Plant Food & Wine in Venice
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does the place in monterey park still exist.
normally i go to Happy Family for christmas day, but this year to accommodate the others in the party ended up at shamshiri grill
I went to a different locale once and it was by accident, so Iām not sure. It didnāt have the same menu items and wasnāt very good.
Vegan Glory - Beverly Grove
Thai Yellow Curry w/Brown Rice - They got a little too happy with the sugar and coconut cream. I added a lot of lime to cut it. The menu read āmild spicyā but I was pleasantly surprised to find they meant āmild spicyā for Thai curry. This had nice heat. I like the red rice. Itās a tasty bowl and Iād have it again.
More Vegan Glory - Beverly Grove 
Fresh Young Coconut
Vegetable Soup
I like the balance of flavors in this simple, savory broth.
Freshy Rolls - Vermicelli Rice Noodles, Soy Chicken, Avocado, Romaine, Bean Sprouts, Mint, Wrapped in Rice Paper, Hoisin Dipping Sauce
These are big with A LOT of lettuce, no finesse. The best thing I can say is theyāre perfect for getting your daily intake of roughage.
Panang Curry - Moderate Spicy, Slightly Sweet Curry, Coconut Milk, Sweet Basil, Bell Pepper, Peas, Carrots, Potatoes, Red Rice
Again with the slightly too sweet & coconut creamy and no real discernible peanut flavor, but tasty just the same. Oh and Iām really loving red rice. Tip: squeeze a lot of lime juice.
Citrus Soy Pork Spareribs
Now, Iām not usually a fan of meat substitutes. Iāll cook with it. Iāll eat it. I just donāt love it. But this is a delicious dish and tangy, citrusy, dipping sauce.
Is Vegan Glory a destination spot? Probably not (it is packed though). Do we like having them in the neighborhood? Yes!
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I didnāt see a thread just for Le Comptoir and figured I might as well put it here.
Thanks @TheCookie, @J_L, and @teriyakichi for recommending Le Comptoir! I feel very lucky that Los Angeles has so many vegetarian/vegan restaurants, and even non-vegetarian places have plenty of options most of the time. But as Iāve gotten older (and have more disposable income, haha) Iāve been looking for more upscale or more refined vegetarian dining. LA excels with casual veg places but I wanted a special occasion kind of restaurant.
For my husbandās birthday this past weekend, I surprised him with dinner at Le Comptoir. Iām way more into food than he is-- he will happily eat pretty much anything I suggest so itās always me that finds new or interesting places to eat. I booked the reservation a month in advance.
Photo of the menu
Dino kale chips with garlic aioli. Could have eaten an entire bag of this. Iāve made kale chips at home before but this was not oily or greasy. Maybe they used a dehydrator?
Broccoli veloutƩ with cashew yogurt and bread crumbs. This was like a really high quality broccoli cheese soup. It was so velvety smooth and the bread crumbs added a nice salty crunch. I would eat an entire giant bowl of this.
Vegetable and fruit plate. There were many different fruits and vegetables, prepared a variety of ways (raw, blanched, pickled, roasted) but my favorite was probably the tomato wedge on the left side of the photo. I donāt love tomatoes but whatever they did to that tomato, it was tasty. Lots of umami with a little hint of sweetness.
Poached egg, lemon, chives, butter, mixed greens
We were instructed to break the yolk and mix everything together. It was kind of like make your own hollandaise. The tanginess of the lemon cut through the richness of the yolk and butter.
Sourdough bread to mop up the poached egg mixture. I did not pre-order a loaf of the chefās sourdough bread but after eating this I wish I had.
Asparagus tempura, romesco sauce, roasted garlic
This was fine, but the roasted garlic really melted in my mouth.
French pumpkin roti, pistachio and pomegranate relish, pearl barley, jus dāonion
The pomegranate was really interesting with the onion broth, but I really liked it. Pumpkin was cooked perfectly- not too mushy but not hard either.
āCassouletā of beans, broccoli, pear and sauce gastrique
The pear looked like it was poached but it also had these really great crispy edges so maybe it was poached and then seared in a pan. The other elements in this dish balanced out the sweetness of the pear.
Potatoes and peas, scallion, romaine, mushroom, savory broth. The potato puree was silky smooth and mixing it together with the mushroom broth was very flavorful.
Cheese plate (my husband got this as a supplement). Brie, cheddar from England, and the goat cheese that inspired Wolfgang Puck to make beet and goat cheese salad back in the 80s (according to Chef Menes). The brie was super creamy. The cheddar was a little crumbly but really packed a lot of flavor without tasting overly salty. Did not try the goat cheese.
Donut hole with creme chantilly, preserved citrus, chocolate
Fluffy and light donut hole, the preserved citrus jam was a big dose of really sweet orange, Could definitely eat that on a big slice of toast.
My husband also got the wine pairing which he enjoyed, but I know nothing about wine so I canāt say anything about it. We really enjoyed our meal and it was cool talking to Chef Menes after the meal was done, we asked him a few questions and he was happy to answer. Service was excellent throughout the meal. Iād love to go back during a different season and see how the menu changes.
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thanks for the review and pics. i still havenāt been. i guess i better make plans to go.
one question - can you pre-order a loaf of bread without eating there?
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Regarding the bread, Iām not sure if you can order it alone. It only showed up as an option when I was making the reservation and is $20 (!) for one loaf. To be fair, the loaf is HUGE. A couple of other diners pre-ordered the bread so I saw a server take the loaves out at the end of the meal. I had total bread envy. But itās just my husband and myself, so I donāt know if we could have finished a loaf in time before it went bad (Iām guessing Chef doesnāt use preservatives or anything in his bread).
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thanks for the information on the bread! iām gonna order it once i make a reservation.
What a thoughtful and thorough writeup. Thank you!
Chef Menesā quiet mastery at Le Comptoir is often overlooked. Iām glad you both enjoyed your meals there.
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Great review and pics @hanhgry! 
Looks like a lovely meal throughout. Do you know if chef has an option to make the tasting menu 100% vegan? (Asking for one of my vegan friends.) Thanks.
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Thank you! Iām not sure if they can accommodate vegans. But a lot of the courses appeared like they could be inherently vegan or modified to be vegan (well, except the poached egg course and cheese plate). I would definitely call or email just to make sure.
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The best vegetarian (albeit not vegan) food that I have had lately has been hands down at Chi Spacca. Truffled scrambled eggs (now off the menu until truffles are back in season in late fall), sweet potatoes in this white cheesy sauce and fried chickpea fritters which were better than french fries. Still if you donāt eat fish, I think it is hard to do an all vegetarian meal there unless you donāt require any protein with your meal.
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Thanks for sharing @hanhgry!
I havenāt had a lot of tasting menu dinners and maybe theyāre all like this, but we had a memorable, almost magical experience at Le Comptoir. Everything was orchestrated, timed & precise - from the moment you hit the Hotel Normandie lounge to the timing of seating, watching the tweezerrific unison of preparations (that vegetable & fruit plate!), having your meal placed the exact time as other patrons. Yet, it has the relaxed feeling of an intimate dinner party with music, lighting, discussions. We loved it.
Because of this Iād be curious how or if they can accommodate substitutions or an all Vegan menu. Let us know if you inquire @Chowseeker1999!
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Hi all, just thought Iād update with a list of vegetarian/vegan and veg-friendly places that are still open for take-out or delivery. Thought itād be easier to find in this thread instead of the main restaurant takeout/delivery thread but if mods want to put this post in there instead, thatās fine.
I donāt venture over to the Westside often, but if anyone is more familiar with veg restaurants over there, chime in!
Central LA (DTLA/Echo Park/Silver Lake/Los Feliz)
Veggie Grill DTLA - Full menu available for takeout or delivery through Grubub. Can also call in order.
Shojin - limited hours for takeout 4-9 pm, full menu and special vegan bento box specials and ramen kits
Rakkan Ramen - 11 am-11 pm. Call directly for pickup, or use UberEats/Postmates/Grubhub for delivery.
Sage - all locations open 9 am-11 pm, full menu available but also frozen prepared meals and CSA boxes
Doomies and Doomieās NextMex - Regular hours, 11 am-midnight. Full menu available for takeout
Crossroads Kitchen - Curbside pickup and delivery through usual apps. Full menu and meal kits available.
Hinterhof - 11 am-9 pm. Take out or delivery through Postmates. Beer only available through take out.
Sqirl- 8 am-8 pm. Full menu available, new dinner options including family platters. Can order takeout from website or delivery available through Postmates and DoorDash.
Donut Friend - 10 am-8 pm. On all the usual delivery apps. Scaled down menu. Temporarily no more DIY donut bar or gluten-free donuts.
SGV/Pasadena
Veggie Grill Pasadena - Full menu available
Thien Tam Vietnamese - Limited hours, for now 9 am-5 pm. Full menu available for takeout. Delivery through Postmates but sometimes they turn that off.
Valley
Krimseyās Cajun Kitchen - open 12-9:30 pm. Order online through Krimseys.com
Vinh Loi Tofu - Open 11 am-7 pm for take out only. Delivery available through UberEats or text directly 818-300-8811. Looks like full menu available.
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Thanks!
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Wild Living Foods in DTLA is still open. Love the golden pancakes. So healthy, yet so delicious.
Localita in DTLA is still open.
Flore in Silver Lake keeps sending me emails telling me theyāre open.
Jewel is still open. Itās on par with Sqirl. Try the yuba wrap and the carrot lox.
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