VEGGIE GRILL!

Yes, they may have opened a new Veggie Grill in San Jose, but why would I go there when I could fly down to LA, and eat at their location on the Sunset Strip, like the star that I am?

I kid, I kid. I went down to LA to see No Doubt perform during their seven show residency at the Gibson Amphitheater (December 2nd was MY NIGHT). That trip was the time of my life - not only did I get to see the band I've been obsessed with since I was 14, I ate like a QUEEN. I mean, I ate EVERYTHING! I could actually barely move by the end of my trip, I was so uncomfortable, BUT WHATEVER, that's the gym is for right? To burn off the millions upon millions of calories consumed on vacation?! Yes, that's what I thought.

My friends Jensen and Andrea are a couple of my favorite people in this world (oh, they are just SO MUCH FUN!), and they very generously open up their home to me every time I visit LA! They're totally omnivores, but Jensen was like "Jenny, you gotta try this place called Veggie Grill, it's phenomenal!" He was so enthusiastic for me to eat there, and believe me, I was excited too! So, my childhood friend Gabby and I met up, after not having seen each other since high school, and went there for lunch. The No Doubt show was also that night - I'm sure you can imagine that I was all kinds of stoked.

This is me, on my parent's drive-way in '96 or '97. I'm pretty sure I'm a sophomore in high school here, and I'm imitating Gwen Stefani. You can see I'm also wearing track pants, which were kind of a staple in my wardrobe, since Stefani also wore them frequently. My parent's wouldn't let me bleach my hair back then, so instead I dyed it brown. It's slightly darker than my natural color, in this picture. 

This is me now (well, right before Christmas), with platinum and pink hair, wearing the over-priced concert tee I bought at the show. 

Veggie Grill on the Sunset Strip!

Gabby and I split the Buffalo 'chicken' salad!

We also split the "cheeseburger" with a side of kale salad! 

Everything was scrumptious! I can't wait to go to the location in San Jose - WHO CAN TAKE ME? I'm fun! 

Me and Gabby, post-lunch, at a bar where I called my future husband, Joe, pretending to be a stalker. My other friends Sam and Dan thought it would be JUST HILARIOUS, if I called a dude I never met before in my life, pretending to be a stalker and I pulled it off flawlessly. I terrified not only Joe, but  also myself to be honest!  

PRESSED JUICERY MIGHT BE COMING TO SF!

That's right, friends. MORE JUICE! Read all about it here -- I covered this hard-hitting story on Vegansaurus!

LA in Pictures

I can't wait to go back to LA. Not gonna lie, I'm entertaining the idea of moving down there.

The Airport. I was totally looking forward to eating at The Plant Cafe in Terminal 2 (Virgin America!)

Thai Tofu Peanut Wrap

On the plane (HEALTHY VODKA?? I think so.) :

Motel :

 The Fridge

Late night dinner, after seeing my pal Johnny Render perform at TAIX. The best burrito of my life. MY LIFE! Burrito King, I shall see you again soon!

Pressed Juicery (Here's a little post on Vegansaurus that I wrote about it.)

 Mohawk Bend :

 Buffalo Cauliflower and Wilted Kale Salad

PETA Headquarters (right next to my motel!)

My motel was in Echo Park, right by the Peta Headquarters.

Echo Park/Silverlake at Sunset :

Flore Cafe in Silverlake:

  Portobella Mushroom Tacos

BBQ 'Bacon' Slider

BABYCAKES! This was super exciting for me because I use the cookbook at work. The gluten free chocolate snoballs at Source are adapted from the Healthy Hostess recipe!

Red Velvet cake top and Hostess cupcake. 

In all honesty, I was a little disappointed with the Hostess. Actually, both. The frostings were amazing, but the cake was a little dry. I am hoping this is because they were stored in a fridge (cake in a fridge? WHY?) and therefore not at room temperature. Maybe they were old? I wasn't really into the downtown location and will try the other LA venue next time. I have had Babycakes before, when a friend drove some cupcakes up from LA and I JUST LOVED THEM. So, yeah, kinda disappointed this time around.

Half of these pics are taken with Instagram. I just got my very first iPhone, so I'm Instagramming my way through life! Follow me at jennybradleyyo.

Greetings From LA Part Deux!

I got back to my motel room, drank some Budweiser, wrote the previous blog post, went to Mohawk Bend (across the street from my motel in Echo Park) and then met some friends at Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood. The night ended with me barfing out of a car because I like to keep it elegant on my adventures.

Buffalo cauliflower bites and a wilted kale salad at Mohawk Bend. Plus a beer and my new iPhone. All I need in life.

 My ex got his bike back the next morning, we continued to fight, I remembered every single reason we broke up, he hung around all day, we went to Babycakes, we were getting along okay, then he forgot his backpack (with his phone in it!) on the bus. Typical. I hate to say this, but right now I feel like if I never saw him again, that would probably be okay. My trip wasn't awful, but I'm definitely not ringing him up next time I go to LA. I'm still angry, even though like, two weeks have passed.

This is my emo version of the trip. Just wanted to give you a brief recap of what went down the next day, as I know you've been waiting with bated breath. I also ate some great tacos and took some awesome pics down there. But I haven't wanted to look at a computer screen in two weeks, as I've been exhausted from my jet-setting ways (Chicago, LA and then RENO last week!). Next post -- Babycakes, Flore Cafe and Burrito King! Then -- how to survive in Reno if you are vegan (it's NOT easy).

Greetings From LA!

I'm down south and it's just wonderful. Well, except for the yelling match I just got into with my ex in West Hollywood, but that's for a different day! How he's going to pick up his phone and bike from my motel room - I just don't know how this will turn out. Honestly, most of the time we are friends. Maybe I did just ditch him and hopped on a bus and he has no way to get ahold of me or his stuff, but really, nobody calls me 'a sideshow that they are just watching' because I got mad about some other stuff that I won't go into detail with. Whatever, he's from LA, he'll figure it out. I'm not a monster. Usually.
Though I can't help but feel like the earlier part of this day was a little over-dramatic, I did get to go to Pressed Juicery! I came down here to see my friend Jensen Rufe perform a show at TAIX, now time for Babycakes and Pressed Juicery. Two out of three items accomplished. Babycakes tomorrow? We'll see.

I'm saving the beet one, but I did have greens 3. I loved it. Raw, organic veggie juice - love, love, love!

I happen to be staying in Echo Park, right next to the PETA headquarters.

My friend Britney introduced me to this song about a week ago. Everyone loves it! I do too. I've been listening to it a lot on my trip, but just cause the video is kinda rad. Believe it or not, I've never had a breakup so bad, someone changes their number. Maybe?