Organic Vegetarian Japanese: Shojin

Nestled in the Little Tokyo Shopping Center is an organic natural oasis of vegetarian Japanese cuisine.

It's called Shojin, and, if you or your friends are vegetarians, you should really visit.

Cranberry and apple detox ($3.95).

I'm not really sure how this drink "detoxes," but I found it just sweet enough and rather refreshing. The menu told me it was "pure, raw, natural, unrefined, and chemical-free." Sounds good to me!

Yuzu ponzu seitan -- pan-fried seitan with grated seitan and yuzu citrus soy sauce ($6.95).

Delightfully chewy.

Pumpkin croquette -- crunchy pumpkin and tofu croquette with Shojin homemade tomato sauce ($6.95).


It's fried! How can you go wrong? Yummeh!

Okara cake -- deep-fried vegan cake made with soybeans, cashews, shiitake mushrooms, and garlic ($6.95).

Another fried treat! The texture might not appeal to everyone, but I liked these cakes.

Avocado and tomato soba -- buckwheat noodles in cold soup topped with mixed greens, avocados, tomatoes, kaiware and wasabi mayonnaise ($10.50).


I'm generally not a fan of cold noodles, but we did have this on a warm day, so it made sense. My friend H.C., who frequents Shojin, liked this a lot.

Spicy roll -- cucumber, avocado, and shiso roll with wasabi mayo and spicy sauce ($5.75).

Not particularly interesting but fine.

Cheesecake with triple berries ($6.95).

This looks so cute, right? Sadly, it turns out the vegan desserts suck. Blech.

Shojin Tropico -- yellow sponge cake with a hint of key lime, layered with coconut cream, mango confit, topped with toasted coconut, and served with vanilla ice cream ($7.75).

Better. But still not worth your time. Go elsewhere for sweets!

Shojin is special. I'm not aware of any other restaurant like it. It's not something I would eat every day because -- let's be real here -- the food is not as flavor-packed as meat-laden meals are.

And you know I like flavor.

It is, however, a great place for a nice light break from eating animals and animal products. Bring your vegetarian and vegan friends here. They'll like it, and you will, too.