Unless you’ve been hiding under a blog-free rock, you’ve probably heard of (or at least have seen) Bottega Louie. It’s a bright and airy pastel paradise filled with beautiful details and decadent desserts. One of my favorite parts about living and working in Downtown Los Angeles is being walking distance from cool spots like this.
As a long time vegetarian, this has always been a solid brunch standby and a great place to grab dinner to add some excitement to a weeknight ( I don’t get out much.) But dining at BL more recently has proven to be quite the challenge, as there are next to no vegan options available. I mean like… I almost cried when I realized that I couldn’t bring home a single treat (for myself) from their gorgeous patisserie, which is pretty much my favorite part!
As someone who is in recovery from a very serious eating disorder (4 years and going strong!) I try not to make any major declarations about my eating habits. Ultimately, like most people, I just desire to be healthy (and still eat as many french fries as I want, obvi).
But I decided to be vegetarian a few years ago because I really love animals… like a lot! I was eating a turkey sandwich and I realized that, while I was eating it, I had to tune out and sort of “go to another place”. It was something that kept happening more and more… I couldn’t really connect with the fact that what I was eating used to be alive without being creeped out and even devastated at times. I decided to stop eating dairy and other animal products for health reasons, but that no animals are harmed to make my food is a definite bonus!
While Bottega Louie is definitely not the place to go for cold pressed green juice and chia seeds, I always assumed that any establishment so full of whimsical pastel goodness would naturally have a menu fit for a tasselfairy. (don’t event get me started on Pink Berry 🙁 )
I guess this is just another reminder that I have to stop being a recluse and explore! For sure there must be tons of beautiful vegan friendly places in L.A.. and maybe even some pretty pastel ones. What are some of your favorites?
Outfit Deets: Dress: Target | Bag: Target | Shoes: Reebok Classics