Vegan food can be so delicious and decadent and full of flavor. And of all places for me to try vegan food was Modern Times: Leisure town in Anaheim.
It is right across the street from Anaheim Packing District and just opened a few days ago. All of their beer and food is vegan. The concept of their Leisure town was to create a space of different atmospheres and ambiances accessible in one square block. There are multiple stations to buy beer at. They even have beer slushees!
When you first check in, you’re given a wristband after being ID’ed and they link your credit card with your first and last name. Wherever you go to buy beer or food, you just tell them your name to add your order to the tab. All beer and drinks are set on the table and disposable. Everything is contact less.
Anytime you’re not sitting at the table and are on the move, you have to wear your face mask. Tables and chairs are 6 feet apart.
There is also a lot of open space with shade and overhead mister sprays. Once a table is emptied by a previous party, it doesn’t take long until a worker comes to clean the tables and chairs. I think they have security camera footage to keep an eye at all times!
For the menu, there is a barcode to scan If you want to access it on your phone.
ASADA FRIES – Kennebec potato, borracho beans, gas station cheese, seitan asada, pico, chipotle crema, cilantro. I would order this plate of fries over and over again every time I come back here (which there will be many more visits)! This plate of food is such a good appetizer round that is fun to share with and good. At first I wanted fries.. but then I saw Asada fries and thought, “Why not just order Asada fries? Get my fake meat fix on my potatoes too!” The fries had the texture of steak fries but slightly skinnier. The Seitan Asada was chewy, allllmost like real meat.
Interesting fact: Seitan Asada is a combination of oil, juices, tamari, scallions, garlic, chilis, salt, and black pepper.
There was the perfect amount of sauces to make it saucy too.
MAC N CHEESE – Violife cheddar, mozzarella, feta cheese, shell noodles, toasted cracker, chives. Mac n Cheese was VERY impressive considering it was a vegan dish with just vegan cheese. It was very cheesyyyyy.
NASHVILLE CHICKEN SANDO – Cayenned-dredged fried soy chicken, chipotle oil, habenero maple mayo, slaw, dill pickle, chives.
THIS DISH IS TO DIE FOR!! I cannot believe I love a vegan fried chicken sandwich THIS MUCH. The fried soy chicken tasted almost like real chicken in terms of flavor. The chewy texture was just almost there. All of the flavors from the sauces just melded together to make the most juiciest (yet not heavy) fried chicken sandwich ever! The bread reminds me of the Vietnamese banh mi bread – soft and fluffy on the inside. The slaw cut through the “heaviness” of the fried soy chicken. It was very refreshing.
MUNCHWRAP – Flour tortilla, Tostada, Beyond Ground Beef, Lettuce, Pico, Crema, Gas Station Cheese. This is probably their gourmet vegan take of Taco Bell’s Crunch wrap Supreme. It tasted pretty close to it, but even BETTER. The flour tortilla was perfectly pan-fried to give that crispiness it so needs. The cheese is melted and held the Beyond ground beef together – super savory. The lettuce & pico & crema was refreshing.
This was also HUGE compared to Taco Bell’s crunchwrap.
LASER RAIN SLUSHIE – guava, cucumber, lime fruited sour gose 5.6%. This was actually very good, light and refreshing. The worker told me that they added extra maple syrup to sweeten it. There is a guava and cucumber taste. I really enjoyed this slush considering I don’t drink beer and there wasn’t much else for me to drink.
SAFETY – In terms of sanitation and hygiene, I felt completely safe in my few hours hanging out there. Everyone was respectful and keeping their distances. The workers were constantly sanitizing and wiping and cleaning. Everyone wore masks.
I would love to check out the rest of the closed off areas after Covid19 is over. There is a cute house with cutely decorated lounges on the inside and an open bar area with L-shaped bar table. There is also a gated pool area! I don’t think kids are allowed and no swimming during Covid for the time being, but…. You can still lounge and eat on the surrounding pool tables & lounge chairs just to get that pool vibe.
With parties of 7 or more, must call first to make reservations! This would be a great place for large parties, celebrations or just to chill and hang out.
There are many corners for intimate ambiances too.
Overall, I had a good vibe feeling that this was like a small “theme park,” but with food & beer.
