Hyatt Regency Century Plaza: Vegan Offerings at Breeze

Last week, I was invited to try Breeze, the restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza for a 7-course vegan meal. Chef Manfred Lassahn worked over a year to develop the vegan options that were not only nutritious but delicious as well. Being German born and traditionally trained in the culinary arts, it was interesting to see how vegan food would be presented in a fine dining setting.

Regular readers of my blog probably know I eat everything including meat. However, some may not realize I actually really enjoy vegetables and aim for one vegetarian meal a day. I view eating vegetarian or vegan as an option like any other cuisine such as Chinese or Italian.

We started our meal with three dishes including the Beet Carpaccio, Wild Field Greens and Macadamia Caprese. When I was dating The Vegan, he had told me once it was fairly easy for him to eat vegan but then ruined the notion I could because mainly he ate raw and very little processed food products. I couldn’t help but think it’d actually be easy for me if I ate salads like these. The Beet Carpaccio was made with an edamame hummus, mango emulsion and garnished with an herb infused olive oil. I loved the presentation of this dish. Vegans differ from vegetarians by avoiding all animal products. So no cheese for them. The chef has come up with his own “cheeses” by making them out of nuts and soy products. The Wild Field Greens salad of market greens, dried cherries and blueberries, sunflower seeds and warm blueberry vinaigrette. The house-made tofu “ricotta” cheese is scattered on top. I enjoyed the rich nutty flavor.

However, it was the Macadamia Caprese that I was very amazed by. It immediately brought to mind “cheese.” The macadamia cheese was paired with semi-dried tomato (still very juicy!) and baby mizuna and green olive oil.

In LA food blogger land, quinoa is king. I love it because it’s so versatile and so good for you. This dish with toasted almond, golden raisin,micro greens, avocado-basil pesto went well with cubed beets. I thought the zucchini noodles were a fun topping and added a nice crunch to the mixture. The yellow beet chips were so cool and great with the aged balsamic.

I’ve never quite understood why some vegetarians and vegans ate fake meat. Lately, the mock products resemble so much like the meat they’re emulating that it seems almost…counter-productive? Why eat something so close to what you’re avoiding? And the texture of Gardein‘s “chicken” is remarkably like chicken as well. Seeing the cutlets seared and sliced just like real chicken was unnerving for me. And I eat meat!

This is not to say it didn’t taste good. The Gardein “Chicken” Scaloppini is normally served at lunch.  The “chicken” is dusted with a spiced flour and pan-fried. It’s served with garlic pea shoots and asparagus-meyer lemon “cream.” I liked the mushrooms in this dish as well but I am a fiend for mushrooms.

The dinner option, the Gardien “Chicken” comes with green beans and purple potatoes. I liked the cashew cream sauce as well.

egg-free lady fingers, tofu mascarpone, Kahlua, cocoa

At this time, Breeze doesn’t normally have the tiramisu or any vegan dessert on the menu. This tiramisu was made especially for our tasting. However, with advance notice, the kitchen should be able to prepare it. Our meal was very similar to what PETA members recently enjoyed at Breeze when they held a convention at the hotel.

The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza is also pet-friendly so you can bring your pooch with you for a small clean-up fee. They have a pet menu and dog friendly paths on the property. I believe they even can hire dog walkers for you if you need that service.

I’m very excited that Breeze does high-end vegan so well. Now I know where to take all my veggie friends.

Breeze at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza

2025 Avenue Of The Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 228-1234