Los Angeles is a sprawling metropolis made up of various neighborhoods. Echo Park is just one of those hoods that has transformed into a hipster hot spot in the last few years. Adjascent to downtown LA, Echo Park is home to a great park complete with a pretty lake and a bunch of fabulous places to stuff your face! Some of my favorite places to dine in all of LA can be found in Echo Park so here is my round up of awesome, vegan friendly joints to hit up when you come to LA!
Standing strong as one of my most favorite places in all of LA is Mohawk Bend. A remodeled old movie theater, Mohawk is not only a cool eatery but a conscious one too. Featuring a more vegan items than regular ones, this super cool restaurant features organic, local and seasonal food as well as mixers and booze! All the drinks are unique as is their beer and wine collection. But the food, oooooooh, the food! As mentioned, there is a plethora of vegan eats and each dish is divine. Additionally, the menu changes regularly so that they can get creative and keep it fresh. But my most craved dish ever is a staple, the cauliflower buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce, yummmmm! I also love their vegan pizzas and insanely awesome desserts! Try to resist a giant chocolate chip cookie served piping hot and gooey in a sizzling skillet. Or hot and delicious vegan s’mores! Mohawk Bend is one of the coolest places in all of LA, with it’s food as well as it’s vibe getting under your skin!
Alright, so vegan pizza can be found pretty much everywhere these days BUT, vegan Chicago style pizza is as always a nice surprise. Masa is THE place for incredible deep dish pizza and they offer vegan cheese and toppings so that veggies can leave in a food coma just like everyone else!. The pizza is to die for but they also have a perfect thin crust option as well as vegan sandwiches and salads so all sorts of veggies can enjoy a terrific vegan Italian meal! You can’t walk by without smelling their delicious red sauce and having it take over your mind!
When I NEED brunch, Sage is my first choice. Serving an insanely awesome vegan brunch on the weekends, Sage Organic Vegan Bistro rocks lunch and dinner all week long too! Changing their menu seasonally, every meal is killer. My personal fave is the tofu scramble, walnut sausage croissanwich with rosemary potatoes. OMG! All of their sandwiches and entrees are divine and you can’t leave without having some raw vegan kind kreme for dessert!
Lastly, but not leastly, is the late night diner, Brite Spot. An Echo Park staple since the 1940’s, this super cute, old school diner is perfect for a veggie late night breakfast or a “that hits the spot” kind of sandwich after a night of loud music and drinking. Offering lots of vegan options, the spot is an awesome place for all sorts of late night diners, vegan or not.
So, this is one LA neighborhood to hit up when you’re hungry and there will be more round ups to come!
