Palm Greens Cafe - Palm Springs, CA

Palm Greens Cafe is a tropical oasis in the desert. With a Hawaiian vibe, Tiki décor and cult-classic surf flick, Endless Summer, playing on a constant loop in the dining area, this vegan-friendly joint is a must-stop on your next weekend getaway to Palm Springs.

I strolled in for lunch last Friday and was overwhelmed by the selection of sandwiches, salads, wraps and smoothies on the menu. I settled on the Reuben – tempeh patty, melted Daiya cheddar cheese, sauerkraut and dressing on rye with a side of potato salad. The Reuben was very good; ooey, gooey, savory and delicious. I only wish they would have dialed it back a little on the cheese. I could feel the sat. fat thickening in my arteries after the first bite! Unfortunately I was too full for dessert, but knew I’d have a second chance because I was definitely coming back again in the morning for breakfast.

The next day it was all about the buckwheat blueberry pancakes. I planned on sharing the breakfast special (three flapjacks, tofu “eggs” and choice of veggie meat) with the mrs., but my appetite was pretty enormous after a 6 mile morning run, so daddy ordered a breakfast burrito as well.

The buckwheat pancakes at Palm Greens are phenomenal, and the burrito ain’t bad either. Still regretting not getting dessert the day before, I soldiered on after that huge meal and topped it all off with a homemade vegan tiramisu. Game. Set. Match.

Palm Greens Cafe offers something healthy for everyone in your clique, even the meat eaters. Owners Jeff and Greg are super friendly and the restaurant is totally chill. Breakfast is served from 7a-3p, dinner from 5p-9p and grab-n-go smoothies and food items are available in between from 3p-5p. Located at the south end of the Palm Canyon Drive. Check out their website or Facebook for more deets. 

Sunrise Coffee - Las Vegas, NV

In Vegas, it seems like all the rad spots are hidden away off the strip; that's why it's good to make friends with the locals. Thanks to Paul Graham's blog, Eating Vegan in Vegas, I was able to discover a vegan-friendly coffee joint not far from the airport that sells a wicked pumpkin muffin: Sunrise Coffee.

Sunrise is locally owned and legit indie, serving organic coffee, loose leaf tea and a menu of vegetarian/vegan grub including sandwiches, salads, burritos and bagels. Whether you're just in the mood for a mocha or have a hankerin' for a full-blown meal, Sunrise has you covered.

I rolled in early Easter morning to celebrate my huge slot jackpot with a soy latte and a couple of muffins, but when I saw something on the menu called the Alien Burrito, I couldn't resist its probe.
Unfortunately I wolfed it down so fast I forgot to snap a photo. Needless to say, it was awesome. The flavors all worked so well together and the way the cheese and the couscous melded together inside the tortilla was otherworldly. (Get it? Alien burrito. Otherworldly. See what I did? Someone kill me.)

Almost everything on the menu can be made vegan by substituting vegan cheese, veganaise and soy cream cheese.

Oh, and I have to mention the baked goods. I had a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin that blew my mind and a blueberry crumble muffin (pictured) that tasted more like a corn muffin, but was still moist, sweet and blueberry-y.

There's so much to like about Sunrise Coffee. The staff is friendly, the joint is clean and modern and the vegan options are on point. Sunrise offers soy, almond and rice milk alternatives for its coffee and tea drinks and the prices are way reasonable. It's too bad there aren't more places like this on the strip, but then again, maybe that's what makes joints like Sunrise so cool; you have to go on a Vegas adventure to find them.

Pop Up Pizza - Las Vegas, NV

Ever since Pop Up Pizza popped up inside the Plaza, people have been pouring praise upon this pie. While kickin' it Easter Sunday-style this weekend in Sin City, I hit up Fremont Street to try a few slices for myself - and Holy Saturday, was it good Friday!

The menu at Pop Up features signature pizzas with uniquely Vegas names like The Goodman, (caramelized onions, red potato, spinach and roasted mushrooms), The Newport (Ricotta cheese, artichoke and eggplant) and of course,  The Soho (Vegan cheese, spinach, mushrooms, peppers and artichoke). You can also create your own pie or sample them all by-the-slice. Like a dirty peepshow brunette, The Soho beckoned me from behind the glass display. I could hardly keep from tongue-kissing the counter it looked so sexy.  I ordered me up a menage-a-trois of slices and took this party down to chow town.

First: the crust. Thin, crackery and unbelievably tasty. Straight from the oven, it crunched when I bit into it, but didn't crumble, and held the toppings firmly in place. Pop Up makes both their dough and tomato sauce fresh daily and you can tell by the exceptional quality of the crust.

The toppings were killer as well. Fresh ingredients are clutch when it comes to making a pie, and the artichoke, spinach, mushrooms and peppers on this bad boy tasted like they were plucked from the dirt that morning. The SoHo could have easily been ruined - RUINED! - with the addition of sun-dried tomatoes. I hate sun-dried tomatoes and have seen them added to this same topping combo at other pie joints to my great disgust. Pop Up wisely left them off, and thus, created what I consider to be THE BEST vegan pizza in Las Vegas.

But wait - there's more! Pop Up is even looking out for its vegan homies on the dessert tip too with non-dairy soft serve ice cream! What?!!! After a warm slice of pie, finish yourself off with some cool vanilla, chocolate or choco/vanilla swirl soft serve. Seriously, kids, Pop Up is the perfect afternoon fuel stop, late night nosh pit or hangover recovery room. Open daily from 11:00am 'til 2:00am inside the Plaza Hotel and Casino, you will not be disappointed by this pizza. Always bet on black, always double down on 11 and always hit up Pop Up when you're craving pie in the Dirty V.

Brewer's Supper at Chloe's - Los Angeles, CA

Golden Road Brewery is doing everything right. Beyond hand-crafting some of the boldest, most unique beers in the region and serving up nomgasmic vegan pub grub, Golden Road's marketing and events staff keeps coming up with exciting new ways to entice their already ferociously loyal fan base back for more. The weekly Brewer's Supper is another great example.

On Wednesday nights inside GR's clandestine clubhouse, Chloe's, Brewmaster Jesse Houck and Chef Adam Levoe cross streams to create a tantalizing menu that pairs Houck's hop and malt magnificence with Levoe's seasonally-inspired cuisine.  For 38 bones, you can piece together a four course sampling of soup, salad, entree and dessert - each with a carefully selected beer pairing from Golden Road's impressive liquid lineup. The menu changes week to week based on what produce is in season and which beers are available on tap. In true GR style, there are choices for vegans and non-vegans alike.

Here's what your boy noshed on at this week's Brewer's Supper:

(Roasted Potato & Leek Puree paired with Golden Road Hefeweizen)

(Vegetable Roulade: asparagus, mushrooms and vegan cheese rolled in
carrot and zucchini  peels paired with West Kolsch)

(Vegetable Pave: layered veggies in saffron & beluga lentils paired
with Wolf Among Weeds IPA)

(Blueberry white cake topped with raspberries, blueberry compote and
sweet cream paired with Berliner Weisse spike with raspberry syrup)

Everything was incredibly delicious, especially the dessert and accompanying Beliner Weiss - which on its own I don't particularly care for, but when the raspberry syrup is added, lookout! So tart and sweet, it's like drinking a bag of Sour Patch Kids.

I happened to be there on the same night Wolf Among Weeds IPA made its triumphant return, so I was treated to an extra sampling of what I consider Golden Road's finest IPA. One thing to keep in mind: man-sized appetites beware. The Brewer's Supper is tasty, but we're talking tapas style portions here, so don't expect to stuff your gut. You can always order full pints inside Chloe's to go along with your meal, and fortunately when you're through you can head out into the pub and snag one of their famous soft pretzels to go.

I was very impressed with the spread at the Brewer's Supper. Houck and Levoe deliver a killer one-two punch of awesome ales and delectable chow - and as usual, the staff was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. Make sure to say hello to Megan behind the bar to find out how you can become a Chloe's member.

Whether you're a beer nerd, a foodie or both, the Brewer's Supper is something you need to check out. Remember, Chloe's is a quasi-private club, but this special event is open to the public. For deets on future Brewer's Suppers and to make reservations, check out the Events page on their Facebook by clicking HERE. As extra incentive, here's another peek at that sexy blueberry cake...

Khan's Desserts - East Nashville, TN

Who doesn't love a spinoff? Without spinoffs there'd be no Frasier, no Simpsons, no A Different World! (I don't even want to fathom an existence without Whitley, Ron, Freddie and Dwayne Wayne.)

Spinoffs are natural evolutions of our favorite things, and on a trip to Nashville last week, I got a chance to taste the chocolaty collateral damage of Music City's sweet new spinoff, Khan's Desserts.

Nashville vegans may not recognize her name, but they've surely tasted her creations. Karina Khan is the cruelty-free baker behind the tantalizing cakes, cookies, brownies and raw desserts you see on display at East Nashville's Wild Cow Restaurant. Now, Karina has launched a shop of her own just blocks down the street from the Cow.

Khan's offers a rotating lineup of decadent treats and a full menu of biscuit sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. I went in with a full belly from the Wild Cow, but still managed to happily shove a giant chunk of chocolate ganache cake in my face before grabbing a slice of blueberry walnut cheesecake for the road.

Sundays at Khan's is Apple Fritter day - warm, fresh, homemade fritters served up 'til 4pm. The way she described them had my mouth watering and made me incredibly bummed that I couldn't get back downtown the next day to sample those bad boys.

East Nashville - where someone is always waiting to rob and/or shoot you - is still the hottest spot in town to go for the best variety of vegan cuisine - and Khan's Desserts is another reason why. I wish Karina great success with this new endeavor and hope Nashville vegans support her shop!

LA Beer Hop - Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles has its share of sightseeing bus tours. You can pimp down Hollywood Boulevard in an open roof double decker, you can weave the sinuous streets above Sunset scoping out celebrity digs, you can even get paranormal on a ghost tour of haunted LA, but if you're a connoisseurs of craft brew, there's only one tour you need to take: The LA Beer Hop. 

The LA Beer Hop offers pub to pub service to the city's best bars and breweries. Last night I hooked up with some big time beer buffs for a tour of what I fondly refer to as The Holy Trinity - Tony's Darts Away in Burbank, Golden Road Brewery in LA and Mohawk Bend in Echo Park.  We started the evening at Tony's where I glugged a pint of Golden Road Brewery's Get Up Offa That Brown - a medium bodied brown that drinks easy and pops with hints of chocolate, caramel and nutty tones. It's not as thick or heavy as a lot of browns and is currently available both on tap and in cans at local retail outlets.

Hal arrived shortly after with the The LA Beer Hop bus and whisked us away to Chloe's at Golden Road Brewery where we were among the very first to sample a brand new Golden Road beer - a Russian imperial stout called The Big LeBrahSki.  Golden Road's first offering under new brewmaster, Jesse Houck, is a rich, dark stout that's made from four different malts to create a beer brimming with smoky, coffee tones. At 8.5% ABV, The Dude would definitely abide. As of this post, The Big LeBrahSki is only available on tap at Golden Road with no immediate plans to release it outside the pub. Also, the Vegan Man Cave learned that brewmaster Jesse is in the process of retooling GRB's flagship brew, the Point The Way IPA. Stay tuned for more on that.

Before Hal pulled up to chauffeur us to Mohawk Bend, Chloe's made me legit with my very own membership card. Membership to Chloe's is free and comes with a lot of great perks like discounts on brew and swag from the merch table, plus invitations to exclusive beer-related events. Check out the Golden Road website for the deets. 

Okay, so it was back on the bus where we drank, drank, drank all the way to Mohawk Bend, sampling crazy unique beers along the way. At Mohawk, we were treated to some of the very best vegan food in LA, including a Banh Mi pizza (marinated tofu, pickled carrots & daikon, jalapenos, herb salad, and sriracha aioli), vegan nachos with guac, salsa and Daiya cheese and a warm chocolate chip cookie served in a cast iron skillet. I ended the evening with a pint of GRB's hefeweizen - a light, clean hefe that is better enjoyed on a summer day than a chilly February night. As midnight approached, Hal returned with the LA Beer Hop bus to transport our tired, intoxicated bodies back to Tony's - completing a raucous roundtrip that was the highlight of my week. 

Whether you're a townie or a tourist, I can't recommend the Beer Hop enough. How rad is it to pay $5 each way to the hottest brew spots in LA? You can even reserve the bus for private parties and gatherings. Check out their website for more info. And a huge thanks to Cambria and Fran at Golden Road for putting this night together. Get over to Golden Road now and try the Big Lebrahski stout and feed your cravings for delicious vegan grub at Mohawk. Also a shout out to new friends http://www.BeerGuyLA.com, http://www.bierkast.com, beerqwest.com, http://www.westcoastersd.com and http://www.havengastropub.com. These dudes are serious beer experts. Check out their websites for everything SoCal beer. 

Chloe's at Golden Road Brewery - Los Angeles, CA

There's a classic Groucho Marx line that goes, "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me as a member." He obviously was never invited to join Golden Road Brewery's rad new speakeasy, Chloe's.

Hidden away behind an unmarked door inside the pub (how cool is that?!!), Chloe's transports you from the din of jukeboxes and passing trains outside to a cozy, two-story ski lodge complete with fireplace, pool table and wrap around bar flowing with Golden Road's glorious brew. Intended as a private hangout for beer geeks and industry professionals, Chloe's features several separate rooms with seating for 2 to 200 that can be enjoyed by members for banquets, parties and special occasions; for real, this place has more nooks and crannies than an Ezekiel english muffin!

I had the privilege of attending the grand unveiling last night and am highly impressed with what I saw - then again, why wouldn't I be when Tony Yanow and Meg Gill are involved? I'm such a huge fan of everything those two are doing in this city. Between Tony's Darts Away, Mohawk Bend, Golden Road Pub, and now Chloe's, there's little reason for me to eat or drink anywhere else.

Here's a peek inside:

Chloe's chill vibe and intimate setting make it a uniquely special place to enjoy local craft beer and socialize with fellow ale aficionados. The only thing missing is a humidor and a cigar lounge. Hella thanks to Tony, Meg, Megan, Cambria and everyone at Golden Road for a great evening, and for the opportunity to be involved in such an awesome venture.

Chloe is still a baby and will likely grow and evolve over time with new offerings and additional member benefits, but in the meantime, I'm looking forward to spending as much time as I can inside her.