Not too long ago, Hollywood got an eco-friendly pizza joint — a family-owned Pizza Fusion franchise serving delicious pizzas with organic crusts, organic and natural meats, and lots of vegan and gluten-free options. Pizza Fusion Hollywood is no more — but the family behind the spot’s still serving delicious eco-friendly eats at the same spot under a new name and with an expanded menu.

The new spot: EVO Kitchen. The remade restaurant still boasts organic crust pizzas and retains its eco-creds — but the menu now includes more upscale entrees and unique menu items crafted by Michele Orlando, one of the co-owners of EVO (her brother and mother are the other co-owners).

Among those one-of-a-kind dishes is the Fig Tapenade — served with house-made hummus and raw veggies. Get this appetizer and you’ll be treated to a healthy tapenade treat that combines the sweet jamminess of figs with the smooth rich taste of kalamata olives.

Pescatarians won’t want to miss the Salmon Filet — a generous portion of sustainably farmed fish served with a delicious mushroom and zucchini sautee and roasted potatoes.

EVO offers many of the popular desserts — like the vegan gluten-free brownie — that were on the old Pizza Fusion menu. But for my last visit, I tried something new: the Black Cherry Float with vegan coconut sorbet, a creamilicious sweet drink that comes with an extra sidecar of natural black cherry soda.

Next time I visit, I plan to try the Breakfast Pizza — topped with breakfast favorites like organic eggs, natural bacon or sausage, and potato!

Best of all, EVO Kitchen still offers something for everyone. Vegan and gluten-free menu choices are plentiful. And picky eaters can always substitute the cheeses for the vegan Daiya cheese or the organic crust for the gluten-free crust.

EVO Kitchen. 7950 W. Sunset Blvd. #104, Los Angeles. 323.375.3390

Photo of Raw Veggies with Hummus and Fig Tapenade by Zach Behrens; all other photos by Siel

>> The next Los Angeles EcoTuesday, a green business networking event, will feature Juan Matute, director of the UCLA Program on Local Government Climate Action Policies, as the speaker. Be there Tues., Aug. 24 from 7 pm at Casa Del Mar Hotel & Resort, 1910 Ocean Way, Santa Monica. Cost: $5.

>> Don’t miss the Streetsblog L.A. Re-Launch Party and Fundraiser! There’ll be food, drinks a great silent auction — and me! Be there Wed., Aug. 25 from 7 pm to 11:30 pm at 11555 National Blvd., Los Angeles. Cost: $20 suggested donation — but don’t let lack of funds keep you away if you plan to bid on the silent auction items!

>> de LaB and LA Commons have put together Vertical Veggies: Urban Gardening and Cooking at Homegirl Cafe — a delicious evening of urban farming, cooking, and eating. Take gardening and cooking workshops then enjoy an all-inclusive dinner from Homegirl Cafe made with produce from their on-site vertical garden while enjoying live music. The fun sprouts Thurs., Aug. 26 from 6 pm to 9 pm at Homegirl Cafe, 130 Bruno St., in Chinatown, Los Angeles. Cost: $15 for dinner plus gardening or cooking workshop. RSVP required to hello@designeastoflabrea.org.

>> Greenpeace wants to see you at a Hollywood DIE-IN for Chemical Security, a gruesome but green-sounding flash mob of sorts. “1 in 3 Americans live at risk from severe injury or death in the event of a leak or terrorist attack at a high risk chemical plant. Here in Los Angeles there are 16… high-risk chemical plants that threaten millions all over our city!” say the event organizers on their website. If you’d like to temporarily die with them, head over on Sat., Aug. 28 from 11 am to noon to the Hollywood and Highland Metro Stop in Los Angeles.

>> Local foodies won’t want to miss The Food Rendezvous, the first monthly gathering for local food lovers. There’ll be local artisan food, chefs’ demos, cooking contests, cookbook swaps, and more. Be there Sat., Aug. 28 from 4 pm to 10 pm at SPARC, 685 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles. Cost: $10 in advance or $15 at the door.

Plug in any zip code to find out the average amount of monthly spending per household for transportation in that neighborhood. If you live in walker-friendly Santa Monica or Hollywood, you’ll end up paying a lot less a month to get around than if you live in a neighborhood with cheaper rents but few amenities and bad transit connections.

I was surprised to see that Abego’s transportation costs are so much lower in Hollywood than Santa Monica — until I found out that household income, presumably higher in Santa Monica, gets factored into the equation. I tried to delve deeper into exactly how Abogo did its calculations to see if I could take average household income out of the equation — with the goal being to see if someone on a specific salary would benefit more by living car-lite in Hollywood or Santa Monica — but gave up on this task once I got to this crazy equation (PDF):

Regardless, Abego should at least get visitors to think twice about buying an “affordable” house in, say, Orange, Calif. Affordable doesn’t come cheap if you have to burn fossil fuels whenever you run out of soy milk — or waste four hours a day commuting to your far-off home!

The connections between housing, transportation, money — and most importantly, happiness — is a big theme covered in Your Money or Your Life, a book I recommend to everyone. But for a quicker, wonkier read, there’s The Affordability Index: A New Tool for Measuring the True Affordability of a Housing Choice (PDF), a 24-page brief put together by the Center for Transit Oriented Development and the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

The basic message? Don’t just look at the cost of rent or the price of a house when deciding whether or not you can afford to live in a place. Factor in transportation costs, and the neighborhoods you consider living in will change altogether — or better yet, get rid of the car, and you’ll be able to afford to live in many neighborhoods you once thought were out of your financial reach.

Many readers will complain to me they have no choice but to drive everywhere because they can’t afford to live in a pleasantly walkable neighborhood like Santa Monica. I usually say it’s not the high rent of walkable ‘hoods keeping them in the car; it’s the high cost of the car keeping them out of walkable ‘hoods.

Earlier:
>> Walkable neighborhoods: The privilege of paying more to walk more
>> Discover One-Mile-Radius Living
>> An eco-case for renting an apartment in the city
>> Green apartment living: More friends, less fossil fuels

Screenshots from Abogo

>> At Afford Eco’s Cosmetics & Skin Care Event, you’ll hear from two eco-beauty companies about the potentially harmful chemicals in many conventional beauty products. The free event — which features vegan eats — happens Thurs., June 17 from 7 pm to 9:30 pm. RSVP online, or you’ll have to pay $5 at the door.

>> I’ve gotten some great free finds at clothing swap parties with friends; the Frugal Festival Summer Swap sounds like a bigger and better version of those parties. Go with a bag of no-longer-loved clothes and $5 (or empty-handed with $10) to swap clothes, accessories, home decor, books, music and movies. The fest happens Sat., June 19 at 10 am – 3 pm at the NoHo Performing Arts Center, 11020 Magnolia, North Hollywood.

>> Take a Folk Art Everywhere Bike Tour (PDF) and explore art and culture in Echo Park and Historic Filipinotown. This project of the Craft and Folk Art Museum will take you from a local gallery to shop to cafe to library to workers’ center. Meet up on Sat., June 19 from 11:30 am at Pilipino Workers Center, 153 Glendale Blvd., 2nd Fl., Los Angeles to start riding until around 2:30 pm.

>> Compete in Squirt! Bike Race & Scavenger Hunt, a.k.a. the 2-year anniversary party for Los Angeles Guerrilla Gardening. Race on your bike to water the gardens that LAGG’s planted in the last couple years — or join a pedestrian scavenger hunt — before meeting at the finish line to celebrate over drink specials and food. Festivities begin at 1 pm in Hollywood and end who knows when somewhere in downtown Los Angeles. The fun begins Sun., June 20 at 1 pm. Cost: $5 entry to either race.

>> Enjoy some eco-activism and beach fun on International Surfing Day when everyone from famous surfers to eco-artists to environmental activists to simple beachgoers will be surfing for a cause, cleaning up the beach, competing in paddle boat races, and more. Events are happening around the world, including in Santa Monica, Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Dana Point, and Ventura. Pick an event for Sun., June 20 and go spend a day at the beach!

>> Still haven’t seen Food, Inc. (review here)? A free screening of Food, Inc. happens Tues., June 22 starting at 7 pm at Fairview Branch Library, 2101 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica.

Image via International Surfing Day’s Facebook page

>> Always wanted to practice with New York yoga star Tara Stiles? Through Vital Juice, I found out Tara’s teaching a free class in Hollywood next week. RSVP to hollywoodyoga@standardhotel.com or call 323.650.3001 to make sure there’s a spot for your mat on Tues., June 22 at 3 pm at The Standard Hotel, 8300 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

>> Need regular yoga classes? You’re in luck. A new do-gooder organization called Heal One World — which basically seeks to make healthy living practices and therapies available at free or low cost — recently started offering free weekly yoga classes in Santa Monica and Venice. Donations are welcome, but classes are free. The Tuesday Hatha or Vinyasa Flow classes run from 5:15 pm – 6:20 pm at 1318 2nd St #21, Santa Monica, while the Friday Hatha Yoga classes run from 8 pm to 9:30 pm at 606 Venice Blvd. #H, Venice.

>> If you plan to spend time in Malibu this summer, get to the pier every weekend for Yoga On The Pier. These free weekly yoga classes on Malibu Pier happen every Saturday from 8:45 am to 10 am between June 19 and Sept. 4. Post-practice, yogis will get to enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast at the Beachcomber Café.

>> Still in high school? Then I hope you live in Hollywood, so you can take advantage of The Hollywood Hot Spot, a program that offers free summer art and yoga classes for local high school students. The fun begins July 17 at Helen Bernstein High School, 1309 N. Wilton Pl., Hollywood. RSVP to the office of your councilmember Eric Garcetti at 323.957.4500 or angela.motta@lacity.org.

Photo by Andrew Kalat