The Loving Hut – Vegan Restaurant Chain

Hey guys!

Dear The Loving Hut. If I were a vegan restaurant, I would want to merge. Ya know what I’m sayin’? Merge.

My boyfriend and I have always loved trying new foods and restaurants. One of our favorite dishes to enjoy when we first started dating was pho — a Vietnamese noodle soup where the broth is made of beef bones boiled for hours and hours. Usually the meat is served raw and then cooks in the broth at your table. When I went vegetarian, I had the option of eating pho without the meat. When I went vegan, I resigned to never eat pho again, and was fine with it.That is, until I found a restaurant that served vegan versions of Asian-inspired soups, like pho and wonton soup!

The Loving Hut is a franchise quick-serve restaurant serving only vegan dishes — most with an Asian flair. Since it’s a franchise, they allow each location to offer different dishes based on its particular market and regional favorites. I visited the Huntington Beach location for the first time yesterday [this is the HB-specific menu]. It was a small place — about the size of most Subway and Yogurtland restaurants — with a very Ikea-sterile-white-everywhere decor. The lady who greeted us at the counter was exceptionally warm and inviting which immediately put me at ease. The boyf and I ordered spring rolls ($3.25 for 4) as an appetizer, which we devoured before I even thought to take a picture #badblogger. I then ordered wonton soup for my entree — I couldn’t pass it up even though I love pho!

$6.95

Must be the childhood nostalgia I associate with the soup b/c when I was younger, my family and I would often visit our favorite local Chinese restaurant and order a large wonton soup to share. This vegan version was delectable! The benefit of eating a vegan wonton soup, purely for health-related reasons, is that it’s not full of fatty meats, which means lower calories and no bad animal fats.

The boyf ordered the Hawaiian Burger…

$7.25

Usually when my boyfriend orders “meat substitute burgers,” he reports it tasting like soy, even if he still enjoys it. But this burger was the best tasting to him so far — he said it beat out Native Foods & The Veggie Grill!

The added bonus to The Loving Hut’s menu is it features an extensive beverage list including Thai iced tea and smoothies!

[photo property of The Loving Hut]

My boyfriend and I both ordered tha-iced teas ($2.75/each) — delicious! If you’re watching your calories, you’d want to avoid the drink unless you’re calling it dessert — the non-vegan version’s typically got about 135-200 calories per 8-oz serving and I assume the vegan version is similar — and this was definitely more than 8 oz! Eep!

My boyfriend ended the meal with a piece of cheesecake ($2.50) that he devoured in the car! [and no picture again...]

We can’t think of a bad thing to say about this restaurant — the prices are cheaper than any other vegan establishment we’ve visited, it’s closest to our house, and the menu boasts some of our exotic favorites, including fried rice, kung pao “chicken,” “beef” and broccoli and typical faves like whole-wheat wraps and veggie burgers! You’ve gotta check this place out. California locations include: Alhambra, Huntington Beach, Milpitas, Orange, Ladera Ranch, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco (2), San Jose & Upland.There are also locations in AZ, FL, GA, HI, IL, MA, NJ, NY, TX & WA.

Tried any new restaurants lately?

Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

<3,

The Cranky One

Tags: native foods, the loving hut, the veggie grill, vegan restaurants