Los Angeles Eater came out with their pick for the 12 best meat-free tacos in the city today.

As write Farley Elliott eloquently puts it:
“Vegetarian tacos don’t get a lot of love in Los Angeles, despite the wide overlapping Venn Diagram of ‘people who like tacos (everyone)” and “people in L.A. who don’t eat meat.'”

So true. But options about in this town—Eater could have easily done a piece on the 1200 best meat-free tacos, I’m guessing.

Though they missed some of our favorites—Malo’s mock ground beef + pickle tacos, Mick from 100 Tacos‘ soy chorizo + sweet potato black bean tacos on fresh tortillas, and Mixto‘s soy chorizo tacos with citrus habanero salsa (pictured above)—they hit others, like the ever-excellent Gracias Madre, and tout a few others we’ve never heard of that, sans dairy, sound pretty great.

Check out Eater’s listing + interactive map for more.

Mmmmmm, tacos.

Following in the tradition we started last year and inspired by our friend Agatha’s Oscar party, Katie threw another fete inspired by the films, actors, actresses, writers, and directors being honored by the Academy last night. Though the show itself was a bit of a snooze, the themed costumes and food were far from it, so we all enjoyed ourselves.

Some pictures from last night’s offerings. Not pictured—Theory of Everything Pretzel Chips. They were mathematically determined to be eaten far too quickly to have their photo taken.

Cards by Katie.

Photos + menu from last year’s party are up on the journal too.

The beauty of color gradients in nature, in this case exhibited by a blood orange from the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. I’d say roughly Pantone 1665 -> Pantone 1805 -> Pantone 506 (at the deepest red on the left).

Which reminds me—the Hollywood Orchard is holding it’s first pick of 2015 this Saturday. I’ll be in attendance along with Katie, who’s now on the board of the organization, and we’ll all be gleaning fruit from participating members in the Beachwood area, donating the majority of the fruit to needy agencies in Los Angeles and making fun things from the rest.

We’ve written about the Orchard in past pages, but you can also find out plenty more about the group on their/our Web site. The pick starts at 845AM Saturday though, details here. They’re a ton of fun and totally worth the relatively early weekend morning.

A shot of one of the best damn sandwiches in town, Mohawk Bend‘s barbecue sandwich, with chickpea cutlets, vegan bleu cheese, sriracha-stout BBQ sauce, onions, and arugula.

Can’t get enough of barbecue lately—this is a great one.

One of the things that pains us most about having left Brooklyn is the fact that the Gowanus restaurant, Pickle Shack, opened up just as we moved away.

Sure, sure—we miss our many close friends, the proximity to family, and the unmatched classic American gestalt of the city, but Pickle Shack is really really good.

From deep-fried hop pickles to an herbed cashew grilled cheese sandwich to vegan mac-and-cheese specials to the stellar hot smoked Carolina BBQ pulled oyster mushroom sandwich (honestly this BBQ-lover’s favorite take on that kind of sandwich yet), everything we’ve had at Pickle Shack has wildly impressed us and left us missing New York even more than we thought possible. Again, we miss you too, friends. But that BBQ sandwich. Shut up.

We were so impressed, we recently reached out to co-owner + chef, Neal Harden to chat about the origins of the restaurant, the inspiration behind the menu, and where he sees it going in the future.

“My partner is the founder and creator of Brooklyn Brine,” Harden told me on a call, “so he just always wanted to open a restaurant associated with it and I had been a working chef for years.”

Opened in late October of 2013 (a month before we set our sights westward) Pickle Shack is a partnership of longtime friends, Shamus Jones—founder of craft pickler Brooklyn Brine, whose factory is just around the corner—and Neal, the former chef at elder raw restaurant (and current NYC culinary controversy) Pure Food and Wine, and champions of all things IPA, Dogfish Head Brewery.

The restaurant’s menu is obviously pretty pickle- and craft beer-infused—both of which I’m all for—but, surprisingly, it’s also 100% vegetarian, leaning heavily towards vegan, featuring house-made nut-based vegan cheeses.

“Yeah, it’s pretty simple actually,” Harden told me, with regards to why the menu’s so vegan-/vegetarian-friendly. “Both me and Shamus, my partner, have been vegetarians since we were young punk rockers, so we just do what we do. We just want to make the food that we like. And I think that one of the unintended consequences that’s really interesting is that there’s a huge amount of people who really love drinking craft beer and eating vegetarian food because most of the choices you have at pubs and beer bar places, it’s all sausages…if you’re a vegetarian and love craft beer you can’t eat at those places. So I was totally amazed by the amount of people who have come in—I didn’t know that crowd was out there as much.”

When I told Harden how impressed we were that they didn’t just phone it in and bring in a packaged vegan cheese substitute, his response—”Well we wanted it to be good, you know? I mean, when we buy something like dairy or eggs, you know, it’s made by die-hards on the farm or whatnot so we want something that’s the same caliber; something special that’s made by hand, not just a throw-away.”

That dedication to quality hasn’t escaped attention. On every visit we’ve made, the place has been packed. And some major press outlets are taking notice too.

“I don’t know, I mean, I’ve been doing this vegetarian and vegan stuff all my life and I’m used to being ignored, especially by the main stream press,” Harden said with a laugh. “But pretty quickly on we got a review from The New Yorker magazine, which was a huge flattery, being just such a high-level magazine…we just got featured in the Michelin Guide. The response has been more than I ever expected,” he continued. “I always wanted us to feel welcome in the neighborhood, but I thought we’d be just sort of more of a quiet neighborhood joint, but yeah, it’s been great.”

And for the future? “Yeah, we have a lot of plans. It’s always been in the works to bottle the sauces we use. Because the pickle company, that’s not really what they do. They’re more focused on the pickles and they never really wanted to go into that. But now we have this new business and people have responded really well to our homemade ketchup and barbecue sauce and homemade mustard and stuff. And we want to figure out what the best things we make are and just have little smaller versions all over the place wherever the market deems it worthy.”

Neal also mentioned possible new locations and/or outlets that might carry some products down the road. As for the barbecue sauce that I so desperately fell in love with on my last visit, sadly, I could not procure that recipe, seeing as how they’ll hopefully be selling it bottled soon, but I did find out that its base was a house-made yellow mustard—”like our version of French’s”—adding cayenne, ancho chile, and “a lot of tomatoes”.

All the more reason to wait with drooling, bated breath the arrival of the Pickle Shack’s bottled sauces.

Pickle Shack is located at 256 4th Avenue in the Gowanus neighborhood of south Brooklyn and open from noon to 10PM every day except Friday + Saturday, when they close at 11PM.

Above, their deep-fried hop pickles; below, the restaurant’s pickle barreled facade, the pickled vegetable plate, some excellent-looking beers, and a mediocre shot I got of the pulled oyster mushroom BBQ sandwich. All non-mediocre photos  by Johannes Kroemer.

Mock ground beef + pickle tacos from Malo; or, as a friend lovingly describes them—grease pockets.

Malo’s got two locations—one in Silver Lake + one in an old jewelry store in historic downtown LA (that one’s called Mas Malo)—and, for modern Mexican-inspired cuisine, they’ve got a decent number of vegan options, chief among them, these deep-fried tacos, filled (when ordered without dairy) with just soy-based, well-spiced mock ground beef and dill pickle slices. Good when you’re looking for that kinda thing. Which is most times for this writer.

The restaurant also offers a vegan soup and a number of other vegan-izeable options. And free chips + salsa at the table!

The cherimoya, also confusingly spelled chirimoya, ranks among our favorite fruits in the surprisingly long list of fruits we had no idea existed before moving to California.

The name’s evidently derived from the native South American word, chirimuya, which means “cold seeds,” because the plant grows and seeds germinate at high altitudes.

The skin of cherimoyas is a bright to deep green, developing darker, blackish areas as they ripen. Split open, the fruit contains a soft, creamy fruit flesh and sizable, pebble-like dark brown seeds which, evidently, are poisonous if crushed and ingested (they’ve actually been used as an ingredient in insecticides).

The flesh, though, make for a really great, all natural ice cream alternative. Just cut the fruit open, carefully remove all the seeds, and freeze overnight in heavy plastic bag or other container. Then, set out for a few minutes to allow it to thaw away from the container sides and mix briefly in a blender until creamy. Plate and eat as is or, as we’ve done, add some fresh berries or a quick warmed jam.

Cherimoya season proper just started in southern California and runs roughly for the next two months, so get thee to your farmers’ market!

Shortly after opening MooShoes Los Angeles last fall, Katie and I were enjoying one of our favorite Sunday activities—walking down to the Hollywood Farmers Market—when we stumbled upon a friendly looking fellow just off the beaten path selling hand-made vegan tacos. Turns out this fellow was named Mick Weldon and he happens to both make some stellar vegan tacos and seemingly be one of the nicest guys in the world. Tomorrow, he’ll be heading down to MooShoes (3116 Sunset in Silver Lake) to sell tacos and brighten up everyone’s day, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to find out a little more about him and his bike-cart-based taco company, 100 Tacos.

And, since I know it’s likely everyone’s question right off the bat—amazing photo above by Maria Foto. Everyone needs one of these portraits. Everyone.

raven + crow: Alright, obviously the first question has got to be—why are you so nice, man? Are you from the mid-west or something?

Mick Weldon: Aw shucks…I’m from Texas!

Southern kindness then. I’ll buy it. Alright, second question—what made you want to start up a taco cart? Are you particularly into tacos or is it more a matter of promoting veganism…or something else entirely?

100 Tacos began not by design, but rather out of necessity…and partially as a joke. I started carrying pre-made tacos to cycling races around Los Angeles to feed my friends and other racers (okay, and myself). Those things go on for hours, and rarely is there anything worth a damn to eat, much less something vegan or vegetarian. People were receptive to the idea, and about two years later I took it to whole new worlds (don’t you dare close your eyes).

Nice. I love an organic start-up story. For the unlucky souls who have yet to try your tacos, break ’em down for us, ideally in the style of a 80’s rap song.

Lay on the warm sand and listen to PM Dawn’s “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”…it’ll all make sense.

The soy chorizo totally tastes exactly like that song. So what’s the inspiration behind the fresh, made-to-order tortillas?

It was love at first bite. I use non-GMO Masa Harina flour; the truth is in the tortilla. And doing it all by hand blurs the lines between food preparation and performance art or interpretive dance.

You should totally have interpretative dancers behind you while you prepare the tacos. Why a bike-drawn cart though? Was that just a by-product of the races or getting to know the guys over at Bicycle Coffee?

I owe it all to them. No company just “manufactures” a cart like this. I’ve been friends with Bicycle Coffee since they were roasting beans in a wok in their Inner Sunset apartment’s kitchen. Matthew McKee began designing and welding these magical carts off of which they now serve cold-brewed coffee out of a tap, as well as hot pour-over. I told them I quit my job and was ready to take 100 Tacos to the next level. After a short drive and a few days in Oakland, the first BC cart for food was completed.

Wait, what job did you quit for 100?

Working at a vegan bakery. 

Ah. I picture you whiling your days away in an Office Space style cubical. Does that get really rough some days though, maybe in the middle of the summer when you’re trucking that thing up a pretty serious hill?

I just count my lucky stars I’m not melting my life away in someone else’s kitchen, or in the office of a stuffy corporation.

High five to that. Now, not to put un-needed pressure on you, but any plans to expand the menu at all in the future?

Most definitely, as long as it is within my means. Evolving as needed is natural growth. Creating new options with what’s locally available and in season is how we should be eating anyway.

Nice. Excited to see what comes then. And where does the name come from—100 Tacos? Why 100?

“I sure could go for 100 tacos right about now.” – Bart Simpson

100 tacos is an achievable goal for an afternoon. When I’m all sold out, I move on to the next thing I want to do with my day.

AHHHHHHHH! A Simpson’s reference. I’m disappointed in myself for not catching that in the first place. Are you looking at this as a start to a brick-and-mortar kinda operation or are you more keen to keep it as is?

The beauty of not being tied to a set location and schedule affords me the time and energy to travel and pursue my other interests.

Like holding cats in a portrait-esque manner. And you’re a fairly recent transplant to Los Angeles, right?

Going on five years now. I hopped on a one way flight from Dallas, with a bag of essentials and my bicycle.

Why LA?

It’s nothing like TV tells us. And if people are complaining about traffic, lack of nature, Hollywood, etc…they are doing it wrong. The mountains and the ocean are just a bike ride away.

Our favorite thing about this town. Though don’t tell everyone. We don’t want to over-saturate this place with stuffy ex-New Yorkers like ourselves. So what do you think of the food scene here?

It’s pretty incredible. Anything vegan you could ever want is here. Honorable mentions: Vin Loi, Shojin, Donut Friend, Mohawk Bend, PFFP, Pure Luck, Organix, and Araya.

Aw, man, I have yet to check out Vin Loi. Gotta get on that. Did I see somewhere that you were in a band at one point with Austin from Parquet Courts?

Yes! We are Secret Path. Austin Brown, Donovan Jones (This Will Destroy You) and I create dark mystic space jams for bumping in aircraft jalopies on interplanetary voyages.

Have you been doing music at all since your move?

Each album takes one decade to complete, so we are halfway to the next installment!

We look forward to Secret Path 2020! Favorite thing about Los Angeles?

“Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

That guy. He knew what was up. Best place—besides your cart—you’ve ever had Mexican food?

Bouldin Creek and Mr. Natural in Austin are classics. But I’m still lookin’.

And where can people find you, regularly or semi-regularly?

Currently, next to the Hollywood Farmers Market at Space 1520 (Sundays from 9am-1pm), but I am available to cater events, and I would love to serve tacos at your central Los Angeles Bat Mitzvah, Quinceañera, Grandmother’s 80th, or spooky roller disco party. –> soymick@gmail.com <–

Best farmers market in LA, man! Finally, spirit animal?

Falcor; flying on a non-GMO corn tortilla carpet.

Obviously.

Tomorrow—Saturday—you can find Mick slinging tacos in front of MooShoes Los Angeles at 3116 Sunset in Silver Lake starting at 11AM or so. Come by, eat some tacos, peruse some vegan shoes, and say hey. 

Another year, another set of coffee labels for Pel‘s annual New Year gift to clients. This year, Paul + co. have teamed up with Manhattan’s abraço—one of Paul’s favorite coffee shops—to create two exclusive custom blends—the Butterfly Blend of Columbia + Java and the Kenya AA Lanana + Rwambiti.

Last year, we designed labels for Pel shortly after creating the company’s brand, incorporating an illustration we made of a coffee plant and the colors of the there countries of origin.

This year, we explored a couple of different design directions, but ended up going with Paul’s original idea of a pattern made up of “angular tesselating colored triangles” and two different color palettes for the two coffee blends.

Check out Pel’s work—both in partnership with us and solo—on their Web site; abraço‘s located at 86 East 7th Streetin Manhattan if you’d like to try out their held-in-high-regard coffees.

Birthdays mean gluten-free vegan donuts, which is actually a very, very good thing, thanks to BabyCakes—recently rebranded as (owner) Erin McKenna’s Bakery.

Pictured here, their salted caramel donut and (in the background) their coffee cookie crunch donut, both tasting very un-gluten-free.

Erin McKenna’s FKA BabyCakes has locations on the lower east side in NYC, down in Larchmont Village here in LA, offers packaged good in Walt Disney World in Orlando, and will soon be opening up shop in various other locales, including, we hear, back in Disneyland in Anaheim.

Mickey + Minnie love those vegan donuts.