If you want an organic meat burger — and you want it fast — stop by O! Burger in West Hollywood.

Yes, there are other options for eco-friendlier burgers in Los Angeles. Want a sumptuous, gourmet organic burger with a price tag to match? I recommend BLD. Willing to settle for “natural” instead of organic? Try Fresh East. Vegan? Head over to The Veggie Grill. Cool with carcinogens as long as they’re veg? Boca Burgers are cheap. Don’t give a shit about yourself or the planet? McDonald’s still has many locations all over SoCal.

But if you want a fast food burger made organic, O! Burger is the place. Really in a hurry? Order it online and pick it up.

Though the grass fed organic beef burger’s its raison d’etre, O! Burger has organic turkey burgers too and does offer a veggie burger — though I have to say the house veg burger isn’t the tastiest veg burger I’ve come across. The deal is healthy though, with a medley of spinach, corn, carrots, and peas — all under crisp cucumber slices.

But really, this place is great for your occasional meaty indulgence. Get your burger the way you want it — all organic sans hormones or antibiotics — salad style on greens or on a yummy bun — always in recyclable, compostable or biodegradable packaging.

Instead of the usual high fructose corn syrup sweetened coke, you can get natural sodas or kombucha. Don’t miss the chocolate chip peanut butter cookies!

O! Burger. 8593 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. 310.854.034. 10:30 am – 9:30 pm daily.

Tired of the fatty fries and antibiotic-laced buffalo wings happy hour deals? Enjoy a healthier twist on happier hour at Hugo’s Restaurant‘s In-ter-mis-sion.

There, health freaks, picky eaters, and comfort foodies alike can get something to satisfy them. Mac & Cheese? Check — with regular 4-cheese (above) or a vegan option (below), made with turmeric-tinted house “cheese” topped with crispy onions for that extra crunch.

Flatbread pizzas? Check (below) — all made gluten free on a chewy rice flour crust.

Sliders? Check — with free-range turkey (top photo, with sweet & spicy BBQ sauce) or veggie ball options, vegan or regular cheese options, and four different delish toppings to pick from.

I’ve written about Hugo’s restaurant before, highlighting the way this spot caters to any and everyone’s dietary quirks. The restaurant’s newish pre-dinner deals also meet picky eaters’ standards. Best of all, Hugo’s late afternoon treats come at a steep discount. A healthy serving of mac & cheese, a generously-sized pizza, and a pair of sizeable sliders all cost just $5 each — the same as Hugo’s specially-priced cosmos, margs, martinis, and mojitos.

Hugo’s In-ter-mis-sion happens from 4 pm to 7 pm Monday through Friday at the West Hollywood location. What’s the difference between an In-ter-mis-sion and a happy hour? The latter’s not allowed under West Hollywood’s laws, at least in name. Apparently stiff competition for the after work crowd means only certain establishments are allowed to call their late afternoon deals happy hour deals. Thus, Hugo’s calls its pre-dinner deals In-ter-mis-sion.

Other In-ter-mis-sion deals include Asian Spring Rolls, Green Tamales, Los Anchos Con Queso (above), and Garlic-Parmesan Cheese Bread. Eat and enjoy.

Hugo’s Restaurant. 8401 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. 323.654.3993. Locations also in Studio City and Agoura Hills.

Why I haven’t written about Hugo’s restaurant before, I don’t know. I like this healthy, organic-friendly dining spot so much I had my birthday dinner there a couple years ago. In fact, when I lived in West Hollywood, I dined at Hugo’s once every couple weeks — the KCRW discount the restaurant offers being an extra incentive.

If you haven’t been there yet, here’s one big reason why you should stop by the West Hollywood spot — Hugo’s has something for everyone, from a green juice concoction for those on a cleanse to Chimichurri Steak with mashed potatoes for the really hungry people.

My recommendation for eco-pescatarians: The Barramundi Nicoise Salad. Sadly, this delicious eco-friendly twist on the nicoise — the delicious barramundi the restaurant serves is sustainable — is only occasionally offered as a special. However, last I checked, the restaurant lets you add on seared barramundi to any salad — which is what I liked to order (below) when the nicoise wasn’t available.

For the raw-gans, there’s the Kelp Noodle Salad (below) — a cool healthy lunch with a tangy-sweet mango sesame dressing. If you haven’t tried the super low-cal, light kelp noodles before, get them here!

That said, Hugo’s isn’t just about light, salad-y fare. You can get some delicious organic comfort food here too. One of my favorites is a special available around the holidays: the Portabella Potato Pancake Sandwich (below)! The crispy potato pancakes — stacked with grilled portabella mushrooms, grilled onions, roasted red bell peppers, goat cheese, and fresh basil pesto — aren’t exactly low-calorie, but they are a rich and delicious treat.

The rest of the year, there’s the flavorful Tika Masala Vegetable Patties (below), made with organic sprouted mung beans and other yummies then covered in a savory Indian sauce. I also like the filling Moroccan-Style Stew and the Tres Tacos!

Green diners love that almost everything at Hugo’s is organic and local, while picky eaters love the precise labeling system of Hugo’s menu. Little symbols mark vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and organic items — and many dishes are veganizable with organic tofu or veggie patties. Of course, carnivores can rest assured that their meals are sustainable too, since Hugo’s gets Chino Valley Ranch organic veg-fed eggs, free range turkey, and other better-for-the-planet proteins.

Not all of Hugo’s dishes are wins, however. I’ve had some very bland dishes there — where taste really seemed to have been sacrificed for nutrition’s sake — and was bitterly disappointed by the restaurant’s Scharffen Berger Hot Chocolate, the description for which sounded like a rare treat (“from rare Venezuelan criollo beans and whole Tahitian vanilla”) but ended up just being a so-so hot beverage. The restaurant’s especially weak on desserts. I’m not too taken with the blandish vegan New York Style Blueberry Cheesecake — and I once tried a quinoa cake special that tasted like a big, bland, brick.

But what Hugo’s does well, it does really well. My favorite dessert at Hugo’s is the vegan Pumpkin Pie — a deliciously spicy smooth treat in a coconut and pecan crust and topped with pumpkin seed brittle (above)! And the healthier pecan-stuffed Brownie Tort (below) isn’t bad either

What’s your favorite dish at Hugo’s?

Hugo’s Restaurant. 8401 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. 323.654.3993. Locations also in Studio City and Agoura Hills.

Earlier this month, I raved about the organic juice Ritual Cleanse. Now, I’ve found a liquid cleanse that’s also all organic and all raw — but includes wellness shots and free nutritional consulting — for $60 a day!

This cleanse is the Earthbar Rejuvenation Cleanse. The WeHo juice hotspot’s just started offering customized juice and smoothie cleanses — and I got to try one out on a fast day for my Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse. The day started with me dropping by Earthbar as soon as they opened at 8 am to pick up a cooler full of six, 16-ounce drinks and two wellness shots — then racing home to get started.

First thing down the hatch: The Wellness Shot, a concentrated mix of lemon-ginger-cayenne elixir that overpowered my senses enough to jolt me awake! Then I sipped the two alkalizing green juices — Total Greens and Gimme Greens — both available by the glass at Earthbar locations all day.

It’s amazing how green juices can keep you full all morning. They’re energizing without being filling — at least if you’re only juicing for one day! For lunch, I drank the raw almond milk — lightly flavored and sweetened with dates and vanilla bean — for a little extra protein kick.

Early afternoon came the E3 Live shot, an organic, wild-harvested blue-green algae drink that tasted — like bland green water. I quickly moved on to tastier fare though. The Liver Cleanse — a mix of ginger, lemon, beet, green apple and aloe — was sweetly nourishing without being too sweet. And the fresh coconut water was so deliciously refreshing that it put those Tetrapaks of less-than-fresh coconut water to shame.

I saved the best for last — The thick, rich, and chocolatey Raw Recovery Shake, made with fresh coconut milk, raw sprouted protein and fiber, antioxidant cascade, and raw cacao — lightly sweetened with dates and stevia. The delicious raw chocolate drink’s decadently filling and nourishing — without the cloying too-sweet taste or the food coma-inducing heaviness. True to the cleanse’s purpose, this drink’s a lot less sweet than, say, the Mayan Cacao shake on Earthbar’s regular menu — but even more filling and, IMHO, tastier.

That’s Earthbar’s basic program — which comes to $60 a day. But as I mentioned, each cleanse comes customized. There’s no one-size-fits-all program you can just order online with a credit card. Instead, you need to email cleanse@earthbar.com to get your cleanse, at which point Earthbar’s Noah Bubman will get in touch with you to talk about your nutritional needs and health goals — then tailor the program to suit your needs. That might mean you might get a ginseng tea to boost energy, carnitine shots to boost your metabolism, or other tinctures and herbs to customize, augment, or modify the cleanse.

So your Earthbar Rejuvenation Cleanse might look rather different from mine. If you do it, let me know what goodies you got to try — and how you liked it. At the moment, Earthbar’s cleanse is available by pick up only from the West Hollywood store, though plans are in progress to add a delivery option.

Earlier: Ritual Cleanse: Fresh, organic juice feasts made deliciously easy

On Earth Day, I took an after-work hike up Runyon Canyon in West Hollywood, then settled in for the night with an eco-themed movie — to watch the screen show a fellow West Hollywoodian hike up Runyon Canyon!

Who is this neighbor doing the same thing I’m doing but making a film about it? That would be Sebastian Copeland, environmental photographer extraordinaire — except to be fair, he and I don’t exactly hike alike. Unlike me, Sebastian hit the trails wearing a 100-pound vest. Why? Because he was training to trek to the North Pole. On foot.

Sebastian accomplished that cold goal back in 2009 — and documented his journey into an eco-documentary that came out this month called “Into the Cold: A Journey of the Soul.” The film begins with Sebastian undergoing an intense training regime in California before moving on to a hardcore winter boot camp in Minnesota — then follows the eco-activist to the arctic — where he, with a fellow traveler called Keith Heger, makes the slow two-month, 400+ mile trek on foot to get to the North Pole.

Why this crazy cold walk? “Into the Cold” seeks to draw attention to the effects of climate change. Sebastian made his trek on the centennial of Admiral Peary’s 1909 trek to the North Pole — capturing gorgeous images of the Arctic for posterity — because by the bicentennial in 2109, the Arctic as we know it will no longer exist, thanks to global warming.

Along the journey, Sebastian and Keith suffer frostbites, dangerous icy adventures, and temperatures below -50 degrees Farenheit. But aside from a few anxious moments, “Into the Cold” is a quiet film. After all, most of Sebastian and Keith’s adventure consists of a painfully steady, near-silent plodding along in a white barren landscape for days on end.

As such, I actually wished for more soul, more introspection in this documentary. When asked about his personal reasons taking the trip at the beginning of the film, Sebastian says he seeks some sense of peace — yet doesn’t go any further into what compels him towards these highly-challenging, painstakingly difficult trips. The end of the film left more questions than answers. Did Sebastian find the peace he was seeking? What, if anything, did he find for himself in this journey of the soul? Is personal peace possible in a melting world?

Mostly, “Into the Cold” left me with a sense of discomfiting wonder — at the beauty of the Arctic (seen in HD, no less), and the restlessness of the human soul. “Into the Cold” is now available on DVD for $24.95.

Photos via Into the Cold