The Vegan Joint is a mini, nay, a micro chain with just three locations: Downtown Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, and right here in Culver City. The place specializes in comfort food, but as the name suggests, everything on the menu is vegan. It’s wonderful that Culver City has restaurants like this, where vegan diners don’t have to feel like they’re missing out. Sure, not everything on the menu is healthy, but it’s at least environmentally sound.
The menu is packed with delights, so the real challenge is deciding what to go with. The Seitan Burger, obviously made with a seitan patty and then dressed with a garlic and cilantro sauce, sounds amazing. But then so do their takes on Thai curries – they have red, yellow and green, plus pineapple and pumpkin.
But we opted for the Chicken Burger. Described on the menu as, “Soy chicken fried in a kamut batter (wheat flour) on organic / non-GMO whole wheat bun,” the sandwich is immaculately put together, if not curated. Not one of the ingredients is an accident. The healthy-ish dish sees the aforementioned patty served with lush greens and sprouts, which is balanced by the tang of pickled onions and tomatoes.
The whole thing is served on a fresh, bouncy whole wheat bun with a splatter of Veganaise, and it all blends together as well as any actual chicken burger that we’ve ever had. The patty is perfectly crispy and large, so that it overhangs the bun slightly but not too much. The diner has that satisfying experience of nibbling the breaded patty that is hanging outside of the bun.
It’s a fantastic chicken burger and it would be easy to forget it’s vegan at all, if not for the fact that vegans tend to not want to forget. In which case, the vibe of the restaurant makes it easy to remember.
The burger was served with fries, which were skinny and crisp. Not greasy at all. Some might say that fries are fries but all too often they’re soggy and lukewarm. Here, they’re the perfect side.
We also had a Blue Majik drink which is sweet and, unsurprisingly, blue. Put it all together and you have a meal that feels comforting, warm and nostalgic. The portions are generous, the staff are friendly, and we’ll certainly be back.
The Vegan Joint is located at 10438 National Blvd #4664, Los Angeles 90034. Call 310-559-1357 or visit theveganjoint.com.