Advertising
Going vegan—even if just for a few meals—might get a bit easier if Jared Simons has anything to do with it. The trick? Finding plant-based foods that hit all the signature textures and flavors of omnivores’ favorite dishes, and who doesn’t love a taco?
The former Escuela and No Name chef is building a menu of entirely plant-based Mexican food along Fairfax at Taco Vega, swapping grilled mushrooms for carne asada and subbing tahini or cashew for heavy cream in the house-made crema. The new taqueria—open for takeout and delivery—launched last week as a joint venture from Simons and co-owner Jared Meisler, of the Friend and Bar Lubitsch, and involves the kind of range that offers something for everyone, no matter their diet: tempura cauliflower that replicates beer-battered fish in a Baja-style taco; al pastor featuring grilled yuba, rather than pork; grain bowls filled with taco-spiced quinoa and braised kale; and heartier fare such as grilled oyster-mushroom asada fries drizzled with a house cashew-based queso.