Working on pulling together a rotation of the best vegetarian/vegan dishes in Koreatown to help my visiting family out. I will start with a few favorites…
Spicy Cold Acorn Noodles (Kobawoo House)
Vegetarian Mandu (CHD)
Vegan Soon Tofu (BCD)
Vegan Jajangmyeon (Zzamong)
Side dishes at Openaire (they are well executed and good for a pre-dinner drop in if nothing else)
Vegetarian curry (Coco Ichibanya)
Veggie tacos at Cocina Nahua! Street stand setting up at Wilshire/Catalina on weekend evenings with great salsas, homemade tortillas, and marinated tasty veggie tacos and burritos. Super nice folks too.
Mountain Noodle in Brown Derby Plaza also has some vegetarian cold noodle options but I haven’t yet made it in.
I’m not saying this is the case at restaurants but my Korean mom has made “vegetarian” dishes that contained pork but they were basically vegetarian because there was so little pork. I saw a funny video the other day about an Italian nonna who made a vegetarian dish that contains some prosciutto but it was only a little prosciutto so it’s vegetarian.
Monty’s Good Burgers
Iki Ramen has some good options
Surawon also has a vegetarian soon tofu. You have to actually ask for vegetarian broth, though–it is not enough to just say you want the vegetable soon tofu.
I’ve had such mixed results at Escala! Really enjoyed the mushroom arepas and yucca fries but I’ve had some really challenging experiences service wise
I was there 2 weeks ago (and tried out the mushroom arepa-- liked it) with some friends on a Wed. nite and we didn’t have any challenging service experiences. The restaurant was maybe 1/2 full, but our server was attentive. That was my 1st time back since before covid.
Also a few spots in Little Bangladesh I’ve been trying out:
-Kasturi had a really good dry vegetarian curry available last week. Not sure what the dish was but it had a really nice, subtle but building heat and great flavor.
-Noya Kitchen has a few less common dishes. I tried the chatpatti and enjoyed it. Their mixed vegetable curry was pretty good as well.
I’ve been wondering about Noya Kitchen. I live a block away and it never seems like anybody is eating there… but the menu sounds interesting overall. Have you tried any of the kabobs or the biryani?
The chatpatti and okra were pretty good. I still venture to the Westside Indian restaurants like Tara’s, India Sweets & Spices and Mayura fairly regularly but I am looking for a closer go to spot. Still need to try Biryani Kabob House.
great, THX! I’ll have to try it sometime soon. Swadesh and Bangla across the street have (or used to before covid, I haven’t been in there since) steam tables with all sorts of prepared foods as well as a kitchen for ordering items.
For my veggie friends, I take them to Jeon Ju. Both their only veggie and tofu veggie Bimbimbap are amazing. Bimbimbap sauce is also veggie. They love it!
I tried to go to Swadesh a couple of times but was never successful Still need to give Bangla a shot. I know a lot of them have breakfast combos for like $5-7!
I like all the vegetable dishes, samosas, and vegetable pilaus at Aladin Sweets & Market in Little Bangladesh. I actually crave them and order them all the time because I love mustard oil.
CHD added a buckwheat cold noodle dish to their menu. Reminds me a lot of cold soba but the sauce comes pre mixed in (perilla oil base). Good for a hot day with some seaweed and green onions on top.
Still need to give Bangla a shot. I know a lot of them have breakfast combos for like $5-7!