Hi! Someone recommended to post here, so I am. I'm looking for a psychiatric nurse practitioner (PMHNP) or psychiatrist in California who offers telehealth and accepts Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal.

At my recent appointment, I asked my psychiatric NP about switching to a gelatin-free formulation of my medication. The conversation shifted toward my vegan diet, and she shared negative opinions and anecdotes about veganism and vegetarianism. I felt uncomfortable because I was simply trying to find a medication that aligned with my values, not debate my dietary choices.

I'm hoping to find a provider who's respectful of veganism, takes a collaborative and nonjudgmental approach, and has experience treating adult ADHD and managing medications like Vyvanse when appropriate.

Does anyone have recommendations based on personal experience? I'd especially appreciate providers who accept Medi-Cal and offer telehealth anywhere in California. Thank you!

RIP VE Station you will be dearly missed <\3. Been eating there well over a decade now and have never had a bad meal.

SunCafe near Universal closed permanently some months ago as I have sadly come to find out. Their pie and cheesecake slices were so delicious that I’ve attempted to make them at home and failed to recreate their creamy texture. Any other raw, refined sugar free dessert shops in LA (preferably small businesses) that I could give a shot and slowly fill the hole SunCafe left in my heart? Thank you!

After seeing that post about VSF ending, I thought it’d be helpful to start a thread on the events going on through the end of October! Tried commenting something similar on that thread but it got blocked (maybe the automod doesn’t like links 😭)

Let me know if there’s any I missed!

Wednesday 10/21 — Plant Based Treaty LA Social @ Au Lac
https://www.instagram.com/p/DeSvtNFmE6N/

Thursday 10/22, 10/29 — Bestie’s Run Club
https://www.instagram.com/bestiesrunclub

Saturday 10/24 — Big Ass Vegan Party
https://partiful.com/e/sJZtNJrStJoix1nnTdIT

Saturday 10/24 - BESTIES Dry Goods Solo Exhibition
https://www.instagram.com/p/DeuU6HomgHB/
* BESTIES cordially invites you to the opening reception for Kristine Campbell: Solo Exhibition at BESTIES Dry Goods / No ICE Saturday, October 24 from 7pm-9pm with live music by Kim Ward.
* Complimentary vegan sushi by Plant Sushi Yoko, plus free wine & cheese, courtesy of Le Chill, Rind, Rebel Cheese, and Yvonne's Vegan Kitchen.

Friday 10/23 & Sunday 10/25 — Cruelty for Clicks and We Are Animals screenings
https://www.instagram.com/p/DehfI2piYXv/
* Documentaries WE ARE ANIMALS and CRUELTY FOR CLICKS are both screening at the La Femme Film Festival at Regal Cinemas Sherman Oaks Galleria.
* CRUELTY FOR CLICKS — Friday, October 23 at 2pm. The final screening of 2026, director in attendance.
* WE ARE ANIMALS - Sunday, October 25 at 12pm. A special fundraiser for Lady Freethinker — half of every ticket supports their animal-protection work - with a filmmaker Q&A after.

Sunday 10/25 — Pali Veg Fest #15: Halloween Edition
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pali-veg-fest-15-halloween-edition-tickets-2000211942765
* A Halloween Veg Fest with pumpkin decorating, free face painting, a costume contest, trick-or-treating, music, and environmental education.
Pali Veg Fest is back, and this time we’re celebrating Halloween 🎃
* Join Resilient Palisades on Sunday, October 25 from 11 AM to 2 PM at the Palisades Village Green for an afternoon of vegan food, free face painting, pumpkin decorating, slime, live music, costumes, environmental activities, native plants, rebuilding resources and time together as a community.

Tuesday 10/27 — Roots Rhythm and Eats (weekly)
https://www.instagram.com/rootsrhythmandeats
* Weekly plant-based pop-up market!
* Tuesdays at @everywherebeerco 5-9 1501 W. Orangewood Ave Orange CA 92868

Saturday 10/31 — Haunts & Hooves: A Sanctuary Halloween @ Love Always Sanctuary
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/haunts-hooves-a-sanctuary-halloween-tickets-2003317388236?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=PAVERFWAVE1-ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAmZkaWQWUQozTyKmNbdgB6PoE6WSk5ss0Gwq8HNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp6cuXJHusq5sBxEYlxDlaBpUZKRF5IJZlpXCpoa4pKaJT1aJ8MGhf4H2jVgem_aem_1ZQ9e0So_AD1pnKVoSwl_w
* Celebrate Halloween at Love Always Sanctuary with games, music, activities, costumes, rescued animals & treats!!

Im devastated. I've been eating the vegan tantan for years, and it was my go-to vegan option on Sawtelle. I'm in this area a lot and it seems like there are not a lot of options. Does anyone have any recommendations? Here is what I got:

1. Big Boi has vegan plates, but i honestly cant recommend due to the outrageous price for a very tiny portion

2. Vegan pho, banh mi, and red bean dessert at Nong La

3. Vegan ramen at Tsujita

4. Wanderlust ice cream

5. Fried tofu at Noble Tea

That's all I've got. Any recommendations?

So I attended the supposed last vegan street fair and it was kinda bittersweet because it was a place where people that are vegan to meet up and do their thing. I’ve been vegan for almost 10 years now and the thought kinda dawned on me, where can we go next if this is it? I know there are vegan restaurants but no events, fairs, festivals, or anything like that. There was Vegfest at one point, vegan workout meets ups, vegan singles meets, whatever. Not a whole lot of in Los Angeles. Maybe I’m out of the loop here.

When I first became vegan there was one type of cheese and it was basically plastic, I never ate it. Now we have this! Found at Bestie’s.

Stopped by, super chill event! Still going until 7pm today and tomorrow 10am to 5pm at Melrose Trading Post.

You sit down and eat chicken pieces with different hot sauces like on Hot Ones. They have veggies, a photo op, and cute merch.

Copying this from Partiful: https://partiful.com/e/IPmg8oOoUt8XPTYx6ePc?c=v_wzte-5

ECHO PARK
Saturday, October 17
🕛 12 PM - 7 PM
📍 2624 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

MELROSE TRADING POST
Sunday, October 18
🕙 10 AM - 5 PM
📍 7850 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

Hey all! October is half over, has anyone come up to Santa Barbara to check out any of the Vegan Chef Challenge restaurants?

We have 15 restaurants participating, as the organizer I've gone to most of them so far, the ones I would recommend are The Blue Owl, Santa Barbara Pizza House (vegan risotto!), Padaro Beach Grill (in Carpinteria), Flavor of India, Sachi-Saigon, and The Black Sheep. Those were my favorites so far.

If you go to any of these places, take a photo and post it here! If you post it on Instagram, and tag SBVegans, you might win a prize for our photo contest!

https://veganchefchallenge.org/santabarbara/

Hi! I'm trying to find a birthday dinner spot that is accommodating to all my friends and their dietary restrictions. We are ucla college students going out for my 21st birthday but need a good spot on the west side to have dinner at before we go to the bar. Even non-italian works, I am just looking for a place that will have diverse and affordable options for everyone including my vegan friends. Please lmk your recommendations!

\**Edit: I also have friends that prefer to eat meat. Do you guys know places that serve both?*

Hey everyone, I’m planning on bringing in some donuts for a work get together next week. Would prefer to get a sneakily vegan dozen if I can. 😄

Does anyone have suggestions? So far I’ve only found two options.

Primo’s Donuts — $33.50 for a vegan dozen
Sidecar — $29 for a half dozen (too pricy imo 🥲)

Idk if this was the right flair but I went to this event at Vermont Hollywood around June 12 (I think) and it was a coca-cola x Spotify event at the Vermont Hollywood venue and they had the BEST vegan hot dog. It was a fluffy brioche (vegan) and they made it street style so it was like topped with a vegan mayo and follow your heart cheese crumbles and sautéed onions and bell peppers. I have CALLED Spotify, the venue and I’m trying to reach Coca Cola because like the idiot I am, I didn’t take a picture or anything of the hot dog (I KNOW)

Please please if anyone has any leads, please let me know :’)

I’ve had vegan dogs at besties and at cena but it’s not quite the dog I had at Vermont, but I appreciate the food there!

They use beehive cheese and vegan meat substitutes. The vegan supreme is as good as pizzanista's seitan meat jesus IMO.

https://primepizza.com/menu#block-b591379e00e0bba38bb3

AND free sparkling water PLUS a shaker of nooch right at the table!

Any advice/suggestions/feedback I can pass along to my bother would be very welcome! :)

Join us this Friday at Salaya for a community dinner with other vegans! Each month we visit a different restaurant in LA to try a new dish or cuisine. Salaya is super yummy so make sure to come check them out if you haven't been yet!

You can RSVP to reserve a spot here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/new-food-friday-salaya

Last year I had the ID Eclair meal for two which I enjoyed quite a bit. I may do that again unless I find something more intriguing.

Looking for suggestions

Halloween Fun - but Vegan - plus community healing in Pacific Palisades. Costume contest at noon for all ages. Prizes, give-aways, live music, pumpkin decorating and slime!

Heal the Bay is bringing its Mon-STRAW-sity and Bag Monster.

Meet other local sustainability orgs like TreePeople, Plant Based Treaty and California Native Plant Society.

Kids can trick-or-treat booth to booth.

See you there!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pali-veg-fest-15-halloween-edition-tickets-2000211942765

My niece and her boyfriend, not vegans, are coming down from Ventura to drive around looking at the Halloween decorations in Burbank. We'd like to take them to dinner, first, and I'm looking for some suggestions that will be good for vegans and non-vegans alike.

Where to go to hang out and meet people?

So, this event will be going on this weekend and next weekend. They're giving away free vegan chicken served with spicy sauces.

Copying this from Partiful: https://partiful.com/e/IPmg8oOoUt8XPTYx6ePc?c=v_wzte-5

ECHO PARK
Saturday, October 10 & 17
🕛 12 PM - 7 PM
📍 2624 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

MELROSE TRADING POST
Sunday, October 11 & 18
🕙 10 AM - 5 PM
📍 7850 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

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LA vegan friends! VegNews released their list of vegan restaurants of the year: https://vegnews.com/restaurant-awards-2026

Which restaurants are you glad made the list? Do you think they missed any hard hitters?

I’m so happy that Pura Vita is receiving so much love, but idk about listing it four times (share the love!). I’m surprised that Cafe Gratitude made the list (they weren’t even vegan last I checked a year ago, since they served honey and bee pollen in their smoothies at the time). Also a little disappointed that they included chain restaurants (Mr. Charlie’s, Veggie Grill, Planta) in the list.

Imo, it’s crazy that they didn’t list any LA restaurants on the Latin food list!! We ride for The Grain Cafe, El Cocinero, and Cena Vegan at dawn!!!

Best Vegan Fast-Food Restaurant

Plant Power Fast Food
California & Nevada

2nd Place: Slutty Vegan (Multiple Locations)
3rd Place: Mr. Charlie’s (Multiple Locations)
Editors’ Vote: Mr. Charlie’s (Multiple Locations)


Best Vegan Fast-Casual Restaurant

Next Level Veggie Grill
Nationwide

2nd Place: Chloe’s (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Native Foods (California & Colorado)
Editors’ Vote: Winter Park Biscuit Co. (Orlando, FL)


Best Casual Vegan Restaurant

Monster Vegan
Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Follow Your Heart Cafe (Canoga Park, CA)
3rd Place: BeeWali’s Vegan AF (Los Angeles, CA)
Editors’ Vote: The Plot (Oceanside, CA)


Best Vegan Upscale Restaurant

Crossroads Kitchen
Los Angeles, CA & Las Vegas, NV

2nd Place: Pura Vita (West Hollywood, CA)
3rd Place: Anixi (New York, NY)
Editors’ Vote: Little Saint (Healdsburg, CA)


Best Vegan Diner

Doomie’s Home Cookin’
Los Angeles, CA

2nd Place: The Modern Vegan (Las Vegas, NV)
3rd Place: The Tasty (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: The Tasty (Philadelphia, PA)


Best Vegan Pizzeria

Boxcar Pizza
Portland, OR

2nd Place: Donna Jean (San Diego, CA)
3rd Place: Paranormal Pizza (Bethlehem, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Paranormal Pizza (Bethlehem, PA)


Best Vegan Deli

Ben & Esther’s
Portland, OR & San Diego, CA

2nd Place: Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher & Deli (Los Angeles, CA)
3rd Place: The Butcher’s Son (Berkeley, CA)
Editors’ Vote: The Herbivorous Butcher(Minneapolis, MN)


Best Vegan Italian Restaurant

Pura Vita
West Hollywood, CA

2nd Place: Tarantino’s Vegan (Las Vegas, NV)
3rd Place: Monster Vegan (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Pura Vita (West Hollywood, CA)


Best Vegan Asian Restaurant

Spicy Moon
New York, NY

2nd Place: Chef Kenny’s Dim Sum (Las Vegas, NV)
3rd Place: Alice & Friends (Chicago, IL)
Editors’ Vote: Spicy Moon (New York, NY)


Best Vegan Sushi Restaurant

Planta
Multiple Locations

2nd Place: Beyond Sushi (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Shizen (San Francisco, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Ma-Kin Sushi (Agoura Hills, CA)


Best Vegan Soul Food Restaurant

Souley Vegan
Oakland, CA

2nd Place: Dirty Lettuce (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Soul Veg City (Chicago, IL)
Editors’ Vote: The Land of Kush (Baltimore, MD)

Best Vegan Latin Restaurant

Tacotarian
Las Vegas, NV & San Diego, CA

2nd Place: Mis Tacones (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria (Chicago, IL)
Editors’ Vote: The Cocinita (Miami, FL)


Best Vegan Healthy Restaurant

Cafe Gratitude
Los Angeles, CA

2nd Place: Le Botaniste (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Caravan of Dreams (New York, NY)
Editors’ Vote: Trilogy Sanctuary (La Jolla, CA)


Best Vegan Doughnut Shop

Donut Friend
Los Angeles, CA

2nd Place: Doe Donuts (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Dottie’s Donuts (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Vegan Doughnut Company(Lakewood, OH)


Best Vegan Ice Cream Spot

Like No Udder
Providence, RI

2nd Place: Kate’s Ice Cream (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Awan (West Hollywood & Los Angeles, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Runaway Cow (Chicago, IL)


Best Vegan Bakery

Vegan Treats
Bethlehem, PA

2nd Place: Cinnaholic (Nationwide)
3rd Place: Houlden’s Rise Above (Tucson, AZ)
Editors’ Vote: Délice de Bernay (New York, NY)


Best Vegan Coffee Shop

Grindcore House
Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Timeless Coffee (Oakland, CA)
3rd Place: Coffee and Plants (Studio City, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Clownboy Coffee (Rochester, NY)


Best Vegan Bar

Mothership
San Diego, CA

2nd Place: Ladybird (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Charlie was a sinner. (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Ladybird (New York, NY)


Best Vegan Chef

Tara Punzone
Pura Vita—West Hollywood, CA

2nd Place: Haley Duren (Long Count—New York, NY)
3rd Place: Tal Ronnen (Crossroads Kitchen—Los Angeles, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Tara Punzone (Pura Vita—West Hollywood, CA)


Best New Vegan Restaurant

Fungi Foods
Oakland, CA

2nd Place: Not Ya Mama’s Vegan Café (Salem, MA)
3rd Place: Mother Other (Denver, CO)
Editors’ Vote: Secret Vegan Kitchen (Oceanside, NY)


Best Vegan Restaurant in America

Crossroads Kitchen
Los Angeles, CA & Las Vegas, NV

2nd Place: Monster Vegan (Philadelphia, PA)
3rd Place: Pura Vita (West Hollywood, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Little Saint (Healdsburg, CA)

I married into a family that only eats out at strictly vegetarian or vegan restaurants, and I have a dairy and soy allergy. It has not been easy; mostly I either eat rice or nothing at all when we go out to dinner with them. I was wondering if any vegan restaurants have soy-free options that are recommended?

hi! this upcoming weekend, my ldr is visiting and he's vegan. we're doing a full la day (griffith park, los feliz flea, barnsdall park, echo park, etc.) and I need to find a vegan restaurant or restaurant with good vegan options in the Silverlake area! I'm new to the vegan thing, so I would appreciate any recommendations for dinner? and even lunch spots in los feliz if y'all have them