The Artisanal Brewers Collective Brings Vegan Grub To LA Pubs

There's no doubt that vegan cuisine is a staple of Los Angeles. But now the plant-based lifestyle has a new home: in pubs.

This is thanks to the Artisanal Brewers Collective (ABC), which owns popular LA spots such as Brennan's Pub in Marina Del Rey, Bluebird Brasserie in Sherman Oaks, The Stalking Horse in West LA, Mohawk Bend in Echo Park, and Beelman's in Downtown Los Angeles.

Tony Yanow, well-known for founding the Golden Road Brewery (which he sold in November 2015), is one of the co-founders of ABC, which is made up of eight members. He is also a vegetarian who follows an almost-entirely plant-based diet.

"We want to serve really great food, surprisingly good food in pub atmospheres, and still comfortable and fun to eat but super high quality," Yanow said. "There are options for everybody, and that's our goal."

[[{"fid":"5006077","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default media-wysiwyg-align-center","data-delta":"1"}}]]

Of ABC's current properties, Beelman's has a fully plant-based menu, including dishes such as a Loco Moco Bowl using Impossible Meat, several Impossible burgers, Tachos with tater tots, and vegan Van Leeuwen's ice cream. Bluebird Brasserie has a menu with several vegan items, such as the Cassoulet made with Impossible meat and a housemade seitan steak.

The Stalking Horse serves up many vegan versions of standard pub fare, including vegan fish and chips, vegan Welsh rarebit, vegan Yorkshire pudding. But the best-selling vegan dish of them all is the buffalo cauliflower, which originated at ABC's Mohawk Bend. The dish began a trend that continues to this day.

[[{"fid":"5006078","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"2":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""},"3":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default media-wysiwyg-align-center","data-delta":"3"}}]]

"In LA now, there are so many new places that are doing it, that now you don't just have to be vegan. You have to be good and vegan," Yanow said. "For us, we don't want to distinguish, like we don't want to be like, 'Oh, your vegan thing is that thing in the box at the bottom of the menu.' We want it to be you order what you want, and most of our stuff is available both ways."

Yanow first started included vegan menu items at his first property, ABC's Tony's Darts Away in Burbank. The menu became half-vegan and half-not – and it was super successful.

[[{"fid":"5006079","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"4":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default media-wysiwyg-align-center","data-delta":"4"}}]]

"I just made it a place where I could eat because there aren't too many pubs in the world, where I could eat a decent meal. Having French fries and a pub side salad is not really satisfying for me, and I like to sit at the pub and drink for a long time and make it a big part of my day or my week."

But whether their customers are vegan or not, ABC just aims to give their clientele a delicious, well-rounded experience at its properties.

"We want to make amazing tasting, amazing food experiences for people and they're not all going to be vegan, but the ones that are vegan, we want people to come in and eat what they want, and if what they want is meat, we have it," Yanow said. "If they want plant-based, we have it. If we can get somebody who would have normally eaten something with meat to eat plant-based, well, that's a little bit better for the planet and for their bodies and for everybody in general."

[[{"fid":"5006080","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"5":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""},"6":{"format":"default","alignment":"center","field_image_alt[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_title[und][0][value]":false,"field_image_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_image_caption[und][0][format]":"filtered_html","field_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Courtesy%20Artisanal%20Brewers%20Collective","field_image_credit[und][0][format]":"image_credit","field_has_syndication_rights[und]":"1","field_licensor[und]":"","field_license_id[und][0][value]":""}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default media-wysiwyg-align-center","data-delta":"6"}}]]