By Rachel Heller
Carnivores, cover your ears: the best bacon-cheeseburger in Los Angeles contains no bacon, beef or cheese. Instead, it’s a sumptuous heap of seared seitan (“wheat meat”), caramelized onions, crispy tempeh “bacon” and cashew “cheddar,” all smothered in ranch and BBQ sauces with fresh romaine and battered pickle chips on a whole grain bun.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not the only miracle chef Tanya Petrovna seems capable of pulling off. Another biggie is turning Native Foods, the vegan café she founded in the desert 16 years ago, into a thriving SoCal chain spanning L.A., Riverside and Orange Counties.
Native Foods opened its seventh location in Culver City this past fall, joining a trove of other hip, eco-conscious eateries cropping up in the revitalized downtown locale. And patrons have been quick to catch on, flocking to the rust-hued restaurant for its hearty “Earth Bowls,” overstuffed sandwiches and wraps, soups and salads.
With items like the cheeseburger, reuben sandwich and taco salad populating the menu, it’s easy to forget that every dish is 100 percent animal product-free. The Scorpion Burger boasts a blackened tempeh patty (iron-rich soybeans and millet), chipotle sauce and fresh veggie trimmings. The Portobello and Sausage Burger marries grilled portobellos and sweet roasted garlic with seitan sausage (wheat protein), chopped tomatoes and rich pumpkin seed pesto.
Generous and piping-hot, Native Foods’ Earth Bowls are the perfect way to stave off L.A.’s late-winter chill. Packed with organic steamed veggies, jasmine rice or quinoa, and roasted nuts, these colorful dishes take “comfort food” to a sustainable level. Try the Soul Bowl, topped with southern-fried Native Chicken (soy, wheat and pea protein) and served with homemade cornbread; or the Hollywood Bowl, with ginger-seared tofu and tangy Thai peanut sauce.
The “meat” of any dish, made from scratch daily, is what takes center stage, but Petrovna’s zesty dressings almost steal the show. Her Moroccan ginger marinade, lemon-garlic sauce and creamy wasabi-mayo all pack a flavorful punch. Even non-vegans, who nosh on the cheesecake, cupcakes and chocolate pie won’t miss their eggs or buttermilk at all.
But what sets Native Foods apart isn’t just the quality of its cuisine—it’s the scope of Petrovna’s vision. Since founding her first café in Palm Springs in 1994, “Chef Tanya” has taken her enthusiasm for vegan cooking and vision for healthful living across the SoCal map, from Westwood to Tustin to Costa Mesa. Native Foods is now one of the largest lines of vegan restaurants in the country. Drop by one of her seasonal free cooking demos and it’s not hard to see why.
Her fare inspires the kind of devotion that rouses 75 Angelenos before 9:30 a.m. 
on a rainy Saturday for a menu of polenta pesto bites and red chard burek. At the head of her spacious Culver City venue, the blonde-ponytailed dynamo turns part chef, part yoga instructor, urging her audience to stretch their shoulders before settling in to take notes. Afterward, she doles out hugs and inscribes cookbooks (she’s written two) with her signature motto: “Eat peace.”
All of this adds up to a recipe for word-of-mouth, grassroots growth, which Petrovna hopes will propel Native Foods across the U.S. as it continues to expand.
“My goal is to educate people on healthy food, the organic lifestyle and harmony with animals and the earth,” said the chef, who renounced meat at age 18 after a school project on animal cruelty. “If I could do that on every street corner, it could actually change the way Americans think and eat.”
Native Foods also puts its money where its mouth is, donating to Animal Acres, the Surfrider Foundation and the Farm Sanctuary.
Ultimately, Petrovna’s goal isn’t to peddle vegan food to the populace—it’s to promote good food that just happens to be vegan. “I’m not doing anything new,” she said of the brand’s success. “If McDonald’s can do it, why can’t we?”
All dishes $9.95 or less. 9343 Culver Blvd., Culver City, 90232. 310.559.3601
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