Restaurant Review: Native Foods

Native Foods is not a new place. I’ve been eating here since it opened at the Camp in Costa Mesa. It was the first vegan restaurant I had ever tried (thanks to Anni). I don’t frequent it as much as I’d like since Minh doesn’t really like it, but I have gone enough times to know what I like and what to avoid. Add this to menu items to avoid:

Cardamon Rose Cupcake from Native Foods

I recently went into the newest location at the District in Tustin on my way back to work from the dentist. I got free dessert because of the day’s special, so I opted to try something different. Usually, trying something different works out in my favor. Not so in this case. The cardamon rose cupcake looks great, with the perfect swirl of frosting and the decorative dried rose petals. However, it smells like flowery perfume and tastes about the same (that’s just speaking for the frosting). I ended up scooping off ALL the frosting and taking a few bites of the cake, which were also a disappointment. The cake was dense and lacked flavor.. or perhaps the overwhelming scent and flavor of the perfume frosting left my tastebuds numb to the cake. Note to self: DON’T get this cupcake next time.

GOOD THINGS to eat at Native Foods:
Sweet Potato Fries (with Chipotle Sauce)
Chili Cheese Fries
Rockin’ Moroccan Bowl
Greek Gyro Bowl
Veggie Pizza
Lavendar Lemonade
Watermelon Aguas Fresca

Things to AVOID at Native Foods:
Burgers
Cardamon Rose Cupcake

The menu changes, so things that were once available when I first ate here (BLT) are not longer available, but other good things have taken their place. Generally speaking, I prefer the bowls over the sandwiches and wraps because the “meat” is sliced thinner and is mixed in with more veggies and sauces, lending to an overall better meal. I LOVE the Chili Cheese Fries.. these are perhaps the BEST chili cheese fries I’ve ever had. The Native Wellington they have during the holidays isn’t bad either.

Native Foods
2937 Bristol St. (The CAMP)
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 751-2151
Monday-Sunday: 11AM – 10PM

2453 Park Ave. (The District)
Tustin, CA 92782
(714) 259-0400
Monday-Sunday: 11AM – 10PM

Restaurant Review: Real Food Daily – Santa Monica

Heading home on the way from the Xterra SoCal Trail Run #1 at Point Mugu, Minh suggested trying a vegan restaurant he knew about in Santa Monica. He must have been reading my mind, because I was going to suggest vegan for lunch, but didn’t think he would go for it. He couldn’t remember the name of the place, so I had to look it up. We stumbled upon a bunch of vegan restaurants in the Santa Monica/Los Angeles area, but Real Food Daily had the highest and most number of reviews. Ends up, this was the place he was thinking about.

Real Food Daily: Restaurant and Bakery

The set-up is a little different. There are two storefronts: the restaurant and the bakery. I think they’re connected through the kitchen, but I can’t be completely certain about this. I don’t know what the restaurant side looks like, but the bakery side has the bakery on the lower level and a lofted seating area for the restaurant. It was very LOUD, but the decor was nice and clean and light. Nothing special, but fit the place well.

Minh and I ordered the Salisbury Seitan and Pizza Ya Can Eat-za. I also ordered a glass of Red Head Juice (beet, carrot, celery and apple).

Red Head Juice: beets, carrots, celery and a splash of apple

The Red Head Juice was… different. It had A LOT more beet flavor than carrot or apple (didn’t taste the celery at all). It also would have been better if it was chilled (or iced). Oddly enough, they didn’t serve any of our drinks with ice, and I didn’t notice any other tables with ice. Perhaps it’s by request only?? I wouldn’t purchase the drink again (especially not for $6), but I would make it at home if I ever get a juicer. I’d probably go easy on the beet juice and increase the apple juice content. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t thrilled about it.

Salisbury Seitan with Mashed Potatoes, smothered in Golden Gravy, and a side of Caesar Salad

The Salisbury Seitan (pronouced SAY-tan) is supposed to represent homecooked salisbury steak (which is like chicken-fried or country-fried steak.. I don’t really know what the difference is). The first thing I noticed was that the salisbury seitan was missing one KEY thing about the whole dish, it wasn’t battered and fried. It WAS smothered in gravy, which was a plus, but it didn’t have that crunch that I was hoping for. With that set aside, I would say that the dish was alright for what it was. Personally, I prefer tempeh to seitan, but this wasn’t bad. The dish, on a whole, was a little bland and could use some more spice or salt or flavor. But it wasn’t horrible, like some other seitan dishes I’ve tried in the past.

Pizza Ya Can Eat-za: Herbed, cornmeal crust topped with yellow heirloom tomato, basil, tomato pesto, and melted cashew and mozzarella cheeses. Served with daily greens and cannelini beans

The Pizza Ya Can Eat-za was different. I didn’t realize when we ordered it that it was gluten-free (I’m not sure if Minh noticed that either). The dough was made from cornmeal, which made it more crumbly than chewy like traditional pizza crust. This dish also lacked a bit in flavor, but it wasn’t horrible. The melted cashew and mozzarella cheeses were actually pretty good. It was difficult to eat, though, becuase it would fall apart after one bite.

Overall, the meal was OK. I’ve had vegan meals at other restaurants that had a lot more flavor and just had an overall better taste, but Real Food Daily wasn’t bad. I’d consider coming back to try something else on the menu, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here.

Vegan food... mmm...

Real Food Daily
514 Santa Monica Blvd (at 5th)
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-7544
Open Daily: 11:30AM – 10:00PM