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Diane Warren knows how to write hit songs — and where to find the best vegan food in LA
Diane Warren attends The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night at Chateau Marmont on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.
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Diane Warren on why her Oscar-nominated 'Dear Me' is her most personal (and universal) song
One of the most successful and prolific songwriters in the world, Diane Warren has written classic hits like “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and “If I Could Turn Back Time." She’s won a Grammy, an Emmy, received an honorary Oscar, and been nominated for the Academy Award for best original song a total of 17 times. Her most recent nomination is for the song “Dear Me,” which Warren wrote and Kesha performed, for a documentary about Warren’s life titled “Diane Warren: Relentless.” Warren spoke with LAist News host Julia Paskin about her nomination for “Dear Me."
You probably already knew that Diane Warren — the creative mind behind hit songs like “If I Could Turn Back Time” (Cher) and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Aerosmith) — is one of the most successful songwriters of all time.
She’s an inductee into the Songwriting Hall of Fame, an honorary Oscar recipient and a Grammy and Emmy winner. According to the 2025 documentary, Diane Warren: Relentless — for which she’s nominated for another best original song Oscar (with “Dear Me,” her nominations now total 17) — she’s written songs for more than 450 recording artists, and her music catalog is valued at over a half-billion dollars.
The illuminating documentary about Warren’s life, love of music and approach to songwriting also explores her lesser known love: animals — from her own pets (like her late cat Mouse and parrot Buttwings) to the animals that live at her private sanctuary (fittingly named Mousebutt Rescue Ranch) in Malibu.
Warren also is vegan, or as she puts it, “pretty much 99.9% vegan,” to account for the possibility of something like an egg ending up in a pasta dish without her knowledge.
When Warren spoke with LAist host Julia Paskin about her latest Oscar nomination (as her birds Chicken and Charlie occasionally chirped from the other room), she also shared her favorite vegan restaurants in L.A.
Follow Your Heart
This Canoga Park cafe and market dates back to 1970 and Warren, who grew up in nearby Van Nuys, counts it as one of her favorite vegan restaurants.
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Location: 21825 Sherman Way, Canoga Park
Hours: Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Au Lac
Au Lac, Warren says, “which is a vegan Vietnamese restaurant in downtown L.A., [...] is kind of my favorite. It’s the best.”
For those in Orange County, the restaurant’s original outpost is located in Fountain Valley.
Location: 710 W. First St., DTLA
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.; Closed Mondays
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Pura Vita
Warren’s go-to spot for “great Italian”? Pura Vita in West Hollywood.
Location: 8274 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood
Hours: 4 to 10 p.m., Monday; noon to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Vinh Loi Tofu
Vinh Loi in Reseda, which specializes in Southeast Asian cuisine, Warren says is really good for takeout. They also have a location in Cerritos.
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Location: 18625 Sherman Way, Reseda
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Closed Tuesdays
Crossroads Kitchen
Warren also recommends Crossroads Kitchen (“I was there last night”), but she sometimes regrets her choices when she goes: “I eat way too much fried stuff.”
Location: 8284 Melrose Ave., Beverly Grove
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; open until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 p.m. Sunday
Julie Goes Green
“If you like pizza,” Warren says, Julie Goes Green has “the best vegan pizza in the city.”
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Location: 11140 Palms Blvd., Palms
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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