We came by the tent for a bit and you all seemed to be having fun with it.

Oh man it was amazing. We had so much fun! Coachella was great, but playing the Casbah again after so many years was surreal. When I stepped back inside it I felt like I had never left.

And ya’ll are doing other dates around the country sporadically yeah? How’s that been going?

Yeah! At the end of this month we’re heading to Calgary and Iceland… ICELAND. That is going to be incredible. After that we’re doing Riot Fest and Fun Fun Fun, and probably (hopefully) some smaller shows around those big festival things.

Yeah, we’d love to see you play Troubadour or Echoplex or something. Is it crazy after all these years or does it come right back to you?

It’s weird how much didn’t come back to me! I kind of thought it would by now, but I’m still having to really think about what parts are coming next and making sure I get all the changes and stuff. I never used to have to think about that stuff.

Ah, I can only imagine. It’s like one of those dreams where you’re back in school taking a test you haven’t prepped for. Back to the sweets though—I know Donut Friend’s not 100% vegan but the large majority of your products are veganizable (totally a word). What compelled that move?

I just wanted Donut Friend to be a place where everyone could enjoy our stuff. You don’t need eggs and dairy to make an amazing donut, so why not make them without so as many people as possible can enjoy them? That was my thinking. I don’t want Donut Friend to be a vegan donut shop—I want it to be a fucking incredible donut shop that also just happens to be vegan.

That’s awesome, man. We love it. What made ya’ll zero in on Highland Park for the shop?

I used to live in Eagle Rock, so I’ve been familiar with Highland Park for a long time. When I started looking for spaces for Donut Friend, York just seemed to call to me. There was just so much energy and excitement moving into the area at the time.

Has the neighborhood welcomed the shop in pretty much?

Yeah, pretty much. We tended to be the poster child for gentrification in the area, but I think that has passed. Trying to sell a donut for $2 instead of $1 made us an easy target!

Yeah, you’ve been there a while, comparatively. Has anyone come in and been like ‘Why do your donuts all have such weird names?’

Not really, no. I think most of the people who come in have at least some understanding of where the names come from, and those who don’t don’t really seem to think about it too much. When we first opened I got such a kick out of hearing people who knew nothing about any of the bands on the menu say the names out loud. It was kind of the best thing ever.

Do you have a favorite, or is that like naming your favorite kid?

I used to say that Jets to Basil was my favorite, but I think Stiff Little Butterfingers may have taken the crown recently. That said, I eat either a Javabreaker or Husker Blue almost every single day, so who knows. There isn’t a single donut I don’t like.

Oh, I tried the Stiff Little Butterfingers just recently—totally one of my favorites now. And I just saw you have an apple pie with cheddar donut, Explosions in the Pie, (clear eyes, full hearts!) with a vegan option that sounds awesome. Any other new ones on deck?

I’m working on a few. The one I’m most excited about is a pear and ube donut I’m calling Pere Ube, or a banana & date number I’m calling Sunny Date Real Estate.

A donut made with Guyana purple yam—who’d have ever thought we’d see the day? Finally, is Donut Friend celebrating National Donut Day in any way this year?

We’re just going to have some contest/giveaways during the day. Maybe a reduced price on a few select donuts. I haven’t really decided yet!

Nice. Well, thanks a lot for taking the time to talk with us, man.

My pleasure! It was fun!

Visit Donut Friend at 5107 York in Highland Park, open 7AM-10PM Sunday-Thursday; 7AM-midnight Friday + Saturday.

Below, some of the many donut friends, including Bacon 182 (with coconut bacon), Walnut Voodoo (with vegan creme cheese), the aforementioned Stiff Little Butterfingers, Fudgegazzi, and more; Donut Friend’s formidable toppings bar; and a couple of the spot-on band-meets-donut tees. To the right, a peanut butter + jelly filled glazed donut topped with Sriracha…whose name escapes me. You can see Donut Friend’s regular menu online, but go in to see the full breadth of  their offerings and seasonal specials.

Photo of Mark by Peter Holslin.

We joke often that all produce is perpetually in-season in southern California. But, clearly, that’s not really the case.

Summer squash, for instance, is just beginning its mighty reign at the area farmers’ markets. Relatively easy to grow and wildly productive, once its in season, its kind of everywhere you look and, usually, at a pretty nice price.

But what does one do with all that squash‽

Our suggestion—set up the grill and make yourself a summer squash puff pastry pizza. It’s easy and super-good.

All you need is an onion (we’ve been enjoying the Texas Sweets at the markets lately), three or so summer squashes (yellow or green, long or short or squat; whatever you like); a puff pastry, and option herbs to garnish (we used fresh garlic chives). Additional option—raw cashews for a cashew creme sauce.

Your first question, I’m assuming: What’s a puff pastry and where do I get one? Good question. Washington state’s Aussie Bakery‘s a good bet and what we used. They’re carried in the frozen foods section of most Whole Foods in Los Angeles area. I guess puff pastries are an Australian thing?

The second question you might have: How do I make a cashew creme? As long as you’ve got a blender, it’s stupidly easy…as this fine lady with agree. Our only comment would be to ideally soak for the longer period of time suggested—24 hours. It makes for a smoother, creamier creme/sauce in the end. As our friend, Isa, always says, ABS—Always Be Soaking.

But, yeah, essentially you blend soaked cashews at high speeds until smooth, making sure to watch your blender for any signs of stress or motor-burning. Nuts can be tough on blenders. When we make cashew cheeses and sauces, we usually start with as little water/liquid as possible to create a pretty pasty base. Then we freeze any excess so we’re free to make cheese or thinner sauces down the road. In this particular case, we thinned out a pre-blended cashew paste and added seasoning—salt, a little lemon juice, a garlic clove, some sesame oil for smokiness, and some ground pepper. And that was it. Then we set aside and prepped the rest.

First, make sure the pastry’s set out to thaw. Then, once thawed and able to be handled without breaking apart, carefully unroll it and place it on a pizza stone if you’ve got one; a pan if you don’t.

For the vegetables, we simply sliced the onion in half and placed face-down on our prepped charcoal grill; the squash we like crispy, so we thinly sliced pieces and marinated for a bit in olive oil with a little salt. Get the squash crispy but not totally burnt through; flip if necessary, but we didn’t really have to with how thinly we sliced the pieces. The onion should be flipped and blackened a bit. Once down, removed from the grill, slice the onion into ribbons, and set aside.

Now carefully place the stone or pan with the pastry on the grill and cover. Don’t go far—it’ll cook fast. And puff up, as you may have guessed. We were clearly unprepared.

Check the underside of the puffed pastry to see how it’s cooking. You want it to brown but not blacken. Once firm and golden-brown, carefully remove the stone/pan with the pastry from the grill and place on a heat-resitant surface or oven mitt. With a spatula, carefully flip the pastry over on the stone/pan. Now generously top the pastry with the vegetables and—again, carefully—slide the pastry from the stone/pan directly to the grill face. Cook and monitor closely to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn (it’ll cook pretty quickly).

Once done, remove by carefully transferring back to the stone/pan, sprinkle cut herbs overtop or use some kitchen scissors to cut them over the pizza. Then, if you’re using it, drizzle the cashew creme over the whole thing.

Done and done. Simple and delicious.

Need your greens and want to do some more grilling? Add a grilled salad. What’s that? I don’t know. We may have made it up. We just cut a couple cross-sections of red cabbage and grab some large kale leaves, grill each (the cabbage longer, usually), remove from heat, chop up, toss with a 1:1 mix of rice vinegar + sesame or olive oil, and add some fresh stuff if you like (we added chopped snow peas in this case). There you have it—grilled salad!

Hello, summer.

Another gem from Mister Uncertain—the Los Angeles-based, vegan-hyping street artist we mentioned briefly in April—this one right in front of MooShoes in Silver Lake.

Pictured again here, Katie’s sandals from house brand, Novacas.

If you’re looking for a last-minute idea for your Memorial Day picnicking, pot-lucking, and/or general foodie merriment,we politely put forth one of our favorite recipes from Mangoes and Curry Leaves, Beets with Tropical Flavors, which Katie made up for our neighbor’s annual pre-Memorial Day party.

We’ve written up a veganization of a fish stew from that same cookbook in the past, but this one’s already animal-/vegan-friendly as is, showcasing the naturally sweet, earthy flavor of cooked, fresh beets and the complimentary richness of coconut milk.

This go ’round, we subbed kaffir lime leaves for the called-for curry leaves simply because those are what we had on-hand, but, in general, the recipe’s relatively simple with a pretty high payoff-to-work ratio.

You can see the fully transcribed recipe over at food.com.

Enjoy! And—we’ll warn you now—wearers of summer white, eat carefully.