Yellow Juice Bar in Center City, Phillyby Randi / October 4, 2013 Local 44 is my JAM, people. It’s the coolest, hippest, raddest neighborhood pub in West Philly. Although it can be overrun with hipsters and Penn kids (I can make fun because I was once both), it has interesting craft beer options (not that I drink it), a challenging and awesome Quizzo night (which I rock), and most importantly amazing vegan food options.
The menu has changed over the years. I remember a Frito Chili Pie and a good veggie burger. However, I’m solidly behind the latest offerings. Hot damn, they are good!
The menu has changed over the years. I remember a Frito Chili Pie and a good veggie burger. However, I’m solidly behind the latest offerings. Hot damn, they are good!
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My friend and I started with 2 of the 3 vegan appetizer options, because that’s how we roll. First, the Spicy Seitan Nuggets, of which you get 5 decent-sized pieces of amazingness. I don’t know how they got the buffalo wing sauce down so perfectly, but they did. It was orangey-red and tangy and spicy like a mother. I was impressed by the actual nuggets too, far from the sponge that seitan can often produce. They were actually quite sturdy and hard to cut, but you’re probably just supposed to bite them like wings. I loved the satisfying bite the texture provided, and the mild ranch dip accompanying them. Definitely a must!
Next, we got the Fried Brussels Sprouts. You might have seen in past posts how much I love Brussels Sprouts, especially when doused in oil and nearly burnt. This is the best way to eat them. These sprouts were cooked really well and melted in your mouth, as fried things should. However, ask for the soy-chili sauce to come on the side. It made the sprouts way too tart and salty, and then the bottom layer got really soggy and even more tart. Sadface.
The third app, which we didn’t order, is popcorn doused in nooch. You can’t go wrong eating at a place that knows nooch+popcorn=love. |
Bars are dark! 
Brussels |
Reuben!
The weirdest thing about the menu? None of the salads are vegan! And 3 of the burgers are! Up is down, left is right. But let’s focus on the good part: 3 burgers! You can choose from the ALT (avocado, lettuce, and fried green tomato), the black bean burger (which is great), and what I’m sure you will order, the Pastrami Spiced Seitan Reuben. I know!
Obviously, my friend and I both ordered the Reubens, because when you have the chance to eat a vegan Reuben, you take that chance by the horns and you eat it.
Oh my goodness, this was a good Reuben. The seitan was sliced so thinly, and the cooks stuffed as much as they possibly could between those slices of bread. It was extremely salty – I think I drank 4 glasses of water just during this course – but that’s how pastrami is supposed to be! I’m glad I asked for the side salad instead of the fries (you can do so for no extra charge!) because I put all those leaves in the sandwich, helping alleviate the saltiness and providing a different cooling texture.
Obviously, my friend and I both ordered the Reubens, because when you have the chance to eat a vegan Reuben, you take that chance by the horns and you eat it.
Oh my goodness, this was a good Reuben. The seitan was sliced so thinly, and the cooks stuffed as much as they possibly could between those slices of bread. It was extremely salty – I think I drank 4 glasses of water just during this course – but that’s how pastrami is supposed to be! I’m glad I asked for the side salad instead of the fries (you can do so for no extra charge!) because I put all those leaves in the sandwich, helping alleviate the saltiness and providing a different cooling texture.
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Do you see how much meat is in there? It can’t be contained! So much! |
This was one of my favorite Reubens, though I wish it came with a bit more Thousand Island dressing and cabbage to counteract the shittonne of meat in there. Because there really is a shittonne! Can you believe all of that? So awesome.
Local 44 definitely has vegan bar food down. You can’t go wrong with any of the current vegan options. And I’m really looking forward to having brunch here – the vegan brunch option is scrambled tofu with homefries and mushroom scrapple. What!
Local 44 definitely has vegan bar food down. You can’t go wrong with any of the current vegan options. And I’m really looking forward to having brunch here – the vegan brunch option is scrambled tofu with homefries and mushroom scrapple. What!
Another great thing about Local 44? It’s a short drive from Little Baby’s Ice Cream Parlor! Little Baby’s is a small-batch ice cream purveyor, and it always has at least 4 non-dairy options. They are uniformly delicious, for hard scoop ice cream (you know how I feel about soft-serve). Also, all of their cookies, for ice cream cookie sandwiches, are vegan! After this dinner, I had a scoop of Smoked Cinnamon ice cream. Pretty darn great.
LOCAL 44
- Water speed: Great! I was drinking insanely fast, due to how salty the food is, and I never got impatient.
- Bathrooms: Surprisingly clean for a bar, though you’ll set off the hand dryer probably 4x.
- Service: Good and friendly. It gets crowded, and busy.
- Food: Great vegan bar options, but beware if you have high blood pressure.
- Bonus: If you’re a beer drinker, you will freaking love this place. They have a bottle shop next door so you can buy your favorite specialty beers. Also, Quizzo!
Related Posts
Veganizing “Friends”: Tartlets?…Tartlets?…Tartlets?…The Word Has Lost All Meaning
Tartlets!
“Well smack my ass and call me Judy!”
No, I didn’t say that! It’s from one of the best guest stars ever on “Friends”, Jon Lovitz! In Season 1’s “The One With the Stoned Guy”, he played a guy named Steve who came to the apartment to interview Monica for a restaurant job. However, as Phoebe reported, he got stoned in the cab on the way over and was just a rude mess. A corn-envelope eating, Sugar-Os throwing, Gummi-Bear stealing mess. Poor Monica’s big opportunity was lost because of drugs. See? Johnny Dakota was right: “There’s no hope with dope!”*
Luckily for us, his erratic behavior made for some great TV. Jon Lovitz is one of those actors with the ability to turn a stupid line into an absolute instant classic. My favorite line reading of his (in this episode, at least; his reappearance in Season 9’s “The One With the Blind Dates” provides stiff competition*) inspired this post’s subject: regarding Monica’s Onion Tartlets. For the past what, 15 years, every time I hear the word tartlet, or even tart, I react in this same way. I can’t help it! Watch and be awed:
No, I didn’t say that! It’s from one of the best guest stars ever on “Friends”, Jon Lovitz! In Season 1’s “The One With the Stoned Guy”, he played a guy named Steve who came to the apartment to interview Monica for a restaurant job. However, as Phoebe reported, he got stoned in the cab on the way over and was just a rude mess. A corn-envelope eating, Sugar-Os throwing, Gummi-Bear stealing mess. Poor Monica’s big opportunity was lost because of drugs. See? Johnny Dakota was right: “There’s no hope with dope!”*
Luckily for us, his erratic behavior made for some great TV. Jon Lovitz is one of those actors with the ability to turn a stupid line into an absolute instant classic. My favorite line reading of his (in this episode, at least; his reappearance in Season 9’s “The One With the Blind Dates” provides stiff competition*) inspired this post’s subject: regarding Monica’s Onion Tartlets. For the past what, 15 years, every time I hear the word tartlet, or even tart, I react in this same way. I can’t help it! Watch and be awed:
I’ve seen this about 100 times and I still love it. The word tartlet makes me laugh so hard!! I don’t know how Courteney Cox kept a straight face during filming, because I couldn’t have. I’d be the worst sitcom actor ever. I’d break more than Jimmy Fallon. Anyway, so Steve couldn’t wait a measly 8 1/2 minutes for the onion tartlets. He got all up in Monica’s pantry, looking for munchies.
“I was just being polite.”
“Hello Greeter Girl.” I love it. But he’s so rude! Not only did he take items off her shelf but he actually stuck his grubby hands in and ate some of the food! I would have snapped much earlier than Monica did. I can’t stomach fools! And I really can’t stomach grubby hands in my cereal boxes. I love cereal. Let’s have cereal! No, we’re here to make onion tartlets. And wow, guys, I must say, this shit is crazy good! I used The Vegg for the first time. If you aren’t familiar with it, The Vegg is a vegan, powdered egg replacer that is extremely, eerily egg-like. It even made my kitchen smell like sulfur! The people at The Vegg were nice enough to send me a free sample, and I think these tartlets (hehe tartlets) are a great way to experiment with a little bit of it. I am definitely going to be buying this in the future. If you don’t have access to it, I bet a mix of EnerG Egg Replacer, nooch, and black salt would substitute well (or even just the nooch and black salt if you use firm tofu). However, this concoction blew the minds of some real egg-loving omnivores in my house, so I suggest ordering the Vegg.
To make the little tartlet shells, I stole a recipe from this really cool blogger over at HelloGiggles and I don’t even feel bad about it. I’m taking her method too — you use the bottom part of your muffin tin (the smaller your muffin cups, the better for this!) to form your dough into cups! It’s genius! So, we’re going to make and semi-bake the little tartlet pie cups first, then fill them with the eggy mixture and bake again. Be careful that your crusts don’t burn (like some of mine did) as it takes a long time for the filling to cook. It might help to cover your pie edges with tin foil to prevent burning (I never do this because I love burnt edges). Weirdly, the uncooked filling tastes just like egg salad. I was always disgusted by egg salad, but the stuff without any actual eggs is pretty rad. Let’s make some tartlets! Hehe tartlets!
To make the little tartlet shells, I stole a recipe from this really cool blogger over at HelloGiggles and I don’t even feel bad about it. I’m taking her method too — you use the bottom part of your muffin tin (the smaller your muffin cups, the better for this!) to form your dough into cups! It’s genius! So, we’re going to make and semi-bake the little tartlet pie cups first, then fill them with the eggy mixture and bake again. Be careful that your crusts don’t burn (like some of mine did) as it takes a long time for the filling to cook. It might help to cover your pie edges with tin foil to prevent burning (I never do this because I love burnt edges). Weirdly, the uncooked filling tastes just like egg salad. I was always disgusted by egg salad, but the stuff without any actual eggs is pretty rad. Let’s make some tartlets! Hehe tartlets!
MONICA’S ONION TARTLETS
HEHE TARTLETS
HEHE TARTLETS
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For the tartlet pie cups
Ingredients:
Directions:
For the filling
Directions:
Thanks Vegg people!
“Is it dry in here?”
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THE SHADOW FINGERS WILL GET YOU, PIE DOUGH!
Thiis is howw you dooo ittt
You could also just eat the pie crusts plain.
Onions overboard!!
“You know, I don’t know what I’m looking for.”
Don’t worry it’s not really egg!
Adding the onions. Onions, man.
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These are actually really good! If you take the time to roll your pie dough out and cut them more carefully than I did, you could totally serve these at a dinner party. Or any kind of party. New Years Eve? Nothing like ringing in the new year with the smell of sulfur! I hope you enjoy!
*What was your favorite Jon Lovitz quote on “Friends”, from either of his episodes? Don’t you love when he says, “And I’m pretty sure…I’m infertile” because I do.
*Do you know who Johnny Dakota is?!?!
*Do you know who Johnny Dakota is?!?!
original comments: https://laughfrodisiac.weebly.com/my-own-creations/veganizing-friends-tarletstartletstartletsthe-word-has-lost-all-meaning
VEGAN MOFO Is Almost Here! Get Pumped!
VeganMofo is only 3 days away!!! That’s right, this year the Vegan Month of Food is taking place in September. I’m so excited to participate in my first Mofo!
If you aren’t familiar with Mofo, read about it on the official blog! You’ll also find a list of all participants there. VeganMofo is a fun yet challenging, well, challenge to blog every day (or at least most days) of the month! So, check out Laughfrodisiac throughout September for posts with the following themes:
If you aren’t familiar with Mofo, read about it on the official blog! You’ll also find a list of all participants there. VeganMofo is a fun yet challenging, well, challenge to blog every day (or at least most days) of the month! So, check out Laughfrodisiac throughout September for posts with the following themes:
MONDAY: On Mondays, we will veganize things that Monica (Courteney Cox) made on ‘Friends’!! I think I’m most excited to make the infamous English Trifle/Shepherd’s Pie disaster. (I know Rachel made that, but it counts.) So much fun!
TUESDAY: On Tuesdays, we will get new travel guides for locations all over the globe! If you plan to go anywhere ever, this information will save you! Like the bahble!
WEDNESDAY: On Wednesdays, we will play Restaurant Wars! New restaurant reviews will be posted — including the review for one of top 10 restaurants in the world. You’re going to want to read that one!
THURSDAY: On Thursdays, we will review special meals for holidays occurring in September, as well as discuss other big events (like weddings!).
FRIDAY: On Fridays, we will return to “Friends” and make some more fun things!
SATURDAY: On Saturdays, we will get a mix of style blogs and entertainment blogs, from theatre reviews to ravings about TV shows that are soon returning!
SUNDAY: Finally, on Sundays, we will bake breakfast foods! From muffins to my special protein-packed energy bars, these blogs will be delicious!
I might also throw in second posts on certain days, about random things that come to my attention!
So, there you have it! I’m mainly posting this in advance in order to hold myself accountable to what I’ve outlined here. Help keep me to it, and I hope you enjoy all of VeganMofo!
