For the last month or so I have been mentally compiling a list of the best vegan breakfasts in Los Angeles. No. It's been longer than that. It definitely started somewhere in the middle of my time in Louisiana where going out to breakfast was certainly not an option. And I love going out to breakfast.
On any given Saturday last Spring you would have found me, just partly caffeinated, struggling to pull together french toast for my family, or sweet talking Paul into making us pancakes, as I fantasized about an omelette from Flore or the no huevos rancheros at the 101 Coffee Shop, or most often, about the soy chicken breakfast at the Brite Spot. Now that was a breakfast for a vegan long haul truck driver. Really, it was the kind of meal that would make the ArkLaTex proud. The whole heaping plate came smothered in a white sausage-studded gravy with a side of fried potatoes, because you certainly didn't get enough fried with your soy chicken. It was my favorite breakfast in Los Angeles, and it's gone. Well you can technically still order it, even though it's not on the menu, but please don't. Apparently the Brite Spot changed management a few months back and things just aren't the same, for the vegans at least. I'm pretty sure the chicken is now one of those breaded gardenburger patties that you can buy in the freezer section at Vons. And I don't know what the gravy is. But they charged me extra for it, bringing my sub-par breakfast into the $12 range.
So now that my period of mourning has passed, I am ready to get back in the breakfast-eating saddle. Last Saturday, with my chin up and two cups of coffee under my belt, I headed to Culver City to try the new branch of
M Cafe de Chaya. You cannot get any farther from gravy-smothered plates in a fairly dingy diner than the macrobiotic offerings at this stylish cafe. And I admit, that's probably a good thing.
Settled on the sunny patio, trading off between reading the paper and chasing after the boy, the Jaconi Bierys enjoyed a comfort food breakfast of a whole different nature.
Where the sourdough toast with a packet of mixed fruit jelly would have been, we shared two crispy little croissants stuffed with a wonderfully rough almond paste (though they had a slight, and disconcerting, hint of banana, whether intentional or from time spent in a shared fridge, I'm not sure). They would make an almost perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee, but maybe you shouldn't call them croissants. There was no shattering crust giving way to billowy pockets that once housed layers of butter. Perhaps if we called them almond(-banana?) crescents, then we would be content with what they are - pleasantly crisp little pastries topped with slivers of almond.
While I didn't find the breakfast enchilada quite as "amazing" as the helpful woman at the counter proclaimed, it was a comforting and flavorful breakfast dish. A whole wheat tortilla enveloped a simple savory tofu scramble and a nicely dense, thinly-sliced tempeh bacon. The whole thing was topped with a smear of mild tomato-based salsa and and a layer of wonderfully melty mozzarella-type cheese. With a deliciously rich and spicy sauce on the side, and a bed of simple wholesome chili beans below, both Paul and his pint-sized partner in breakfast were happy.
I would also place the breakfast panini into the category of healthy comfort fare, and yet, I liked this dish a whole lot better. Served on a grilled whole wheat roll, slathered with the sweet and tangy beet-based ketchup that they make in house, and stuffed with that same scrambled tofu, bacon, and cheese, this is a substantial morning sandwich. And it could very well be my current favorite breakfast.
Invigorated by our perfectly balanced start to the day we took a jaunty family stroll through the neighboring park and happened upon a small production of King Lear set in the old west. As Desmond made a break for the guy in the buffalo costume, I surprised myself with my ability to run after him so soon after breakfast.
Maybe that light and fresh macrobiotic fare does have something over the truck-stop gut bomb. Maybe. Though I think this very important issue requires further research. It's for humanity. And I need your help. What is your favorite breakfast in Los Angeles?
Top ten list coming soon.
