What does a vegan eat at a grilled cheese restaurant and where can I find some smuggled soda?

Meltdown Etc. is another staple in our art department's diet. Luckily for me, those melty chefs offer up some of the best soup and slaw in town. I always order the same thing: Fennel-Red Onion Slaw and a bowl of soup. I couldn't tell you what is in the slaw besides the obvious fennel and red onion, but it's awesome.

As far as I'm concerned, Meltdown is the soup nazi of L.A.--in terms of quality, not service! In fact, the service is quite the opposite of that meanie soup nazi, but I digress. The tomato soup is super tangy and creamy yet is somehow vegan. How do they do it?! They also always have a soup of the day which is vegan 99% of the time and is always sooooo good.

When I went to pick up our order this past time, I was bummed to see that they stopped selling Coke Light! (For those of you who don't closely follow the cola business: Coke Light is the version of Diet Coke that is sold in every country except the U.S. of A. It is illegal in the states because it has some chemical that the FDA thinks is toxic or something which is too bad because unlike Diet Coke, which tastes like toilet paper, Coke Light is t-a-s-t-y.) Anyway, apparently the inspectors were not too fond of Meltdown smuggling in Coke Light from Mexico so they made them take it off the shelves. Blast!

Anyone know where I can find some Coke Light in this town now???

Meltdown Etc.
9739 Culver Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232