Real Food Daily- Santa Monica

I couldn't wait to hit up Real Food Daily, also remembered as my favorite veg spot in Los Angeles. It's been several years since I've visited, and my have things changed.

First, the prices have noticeably gone up. I remembered this place being under $10 a plate, but now most everything is above. Secondly, the food isn't as satisfying or amazing as remembered. Maybe my tastes have changed...

What you see here is the THE CLUB TRIPLE DECKER sandwich made with a seitan chicken cutlet, tempeh bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato on sourdough. The seitan tasted like bland nothingness and didn't add much to the sandwich. The tempeh bacon was made in-house, so it tasted much better than Fakin' Bacon and more like a lightly baked chip. I would've preferred a whole-grain bread over sourdough. Overall the sandwich was unsatisfying, and this used to be my favorite item on the menu. Shockingly, the salad was more filling than the sandwich. You know how I don't care for salads, but the peanut dressing was ever so light and creamy. I wish I could replicate the dressing at home. Price: $13.75

The other plate we ordered was the BASIC FOUR where you choose a protein, grain and vegetables. We went for grilled tofu, a quinoa and millet combo, and collard greens and a mixture of the veg of the day (butternut squash, brussel sprouts, etc.) This tasted as boring as it sounds. The grilled tofu had no seasoning and the vegetables were simply steamed or broiled. I suppose that's what the dressing is for, we chose the wasabi vinaigrette which wasn't enough to salvage the above. Price: $11.95

Last, but not least was dessert. We tried the three best on the menu: layered chocolate fudge cake, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie. All desserts are sweetened with maple syrup, and baked with whole wheat or unbleached white flour.

The chocolate layered cake tasted like the real thing. You could not tell it was vegan. The cake was fluffy and moist and the cream and chocolate ganache were perfectly rich and sweet. But, for $7.95 I won't be ordering that again.

The pecan pie was the table's favorite, but I couldn't tell what the mushy filling was made of so it was slightly off-putting. Price: $4.50

The pumpkin pie was most disppointing; it was overtly spicy (too much ginger) and the crust was bland. Price: $4.50

Despite the mediocre fare and high prices, the place was packed on a Monday afternoon.