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

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Getting local produce is easy — except when it’s not. Farmers markets happen all over the city and community supported agriculture programs have popped up in many areas — but not everyone have the flexibility to pick up the box of produce at a set time every week — and lugging home a week’s worth of produce can be a real challenge for car-free environmentalists. Plus, until now, organic produce delivery services have been either expensive — or not quite that local.

But all that’s changing, thanks to CSA California. This local company’s been offering organic, local produce for pick up at locations all over L.A. for a few years now, selling each big bag of produce for just $25. Now, CSA California’s added a delivery service. For just $5 on top of that bargain $25 price, you can get that load of organic goodness delivered right to your doorstep.

As soon as I got an email letting me know about CSA California’s new delivery service, I cancelled my subscription to Farm Fresh to You, because their produce comes mostly from Northern California and is more expensive to boot. Earlier this week, I finally got my first box of CSA California produce delivered!

I got the “Full” box, the smallest option, which cost just $30 including delivery (bigger “Family” and “Large” options are also available) — and got home from a long day of teaching Wednesday to find a small but very tightly packed box in front of my door!

Inside I found tiny apples, strangely dirty oranges, a small melon, an eggplant, little squashes, broccoli, and lots and lots of greens. I’m slowly eating through it now — and it’s all delicious.

The one not-so-great aspect of this service. When I signed up online, I opted to have my produce box delivered on Tuesday — only to get a random form email a day before that delivery date with this note: “subscription being switched to wednesdays.” Um, why? Sure enough, the box arrived on a Wednesday — a bad day for me, since I teach all day — so I’m not sure how long it had been sitting on my front step when I got home mid-afternoon. The produce looks fine — but I’m concerned that the stuff won’t keep as long after having sweated it out for hours outside….

So be warned: Your delivery date choice may not be honored by this company. Aside from that, so far, I love the CSA California service. Where are you getting your produce these days?

Earlier: Locavoring in a box: Organic CSAs in Los Angeles

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Love the sweet, lemony flavor of lemongrass — but haven’t mastered the art of Thai cuisine to cook with it? Taste it in a ready-mixed tea. I discovered Rishi Tea‘s Orange Blossom Organic Green Tea at Co-opportunity a few weeks ago, and recommend it to all who love lemongrass.

The floral, citrusy fragrance and flavor is wonderful to wake up to. This loose leaf tea mixes green tea not just with lemongrass, but also lemon myrtle and essential oils of orange, lime and tangerine for a complex mix of citrus flavors. Plus, the tea also includes osthmanthus flowers, rose flavor, and jasmine essential oil. In fact, if you’re not actually a fan of the taste of green tea but like to drink it for health reasons, the Orange Blossom tea’s a good choice for you. Each cup a rich, drinkable bouquet, with the floral and fruitiness much more noticeable than the smooth and mellow taste of the green tea.

Plus, the Orange Blossom tea’s organic — and fair trade certified too. The green tea’s grown by the Xuan En Fair Trade Organic Cooperative in Hubei, China.

Recyclable 2.4-ounce cans of Orange Blossom Organic Green Tea’s available for about $9 at Co-opportunity and other stores. Oddly, Rishi Tea’s own web store only sells it in bulk packages, ranging from $4 for an ounce to $45.75 for a pound.

Earlier:
>> A Taste test of 4 organic rooibos teas
>> How a fair trade coffee blogger (me!) quit coffee

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Fellow Larabar fans: I’ve discovered a raw-er, superfoodier, organic version of those simple fruit-and-nut treats — Navitas Naturals Power Snacks.

These grab-and-go Power Snacks are like Larabars — a favorite snack of mine I’ve raved about before — but with an extra nutritional boost. Like Larabars, Power Snacks are made mainly with dates and nuts — with no processed sweeteners or other fats — for that pure, natural sweet-and-nutty combo. But unlike Larabars, which are made with just two to five ingredients, Power Snacks are made with about a dozen — with the additional ingredients being mostly superfoods growing in popularity like goji berries, chia, maca, lucuma, and camu-camu. Plus, the Power Snacks are all raw and organic certified — a big plus for eco-foodies and rawgans alike.

The Citrus Chia‘s my favorite. It has a complex fruity taste from maca, apricots, oranges, raisins, and dates — which is combined with creamy cashew and coconutty goodness plus the crunch of chia and sesame seeds.

But I loved the Cacao Goji too, which tastes like a rich raw brownie and appeals to the chocoholic side of me — especially since the snack doesn’t taste too much like goji berries, which I’m not a huge fan of. The snacks are made with goji powder instead of chunks of the goji berry — a choice that effectively masks the goji taste while retaining the superfruit’s health benefits.

A Blueberry Hemp flavor’s supposed to launch later this year, but for now, you’ll need to content yourself with Citrus Chia and Cacao Goji. I recommend enjoying them with a lot of water — since those chia seeds will soak them up and keep you full for a good long time. An 8-ounce pouch costs $8.99 at Whole Foods and other natural food stores, as well as online at Nativas Naturals web store.

Earlier: Try new superfoods — or enjoy Raw Maqui Fudge Truffles

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Flower power’s getting redefined. A pretty green company called Lotus Wei has launched a collection of flower essences — described as “energetic infusions of flowers” that have the power to lift moods and brighten spirits. Can what is basically scentless water in which organic flowers once soaked really change how you feel? Well, I’m guessing your answer to that will depend on your current beliefs about aromatherapy, vibrational healing, and “What the Bleep Do We Know?”

What I do know, however, is that chocolate can provide instant calm — which is why I’m really glad Lotus Wei has a sister company called Wei of Chocolate. I met the women behind both companies at Evolue’s party for Environmental Working Group last month — and got to sample some of these eco-ethical treats.

Even flower essence skeptics will love the taste of Wei of Chocolate — deliciously creamy organic, vegan, and fair trade dark chocolates in decadent flavors. My favorite? Wei Love — Chocolate with a kick of cayenne, plus cinnamon, ginger, mace, and maca, all of which give this treat a creamy yet grainy texture.

I also loved Wei Inspired — a mocha-flavored treat, and Wei Gratitude, a chai-spiced dessert. Wei Joyful has a nice citrus flavor, while Wei Relaxed and Wei Pure are both rich and creamy — and milkier, with slightly lower chocolate content.

All Wei of Chocolate flavors are infused with flower essences from Lotus Wei — that are supposed to enhance the feelings the chocolates are named after. After eating a small piece of each flavor, I did indeed feel a little more joyful, relaxed, inspired, and grateful with a little more love for the world — kind of like the way I feel after any delicious organic chocolate treat.

With just 30 calories a piece, Wei of Chocolate won’t guilt your health-conscious mind. I like the way the chocolates melt really slowly in your mouth, so you can really savor each piece for a long time. A 2.25-ounce tube with 9 pieces costs $10 at Wei of Chocolate, while a 6-ounce bag with 24 pieces costs $21. I recommend going for All the Wei — a 6-ounce bag that’s an assortment of all six flavors — to get a taste of each.

As for the Lotus Wei products? Though the claim to fame for the line are the scentless flower essences, Lotus Wei’s serums and energy mists contain sweet-smelling organic essential oils. I got a sample of the Inner Peace mist and have been spraying it intermittenly throughout the day. The gentle spiced lavender scent reminds me to chill out — and works nicely as a not-too-pungent perfume.

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