Have you seen the new Vegan Cuts line that states, “Will Travel for Vegan Food”? Well, it basically expresses everything about my family. It goes a bit deeper though since we travel for vegan food either from a restaurant or a grocery store. After moving to the “country” it’s hard to find vegan options in our local grocery stores so we tend to travel around the surrounding area to places selling vegan products. Thankfully we have the option to travel less than an hour to Washington D.C. metro area. This last weekend the husband and I decided we would travel to a few different Asian grocery stores since I’ve been a bit homesick for Japan.
I’ll make sure to review the stores we visited and spent lots of money later but first I have to tell you all about the Loving Hut in Falls Church, VA. Loving Hut is a chain restaurant from around the world that serves 100% vegan options. If you are thinking it’s some sort of hippie grass eating restaurant but you would totally be wrong. It’s so amazing to not only go into a restaurant and not worry of what is vegan and what is not but to also find that all the food is a feast for the taste buds. The hubby and I have been to both the Cincinnati, OH; Reynoldsburg, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; and both in Honolulu, HI. We loved all of the locations!
So one can only imagine how much I screamed in delight seeing there was one in Falls Church, VA. Thankfully it’s not closer or I would be broke by now. LOL This trip we splurged a bit since we wanted to try a few things and have some leftovers for later.
Starters: Golden Rolls which are basically spring rolls.
Salad: Loving Hut Salad (which I have ordered at each one I love it so much. Anyone have the recipe?)
Entrée: (2) Lemongrass Tofu and Mixed Vegetables & Vietnamese Vegan Steak Sandwich otherwise known as a Banh Mi (supposed to be BBQ but isn’t)
This trip was our first excursion to this location and oh boy were we looking forward to it. We did find a few differences between the various restaurants which we found as a pro and con.
Pros of every Loving Hut:
Delicious Recipes made from fresh ingredients
Recipes are predictable so kinda know what you are going to get.
There are options for non-vegans that will convince them vegans aren’t so bad
Hello, vegan dessert!!!!
Friendly Staff
Cons of this particular Loving Hut:
Floors were really sticky- think movie theater floors
Confusing layout of restaurant
Location is difficult to navigate
Food seemed to be blander than other locations
Rather rundown for the price range of entrees
Normally I’m turned off from restaurants that do not have the highest cleanliness habits but considering this is the only location nearby, we will definitely be going back. After all, I have to have my Loving Hut Salad fix. Ha-ha If you are traveling through the area or even live nearby, go ahead and order takeout- you will love it! Remember to leave room for dessert, unlike us. *whimper*
I love the spring and summer rolls. I have had the burger there. I’m really curious about the tuno. Have you tried it?
What “Tuno”? Oh, the burgers are really delicious – yum! I think the menu changes throughout the different locations though. I can’t wait to see what’s out in California (which I know it’s on the website but I like it to be a surprise ha-ha).
Tuno is the fake tuna. The menus are location specific so I guess they don’t have it near you.
Oh, I’m so jealous! Sounds delicious! When we lived in Cleveland, Ohio we had mock shrimp in our local Asian store and it was rather good. There is a definite taste difference but it was a nice substitute for vegans. Strangely the Loving Hut in Dayton, Ohio also had shrimp but they were always out of it. Haven’t heard of Tuno though, I can’t wait to go out to CA to test all the different locations!!! Let me know if you have the tuno.
Will do. I’ll have it next time we go.
I think I might try this restaurant sometime, though it is hard to find anything gluten free at a vegan place. I live in the area, instead of near it, so it shouldn`t be too terrible. Maybe an hour, maybe two, depending on traffic. Kind of funny that I`m closer in miles, but farther in time!
Yes traffic can be a hassle in the D.C. metro area (apparently we won the award for worst traffic over LA-yay!). It does take a while to get home in the afternoon but it’s worth the drive. There are just so many great things available! I believe the menu’s do state what is/isn’t gluten free. They are very health conscious and can really work around what you need. You sound like you live in the area, do you have any special places you visit that is worth the drive and traffic?
Yeah, we`ve all heard about the worst traffic thing. It makes sense, we`ve only built a total of three new highways and very few lane expansions since the fifties! That is nice if it is very clear about gluten free vs glutenfull. I love a lot of the restaurants in Old Town, especially the Lavender Moon Bakery and Asian Bistro. Just about every shop in town has a long gluten free section to their menus, so it is fun to be able to walk into any shop I want to and eat everything I see. I also just love the architecture and charm of the city, and I`d probably visit if I couldn`t eat anything! I skip the traffic because I think it is fun to ride on the Metro, but that`s probably only because I don`t have to use it for my commute.