Where to Eat: Rice

I love Japanese food and never tire of sushi rolls (sans the fish, of course!).  Shojin in downtown LA is my favorite place to go for vegan sushi.  The food is phenomenal - creative, fresh and delicious.  Unfortunately, I don't make my way out there much.  So, I was thrilled recently when a friend told me about Rice in Manhattan Beach.  I ate lunch there with my vegan foodie partner-in-crime (thank you, Nataly) and was not disappointed.  They offer vegan and non-vegan fare, with an impressive whole menu of vegan rolls.  Their salads were equally delicious.  They also have a whole ramen and vegetable menu that I didn't even get to try.  I am so excited to have a vegan sushi option in my South Bay backyard.  Here's the info.

Info: 820 Manhattan Avenue, Suite 105, Manhattan Beach (Entrance is on 9th Street), www.ricemb.com, (310) 798-7722

Setting: It's in a office building structure, but don't let that steer you away.  It's small and quaint inside.

Service: Super attentive, traditional Japanese

Kids menu: No specific menu but, very kid friendly.  In fact, there were some kids dining with a family at the table behind us.

Prices: Rolls are $12; Salads are $6 or $10, depending on the size.  Their vegetable menu averages $6 per dish and ramen is $11.  They also offer lunch specials which include a roll, salad, and soup.  Dessert is $4-6.

What we ordered: Nat and I both got a lunch special so we could each try a different roll and salad and share.  We like to maximize our options!  I ordered the Yellow Brick Road Roll (crispy tofu on avocado, cucumber, asparagus roll with sweet and spicy sauce on top) and Nat got the Moon Light Roll (asparagus, avocado, and cucumber roll with soy paper, with spicy tofu on top).  For salads, we shared the Quinoa Arugula and Beach (sea vegetables and kelp noodles on mixed greens) salads.  Everything was delicious.  Great miso soup too!

The Quinoa Arugula Salad

The Beach Salad

The Yellow Brick Road Roll

The Moon Light Roll