Loving Hut Grand Opening

You Gwinnett vegans & vegetarians have a new option. Sunday we went to the grand opening of Loving Hut in Norcross. We arrived to catch the tail end of dancing Chinese dragons out front. Inside they had two free buffets set up. And a ton of people. There is some patio seating and then a large dining room. We headed to the dining room and found someone we knew and were lucky enough to snag a couple of seats next to the cake. CAKE.

my pate...a few things are covered up
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
Heavenly Salad (I think) at Loving Hut
Chow Mein
Chow Mein
sushi and a fried fishy thing
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)
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
Hummingbird Cake
Close-up of 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.

Slip & Slide Party

It’s not as dirty as it sounds. Well, yeah, it was dirty. But in the muddy kind of way. Danielle and Matt hosted a slip & slide party to celebrate her art show at Youngblood. We brought over our soft serve machine and I cranked out a huge batch of vegan waffle bowls. Yep, vegan waffle bowl sundaes. We know how to do things in Atlanta.

Here’s my waffle bowl making station. The vodka gimlet helped when I wasn’t pouring them all over the floor. D’oh.

Here’s a lovely waffle bowl sundae. Mmmmm….

Oh, and this isn’t the little plastic sheet of a slip & slide. This was an inflatable, 2-lane slip & slide, with palm trees and a pool at the end. Insane!

Oh, you need action shots? Here, they’re taking a cue from Wipeout and spinning around before heading for the slide. Kevin didn’t quite make it.

Cookie Time

Most of yesterday was spent busting out cookies for Danielle Distefano’s art show opening at Youngblood. If you didn’t come down last night you missed the cookies, but the show runs through August 31st. So you can still check out all the lovely ladies. And I dare you to get out of Youngblood without buying something.

So what about those cookies? These cute little guys are Almond and Rosewater cookies. I even made Kevin decorate some of them.

Kevin suggested we do some thumbprint cookies. These are kind of a pecan shortbread filled with strawberry jam. All filled by Kevin!

Sometimes, you just have to make something ridiculously decadent. Chick-O-Stick white chocolate chip cookies are absolutely decadent. Where the heck do you get vegan white chocolate chips? From Cosmo’s of course! Chick-O-Sticks? Your local gas station or convenience store.

These were a last minute decision. How can you make a bunch of cookies without including any chocolate? So I made a batch of cappuccino cookies with chocolate chips.

Atlanta Vegan Bake Sale

wvbs-banner-grad-01

Mark your calendars! Sunday, June 21st Atlanta is participating in the World Vegan Bake Sale! Get fat and benefit animals, what a deal! Details are still being ironed out, but we’ll probably be set up outside of Criminal Records in Little 5 Points. Check out the blog for updates and information on how to participate. Even if you can’t come to one or participate, you can help by spreading the news with one of these banners.

I’ll leave you with a bit of food porn to get you excited about it.

 

Spicy Carrot Cake
Spicy Carrot Cake

 

 

Mexican Chocolate Doughnuts with Chili Chocolate Ganache
Mexican Chocolate Doughnuts with Chili Chocolate Ganache

 

 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies