BESTIES Vegan Paradise has been high on my to-visit list. It’s the only vegan grocery store where they only source from all-vegan manufacturers. “We do not sell any products from companies owned by parent companies who make products that are not vegan or conduct animal testing,” their website says. And how cool is an all-vegan grocery store?!
Their East Hollywood store. (Makes me wish I still lived in East Hollywood, but I have air conditioning now, so I guess it evens out.) In addition to groceries they have Coney Island-style soft serve, seven kinds of hot dogs, and other warm snacks like chicken bites and chili cheese fries with queso.
They had all my favorite cookies and snacks, sometimes in flavors and sizes I hadn’t seen before. This was the most exciting section, the deli case full of vegan meats and cheeses.
There’s a second room! I think they had every vegan item I’ve ever heard of, even the new ones I’ve only seen in Instagram ads.
I asked a man stocking shelves if they had the vegan equivalent of a Snickers. They were out, but he recommended some alternatives. He knew the products down to the smoothness of the chocolate from one brand vs. another. On my way out he said it really was worth a return trip to try the vegan Snickers. I think he might be right. The candy I ended up with was excellent. He turned out to be the store’s co-founder Matt Fontana (originally from Brooklyn) who’s been vegan for nearly 30 years.
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