{"id":82223,"date":"2024-03-20T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?post_type=newspack_nl_cpt&p=82223"},"modified":"2024-03-19T17:27:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T00:27:20","slug":"djs-vegan-donuts-spam-fried-chickn-and-the-best-pork-tamale-ive-ever-had","status":"publish","type":"newspack_nl_cpt","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/newsletter\/djs-vegan-donuts-spam-fried-chickn-and-the-best-pork-tamale-ive-ever-had","title":{"rendered":"DJs, vegan donuts, \u2018spam,\u2019 fried chick\u2019n and the best \u2018pork\u2019 tamale I\u2019ve ever had."},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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Two vegan tamales from Shane’s Tamales pop-up at Long Beach’s first Vegan Playground. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Good morning, what are you<\/em> eating for breakfast? Not eggs I hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we\u2019re going to talk about veganism. I am not one; I am a vegetarian (and sometimes a pescatarian \u2014 a flexitarian?), but<\/em> after some of the great dairy and meat mimicry I experienced this past weekend, I have decided to try out a diet free of animal products next month. Who knows, maybe you\u2019ll join me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday<\/strong>, St. Patrick\u2019s Day<\/strong>, food and dining reporter Caitlin Antonios<\/strong> and I attended Long Beach\u2019s inaugural Vegan Playground<\/strong>. The plant-based party pops up weekly in L.A. and now it will be cropping up \u2018round these parts every month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me tell you, this is ~ good news ~ for veggie heads, vegans, vegan-curious folk and people who just \u2026enjoy good food? If you\u2019re already bristling at the thought of omitting (at least) meat from your diet, I\u2019ll tell you from my experience, it\u2019s worth a trial run at least once in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first committed to a vegetarian diet last year<\/a>, I was really just doing it to make sharing food and dinner dates with my partner, who is a vegetarian, a bit easier. But after essentially unlocking an entire world<\/a> of food I didn\u2019t realize existed (here\u2019s looking at you, Au Lak<\/a>) and subsequently dropping down a few pant sizes \u2014 I couldn\u2019t help but also start to look at chickens a little differently. What? They\u2019re adorable<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong> No shade to my lovely readers who do<\/em> eat animal products. I am merely meaning to introduce you to another universe of (objectively) good eats.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The vinyl DJ at Long Beach’s first Vegan Playground. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The city\u2019s very first Vegan Playground<\/strong> was held in the Zaferia<\/strong> district in the Devi\u2019s Donuts <\/strong>parking lot. <\/strong>When Caitlin and I rolled up, the playground was packed<\/em>. Groups sat together along long tables to inhale vegan takes on delicacies from El Salvador to Nashville from these vendors: Lucky Catsu, Original Herbivore, Pupusas Veganas, Shane’s Tamales and Vegan or Nah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others enjoyed needle drops from the DJ that was spinning Destiny\u2019s Child, Marxist Disco Love Ensemble and more bops in front of Devi\u2019s Donuts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what we tried.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucky Catsu\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The “spam” musubi and two “dollar hits” from Lucky Catsu. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been way too long since I\u2019ve had spam musubi, so obviously, it was the first thing I ordered when we arrived. They had \u201cspam\u201d musubi, \u201cspam macsubi\u201d and catsubi. We also snagged some \u201cdollar hits\u201d \u2014 chick\u2019n pieces on a skewer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was prepared to write that the musubi was my favorite treat of the day, but that was until I tried a certain chick\u2019n sando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See where Lucky Catsu is popping up next, here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original Herbivore\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Original Herbivore\u2019s Nashville Hot Chick\u2019n Sandwich. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having just returned from the South<\/a>, I jumped at the opportunity to order Original Herbivore\u2019s Nashville Hot Chick\u2019n Sandwich<\/strong>. For your reference, this particular vendor is very beloved in the plant-head community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my way back to Long Beach from NOLA<\/strong> earlier this month, I did enjoy some of the best fried green tomatoes I\u2019ve ever had during a short layover in Nashville<\/strong>, so I have been particularly curious about whatever else they might have to offer.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sandwich was wicked<\/em> good and had a lovely kick to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, I was about to crown that chick\u2019n sando as my favorite \u2014 and then I ordered some tamales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See where O.H. is popping up next, here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shane\u2019s Tamales<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I had tried Shane\u2019s Tamales one other time at a pop-up at Everywhere Beer Co.<\/strong> (which is reportedly opening up on Retro Row<\/strong> this year). Let\u2019s just say that I enjoyed them so much that time, I ended up bringing a whole box of them home.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, I sort of did the same thing. First, I ordered the \u201cpork\u201d tamale (mushroom-based) and *chef\u2019s kiss*, then I snagged a chick\u2019n green chile (pea protein- and soy-based) and the bean and cheese with rajas (roasted pepper\/soy free). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See where Shane is popping up next, here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vegan Playground is set to pop up in Long Beach every month, but they have not announced when and where the event will take place next. Check VP\u2019s Instagram for updates and of course, <\/em>The Hi-lo<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kat Schuster<\/strong> is the assistant editor for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her at kat@lbpost.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Long Beach’s first Vegan Playground event was packed with locals and quality meat mimicry. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":82230,"template":"","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"hidden","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","disable_auto_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_nl_advertiser":[],"coauthors":[9454],"class_list":["post-82223","newspack_nl_cpt","type-newspack_nl_cpt","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_nl_cpt\/82223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_nl_cpt"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newspack_nl_cpt"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/302"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_nl_cpt\/82223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82236,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_nl_cpt\/82223\/revisions\/82236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82223"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_nl_advertiser","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_nl_advertiser?post=82223"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=82223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}