Crossroads Kitchen: High-End Vegan Dining on Melrose

Dec 20

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Crossroads Kitchen Vegan Restaurant on Melrose Ave. - New York Style Cheesecake. A gluten-free delight made with sweet almond ricotta & topped with caramel pecan praline. By Chef Tal Ronnen.

If you think being vegan is difficult, imagine being vegan in the 50s. It was rare and the word "vegan" was even more alien than it is now (it's slowly becoming mainstream). Back then, there was no such thing as a vegan restaurant (let alone a fine-dining restaurant) in the way we have them now and companies dedicated to solely making vegan products were, for the most part, non-existent. Today's vegan - on the other hand - is completely spoiled, especially in Southern California. You can't throw a rock these days in Los Angeles without hitting a vegan, vegetarian, or completely vegan-friendly restaurant. I must admit - it's the hardest part of relocating to San Clemente (South Orange County). Vegan restaurants are far and few between here compared to LA so we eat at home 99.8% of the time.

Vegan Fine Dining in West Hollywood

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That's why it's a treat to retreat to the Mecca of vegan deliciousness - Los Angeles - every month or so to enjoy a favorite restaurant. Crossroads Kitchen is one such favorite. It's on Melrose Ave. and was created by Chef Tal Ronnen. VegNews awarded Crossroads the 2013 Vegan Restaurant of the Year and it's been showered in accolades ever since. Crossroads is fancy fine-dining, fit for the fanciest of patrons (we've seen a handful of celebs there), and features food that's guaranteed to delight vegans and non-vegans alike (or pre-vegans, as I refer to them).

In fact, it was Pete's pre-vegan brother, Matt, that told us about Crossroads when it opened a couple of years ago, so take his word for it if you don't trust a vegan's word. Matt's vegan friend took him there and then Matt raved to us about the food. We recently visited for brunch (they're now open 7 days a week for brunch!) and we were lucky enough to go again for dinner a couple of weeks later.

Dinner at Crossroads Kitchen

Let's start with dinner! Our dinner favorites from Crossroads Kitchen...

Baby Beet & Citrus Salad

Spicy Meatball Pizza - too much yum without the feeling over being too full.

*Spicy Meatball Pizza - House-made meatballs, calabrese peppers, almond ricotta, and micro basil.*

Artichoke Oysters - I've never been a fan of seafood, even before being vegan, and this dish makes sure I can enjoy some cruelty-free Oyster fun! I love this dish!

Artichoke Oysters - Artichoke puree, crispy oyster mushroom, yellow tomato bernaise & kelp caviar. Served on top of rock salt for fun. — *Artichoke Oysters* - Artichoke puree, crispy oyster mushroom, yellow tomato bernaise & kelp caviar. Served on top of rock salt for fun.

Tortelloni - very comforting and classic.

Tortelloni - almond cheese, oven-dried tomatoes, parsley frisee salad, spinach cream. — *Tortelloni* - almond cheese, oven-dried tomatoes, parsley frisee salad, spinach cream.

Tagliatelle Bolognese - a dish that will leave you so satisfied... you'll swear it the "real" thing, grapefruit & orange & a balsamic gastrique. This is probably our favorite dish on the menu and we have even ordered it twice in one sitting before.

*Tagliatelle Bolognese from Crossroads Kitchen on Melrose Ave.*

New York Style Cheesecake - Don't forget about dessert! This dessert satisfied my sweet-tooth without being over the top, and without leaving me with a stomach ache. Thumbs up!

New York Style Cheesecake - sweet almond ricotta with a blood orange glaze. — *New York Style Cheesecake* - sweet almond ricotta with a blood orange glaze.

Yummy Drinks

Look My Way - Yummy mezcal at its finest! I'm a sucker for mescals and tequila. Smoky and spot on.This was my favorite!

Look My Way - Del Maguey Mezcal, rum, basil, lime, firewater, tamari salt, and a blistered shishito pepper. — *Look My Way - Del Maguey Mezcal, rum, basil, lime, firewater, tamari salt, and a blistered shishito pepper.*

Cause For Alarm - more tequila coming up... this time with a sweeter side. They've done it again!

*Cause For Alarm - Arette blanco tequila, dry curacao, lime agave, grenadine, topped with pomegranate seeds.*

Brunch at @Crossroads Kitchen High-End #Vegan Dining https://t.co/lZt9N1qP5R #finedining #losangeles #LA #hollywood #westhollywood #Melrose

— Rima Danielle Jomaa (@rima_danielle) December 20, 2015

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Saturday Brunch

We met Pete's parents at Crossroads Kitchen for brunch and got to try a nice array of items! Unfortunately, I always get the weird looks for taking photos of everyone's food so I only snapped a few, but trust me when I say, the photos don't do the food justice anyway! You have to go to understand the Crossroads experience.

We tried:

Crossroads Benedict - A vegan version of the classic with shitake bacon, tomato hollandaise, and we got the fingerling potatoes on the side. Super savory and fulfilling, I love the addition of the shitake bacon which adds a nice smokiness to the dish.

Chicken & Waffles - I couldn't resist! No animals harmed for me to get my gluttony on. This version comes with a warm maple sauce that has a kick to it - they added chili. This was the perfect touch for this dish. I personally don't prefer the fake meats but the chicken was tender and flavorful, and the portion size was perfect. I slathered their cashew butter all over and ate every last bite.

Warm maple spicy syrup drizzled over tender pieces of "chicken" and soft waffles.. slathered in cashew butter. My kind of vegan heaven.

Kite Hill Cheese Plate - yum.

Comes with assorted cheese, house-made jams, and more!

Meatball Sub - Classier, healthier, and without the cruelty, this vegan version of the classic features vegan meatballs made in house, almond ricotta, and a baguette that is, in and of itself, an experience.

Crispy Milanese

Tomato Bisque - velvety & creamy. Once of my favorite soups and they've done it perfectly.

New York Style Cheesecake - The perfect consistency of sweet almond ricotta, topped with caramel pecan praline.

and a Cappuccino with almond milk to finish it off.