jax vegan cafe

as i mentioned previously, i'll hopefuly be blogging about more veggie foodie adventures as sarah makes her (second) foray into veggie-ism! as a true foodie friend, i feel i must support this effort as much as possible, even if it means trying out a WHOLE new bunch of restaurants in LA. i know, life is hard.

that being said, our first veggie foodie adventure took us to jax vegan cafe. while this place might look like a hole-in-the-wall (not unlike the rest of the hole-in-the-wall places in its immediate vicinity) from the outside, it's actually quite spacious once you get in the door. the interior is also painted in sunny colors, so you feel happier just stepping inside.

although the menu isn't very extensive, all of the options looked quite good. and while salads were well-represented, i felt the need to order something i wouldn't be able to make or order outside a veggie joint.

while camelia (a true veggie) had mentioned that their sandwiches were a bit pricey for sandwiches, i found the cost of my veggie turkey club to be pretty fair. however, i do wish they'd given me more salad. there's just no way in hell that what they gave me (i.e., a *spoonful* of salad) could be considered appropriate accompaniement for my sandwich. i mean, why bother giving me salad at all? it's a total tease.

in any case, the sandwich itself was yummy. sarah and i both ordered it, and we found the turkey to taste pretty much like turkey. unfortunately, the bacon did NOT taste like bacon. it didn't taste bad, but if you're expecting bacon, you at least want something similar in texture. um, yeah, we didn't get that.

not that that slowed us down at all b/c we pretty much downed that first sandwich. i say first b/c sarah proceeded to ask for extra meat to go w/her leftover bread, and essentially had a second club sandwich. c/o of her remaining toasted bread and some extra slabs (i say slabs b/c i think the word slabs is funny) of faux meat. she done good!

along with the meal, i ordered a kombucha drink. now, for anyone who hasn't tried kombucha drinks, these things are HARDCORE. they're not for the faint of heart b/c they're feremented and contain some serious fermented flavor. i mean, you can FEEL the microorganisms.

seeing as how my first experience w/kombucha was quiet intense (close to barf-worthy), i was worried about trying it again. however, i decided to go with a milder-sounding flavor this time -- jasmine tea with essence of niagara grape. i mean, doesn't that just SOUND soothing? so i tried an 8 oz. bottle and it was quite good. i was happy for the small bottle b/c i'm really not a fan of anything carbonated. so this was a nice-sized dose. YUM. plus i feel healthy!

and as with every meal (except breakfast) since going off my low-carb diet, i had to end with something sweet. so i ordered a chocolate covered twinkie at the recommendation of the waiter. unfortunately, he pulled it right out of the fridge, which meant that it was cold -- not a good way to have dessert unless it's meant to be cold. however, it was a vegan twinkie, and at least now i can say i've had one. on the other hand, it's nothing to write home about. and we're not even quite sure what made it vegan.

in general, the service was decent. but considering that there were only a few tables, i was surprised that the waitstff kept getting the orders mixed up. it was especially funny when the waiter came over and started talking to us about milkshakes and then realized mid-sentence that he was addressing the wrong table. i mean, really, seriously. thankfully, they saved themselves when the chef raced after us to let us know that i'd left my fleece vest. that being said, sarah thought it was odd that he didn't bring the vest with him. (perhaps he hadn't been sure it was mine?) instead, he ended up sprinting back to the restaurant and then sprinting back to us to hand it off. i thought it was very sweet, plus he got a free workout!

all in all, good times. however, i tend to like more extensive and experimental options, so perhaps our next adventure could take us somewhere with a more substantial menu. (rather than the little paper takeout menus we were offered @ jax.)

if you're in the 'wood, stop by for a bite:

Jax Vegan Cafe
1783 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.478.7420

http://www.jaxvegancafe.com/