I always humble myself with crossroads. It is in fact, gourmet vegan food run by chef Tal. This is the place my partner and I will go to treat ourselves once a year. Legit, their valentines courses were absolutely amazing and this is one of the only places that I feel like you actually get what you pay for.
As a Canadian, none of these prices seem high. Yes, our dollar is not the same, but our food is just all so expensive that these prices seem normal, reasonable almost for a fancy vegan place
I live in Memphis, which is under the average cost of living in the US, and while I certainly don’t like the prices or eat like that often, I honestly don’t know where I could go here to have anything like the chicken and waffles or the pasta for that kind of price.
Yep so true ! I left Canada but even when we left ... the prices were skyrocketed. A single broccoli head was 12$ at our only and local store. 12 $ !!!!! So many Americans in big cities don't know how easy they have it. This isn't a comparison, this is reality. Sadly ...
Merle, we LOVE your beautiful Libra soul! I so look forward to all of your videos, no matter what you're doing! I miss your singing though, if I'm honest! Thanks for showing us another, better way
This video was super interesting! I don't have another celebrity suggestion. However, I would love for you to try one of Derek Sarno's recipes. He is one of my favorite vegan chefs to watch. ❤
@@MerleONealyou’ve never seen the wicked kitchen brothers? I gave my bf their cookbook as a present one year, the hardly ever use fake meat, they are mushroom heavy, and they even have a line of products
The Kourtney impression at the end made me giggle snort :P This sounds nuts, but as expensive as a lot of this stuff is, it feels like the norm these days for fast food no matter where it is. Here in New Jersey, it feels that way. I'd just rather put the money into mom and pop shops instead of big names. Thats just me.
Right, like by the time I order Ubereats or Doordash, I'm pretty much paying $25 for my food. This seemed right in line, other than you still have to pick it up.
I live in NYC and the place across the street from me has $26 chicken and waffles. The whole time I was thinking these prices just sound like kind of normal restaurant prices, which is why I don't go to restaurants hardly ever. (Except for the Erewhon stuff, which did seem expensive for grocery store prepared food.)
If you want a delicious vegan chicken and waffles experience, check out The Wild Chive in Long Beach! It's a little pricey as well, which is kinda to be expected at most vegan restaurants these days. But not as expensive as Crossroads, and the portions are generous. Their chicken and waffles dish is probably twice the size of Crossroads'. I usually have leftovers. Make sure to ask for a side of their housemade hot sauce too! Soooo gooood
Prices seem pretty on par with elsewhere. At least here on the east coast places regularly charge $10+ for a smoothie, and I recently spent $40-50 on two plates, a kombucha and a lemonade at a vegan restaurant. Erewhon seems about the same price as the salad bar at Whole Foods.
My wife and I haven't eaten out at a restaurant in 20 years for this reason, just ungodly expensive and frankly I can make better at home. I make my own Fettuccine noodles from fresh milled Khorasan wheat berries which is not gluten free but it has about 1/3rd the gluten and being an ancient grain has a different type of gluten which is much easier digestible for those with that sensitivity. A huge serving for two people cost me about .20 cents to make. I make a bolognese sauce from mushrooms, cauliflower, walnuts, I grow my own gourmet mushrooms and the sauce cost probably about $2-$3 tops. I mill my own wheat for garlic bread, a huge loaf cost me about $1. So what I make at home for two huge servings is about $3.50 plus a decent bottle of wine that I usually get from Trader Joes for way less than $10 a bottle, so less than $13 for TWO meals plus wine vs $24 no wine for ONE is a no brainer.
@@thecerealsong i can make a batch of Fettuccine, the dough about 10 minutes, let sit 30 minutes, make the noodles in about 10 minutes, let dry until I am ready to cook them which is usually 30 minutes. Cook them takes 2 minutes. So basically if I want to eat Fettuccine at 5:30 I can start making it at 4. And the actual time I am spending is only about 20 minutes. A large loaf of bread last 3 to 4 days. Takes about 35 minutes of actual work to make a loaf of bread, rest of the 90 minutes is just letting it rise twice and 20 minutes to bake it. And then do it again every 4 to 5 days.
It can be "time consuming" but preparing a delicious meal for (or with) the love of you life makes it all worth it. Not only you are saving money, but also spending quality time with them. I do enjoy going to some fancy restaurants once in a while to treat myself, however, in my country food is not as expensive and the portions are big haha so I don't mind it that much
@@helenvelasquez5154and should live longer because I only buy the best 100% organic or grow it myself . Same with our little dog, my wife makes all of her food and treats fresh from the best ingredients we can get. Cost more for her, for us it actually cost less to eat well. But if she would have been eating bagged kibble the past 14 years I seriously doubt she would still be with us.
@@nunyabizz50 omg that's so lovely! My family dog lived 16 years and we also fed him homemade food. My dog's siblings lived around 8 to 10 years and they all had "traditional" dog food. So there is proof haha I fully agree with you!
Girl, you gotta go to Smith+Deli or Smith+Daughters if you ever go to Australia. Forgetting the fact that Travis Barker and Billie Eilish basically ate there the entire time they were touring in Melbourne, it's SO GOOD. Their vegan cacio e pepe is the best.
I make vegan bolognese at home all the time and it's so cheap but also delicious and filling, so I don't think I could ever spend that much on a bolognese, but, it is fun to try the expensive food now and again as a rare treat I suppose.
Good video, but Travis Barker was in a horrific plane crash a few years ago, nearly died and had a TON of skin graft surgeries, that may be why he seems tired
Just had to come and see if anyone noticed that the background music when making the protein shake is the same music used for the hey bear sensory videos.
7:38 I don't know him or his music, so maybe this is just him, but he's saying he loves, but there is zero emotion in his face, not in his eyes or anything.... I think the Cardassian family are a family of incubui and succubi.
To be fair, when restaurants charge the prices that they do, it’s because they have to pay rent and employees salaries among other costs, so of course it will be more expensive than making it at home! That being said, I will gladly pay more for an experience that saves me the cooking time or it’s not something I can cook myself at home! What I hate is paying for mediocre food!
Newsflash: It's 2024, you can like the taste of something but not like other aspects of it, like the cruelty of animal products or effect on the environment. Or you can enjoy wine, but not like the effect of alcohol so instead you turn to non-alch substitutes. Why are you on this channel if you don't understand this concept? Great video Merle!
@@M0chalattaI'm so used to the size of gluten-free meals (especially sandwiches), that I didn't even realize that it's smaller than "normal" portions. 😢
When I visited for LA, we went there for a fancy brunch and I already knew it was going to be expensive, but as someone who lives in the south, I HAD to get get the chicken and waffles. The way my jaw dropped when they brought out HALF a waffle for that price... To be fair, it was pretty filling and I don't think I could have ate a whole waffle and 4 pieces of chicken, but STILL.
More like 90$ for two lol now in Montreal, my pal and his husband cannot go to the restaurant without spending less than that for a small meal and a bev. Outrageous. Outrageous. I don't have words. I am complaining but I will, it's totally unacceptable ! When I think about people not even being able to be fed .....
I just bought the vegan queso hot sauce from Heatonist and that's really good on my breakfast sandwiches. Eating like Pamela Anderson could be a fun one to try.
Also make Natalie Portman and Alicia Silverstone recipes, for a video, oh, and then, watch one of their movies and give a review. Dinner and a movie :)
The videos I remember the most were those you made from Tasty about trying simple vegan meals. You can try vegan meals from other countries, which use real veggies and food. For example, springrolls from Vietnam (fried and raw), the special thing is the peanut sauce, japchae from Korea, and rich veggie dip from veggies for dipping (those are my common vegan meals when I want to eat meatless). The diet in this video sounds super expensive to me. And if possible, can you make a video sharing how to be vegan and obtain full nutrients at the same time? Thank you!
Oh, Erewhon...I was in LA a few months ago helping someone with a move, and we went to Erewhon once bc it was nearby. All we bought were a few groceries (spent nearly $50 on not very many things), then spent over $40 on 2 smoothies (and about half an hour waiting for them to be made) Yeah, $20 smoothies. They were good, but I don't think I would do regularly if I lived there. Strawberry Probiotic and Malibu Mango. I probably would have those once a week if they were half the price. Good thing there was a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods nearby, as well as some smaller grocery stores. I live in a fairly expensive area myself (Bay Area), but even those prices took me aback. Gotta say, LA as a whole does have some seriously amazing food, and this is coming from someone who lives in an area with amazing food already.
What kind of chicken and waffles are those? There's no Gladys Knights Chicken n' Waffles close by? You'd get larger thighs, bigger waffles and better sides.
I hate how expensive vegan food is everywhere. How are people supposed to want to eat it when they can get a $5 whole chicken at Sams. Thanks for taking 1 for the team.
Eating out at places that specifically market to vegans is expensive. Just remember at the end of the day that any plant is vegan. Think about the foods you're used to eating and just cut out the animal products, there's still plenty of things left to eat. The hardest part is you kinda have to learn how to cook again and how to reformat your meals to not being meat centric.
@necoxus1061 I am a plant based chef and I am struggling to find a good price point for my patrons. I don't see the point of charging $24 for anything. That will not keep them coming back if anything they will not want to eat vegan at all is what I meant with my comment. These price points will discourage angone. Like literally veggies rice and beans are so cheap. I'll never understand.
@@gabrielaherrera3665 I see what you're saying now, that makes a lot of sense. I live in a small southern-ish town and I think a lot about trying to open a late night vegan diner. The fun thing about the diner format is it would let me throw together all kinds of random menu items and let people choose what they want. I feel like overall breakfast is a category that vegans can do well in with a restaurant. Especially if you can do some sort of house made seiten sausage or something similar.
You’re a Libra also💜🤗🤗 no wonder I love your energy from tasty days. Your videos are the best. Although I’m not 100% vegan yet I have, you’re helping. Ps I’m Oct 5 ahhhhhh
Celebrities: Alicia Silverstone, Natalie Portman, maybe even Lizzo o Madelaine Petsch. If you are looking for high protein options, see bodybuilder Brian Turner. Ps. I make a killer vegan bolognese with mushrooms and lentils 👌
Sadly I guessed right on the chicken and waffles being $25 😭 I get what you're saying about using Impossible Meat. While we do enjoy it, you'd hope for so much money maybe they'd make something themselves instead of falling back on Impossible or Beyond.
Wow i thought for that kind of money you would get Something you cant get any where else, something special. I can't really compare prices since i live in Europe, but that much money for just okay food? That is wild
My account is -$2 right now, I ain’t got money to not realize I’ve been spending $30+ on a mysterious subscription. Can’t afford to give away money to corporations like that. 🤷🏽♀️
OMG, you almost lost five dollars when that waffle dropped! I've been to Crossroads vegas 3 times now and so over the price. At first I was paying for the fancy experience but the options aren't that elevated.
every meal being a meat alternative is... Like there are non-vegans who's eating habits are not THAT meat-inspired. And the high-processed fake-meats all the time are just not good for you :( !
I think it’s ridiculous. That people are eating fake food that supposed to taste like the real thing. Just eat the real fucking thing you know you want a cheeseburger a real cowmooing cheeseburger.
I like that you eat like a real person. It seems so scripted when food people use a bizarre amount of adjectives to describe a thing they made. Or speak in caps lock all video
$22 for that much (healthy) food in LA is actually a deal these days lmao the Erewhon hot bar is low key not a bad deal. Their other vegan stuff like the lasagna (turmeric reg and also the eggplant one) is much better than that fake meat stuff.
What you said about impossible meat is super valid. I like that more companies are getting vegan options but at the end of the day they all taste similar because it has the beyond undertone.
The prices don’t seem too bad considering it was good vegan food. What makes me mad is when the only vegan option is a giant pretzel on the appetizer menu and that costs $12-14. I always think the same thing about getting ice cream out…you could make 4 sundaes for that price! Thanks for doing the work for us!
totally agree with you about the fake meat. The thing that bothers me the most about the impossible meat, is some places made amazing veggie burgers, but stopped serving them once the impossible meat came around (also pretending like there were other similar items out there before it)
