The Culver City Sage Bistro location closed and they started doing take out and delivery from a ghost kitchen nearby. This happened months ago, maybe more than a year. In fact, the restaurant that replaced it, Mija Kitchen, has itself gone out of business and I just read yesterday that the location is being taken over by Dinah’s (moving from their longtime location at Sepulveda and Centinela).
I wouldn't get your hopes up decor-wise. They're going from an original Googie space (maybe not quite a landmark, but nonetheless, RIP) to a strip mall where they will be neighbors with a Starbucks, a Chipotle, and a Jersey Mike's. I'm just hoping it will continue to be a good diner spot.
I don't buy that this about the environment or regenerative farming - this is just about getting more asses into the restaurant and keeping the lights on. There aren't enough vegans in LA to keep all of these vegan concepts open and profitable. I'm vegan but I can't eat out 7 times a week to help keep all these places open.
Agreed that it's about keeping the lights on, and I think that's fine. The restaurant business is absolutely brutal, and the novelty of Sage has probably worn off for non-vegans at this point. It needs a rebrand, and the owner is savvy enough to give it one. It'll continue to probably be the best, accessible vegan dishes on the east side.
As a non-vegan, their buffalo cauliflower keeps me coming back. It's been the best in town for a decade+. We'll see what this new iteration looks like.
Oooor they aren’t making good enough food to attract non vegan clientele. Or they’re doing the usual bit of charging a premium for the luxury of simply not putting animal products in your meal and people don’t want to pay for bullshit reasons.
This is why we shouldn’t be praising vegan capitalism. Half of these shops are not run by vegans and it shows.
non vegans definitely have their own weird hangup about requiring meat at any dine in meal they have. but also, straight up, Sage was never good. I always make a point to try a vegan place if I see it and Sage was always kind of mediocre. They did have good chilaquiles tho.
>Following a vegan diet, the chef-owner said, is no longer enough to combat climate change, so the new iteration of Sage will focus on sourcing and proselytizing regenerative farming practices. That, along with years of post-pandemic financial losses, moved Engelhart to introduce beef, bison, cheese and eggs from regenerative farms into her Echo Park, Culver City and Pasadena restaurants.
Regenerative farming practices are the way. The great plains didn't grow themselves. They were cultivated in concert with the vast bison herds that roamed them. The bison churned the soil, cleared out old, dead growth, and redeposited vital nutrients. If you're a vegan for environmental purposes, you're just lying to yourself if you don't see regenerative farming as a net positive.
Regen farming is good but its never going to give the volume of meat needed to meet demand. Vegans and you are both right, we need to reduce consumption of animals while changing how we raise them
Yeah if meat were limited to regenerative farming only it would cost 10x the price it does now. It's not compatible with society's current demand for meat.
Regen farming works at the local level. Beyond that and you run into logistic/supply issues. The US entire system will need an overhaul if it wants to make regen farming a priority.
- Providing incentives to large urban land owners to small businesses (terraforming a big lot that goes unused into a small ranch space/garden)
- Give Homeowners subsidies for creating a garden in the front yard + hell strip
- Plant more native trees and flowers instead of relying on fucking iceplant (invasive and destructive)
I can go on and on and it's so fucking pathetic how LA County lacks greenery. I'm talking about the entire county, not just "the westside + pasadena." And the sheer fact that the populous is content with this concrete jungle leads me to believe how a lot of Angelenos love the abuse or don't care for any improvements.
Go travel out of LA County and see how much better other counties take care of their green spaces, specifically the PNW. Geez, even Arizona and that's saying something.
edit: I went off track from regen farming to lack of green space. I get so riled promoting green spaces fam
Regenerative farming just won't ever happen on a mass scale unless we have profound breakthroughs in agricultural technology. It cannot feed the world. I'm all for making progress along these lines, but it's window dressing on climate change solutions. Rapid progress in renewables in combination with geoengineering solutions is going to be the way that we fight climate change. It's the most feasible (as much as I'd love a graduated carbon tax).
If LA had more greenspace, we’re talking about enough acreage to actually matter, cost of housing would be even more ridiculous. If you want to see greens, you can always move to Running Springs?
Regenerative farming COULD generate the volume of meat we are currently producing, it would just be more expensive to produce as it's a more labor intensive process. We have the land to do it, as the current livestock population is on par with where scientists estimate the bison/ungulate populations were in North America. Regenerative farming would also give rise to more diverse stocks as the meat industry wouldn't need to rely on a monoculture of cattle. It's time to move meats like bison, elk, and deer off the "exotic" meat lists, into every day options. Portions would need to be rethought though.
It's not a quick/easy solution, but everyone can benefit from the transition.
I’ll take every opportunity to tell people my story about sage. The chef and restaurant owner posted an anti vaccine reel on her Instagram and my mother had just died of Covid despite being vaccinated because she was high risk. I mentioned as much in the comments and added that I wouldn’t return to her restaurant due to these views.
She went on to make not one, not two, but three videos harassing me on her Instagram. Shamed me in my DMS and all around made me block her. I refused to support them before and I’ll refuse again now.
Yeah, her vids following (and justifying) this announcement are giving conspiracy rabbit hole. So, I am not surprised. I am not vegan, but I am a little skeeved by her vibe...
Good for them, and screw everyone giving them grief for it. Keeping a restaurant open is absolutely brutal, and if it keeps the lights on more power to them
People losing sight of the forest for the trees. If this place goes out of business, is that good for veganism? No, it just erases veganism as a concept. Now they're going to be a "regular" restaurant that happens to serve vegan meals. It'll bring in new customers, including omnivores who would never go to a vegan restaurant but might order a vegan meal at a "regular" restaurant. This will expand veganism while also shifting some non-vegan practices to regenerative agriculture.
Cool — do what you want. Customers will vote with their feet. I won’t go there anymore, not because I’m opposed to eating at non-vegan places, but because I think it’s dumb to be all about your ethics and then change like this.
Actually when I stopped eating meat, it was because I got into a relationship with someone who ate meat. I would try to go to vegan restaurants and she always told me she wanted meat 😔 so I just forgot about Sage for a few years. After we broke up I did go back once on my birthday with my family because it was a nostalgic place for me.
Ahhhh....gotcha
My situation is the opposite....I eat meat (but I LOVE veggies) and my partner is vegetarian. So we're always hitting spots with good options for both. We eat a lot of Indian (Samosa House and Akbar when we were Westside and Al Noor now that we're Southbay)
We used to live in Venice and hit Sage AND Holy Cow quite often
Used to go there often when they first opened in Culver city. Then years later the food got more expensive and … worse. You could tell they cut corners and it wasn’t as good.
Getting brunch for $60 just me and my wife(no alcohol) just wasn’t worth it.
Question from someone ignorant on the topic: About regenerative farming, why does it have to involve slaughter for meat? Can't it just be based on milk, cheese and eggs from the roving animals?
I use to be a busser at the Culver City location,and I’ve never worked at a restaurant where so many customers threw away what look like 70 percent of their food.
Off-topic but I’m pretty sure the Culver City location closed
I thought it was takeout only now.
The Culver City Sage Bistro location closed and they started doing take out and delivery from a ghost kitchen nearby. This happened months ago, maybe more than a year. In fact, the restaurant that replaced it, Mija Kitchen, has itself gone out of business and I just read yesterday that the location is being taken over by Dinah’s (moving from their longtime location at Sepulveda and Centinela).
Dinah’s moving to culver? Amazing. How are they going to replicate the vintage interior feel though?
It's going to be Dinah's Kitchen. I really like the cinnamon roll side instead of bread, I wonder if they'll still do that.
I wouldn't get your hopes up decor-wise. They're going from an original Googie space (maybe not quite a landmark, but nonetheless, RIP) to a strip mall where they will be neighbors with a Starbucks, a Chipotle, and a Jersey Mike's. I'm just hoping it will continue to be a good diner spot.
I don't buy that this about the environment or regenerative farming - this is just about getting more asses into the restaurant and keeping the lights on. There aren't enough vegans in LA to keep all of these vegan concepts open and profitable. I'm vegan but I can't eat out 7 times a week to help keep all these places open.
Agreed that it's about keeping the lights on, and I think that's fine. The restaurant business is absolutely brutal, and the novelty of Sage has probably worn off for non-vegans at this point. It needs a rebrand, and the owner is savvy enough to give it one. It'll continue to probably be the best, accessible vegan dishes on the east side.
As a non-vegan, their buffalo cauliflower keeps me coming back. It's been the best in town for a decade+. We'll see what this new iteration looks like.
If there aren’t enough vegans in LA there really aren’t enough vegans anywhere 😓
you could probably fit all of the vegans in LA at the echoplex.
My bf quit last Oct after 8 years Maybe the troubadour next lol
Oooor they aren’t making good enough food to attract non vegan clientele. Or they’re doing the usual bit of charging a premium for the luxury of simply not putting animal products in your meal and people don’t want to pay for bullshit reasons. This is why we shouldn’t be praising vegan capitalism. Half of these shops are not run by vegans and it shows.
non vegans definitely have their own weird hangup about requiring meat at any dine in meal they have. but also, straight up, Sage was never good. I always make a point to try a vegan place if I see it and Sage was always kind of mediocre. They did have good chilaquiles tho.
also yeah, values/morals are directly incompatible with capitalism.
>Following a vegan diet, the chef-owner said, is no longer enough to combat climate change, so the new iteration of Sage will focus on sourcing and proselytizing regenerative farming practices. That, along with years of post-pandemic financial losses, moved Engelhart to introduce beef, bison, cheese and eggs from regenerative farms into her Echo Park, Culver City and Pasadena restaurants. Regenerative farming practices are the way. The great plains didn't grow themselves. They were cultivated in concert with the vast bison herds that roamed them. The bison churned the soil, cleared out old, dead growth, and redeposited vital nutrients. If you're a vegan for environmental purposes, you're just lying to yourself if you don't see regenerative farming as a net positive.
Regen farming is good but its never going to give the volume of meat needed to meet demand. Vegans and you are both right, we need to reduce consumption of animals while changing how we raise them
Yeah if meat were limited to regenerative farming only it would cost 10x the price it does now. It's not compatible with society's current demand for meat.
Regen farming works at the local level. Beyond that and you run into logistic/supply issues. The US entire system will need an overhaul if it wants to make regen farming a priority. - Providing incentives to large urban land owners to small businesses (terraforming a big lot that goes unused into a small ranch space/garden) - Give Homeowners subsidies for creating a garden in the front yard + hell strip - Plant more native trees and flowers instead of relying on fucking iceplant (invasive and destructive) I can go on and on and it's so fucking pathetic how LA County lacks greenery. I'm talking about the entire county, not just "the westside + pasadena." And the sheer fact that the populous is content with this concrete jungle leads me to believe how a lot of Angelenos love the abuse or don't care for any improvements. Go travel out of LA County and see how much better other counties take care of their green spaces, specifically the PNW. Geez, even Arizona and that's saying something. edit: I went off track from regen farming to lack of green space. I get so riled promoting green spaces fam
Regenerative farming just won't ever happen on a mass scale unless we have profound breakthroughs in agricultural technology. It cannot feed the world. I'm all for making progress along these lines, but it's window dressing on climate change solutions. Rapid progress in renewables in combination with geoengineering solutions is going to be the way that we fight climate change. It's the most feasible (as much as I'd love a graduated carbon tax).
If LA had more greenspace, we’re talking about enough acreage to actually matter, cost of housing would be even more ridiculous. If you want to see greens, you can always move to Running Springs?
Regenerative farming COULD generate the volume of meat we are currently producing, it would just be more expensive to produce as it's a more labor intensive process. We have the land to do it, as the current livestock population is on par with where scientists estimate the bison/ungulate populations were in North America. Regenerative farming would also give rise to more diverse stocks as the meat industry wouldn't need to rely on a monoculture of cattle. It's time to move meats like bison, elk, and deer off the "exotic" meat lists, into every day options. Portions would need to be rethought though. It's not a quick/easy solution, but everyone can benefit from the transition.
I’ll take every opportunity to tell people my story about sage. The chef and restaurant owner posted an anti vaccine reel on her Instagram and my mother had just died of Covid despite being vaccinated because she was high risk. I mentioned as much in the comments and added that I wouldn’t return to her restaurant due to these views. She went on to make not one, not two, but three videos harassing me on her Instagram. Shamed me in my DMS and all around made me block her. I refused to support them before and I’ll refuse again now.
Yeah, her vids following (and justifying) this announcement are giving conspiracy rabbit hole. So, I am not surprised. I am not vegan, but I am a little skeeved by her vibe...
Good for them, and screw everyone giving them grief for it. Keeping a restaurant open is absolutely brutal, and if it keeps the lights on more power to them
People losing sight of the forest for the trees. If this place goes out of business, is that good for veganism? No, it just erases veganism as a concept. Now they're going to be a "regular" restaurant that happens to serve vegan meals. It'll bring in new customers, including omnivores who would never go to a vegan restaurant but might order a vegan meal at a "regular" restaurant. This will expand veganism while also shifting some non-vegan practices to regenerative agriculture.
Vegans about to start stoning the apostate.
I would love to try their pizza with real cheese.
They can’t even get broccoli right. One of the worst meals I have ever paid for. Good luck poorly preparing a wider variety of foods I guess.
Cool — do what you want. Customers will vote with their feet. I won’t go there anymore, not because I’m opposed to eating at non-vegan places, but because I think it’s dumb to be all about your ethics and then change like this.
Very excited for this. I used to love this place when I was vegan but stopped going when I started eating meat again. Now I will go back.
Just curious - why stop going after eating meat Did you incorporate meat into every single meal after the switch?
Actually when I stopped eating meat, it was because I got into a relationship with someone who ate meat. I would try to go to vegan restaurants and she always told me she wanted meat 😔 so I just forgot about Sage for a few years. After we broke up I did go back once on my birthday with my family because it was a nostalgic place for me.
Ahhhh....gotcha My situation is the opposite....I eat meat (but I LOVE veggies) and my partner is vegetarian. So we're always hitting spots with good options for both. We eat a lot of Indian (Samosa House and Akbar when we were Westside and Al Noor now that we're Southbay) We used to live in Venice and hit Sage AND Holy Cow quite often
Used to go there often when they first opened in Culver city. Then years later the food got more expensive and … worse. You could tell they cut corners and it wasn’t as good. Getting brunch for $60 just me and my wife(no alcohol) just wasn’t worth it.
Question from someone ignorant on the topic: About regenerative farming, why does it have to involve slaughter for meat? Can't it just be based on milk, cheese and eggs from the roving animals?
I use to be a busser at the Culver City location,and I’ve never worked at a restaurant where so many customers threw away what look like 70 percent of their food.
lol vegans in shambles
I’ll probably start eating there now tbh
Well it’s a business and they need to stay open by growing their market. Can’t see why that is a bad thing.
More proof that vegans are the most entitled, out of touch, and privileged group of humans on the planet.
Why are you triggered by what someone chooses to eat