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

This week, $5 will get you either a falafel wrap and an M Chopped salad (above; to-go only). Next week, it’s a 2 Salad Combo (below’s one pair of options — the Scarlet Quinoa Salad and the Sesame Soba Noodle Salad) or a Tofu Bento (to-go only).

Then the week of June 21, pick between the Breakfast Enchilada (breakfast hours only) or Double Chocolate Fudge Cake (below). My verdict on the cake: The refined-sugar-free dessert isn’t exactly rich, fudgy decadence — but a nibble-worthy delight if your health aspirations are somewhat stronger than your sweet tooth’s true desires.

Plus, all month, Green Tea Roll Cake will also be available for $5. Unfortunately, those cakes ran out before I got there during M Cafe’s anniversary fest on June 5, when all items on the menu were available for $5 and healthy foodies created a line longer than at Pink’s around the corner.

M Cafe does offer seafood dishes — some of which are sustainable — but it looks like all the $5 specials are vegan. So if you thought a Big Mac combo was your only option because you only have $5 in your wallet, head to M Cafe for delicious food that’s actually good for you and better for the environment too.

M Cafe de Chaya. 7119 Melrose Ave. Hollywood. 323.525.0588. Additional locations in Culver City (9343 Culver Blvd.) and Beverly Hills (9433 Brighton Way).

I’ve been a fan of Tender Greens since I first visited its Culver City restaurant in 2006. Since then, the fresh, eco-friendly eatery’s expanded to four locations — the latest in Hollywood!

Tender Greens Hollywood’s been open for a few weeks now, but it celebrated with a grand opening party just a week ago. Conveniently located on the corner of Sunset and Vine, this new spacious spot’s got a draw SoCal locavores won’t be able to resist: A 1200-square-foot patio perfect for a sunny lunch or weekend brunch, decorated with greenery and quietly situated at the back of the restaurant away from the noisy streets.

Best known for its fresh salads, Tender Greens makes veggies tasty with local produce from Scarborough Farms in Oxnard and other small-scale local farmers. For a simple healthy lunch, go for one of the big salads — My favorite is the Tuna Nicoise, with line caught tuna from Pacific, of course.

Or pick from the grill — whether a hormone-free marinated flat iron steak, free range chipotle barbecue chicken from Petaluma Poultry, or Oxnard vegetables — and get it one of three ways: on a sandwich with side salad, as a hot plate with mashed potatoes and side salad, or atop a full salad with garlic herb crostini.

Any way you get your dish, you can pair it with an organic wine or beer — or one of Tender Green’s bottle-free house sodas. Then enjoy your meal sitting in booths covered with recycled fabric — or at the outdoor tables, bought second hand for reuse at Tender Greens.

At the opening party, I got to try smaller, bite-sized versions of the menu items — like the marinated flank steak with mashed potatoes and peas served skewered (above) and the deliciously creamy green hummus usually served on the Happy Vegan salad.

All of that was fresh and delicious — but what really made my day were the ho hos — or perhaps no hos, since these are desserts made without the weird ingredients and preservatives in real Ho hos. I also got to try Tender Greens’ strawberry cupcakes — morsels of moist fruity sweetness.

Desserts change up all the time, so follow @TenderGreens on Twitter to find out what’s on the menu. Following those tweets will also keep you in the know with Tender Greens Hollywood’s one-day-only farmers’ market specials every Sunday, created from the fresh founds purchased the Hollywood Farmers Market that morning!

Tender Greens Hollywood. 6290 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. 323.382.0380. Other L.A. area locations are in Culver City, 9523 Culver Blvd., and West Hollywood, 8759 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles is home to many fad dieters, strange diet practitioners, and picky eaters, where any and all food preferences and intolerances get their own aisle in grocery stores and special diet-specific eateries about town. But now, all these factious groups can dine together — at a casual organic spot called Pizza Fusion.

Pizza — generally considered a red flag item not just for vegans but also for the lactose, soy, wheat, and gluten intolerant and environmentalists trying to avoid rBGH, high fructose corn syrup, hormones, preservatives, and factory farmed meats — seems like an unlikely unifier for the picky healthy dining crowd. And granted, pure raw vegans won’t have a lot of options. Everyone else, however, can find something tasty to order!

Vegans can have their pick of two cheeses — the local Follow Your Heart soy cheese or Daiya cheese — while their gluten-sensitive friends can select toppings to go on a gluten-free crust. Then the two can split a dessert — the vegan, gluten-free brownie (below)!

And lactose-intolerant ethical omnivores like me won’t be able to resist a dairy-free pizza on a toastily crunchy whole grain crust, topped with a wide selection of certified humane meats — free range chicken, organic pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage, bacon and more — all with a glass or few of organic and sustainable wines and beers.

Pizza Fusion’s actually a national franchise with two L.A.-area locations — one in Hollywood, the other in Santa Monica — but each spot’s a little different, featuring local produce and products, varying wine and beer menus, and unique quirks. I stopped by the Hollywood location — owned by the sister and brother duo Michele Orlando and Craig Orlando along with their mother — twice in the last month!

My favorite dish during my last visit was the appetizer (above) — Stuffed mushrooms filled with goat cheese and spicy sausage — a perfect mix of rich flavors, all in a juicy mushroom. As for the pizzas themselves: The Very Vegan with Daiya vegan cheese was quite good — excepting the artichoke heart pieces, which were strangely salty. The BBQ Chicken Pizza with Follow Your Heart soy cheese (top photo) was just okay; I found the BBQ sauce — used in lieu of tomato paste — too sweet, and thought the “cheese” tasted soapy, as some soy cheeses tend to. If you can’t tell, I’m a picky eater — but luckily Pizza Fusion’s build-your-own option does let me get exactly what I want how I want it. I loved the one pizza I built myself with fresh, flavorful organic veggies and goat cheese — and advise all picky eaters to go for this build-your-own option.

The gluten free vegan brownie’s moist on the inside and deliciously chewy on the outside — but is really more of a cross between chocolate cake and a brownie, since the dessert’s more fluffy and less solidly dense like a real brownie.

All ingredients at Pizza Fusion are free of nitrates, antibiotics, and chemical preservatives, but organic certification diehards can easily select an all-organic meal with a quick glance at the menu — which lists all organic items in green letters. And since vegans can get everything on a vegan crust with vegan cheese, all pizzas and most dishes are very easily veganizable. Gluten free eaters will be happy to know that the restaurant’s kitchen as a separate section to keep its gluten-free dishes uncontaminated from the rest of the menu items.

Eco-friendliness isn’t just reserved for the food. At Pizza Fusion Hollywood, you’ll find reclaimed wood tables, walls with low VOC-paints, countertops made of recycled granite, and artwork printed on recycled soda bottle material. Servers wear uniforms made with organic fiber — and yes, organic pizza deliveries are made via a Prius.

Opting for pickup? Bring your box back for a quarter off your next order. Or dine in — Happy hour happens every day from 4 pm – 7 pm, and starting next week, a delicately sweet 2008 Tangent Viognier from Edna Valley will be added to the sustainable drinks menu.

Pizza Fusion Hollywood. 7950 W. Sunset Blvd., Ste. 104, Los Angeles. 323.375.3390.

Most runway shows during last week’s L.A. Fashion Week were not exactly eco-friendly showcases, but last Saturday, the Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show gave Angelenos a look at the new trends in eco-fashion. The Sunset Gower Studios went green with fashions from three eco-minded designers: Emily Factor, Lizzie Parker, and Puridee.

Sponsored by Green Youth Movement, a student group that seeks to educated kids about living green, the Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show kicked off with a brief intro by Mikey Koffman (below) of The Gallery Los Angeles — and the Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa (above), who showed up to pick up a humanitarian award, talk about Million Trees L.A., and take in the fashion show from the front row.

Emily Factor’s designs — made with “reclaimed materials, non-toxic dye, organic and sustainable fibers, local production and a zero tolerance for animal products” according to her website — wowed the audience with their sexy silhouettes.

And Lizzie Parker’s work-to-night-out fashion pieces combined versatility with attention-getting designs. These sexy outfits are made with organic fabrics — including rayon from organic-certified bamboo.

Then models stomped down the runway, looking femininely fierce in Puridee’s delicate wedding dresses paired with black combat boots. These gorgeous dresses are made with silk that’s raised organically or collected in the wild, then spun and woven in village-level small enterprises.

Post-show, Green Youth Movement’s young members took a turn on the runway along with the models, wearing matching T-shirts and looking a little shy.

Can eco-fashion change the world? Not all by itself, but it can move us a stiletto-sized step forward — especially when it attract the attention of key political figures like the mayor of Los Angeles. See more of Emily Factor, Lizzie Parker, and Puridee‘s designs online, and learn more about the work of Green Youth Movement to find out how some of our youngest environmentalists are working to push the green movement forward.

>> Love Tender Greens‘ local, organic produce paired with organic wines? A new Tender Greens location opens at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood today.

>> Grace restaurant will move to downtown L.A. later this year — and plans to get up to a quarter of its produce from its own garden. to the rectory of St. Vibiana’s later this year, Owner Neal Fraser “has an idea for taking diners into the garden to pick, say, five ingredients for a tasting menu.” This feature article from the L.A. Times also highlights the green efforts of many other local restaurants, including Tender Greens, York, Comme Ca, Napa Valley Grille, and Mixt Greens.

>> The City of L.A.’s growing gardeners with a green gardener training course intended to give eco-friendly and marketable skills to lower-income residents:

Thirty-one gardeners participated in the pilot training program that began late last year, and 89 are expected to be trained soon through the program, which was funded with $250,000 in federal stimulus money, through the city’s Community Development Department, and conducted in partnership with the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, an immigrant education group.

Earlier: A Green landscape design contest — and 6 free green garden events

Photo by Jory .