Topline:
How a colorful family-run vegan joint in the San Fernando Valley has built a community of loyal fans and delivered delectable plant-based Vietnamese flavors for the past 21 years.
Why it matters: Going vegan is in vogue. It’s worth exploring the innovators of plant-based dining ubiquitous in our city.
What's next: What is co-founder Kevin Tran going to pick for you next time?
As the first wave of storms from a major atmospheric river rolled into sunny Southern California in early February, Kevin Tran knew he'd be staying late the following evening after heavy winds and rainfall were expected to hit his Reseda restaurant.
The Sherman Way strip-mall location was likely to be safe from flooding — it's just that Kevin knows he has to stay about 90 minutes later than usual when it rains because for his customers, it's gonna be a soup day.
His wife and business partner Lynne tells me it takes 18 hours for the spices to come together to make their pho and lemongrass broths.
Rainy days means that they almost nearly sell out. So they have to start the overnight process again to up their reserves for the following days.
Kevin is keenly aware of his customers’ needs and ordering habits.
“Nobody wants salad on a rainy day, and nobody is eating soup on a very hot day — except for one customer." Kevin pauses for a moment.
"Victor. He's been coming to Vinh Loi for 18 years, only eats soup, even in the scorching 110-degree weather."
Vinh Loi is a star of the vegan scene in L.A. When Kevin and Lynne opened their business in 2002, they exclusively made tofu in the space, but since have branched out to offer everything from banh mi sandwiches to duck noodle salads and a curry udon stir fry. Kevin calls his cuisine "strictly Vietnamese food, but my style.”
Vinh Loi is a casual cafe. No reservations necessary. The orange and green walls display large photos of the menu items. News clippings, accolades, and recognitions from the City of Los Angeles and the California State Senate are hanging on the walls. You sit down wherever you choose, but your order is at the discretion of the chef.
The night that I come in, Kevin is wearing a t-shirt that says "I pick, you eat."
He asks me: "Brother have you eaten? — are you hungry?"
“Sure.”
“How spicy?"
“Medium.”
“How hungry?”
“Medium.”
He looks me up and down and says, "OK, I'll pick the food."
There are more than 300 items on the menu. But the food changes — every two weeks there’s something new and different.
Kevin walks into the kitchen and brings out the meal he has picked for me — mock crispy duck on top of rice and noodles with vegetables. The duck is made from wheat gluten, seitan. It’s delicious.
Kevin and Lynne’s tofu-making journey began after Kevin's grandma passed away. Their family observed a traditional 49-day Vietnamese Buddhist grieving process, which includes abstaining from meat.
During this time they were driving all over L.A. and Orange County, trying tofu from many different places. "We were tasting tofu everywhere." Lynne says. Some hits and misses, but they realized their best tofu was made in the traditional way.
Kevin said to his wife, “I love tofu, honey, — maybe we should open a factory?”
At the time Kevin had been selling high-end furniture in the South Bay and Lynne was working in the film industry. Kevin says he sold furniture “to pay student loans, but food is my passion.”
Lynne says it wasn't easy. “We make tofu in the traditional old-school way. The tofu making process is very tedious and time consuming.”
It starts with soaking the soy beans overnight, then coming back the following morning at 5 a.m. and brining it. Once ready, it has to be cooked, and then water is added back to it. “Then add whatever seasonings like their tofu block — with lemon grass. We sold it with different flavors like: plain tofu, tofu lemongrass, tofu with mushroom."
Reseda is home to a vibrant Vietnamese community, with markets, restaurants, bakeries, restaurants, doctors, accountant, notary publics, and a Buddhist temple. So it made sense to Kevin and Lynne to open Vinh Loi Tofu there.
They had been making tofu for a year and a half when one day a customer came in and asked Kevin what he was eating.
It looked good. It was his vegan version of Bun Bo Hue, a traditional Vietnamese spicy beef soup.
After that people began to ask to taste other things on the menu. "What do you mean menu? I serve tofu,” says Kevin. “Slowly one thing after another and the menu becomes massive. I love to create. I love to cook. I love to eat. I wanted to do something for my customers.”
Kevin points to a 2009 L.A. Times article and photo gallery, which used to be on the wall but it's now ostensibly out of sight on top of a fridge.
“People started coming here since the article.” A year later, the Discovery Channel came through and “basically gave me a year of free advertising.” Since then Kevin says “it's been up and up.”
"We've been very fortunate,” Lynne says, “for the majority of our customers it's their lifestyle. It's not a trend or a fad.”
Lynne describes a multigenerational clientele. “There's beauty in a restaurant. We get to know families by name. Lot of them come in once as a date, and then later as a couple, and then later with their children.
“There are a lot of people in the vegan community, but nowadays even meat-eaters want to taste,” says Kevin. “In people's minds a block of tofu has no taste. But the minute they taste this food, they realize they can be vegan every day.”
Lynne says “we’re a strong believer in morals and values. I'm always sourcing the freshest produce. Putting our name on a product, and making sure you deliver. Focus on quality over quantity."
Kevin says "my job is to make sure that the food tastes real and healthy. You have to put your heart and soul, 110% into a restaurant."
Though Lynne says that Kevin can also be the “vegan version of Gordon Ramsay — a real pain in the ass.”
Kevin admits it. “Trust me I own my restaurant, I'm picky. I love food so much. It can't be a 9, it needs to be a 10.” If the cook’s palette is off, it’ll be wrong for the customer.
His zeal for perfection has led Kevin to other activities like triathlons. He says “cooking is my hobby — running is for when I need a change.”
He competes as the Tofu Robot, a name given to him by a customer because he does things that “only robots can do. Humans can't do it."
Kevin says he got into these massive multi-day 100-mile races because "I hung out with too many vegans, all badasses, looking good. I kinda wanted to understand my customers.”
He says he runs because "I need to know what is in people's minds. They're crazy. I have to learn from what they did. See how vegan food works on the body in those conditions."
At the end of the day Kevin says he never wants to do business with meat.
“I feel like whatever I do. I am happy. Animal is happy. People are happy because they had healthy food to eat. And making people happy makes me happy at the same time. You have nothing to lose. Everybody win/win.”
Topline:
The FBI seized about 15 drones flying near SoFi Stadium and L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Friday and Saturday for violating temporary flight restrictions.
Why it matters: "No Drone Zones" have been put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration on match days at World Cup stadiums and venues hosting official fan festivals.
The restrictions: Drones are prohibited at SoFi within a three-nautical-mile radius and up to 3,000 feet above ground level. They are also banned at the Coliseum for the official fan festival within a one-nautical-mile radius and up to 1,000 feet above ground level.
The FBI seized about 15 drones near SoFi Stadium and L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Friday and Saturday for violating temporary flight restrictions, Amir Ehsaei, special agent in charge of counterterrorism and crisis response at the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, told LAist. Multiple operators were cited.
Stadiums hosting World Cup games and official fan festival venues are designated as "No Drone Zones" by the Federal Aviation Administration on match days.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drones violating the temporary flight restrictions," Ehsaei said.
He said drone detection teams are deployed at all SoFi games. "We will be out at other places depending on the nature — the size, the scope — [and] different intelligence that we'll get based on threat assessments."
Drones are prohibited at SoFi within a three-nautical-mile radius and up to 3,000 feet above ground level. They are also banned at the Coliseum for the official fan festival within a one-nautical-mile radius and up to 1,000 feet above ground level.
Violators could face fines of up to $100,000 and federal criminal charges.
Topline:
Residents in East LA are weighing the promise of a new Metro E Line extension with concerns over construction disruptions, small-business impacts and whether more outreach is needed about the project.
What is the project: The 4.7-mile extension of the Metro E Line would connect East Los Angeles to Montebello with four new stations. The project would relocate the existing Atlantic and Pomona station underground, and include a mix of underground, aerial and street-level track transit.
Read on ... for more about the pros and cons locals see for the extension.
Residents in East LA are weighing the promise of a new Metro E Line extension with concerns over construction disruptions, small-business impacts and whether more outreach is needed about the project.
The 4.7-mile extension of the Metro E Line would connect East Los Angeles to Montebello with four new stations. The project would relocate the existing Atlantic and Pomona station underground and include a mix of underground, aerial and street-level track transit.
The $7.9 billion project is expected to open for service between 2035 and 2037, according to Metro.
Construction will begin in 2029 and last approximately eight to 10 years, pending full funding approval. It’s part of a wider plan to connect the E Line to the city of Whittier, though officials say the work will be built in two phases due to funding constraints.
While officials say the project is intended to reduce traffic congestion and ease pressure on local roads, residents at a recent community meeting focused more on the immediate impact and communication.
“Thirty days for comment on a complex issue like this is ridiculous. … We need better outreach,” said East LA resident Clara Solis about a 30-day public comment period ending June 26.
Solis and others also raised concerns about how construction could affect traffic and disrupt local commerce, pointing to past transit projects.
“How is this going to impact the businesses? When the Gold Line went through, a lot of our businesses really suffered economically. We want to see a presentation on that. You should have a presentation just on how it’s going to impact the businesses,” Solis added.
East LA resident Kristie Hernandez said community outreach for the project should also extend to people who do not necessarily live within the immediate 200-foot project radius.
“We need to understand that folks who don’t necessarily live within that close proximity also frequent that area when they drive,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez advocated for a 90-day public comment window and also called for presentations on underground infrastructure, especially in the wake of the East LA pipeline that was punctured during construction work in late May.
“We do not want that to happen again,” she said.
Lucia Martinez spoke favorably about the extension plans, considering that she relies on buses to get around East LA to do her shopping. She said she looks forward to using the Metro to travel to the Citadel as well as to the hospital in Pasadena.
“As an older woman who became aware of this project, I think it is amazing because I am someone who does not drive,” she said.
LA Documenter Rafael Cazzorla contributed reporting for this story. LA Documenters trains and pays LA residents to take notes at local government meetings around Los Angeles. You can find meeting notes and audio at losangeles.documenters.org
Topline:
For the first time in nearly three decades, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new chemical UV filter for use in sunscreens sold in the U.S. And that has many dermatologists cheering.
Why it matters: The new ingredient is called bemotrizinol, and it has several advantages over the chemical sunscreen ingredients previously available in the U.S., says Dr. Heather Rogers, a dermatologist in Seattle and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The backstory: In the U.S., sunscreens are regulated as over-the-counter drugs rather than cosmetics, as they're classified in Europe. That means ingredients need to undergo rigorous testing for safety and efficacy before they can be approved for use in the U.S.
Read on ... for four key things to know about this coming change.
For the first time in nearly three decades, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new chemical UV filter for use in sunscreens sold in the U.S. And that has many dermatologists cheering.
"This is a very big deal," says Dr. Heather Rogers, a dermatologist in Seattle and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The new ingredient is called bemotrizinol, and it has several advantages over the chemical sunscreen ingredients previously available in the U.S., Rogers says.
"It hits like really every box for us that we have been waiting for as dermatologists and consumers," Rogers says.
Here's what you need to know about this new ingredient and how it could lead to better sunscreens sold stateside.
Rogers says in general, you want to use sunscreens that are broad spectrum, meaning they protect against both UVA rays — the longer wavelengths that cause premature aging and wrinkles — and UVB rays, which lead to sunburns. Both types of UV rays can cause skin cancer.
She says the sunscreens currently sold in the U.S. do an excellent job of protecting against UVB rays, but the chemical UV filters available in sunscreens in the U.S. until now aren't as good at blocking out UVA rays.
In general, chemical sunscreens sold in the U.S. rely on an ingredient called avobenzone to block out UVA rays, says Kelly Dobos, a cosmetic chemist who teaches at the University of Cincinnati.
But avobenzone by itself isn't photo stable, meaning its protection can start to break down rapidly when exposed to sunlight. And as avobenzone breaks down, it can release molecules that lead to skin irritation, says Alexa Friedman, a senior scientist with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, or EWG.
By contrast, bemotrizinol offers protection against both UVA and UVB rays all on its own, and it is photo stable, so it breaks down more slowly, offering better protection, Rogers says.
"So if you go a little longer than two hours to reapply your sunscreen, there will be more protection left," Rogers says. However, she says you should still reapply sunscreen every two hours.
Bemotrizinol has been widely used in European and Asian sunscreens for decades. But it has taken 20 years for the FDA to approve its use in this country.
That's because in the U.S., sunscreens are regulated as over-the-counter drugs rather than cosmetics, as they're classified in Europe. That means ingredients need to undergo rigorous testing for safety and efficacy before they can be approved for use in the U.S.
"It's really expensive and time consuming," Dobos says. The European company DSM-Firmenich spent at least $18 million over more than two decades in its push to gain FDA approval for bemotrizinol.
However, all that testing means bemotrizinol has more safety data to back it up than any other chemical sunscreen ingredient currently approved in the U.S., says Friedman of EWG.
"This ingredient is exciting because we have that data to support its safety," Friedman says.
Friedman says animal testing showed bemotrizinol doesn't lead to concerns like reproductive harm, while clinical testing on humans found that it does not irritate the skin, even after repeated application over time, "which is hopefully how people are using sunscreens."
And because bemotrizinol's molecules are larger, it's not readily absorbed by the skin and into the bloodstream, she says.
That's important, because studies have shown that some of the other chemical sunscreen UV filters sold in the U.S. can be absorbed in the bloodstream, prompting calls for more safety data and leading to a backlash against sunscreen on social media fueled by misinformation. Rogers says that trend is concerning because skin cancer is the most common form of cancer.
"We just need to have sunscreen that people will use, that they'll trust," Rogers says. "And this ingredient is going to allow that to happen. And that is very exciting."
And bemotrizinol is also considered to be non-irritating, Friedman says. That should be welcome news to people who've been put off by chemical sunscreens in the past.
Until now, Rogers says, the only sunscreen ingredient available in the U.S. that offered the aforementioned advantages of bemotrizinol — photo stable, non-irritating, minimally absorbed into the skin and with good broad spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays — was zinc oxide.
Both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are mineral UV filters. Both chemical sunscreens and mineral sunscreens work by absorbing UV rays from the sun. Mineral sunscreens also reflect some UV rays. The bigger difference is that mineral sunscreens sit on the surface of the skin, while chemical sunscreens get absorbed into the skin, Rogers says.
The downside of mineral sunscreens is that they can leave an unattractive white cast on the skin — think of lifeguards with white paste on their noses. "Particularly if you're a person of color, zinc is going to make you look pale, white or ashy, which really makes it hard to use on a regular basis," Rogers says.
Bemotrizinol, on the other hand, is transparent on the skin, and because it protects against both UVA and UVB rays on its own, it doesn't have to be mixed with as many other chemical filters and stabilizers to achieve broad spectrum protection, Dobos adds. She says that should lead to more aesthetically pleasing, less greasy sunscreen formulations in the near future.
"I think it's a real win for public health," Dobos says. "If we can make a sunscreen that consumers like to use and want to use and apply in the proper amounts, I think that's something that's really going to be a win for consumers."
DSM-Firmenich has exclusive rights to market bemotrizinol in the U.S. for 18 months. It will be sold under the brand name Parsol Shield. The company says the first sunscreen products containing the ingredient should start hitting American store shelves around September.
Topline:
The Justice Department yesterday approved Paramount's proposed $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
How we got here: The decision came after the DOJ concluded its antitrust investigation into the pending merger. The department said in a statement that it found that the deal posed no threat to competition or consumers of film, broadcast television or streaming.
What's next: The decision clears the way for a merger of two rival Hollywood studio titans: Paramount, the owner of CBS, including CBS News, will swallow the much larger Warner, which includes HBO and CNN. But several states, including California, have raised antitrust concerns. The European Union is investigating as well.
The Justice Department on Friday approved Paramount's proposed $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
After concluding its antitrust investigation into the pending merger, the department said in a statement that it found that the deal posed no threat to competition or consumers of film, broadcast television or streaming.
The decision clears the way for a merger of two rival Hollywood studio titans: Paramount, the owner of CBS, including CBS News, will swallow the much larger Warner, which includes HBO and CNN.
The DOJ''s Antitrust Division concluded that a union of two studio giants isn't anti-competitive because the streaming market has expanded the competition for conventional Hollywood studios, which includes Netflix, Apple and Amazon, as well as smaller streamers. The Justice Department's view is that, for the same reason, consumers won't lose out because there are plenty of other places to get entertainment.
Several states, including California, have raised antitrust concerns. The European Union is investigating as well.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has been investigating the deal for antitrust violations, said in a post on social media following the Justice Department's approval: "The merger of Warner Bros and Paramount is not a done deal and remains under investigation by my office."
In a statement following the decision, Paramount described the deal as "pro-competitive," and would result in "a stronger company better positioned to compete against dominant technology platforms in an industry increasingly defined by intense competition for audiences, talent, technology, and investment."
The company said it planned to complete the merger as soon as possible, "delivering its benefits to consumers, creators, and the entertainment industry as a whole."
The consolidation will put media mogul David Ellison — son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison — at the helm of Warner Bros. studio as well as its cable and streaming properties, including CNN and HBO. The Ellison family took over Paramount and CBS last summer.
In the months leading up to the regulatory approval, critics in Hollywood feared the deal would consolidate an already concentrated media landscape and lead to fewer jobs and less creative content.
In April, thousands of directors, actors, writers and other industry talent — including Kristen Stewart, Pedro Pascal and Javier Bardem — signed an open letter opposing the merger.
The elder Ellison is also a financial backer and adviser to President Trump on artificial intelligence. Critics of recent changes at CBS under the Ellisons' control are concerned that, as they say has happened with CBS News, the acquisition would make CNN more friendly to Trump.
NPR's Carrie Johnson and Mandalit del Barco contributed to this story.
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