We started with fried brussels sprouts in a sweet sauce. They’re fried, so of course they’re tasty. But I really like brussels sprouts so I prefer them steamed or roasted if I’m cooking them at home.

Kevin had one of his regular favorites, the stuffed acorn squash.

And I had the pepper crusted tempeh. Under it that’s romaine lettuce, potatoes and a balsamic reduction sauce, I think. All rockin’.

And I don’t know if they’ve always had this lighting at the tables, but it’s very friendly to food blogging.

For dessert, I made my own birthday cake. It was a black forest cake and I utterly failed to take any pictures of it.

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Post tags: acorn squash, atlanta, brussels sprouts, cafe sunflower, restaurant, tempeh, vegan, vegetarian

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Soup and vegan thai iced tea:

The Thai iced tea was much better than Loving Huts. More like what I remember. I think Loving Hut just needs to brew the tea stronger.

I think I got the Massaman Curry, but the online menu doesn’t say anything about tofu. So it could be the Panang. The appetizer is the square noodle roll. I will almost always order something with fermented black beans in it given the option. Also, I totally failed to ask for the extra spices, so I don’t know how good their wheel of doom is.

Kevin got the Red Curry Duck and the spicy spring rolls.

Just walking in for lunch here seemed to be no problem, but the space is tiny so there may be waits for dinner. The space itself is tiled all the way around including the ceiling. My picture sucks so I’m not adding it, but I encourage you to click through to their site to have a look.

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Post tags: curry, east village, nyc, restaurant, thai, vegan, vegetarian

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Naturally, it was raining all day. So I stomped through the rain the 3 or 4 blocks to the restaurant. I asked about vegan options and it was pretty much all the veggie options. Cool! So I got the blackened tofu, peas and rice and green beans. She said the blackened tofu came with sweet and sour sauce. I asked for it on the side. The blackened tofu wasn’t really spicy. At all. So that was kind of odd. But everything was pretty good. The sweet and sour sauce was kind of like asian sweet and sour sauce. It also had a strip each of raw onion, bell pepper and carrot in it. And two tomato chunks. I ended up dumping it on half the rice and half the tofu. I think the green beans were just canned, but they weren’t cooked to death so I was fine with that. They also had some veggie stir fries, a curry and other stuff on the menu I’d like to try.

I almost forgot that I picked up a callaloo patty for later that became part of dinner. The greens had a bit of a kick. Very nice.

Holy crap! That wraps up my 2nd VeganMofo! 31 posts in 31 days. I might be a little blogged out….

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Post tags: atlanta, caribbean, restaurant, rice, tofu, vegan, veganmofo 2009, vegetarian

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Post tags: atlanta, fries, restaurant, sandwich, soul vegetarian, tofu, vegan, veganmofo 2009, vegetarian

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This is the small salad combo at Soul Vegetarian with carrot salad, eggless salad and beets on romaine with sprouts, cucumber and tomato. Oh, and their prince dressing. Sure can’t forget that. And a side of corn bread. The fun part about eating a bunch of beets is the surprise you’ll get after they, uh, work their way through.

R. Thomas is a local restaurant here in Atlanta. They aren’t even vegetarian, but have a decent number of veg*n options. They also have grab and go food you can pick up at a few different markets around town. This one was my lunch one day. A bean wrap, eggless wrap and quinoa salad wraps with a raw cabbage salad.

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Post tags: beets, carrots, quinoa, r. thomas, restaurant, salad, soul vegetarian, vegan, veganmofo 2009, vegetarian

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my plate...a few things are covered up

I’ve got a few close-ups coming up. My favorite items were the Heavenly Salad (I think) and the rice paper roll. It was either a summer roll or a basil roll. The salad tasted Vietnamese and we just don’t have enough Vietnamese options around here.

Heavenly Salad (I think) at Loving Hut

Chow Mein

sushi and a fried fishy thing

This might be the BBQ Sticks? It was kind of beefy and definitely had a BBQ style sauce. I think they either make their own fake meats or they have a completely different source than the other restaurants in the area.

BBQ Sticks (I think)

And yes, what grand opening celebration would be complete with out CAKE. This was their hummingbird cake. I didn’t love it. I felt like my piece was mushy and possibly undercooked. I ate it all anyway.

Hummingbird Cake

Close-up of Hummingbird Cake

Glancing through the menu, it is mostly an assortment of different Asian foods. But they also have spaghetti and a hamburger if you’re not into that. A lot of fried stuff. When I go back, I definitely want to try the Pho. They had vegan Thai Tea at the grand opening and it was pretty tasty. Root beer float is on the menu. Most of the entrees seem to run in the $8-9 range.

Too bad this place is not at all convenient for me. But for those rare excursions up into Gwinnett I will definitely think of it. Oh, and your meal comes with all the Supreme Master TV you can stand.

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Post tags: asian, atlanta, georgia, loving hut, norcross, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian

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Hi Everyone!
On behalf of the Loving Hut Georgia, I am pleased to invite everyone to our Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 11:00 AM on Sunday September 20, 2009. Loving Hut Georgia is the largest and newest Loving Hut to be introduced in the USA. All guests are invited to share a complimentary buffet of delicious and healthy international cuisine.

Loving Hut is the fastest growing international vegan healthy food restaurant chain, providing friendly service and featuring a wide selection of international cuisine available at worldwide locations. Loving Hut is based on the concept that people and animals can live in harmony through a sustainable plant-based lifestyle. It promotes vegan eco-friendly green solutions, using only animal-free ingredients, and organic whenever possible. Loving Hut’s mission is to help people make the noble transition to a healthy vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. It is a beacon of light for an alternative way of living, encouraging more and more people and restaurants around the world to adopt a plant-based lifestyle; a lifestyle that is healthy, compassionate, peaceful, and the fastest and most effective way to ensure a sustainable planet.

We would be honored to have your presence at our Grand Opening. Please RSVP Evite link. We look forward to serving you.

RSVP via evite
http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/BFMGDPAGYMIWWPHCVRTP/lovinghut

For more details visit:
http://www.lovinghut.us/georgia

Loving Hut – Georgia
6385 Spalding Drive, Suite E
Norcross, GA 30092
678-421-9191

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Post tags: georgia, loving hut, norcross, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian

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Ipanema Cafe is in the basement of a building. Lots of exposed brick and definitely on the dark side. I can see it being a favorite of people with hangovers and vampires. The place was full when we got there, but the bar was empty so we decided to go ahead and sit there to eat. They were serving the brunch menu but while we were sitting there we could see the dinner menu posted on the wall and spent some time drooling over those options and wishing we could come back for dinner.

I ordered The Rubi (Tempeh Benedict) – smoky grilled tempeh resting on homemade english muffin, sautéed spinach, mushrooms, onions and marinated tomato. Topped with a vegan citrus béarnaise sauce. The tempeh was packed with flavor and sliced thin. Baked, I think. Everything else complemented it well. It was definitely a winner. It also came with sweet potato hash and fresh fruit. Here is a blurry picture thanks to the fact that my camera only focuses when it feels like it. I’m sure someone on some blog will make a snarky post about crappy food porn pics. That person can bite it.

Kevin got the French Toast with Warm Apple Compote – Billy Bread dipped in sweet apple sauce batter and griddled. It was good, but apparently didn’t come close to touching the french toast at Pick Me Up Cafe in Chicago. 

The girl at Harrison Street said we HAD to get a piece of pie at Ipanema. Just as we were getting ready to ask about that, the bartender came out with a free piece of blueberry pie for us since we were from out of town. How cool was that? It had a shortbread crust with a tasty, crunchy streusel on top. It was really good, but the baker in me is always thinking of things I’d do differently. Can’t help it.

I don’t know what we’re going to do about food today. Harrison Street and Panda Veg are both closed. Time to hit up Happy Cow!

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Post tags: brunch, dessert, food, ipanema, pie, restaurant, richmond, tempeh, vegan, vegetarian, virginia

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Black Bean Hummus Wrap

Beer Battered Tofu Sandwich

Biscuits and Vegan Sausage Gravy

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Post tags: Add new tag, breakfast, lunch, restaurant, richmond, vegan, vegetarian, virginia

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Ha, don’t judge this poor veggie stack by it’s pic.

This was basically pasta & veggie sausages in sauce. Good, but I can do at home.

Dessert was kind of like a smoothie. Nice, but lacking my favorite dessert ingredient, chocolate.

All in all, off to a good start! Our next visit, we were greeted with these lovely fried tofu nuggets. These were amazing! I think it was an asian sweet and sour sauce with it. BBQ sauce might have been better. But honestly, they were so good naked that it didn’t matter.

Main course was a shepherd’s pie. Again, good, but something I can make at home.

Now this is the kind of dessert I can get behind! I think it was a chocolate mousse in a sort of peanut buttery crunchy shell. Really good.

See, these are just getting better! Next visit:

The green and gold minestrone soup was slightly salty but otherwise excellent.

Beer bangers, mustard mashed potatoes and onion gravy. Again, good, but I can make.

And I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin pie. It’s okay, but again, lack chocolate. I think this particular meal was my least favorite. Again, it was still pretty good.

After a little break from vegan night, I got my favorite meal there so far! Collard green wontons with sweet chili sauce. I could eat a bowl full of these.

Gnocchi with cashew thyme pesto. Now THIS is what I’m talkin’ about! If you’ve ever made gnocchi you know why they’re appreciated so much more if someone else does all the work.

Dessert did lack chocolate. But the gnocchi was so rockin’ that I didn’t care. Brandied peach and almond cobbler:

So that wraps up the vegan nights I’ve tried so far. I know there was one more I forgot to take pics of. Oh well. If you’re looking to shake up your vegan routine, give it a try.

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Post tags: east atlanta, eav, graveyard tavern, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian

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