aka Steve - Just another WordPress site

A few months ago, I noticed that the windows of Vegan Garden had been papered over and a “closed for remodeling” sign had been stuck on the front door.

“Uh oh,” I thought, “another one bites the dust.” I expected that Vegan Garden would close for good and be replaced by another, non-veg restaurant.

I was right … and wrong. Right in that Vegan Garden has closed and been replaced; wrong in that the new restaurant is also 100% vegan.

The new place, Loving Hut, is owned by the same people who owned Vegan Garden.

The dining area still has a large-ish screen playing a continual loop of Supreme Master TV. The little bit that I watched focused on the environmental benefits of a vegetarian and/or vegan diet. Vegetarian and vegan — I’m into that. Being good to animals — ditto. Taking care of the environment — yep. Religion — no. In addition to the TV, the supreme master and god elements are heavily reinforced via the fortune cookie messages:

That’s all a bit much for me.

But I’ll keep going back, because I really liked the food — as did The Boyfriend (TB).

Vegan Garden’s menu was very much like the vegetarian/vegan menu at Moonlight Cafe: a huge number of Vietnamese cuisine dishes, with plenty of fresh veggies, fake meats, fried and non-fried items, and similar names for a lot of the items.

Loving Hut’s menu selection is much smaller, has some dishes reminiscent of Vegan Garden/Moonlight Cafe, plus some unexpected “American” options such as tacos and a burger. The physical menu is lacking; it has a picture of each dish, but no text description of the ingredients.

TB and I had Golden Rolls (fried spring rolls), Summer Rolls (not fried), Phabulous Pho, Mongolian Delight, a Lime Soda, and a Lemonade.

The Golden Rolls were a bit bland, but the Summer Rolls were light, fresh, and tasty.

The Phabulous Pho had a generous portion of noodles floating in a flavorful broth with a good selection of fake meats and a light smattering of veggies. (And the usual side plate with bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, lime wedge, and a couple of slices of a spicy green pepper.)

The Mongolian Delight had “beef” in a tangy, delicious sauce and sat atop crispy noodles.

I preferred the Lime Soda to the Lemonade; it was colder and more tart.

The service was very good.

$33 total, excluding tip. Bonus: vegan fortune cookies!

Loving Hut, 1226 S. Jackson St., Seattle (International District), 206-726-8669; http://lovinghut.us/seattle/; business hours Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (i.e., closed between 3 and 5 p.m. and on Sundays); opened in September 2009. If you drive there, be sure to ask for parking validation.