Guest guest Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 My experience at Loving Hut @Westfield last week was less than stellar. The mostly steam table items were served barely lukewarm, mostly fake-meat based, and not very appealing. I have enjoyed meals off the menu at the Stockton St. location. The plus side is that brown rice is available. At a mall is where vegan food needs to really shine, as for some people it may be the only vegan meal they are ever exposed to. I'm sorry to say that for non-vegan mall customers, their vegan meal at Loving Hut may be their last. This is of course unfortunate, as we all know that the kind of food that we enjoy can be prepared well and in a delicious way under the right circumstances.Bob G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Hi Chris,That's so awesome there is a vegan place in the mall! I love hearing things like that - it's becoming so mainstream, and making it 'normal' for everyone! Also - there actually is a vegan smart balance! It's really yummy, too.http://www.bigapplegrocer.net/scripts/Smart-Balance --Whipped-Buttery-Spread---Organic---100-Vegan---13-oz~product~20920.htm Yay for vegans/vegetarians!Sarah On Mon, May 10, 2010 at 11:08 AM, Chris Marco <marcleton wrote: Hi All,We ate the Loving Hut the other night and it was so amazing to sit down to a table full of vegan food in a mall food court! And, the food was delicious! We never go to malls, let alone eat at them, but it's nice to know we can get some food if we have to go there for some reason. However, I noticed as we were walking away that there was a large-sized Smart Balance tub in the kitchen. It looked like the tub was being used for something other than holding margarine like holding utensils maybe (?—I honestly can't remember). But, Smart Balance is not vegan and it made me wonder if they are using SB in their cooking. I plan to ask next time, but figured in the meantime, others would like to know and perhaps ask as well. We were served SB at a Farm Sanctuary dinner a couple years ago, so I realize not everyone knows it's not vegan, but LH should know if they don't. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff makes me wonder about all supposedly vegan restaurants.~ Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Hey Sarah,Thanks for letting us know. I had no idea Smart Balance has multiple vegan products and apparently they say vegan on the nutrition label. That's great to know!~ Chris Also - there actually is a vegan smart balance! It's really yummy, too.http://www.bigapplegrocer.net/scripts/Smart-Balance%C2%A0--Whipped-Buttery-Spread---Organic---100-Vegan---13-oz~product~20920.htm Yay for vegans/vegetarians!Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I thought that all refried beans were made with lard, and almost all Spanish rice was made with chicken fat. Are Taco Bell's versions different? PaulOn May 10, 2010, at 5:14 PM, rachel4veggies wrote: I love "Loving Hut" and can't wait to try their new location, right by the Powell St BART station and the cable car turnaround. Just go down the escalator, past the panhandlers, past the BART fare gates to your left and the Muni fare gates to your right, and YOU'RE THERE. You don't even have to go into the mall to get to the food court. I hope tourists will start flocking to Loving Hut in droves! Also ... about mall food courts ... wherever there is a BUCKHORN GRILL, I know I can find some delicious vegan food. All I have to do is order the YIK YAK salad! It doesn't come with goat cheese or ranch dressing or anything that looks remotely un-vegan, so you don't have to specify "hold this" or "hold that." It's "An oriental salad with south of the border flair; a crisp mix of greens, cabbages, jicama, red peppers, snow peas, tossed with sweet sesame dressing & topped with toasted almonds" ... it's served in a great big flour tortilla (you don't have to eat the tortilla if you're watching your refined carbs). I love the Yik Yak salad, so give it a try (in malls where there's no Loving Hut, of course). BTW, I'm happy to hear that Loving Hut is in a San Jose mall as well. Wouldn't it be great if a vegan restaurant like Loving Hut could become a staple of mall cuisine, just like Orange Julius or Cinnabon? As an additional heads up, I've been surprised by how many people don't realize, you can go to Taco Bell and get the 7-layer burrito with no cheese and no sour cream ... it's about $2.00 ... it's a big flour tortilla (here I am again with the refined carbs, sorry about that), plus refried beans, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, and "Spanish rice." Naturally I always add 3 salsa packets (FIRE, Medium, and Mild ... one of each). Pretty tasty eats when you're out and about. Hey, you know how meat eaters tend to loathe Taco Bell and its greasy food, but they eat there anyway? Well, this happened on one occasion with my mom, and another occasion with my boyfriend ... they ordered their totally gross meat tacos (dripping with orange grease, yuck!!), and I ordered my 7-layer burrito sans cheese and sans sour cream (I've been ordering this since 2005) ... and they said, "Wow. I wish I had ordered that." Because, honestly, their food looks so frickin' gross in comparison. I don't how Taco Bell stays in business, when it's gross even to meat eaters, but I'm glad they are there (because of their vegan menu option). Take care everybody, Rachel D. San Francisco, CA , Chris Marco <marcleton wrote: > > Hi All, > > We ate the Loving Hut the other night and it was so amazing to sit down to a table full of vegan food in a mall food court! And, the food was delicious! We never go to malls, let alone eat at them, but it's nice to know we can get some food if we have to go there for some reason. However, I noticed as we were walking away that there was a large-sized Smart Balance tub in the kitchen. It looked like the tub was being used for something other than holding margarine like holding utensils maybe (?â€"I honestly can't remember). But, Smart Balance is not vegan and it made me wonder if they are using SB in their cooking. I plan to ask next time, but figured in the meantime, others would like to know and perhaps ask as well. We were served SB at a Farm Sanctuary dinner a couple years ago, so I realize not everyone knows it's not vegan, but LH should know if they don't. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff makes me wonder about all supposedly vegan restaurants. > > ~ Chris > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I found this link that says which things at Taco Bell are vegan and which are not. http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/Taco-Bell.htm Thanks goodness, my 7-layer burrito sans sour cream and sans cheese is on the VEGAN list! Woo-hoo! (It is a little confusing however as it says that there is some " soft burrito tortilla " that has powdered milk in it (strange!), but thankfully it's apparently not the tortilla that they use to make the 7-layer burrito or the bean burrito.) I responded to Paul separately, but certainly refried beans are *NOT* always made with lard. You can buy vegetarian refried beans like these at the usual non-organic non-health-friendly food mart: http://www.amazon.com/Rosarita-Refried-Beans-Vegetarian-16-Ounce/dp/B001BDB2XE My non-veg boyfriend is crazy for quesadillas and nachos, and he always buys vegetarian refried beans in the can. Apparently they're quite easy to find. -Rachel D. San Francisco, CA , Paul Keeton <pauly4 wrote: > > I thought that all refried beans were made with lard, and almost all Spanish rice was made with chicken fat. Are Taco Bell's versions different? > Paul > > On May 10, 2010, at 5:14 PM, rachel4veggies wrote: > > > I love " Loving Hut " and can't wait to try their new location, right by the Powell St BART station and the cable car turnaround. Just go down the escalator, past the panhandlers, past the BART fare gates to your left and the Muni fare gates to your right, and YOU'RE THERE. You don't even have to go into the mall to get to the food court. I hope tourists will start flocking to Loving Hut in droves! > > > > Also ... about mall food courts ... wherever there is a BUCKHORN GRILL, I know I can find some delicious vegan food. All I have to do is order the YIK YAK salad! It doesn't come with goat cheese or ranch dressing or anything that looks remotely un-vegan, so you don't have to specify " hold this " or " hold that. " It's " An oriental salad with south of the border flair; a crisp mix of greens, cabbages, jicama, red peppers, snow peas, tossed with sweet sesame dressing & topped with toasted almonds " ... it's served in a great big flour tortilla (you don't have to eat the tortilla if you're watching your refined carbs). I love the Yik Yak salad, so give it a try (in malls where there's no Loving Hut, of course). > > > > BTW, I'm happy to hear that Loving Hut is in a San Jose mall as well. Wouldn't it be great if a vegan restaurant like Loving Hut could become a staple of mall cuisine, just like Orange Julius or Cinnabon? > > > > As an additional heads up, I've been surprised by how many people don't realize, you can go to Taco Bell and get the 7-layer burrito with no cheese and no sour cream ... it's about $2.00 ... it's a big flour tortilla (here I am again with the refined carbs, sorry about that), plus refried beans, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, and " Spanish rice. " Naturally I always add 3 salsa packets (FIRE, Medium, and Mild ... one of each). Pretty tasty eats when you're out and about. > > > > Hey, you know how meat eaters tend to loathe Taco Bell and its greasy food, but they eat there anyway? Well, this happened on one occasion with my mom, and another occasion with my boyfriend ... they ordered their totally gross meat tacos (dripping with orange grease, yuck!!), and I ordered my 7-layer burrito sans cheese and sans sour cream (I've been ordering this since 2005) ... and they said, " Wow. I wish I had ordered that. " Because, honestly, their food looks so frickin' gross in comparison. I don't how Taco Bell stays in business, when it's gross even to meat eaters, but I'm glad they are there (because of their vegan menu option). > > > > Take care everybody, > > Rachel D. > > San Francisco, CA > > > > , Chris Marco <marcleton@> wrote: > > > > > > Hi All, > > > > > > We ate the Loving Hut the other night and it was so amazing to sit down to a table full of vegan food in a mall food court! And, the food was delicious! We never go to malls, let alone eat at them, but it's nice to know we can get some food if we have to go there for some reason. However, I noticed as we were walking away that there was a large-sized Smart Balance tub in the kitchen. It looked like the tub was being used for something other than holding margarine like holding utensils maybe (?†" I honestly can't remember). But, Smart Balance is not vegan and it made me wonder if they are using SB in their cooking. I plan to ask next time, but figured in the meantime, others would like to know and perhaps ask as well. We were served SB at a Farm Sanctuary dinner a couple years ago, so I realize not everyone knows it's not vegan, but LH should know if they don't. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff makes me wonder about all supposedly vegan restaurants. > > > > > > ~ Chris > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.