There’s a vegan pulse in Los Angeles, CA. Restaurants abound that cater to the raw food lovers, the juicing crowd, vegans, and vegetarians. Many restaurants have a vegan choice on the menu because of the high demand.  And recently, The Vegan Street Fair brought many of these venues together in one happy Vegan Street Fair. This is what it states on their website, 

“Its a place where local vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and vendors come together to serve you bite-size portions of vegan eats all in one place.”

And they did not disappoint. There were an amazing show of restaurants, food trucks, and retail/clothing vendors. I got to meet and talk with some of the vendors who were a little busy with over 20,000 attendees. They descended on the NOHO Arts District for just a few short hours of vegan food shenanigans. This kind of event shows how strong the vegan “cause” is.

Because of the crowds, I stood in line for over an hour and a half, securing just enough tickets to try a bit of food. I met up with  Dan of the Gay Vegans, and  we went to track down some tasty treats.

My priority was to purchase something from Donut Friend. So many people recommend them, and my twitter feed is full of photos from this popular donut franchise. The apple fritter I chose was worth every bite. The donut was fluffy, full of apple and cinnamon goodness. I hadn’t had a fritter in a while, and even though this was a small bite, it was good.

Then we found raw tacos from True Earth Juicery & Vegan Café. The spice-infused walnut mixture packed a nice punch, with just a bit of a chile kick, which made this Sonoran chef happy. Their booth also sported a raw pasta pesto dish which I opted not to try.

Dan had head out, and I continued to check out the food choices available. As I was nearing the end of the street, I found the Asian Bakery, Pomegranate. This little gem is 100% gluten free and vegan. The chef is a Japanese woman named Kie, who has studied and made friends with rice flour. They had boxes of all sorts of goodies and were handing out samples. I tried a little bit and talked to the sous chef, Kim. They were so nice and friendly and excited that I knew the ingredients they were talking about. They got my last six tickets for a bag of 6 small round cookies, packing a ton of flavor. I managed not to eat them all before getting some to the spouse.

One of the things I did notice is that the longest line was at the Southern Fried Vegan stand. They drew the same crowds in Scottsdale. There’s just something magical about food dropped in hot oil and made crunchy.

It was an interesting festival, and I had a good time. Entertainment consisted of music provided by a DJ. And the “kids” area turned out to be a place to make sidewalk chalk art. I enjoyed attending an event for once and not working it. I hope to return next year to see what they’ve included. I’d like to see just a little more entertainment, maybe a live band, and maybe some vegan craft vendors.

One of my disappointments was missing meeting the Vegan Zombies!

I was delighted to catch the Happy Cow on video, and now I have to do the Happy Cow dance! Enjoy this short video of the fair and we’ll see you next year.