Hi there. It’s been a while. I wrote an apology, but it’s at the bottom of the post. Let’s get down to business and talk about something incredible I just experienced – Vegan Oktoberfest in Los Angeles.
We found out last minute about this event. We went online and bought two tickets, and suddenly we had made a plan to drive seven hours to Santa Monica to attend. Turns out my sister had to be at a conference for work in SoCal, and was able to meet us there!
We got into Santa Monica around 12:30. We were able to park fairly close to the event. We were able to walk to the beach, check out the area for a few minutes and then line up. We stood in line for about ten minutes and the event opened promptly at 1 PM. We showed our name tags, got our wrist bands and mini beer mugs, and headed straight for the Dogtown Dog food truck (website here).
We ordered the California dog. It was the best frickin hot dog I’ve ever had, vegan or not. My husband wanted to go back and make sure it was vegan, that’s how convinced we were.
There were so many types of beer, but my husbands favorites were the hemp brown ale from Venica Duck Brewery and the coconut amber ale from Four Sons Brewing.
I’m not a beer person, but luckily for me there was a company handing out free energy drinks!
Marquis Beverages makes three energy drinks that are organic, calorie free and sugar free. They’re made with organic stevia. We tried all three kinds: Citrus, mango ginger, and super berry. My favorite was the super berry, and my husband liked the mango ginger. It was awesome to find an energy drink with ingredients I actually recognized. We are considering ordering cases of the mango ginger to transition my husband away from monster. You can read more about Marquis by clicking here.
We got a little hungry after a while so decided to snack on some ice cream by Divine Dips. They’re a dairy-free ice cream food truck with some delicious flavors.
We ordered the mint chocolate chip, key lime pie, and the cafe no-lait. All three were magical. Great texture, phenomenal flavors. I was so impressed! I wish they sold their products at whole foods in Sacramento! You can read more about Divine Dips by clicking here.
One booth at the event was run by Sparky Firepants, they were selling tshirts that also offered printing, you could have “vegan Oktoberfest 2014” stamped on your own shirt for 5$ or buy one of the shirts available for 20$ and have that stamped. My husband picked up a “tofu strong man” shirt. You can visit their website by clicking here. I was sporting my shirt from The Tree Kisser, which you can find more info about by clicking here.
After a while of my husband beer testing, me people watching, and us both walking around we noticed the food lines were getting crazy so we separated and got in line to pick up different kinds of food before my sister met us there. My husband went to go get more food from Dogtown Dogs, while I got in line at Sage. I ordered the “fish” and chips, a pretzel, a German chocolate cupcake, apple fritters, and a lemonade. All of which were spectacular, especially the pretzel. Later my sister ordered some of their chocolate ice cream, which was marvelous. You can check out Sage’s website by clicking here.
I wanted to buy some cheese from Nary Dary after sampling their spreads at the event, but completely forgot to go back to their booth. I was getting exhausted and very sunburnt towards the end. Next time I come across their product, I’m buying it. Best cashew cheese on the planet. You can read more about them by clicking here.
After that huge feast, my sister picked up some Black Forest cookies from life is sweet bake shop. Normally I don’t love Black Forest cookies but these were delicious! You can check out Life Is Sweet by clicking here.
Part of the proceeds from Vegan Oktoberfest went to Expand Animal Rights Now, an organization dedicated to using the legal system to help and get justice for animals. I visited their booth and bought a tshirt. I plan on looking into how I can volunteer with them while I’m living in California. You can visit their website and learn more about them by clicking here.
I didn’t get a chance to try all of the vendors there this year. I particularly wanted to try the grilled cheese truck, but I didn’t have time or any room left in my stomach.
All in all, an awesome event. I hope to go again next year. A big shout out to all of the vendors, volunteers and to the people who put this together. I had a fabulous time, as did my husband and sister. The beers were incredible, the food was delicious, and the experience was unforgettable. See you at Vegan Oktoberfest 2015.
Before I go I have to say, I’m sorry for not posting these past few weeks. The past six weeks have been insane. We left Okinawa, visited home in Florida, and then drove a total of 48 hours from Florida to Northern California. It’s been crazy. I’ll write all about it soon, I have lots of restaurants to tell you guys about and pictures to share. So stay tuned for a Vegan Roadtrip post, a post about our super vegan friendly going away party at dechibica, and a post about me eating vegan while I was home! Some amazing food has been eaten in the past six weeks by me, and I have had some incredible experiences I’ll never forget. I’m excited to share them with you.
Thanks for reading!
Rachel Cooks Vegan 