Vegetarian and vegan mole Buddhist-monastery analog

Gracias Madre in West Hollywood is explicitly a vegan Mexican restaurant, with its entire menu rooted in plant-based ingredients, including its mole ^[1][2]. The source confirms it serves ‘traditional Mexican cuisine made from scratch using organic, non-GMO, plant-based ingredients’ and is described as a ‘vegan Mexican food mainstay’ ^[1][2]. No other LA restaurants (such as Sage Plant Based or a ‘vegan-Mexican cluster’) are mentioned in the provided sources.

Regarding flavor depth and lard’s structural role: The sources do not describe the flavor profile of vegan mole or compare it to traditional mole made with lard. However, one source (a Los Angeles Times article titled ‘Praise the Lard’) and a Rick Bayless lard archive are referenced but their content is not provided ^[3][4]. Without those excerpts, it is impossible to answer how vegan mole differs in flavor depth or what that reveals about lard’s structural role. To answer that, one would need the full text of those articles, which likely discuss lard’s contribution to mouthfeel, richness, and flavor carry in traditional mole.