Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Heather Golden Ray and Jenny Engel at Hey, Sunshine Kitchen, their casual plant-based eatery in ...
[+] Culver City. @James Michael Juarez Sometimes dreams really do come true. For L.
A.-based vegan chefs and sisters Jenny Engel and Heather Golden Ray, a lifelong dream became reality when the dynamic duo opened Hey Sunshine Kitchen , a casual plant-based eatery in Culver City. After 12 years at the helm of Spork Foods , one of L.
A.’s most acclaimed vegan caterers and cooking schools, with clients that included the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, Engel and Golden Ray not only to serve up plant-based food delicious enough to convert carnivores, they set out to make the world a better place. “For us, this is so much more than a business,” says Engel.
“We’re setting an intention that we have to do better for the planet.” On a quiet corner in Culver City, now emerging as a hot culinary destination, Hey Sunshine Kitchen features outdoor seating and a friendly neighborhood vibe, attracting young couples with dogs, families and older folks, along with an obvious cadre of regulars who are greeted like long-lost friends or family. One lunch patron I spoke with said she keeps coming back because “it’s so good, I want to try everything.
” Indeed, vegan food never tasted so good. Over the pandemic, the vivacious chefs created a menu of dishes built around “crunch, flavor and color,” says Engel. “We thought about what we couldn’t get in LA, being vegan for 24+ years.
What do we love to eat? Where are the holes? We wanted to create recipes that are approachable but unique.” Divinely delicious non-GMO plant-based bowls, tacos, and fruit and herbal drinks from Hey, Sunshine ..
. [+] Kitchen. @James Michael Juarez MORE FOR YOU ‘The Boys’ Dethroned In Amazon Prime Video’s Top 10 List By A New Show ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 8 Review: A Hugely Underwhelming Season Finale Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Monday, August 5th The result is nothing short of plant-based perfection.
The Hey, Sunshine Kitchen menu features bright, colorful bowls (all gluten-free); salads; tacos and sandwiches. Signature dishes come with a million extras such as housemade pickles, marinades and sauces made from scratch with “real, clean, non-GMO ingredients” and “massaged kale,” a technique they rely on to make the leaves tender, says Golden Ray. The Mediterranean Chickpea Sandwich–a fan favorite–features a crisp patty served with slaw, cucumber and lemon-herb aioli on a brioche or gluten-free bun.
Sweet potato fries–light and super-crispy–are a standout side dish. (No traditional fries here because, according to Golden Ray, it’s difficult to source non-GMO white potatoes.) Housemade drinks are out-of-control delicious, and rotate to include wild blueberry or strawberry mint lemonade and spiced hibiscus iced tea.
“We all eat three times every day,” says Engel. “When you are well-nourished, you can make better choices for yourself. You’re more connected to the planet.
And you’re setting an intention to do good.” function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.cnxel) { window.
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They created the Pollinator Initiative, which brings on a corporate sponsor quarterly to donate to Friends of Ballona Wetlands , a local nonprofit whose mission is to boost the pollinator population and more. “We’re here to serve our community, which includes trees, our water supply, and pollinators, which we consider part of our community–and they need help,” says Golden Ray. “One in every three bites of food is because of a pollinator.
Without them we can’t survive.” Engel and Golden Ray are co-authors of two plant-based cookbooks, Vegan 101 and Spork Fed , where they share hundreds of delicious recipes, and they have educated thousands of home cooks and professional chefs the world over. On a cozy street corner with outdoor seating, the bright, casual and inviting Hey, Sunshine Kitchen .
.. [+] serves unique and delicious non-GMO plant-based fast food.
@James Michael Juarez In celebration of National Wellness Month, on their one-year anniversary (August 10), Hey Sunshine Kitchen is offering 15 percent off all food, along with free drinks, and at 10:30 am, they will be hosting a lecture on pollinators by Mary Simun, VP, Biologist & Education Lead at South Bay Parkland Conservancy . “Wellness is the food you eat, the thoughts you think, the people you surround yourself with,” says Golden Ray. “We encourage people to connect with the earth, think good thoughts, run a compassionate business, give back to your community and yourself at the same time.
” “We want people to be healthier, as long as it tastes good,” says Engel. “’Hey, Sunshine’ is such a nice greeting. We want to create a warm and welcoming place with food that helps people shine from the inside out.
” Engel and Golden Ray are already looking for a second LA location, and envision opening multiple locations across the country. And when they do, they want to bring on a team of botanists to consult on incorporating local plants from different regions onto the menus. “We’re dreaming,” says Golden Ray.
“Why not dream big?”.
