la.foodblogging

I’m an omnivore. I have had some food weirdness in the past, no dairy, no red meat, no mammals, but never fully vegetarian or anything close to vegan. I like vegetarian food though, sometimes even a raw menu now and then.

I tried Real Food Daily for the first time, and I can confidently say that I will be back. There are four of us when we are greeted by the hostess. The Santa Monica location is fairly small and it looks like most people have just been seated. The hostess says it could be 45 minutes before a table is available, ouch! We spy a small table wrapping up though and let the hostess know that we are willing to squeeze into a table normally meant for two.

After about a 15 minute wait, we do grab that small table and with the bench seating, it isn’t too uncomfortable, it’s actually cozy.

I ask for an iced tea, and get a list of herbal options. I’m in the mood for something with a little more kick and the waitress offers up a concoction of black tea, mango juice and some cucumber. It is incredibly refreshing and not too sweet. The slice of cucumber makes me feel like I’m in the spa.

The menu is extensive. While we are trying to narrow down options, we have an order of the Nori Maki: Sweet brown rice, shiso, tempeh, avocado, carrot, collard greens, umeboshi, tamari, wasabi, pickled ginger. It’s no substitute for a nice sushi roll, the brown rice is on the dry side, but the flavors dance together nicely.

I finally decide on the TV Dinner: Tempeh vegetable loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables. My wife orders one of the specials, the table orders another TV Dinner and one of the mixed vegetable plates.

It takes a little while for the food to come out, but we’re not in a hurry. When it does come out, the plates look and smell delicious. My unMeatloaf is slathered in a savory gravy: Nutritional yeast, whole wheat flour, canola oil, tamari, herbs & spices, for a transfat free sauce, it’s rich and flavorful.

unMeatloaf is a good option for vegetarian cooking. It is hearty, tasty and filling. The mashed potatoes are flavorful as well, even though there isn’t any butter in them. It could be a personal preference, though, because I prefer my mashed potatoes without all of the cream and butter that they traditionally have.

I tasted my wife’s special. It is a spicy mix of tempeh and vegetables. The red sauce is an African inspired creation and certainly packs a punch. It’s not quite curry, but is in that neighborhood.

If you’re like me, your preconception is that you leave a vegan joint hungry and with a bland taste in your mouth. To the contrary, we left Real Food Daily stuffed (a bit over stuffed) and with a broad array of flavors dancing on our palettes.

We will certainly be back. The menu is full of enticing dishes and the prices are reasonable. I think the two of us ate more than we should have, along with a couple drinks (non-alcohol) and the appetizer for around $50.

Real Food Daily

Santa Monica
514 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401

West Hollywood
414 N. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048

By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.