LAVBF, 2013, Part 2

Hey, there! I promised you part two, so I give you part two of my one-day adventure at the 2013 LA Vegan Beer Fest. In part one I gushed about meeting Tony Kanal, & shared delicious eats from Shojin, The Frankenstand, Mohawk Bend, & Susan Feniger’s STREET. And as if that wasn’t a lot of food already, oh you betcha, there’s more!

At last year’s LAVBF, experienced the magic that is the Seabirds Truck for the very first time. Their fried avocado tacos & jackfruit tacos are legit. I seriously craved them all year long, counting the days for the next LAVBF. They make daily appearances throughout Orange County, & will be opening a restaurant, Seabirds Kitchen, in Orange County this summer, so I really have no excuses if I let another year fly by without visiting them again.

It was while I was in line at Seabirds that Tony Kanal walked by, so I jumped out of line to bother, harass gracefully approach him & when I returned to order my food I was so starstruck/flustered that I forgot all about the jackfruit tacos & delicious cupcakes they were offering.

Beer Battered Avocado Tacos from the Seabirds Truck

I did manage to blurt out a frenzied request for an order of the Beer Battered Avocado Tacos, while I tried to gain my composure. Once again, those tacos did not disappoint!

Cheesy Potato Taquito from the Seabirds Truck

My friend also ordered the Cheesy Potato Taquitos, oh yeah! I had serious a late-night love affair with potato taquitos back in my bar-hopping days, & pretty much O.D.’d on them years ago, but couldn’t pass up an opportunity to try out the Seabirds creation! Crispy, cheesy, comfort food, a perfect beer fest snack, for sure! Please, Seabirds, please come to San Diego before you retire the truck!

Next up, a trio of Cryptozoological Gonads on a Stick by Doomie’s Home Cookin’!

Cryptozoological Gonads on a Stick by Doomie’s Home Cookin’

Holy, ha whaaaaat??? While I did not sample these myself (my friend got them for the road) I absolutely had to take a photo to share the ridiculous but creative awesomeness that is Unicorn Nuts, Abominable Snowballs, & Loch Nesticles. OMG! Haha! I wish I could give a better description of what these were comprised of, but I all know is that, while they appear to be sweet treats, they were actually savory. Absolute A+ for presentation & marketing.

Mint Chip Ice Cream from Kind Kreme

Last, but most certainly not least I enjoyed a cone of vegan Mint Chip Ice Cream from Kind Kreme. They share space in Echo Park with Sage Organic Bistro, where I had the pleasure of dining for lunch on my birthday. Although I was tempted to try a scoop of Kind Kreme that day, I knew there would be much more indulging later, so I refrained. When I saw them set up at LAVBF, I knew I wouldn’t be leaving without an ice cream cone in my hand! Even though I’d had more than my fair share of food that day, what’s a tiny scoop of ice cream? Besides, “vegan” means “guilt-free” right? Sure! I hadn’t had a lick of mint chip since the dairy days & it was worth the indulgence. Sage was there as well, serving up mozzarella sticks & butternut squash tacos, but then my friends would’ve been rolling me out the door!

Thus, that concludes my 2013 LAVBF recap. There were so many other amazing food vendors with amazing-looking food that I wish I could’ve stuffed into my belly - M Cafe, Cafe Gratitude, Gracias Madre (yep, they’re opening one in West Hollywood, yay!), LA Vegan Crepe, Mandoline Grill, Golden Road Pub, & more, more, more! LA, you’ve got it going on! I only hope that San Diego can get more on the ball & follow suit. Maybe a SDVBF in the future? We’ll just have to see! Big props & THANK YOU to QuarryGirl, TDA, & The Roxy for a rocking good time!