Real Food Daily, Vegan Cuisine for All of Us, Opens

Ann Gentry, cookbook author, cable TV chef and founder of the popular organic vegan restaurant Real Food Daily, opened the third location of her restaurant in the South Lake Avenue on May 22.

Real Food Daily has become a destination with a loyal following from the someday to the everyday vegan, celebrities, trendsetting young eaters to the mature diner seeking gourmet health supportive cuisine.

The 3,600 square foot restaurant will seat 90 guests and boasts an outdoor patio which seats 25.

Restaurant specialty menu items includes “Not-Chos” (tortilla chips, melted cashew cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, tofu sour cream- $13.75), “The Club Triple Decker” (seitan, tempeh bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, vegenaise, sourdough bread- $13.75), “Tac-O’ the Town” (corn tortillas, seasoned seitan, onions, peppers, guacamole, pico de gallo, tofu sour cream, Spanish rice, black beans- $14.25), and delectable vegan desserts that also include gluten-free options such as chocolate cake, cookies and cupcakes,

Gentry, who also hosts “Naturally Delicious,” a popular cooking show on Veria TV (seen on Dish Network and Verizon’s FiOS network), says she has spent the past twenty-five years striving to raise the standard of vegetarian cooking in this country.

Guests at the pre-opening party enjoyed passed appetizers and organic wines and drinks. [Photo: James Macpherson]

“Over the years, people living in Pasadena and the surrounding areas drive to my restaurant on La Cienega Blvd.,” Gentry said Sunday at a pre-opening event. “We have a comment card, and they are always screaming out ‘Please come further East,’ ‘Please come to Pasadena,’ that was a big factor.”

“I thought as a Santa Monica business owner that [Pasadena] had that same feel – that community feel, people living a great life, a healthy lifestyle, and I always thought that Pasadena would be a great fit for Real Food Daily,” Gentry continued, as she stood with her husband Rob Jacobs greeting guests.

Among the guests at the private pre-opening party was Sat Garg, Design Principal of Akar Studios, who transformed what had been a Bob’s Big Boy burger restaurant into a sleek, modern and sophisticated eatery with a bar and wood-slatted walls. Gentry was also joined by her husband Rob Jacobs in welcoming guests at the event.

“I have been imagining this day since I moved to southern California in 1987,” said Gentry, adding that “I want to share Real Food Daily with not only vegans, but warmly embrace all residents of Pasadena. There is something delicious for everyone.”

Gentry opened her flagship Santa Monica location in 1993 and a second location in West Hollywood in 1998.

The Pasadena location for Real Food Daily is at 899 E. Del Mar Blvd. judy east of South Lake Avenue. For more, see  www.RealFood.com .

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