The largest international family of vegan restaurants

The visionary behind providing access to vegan food across the globe — there are 200 Loving Hut restaurants in 35 countries — is Supreme Master Ching Hai, a spiritual teacher, humanitarian and environmentalist. Similar to a guru, Supreme Master Hai has disciples from all faith backgrounds. It’s not about eliminating one’s belief system in favor of her teachings, it’s more of an addition to your existing faith. Restaurant Manager Tammy Chiu is a disciple of Supreme Master Hai, but not all employees are.

Let’s do the cha-cha, vegan style

Some popular dishes include the Combo Cha Cha: a sweet and savory stir-fry of deep-fried vegan shrimp (made from konjac root and shaped into shrimp).

“Ironically, it’s a little fleshier than real shrimp,” Jackson chuckled. It’s sautéed in a house-made sauce and served with quinoa, brown or white rice, and a salad.

Other flavorful dishes are the Sweet and Sour Divine with bell peppers, broccoli, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and the Sweet and Sour Island with crispy bean curds.

For those who don’t want noodles and rice, American-style options like vegan burgers, a Philly cheese steak and an avocado bacon sandwich hit home. Jackson refers to the menu as “stacked” full of options that keep their clientele coming back for more.

Loving Hut doubles as a shop where patrons and neighborhood restaurants can purchase vegan shrimp, drumsticks, nuggets, sushi tuna, tuna rolls, bacon slices (with a similar texture to real bacon) and vegan lamb chunks.

The average price of meals is $12.95, with the chickpea burger being the most expensive at $14.99. The Au Lac Sandwich at $11.95 is the least expensive; it’s a Vietnamese hoagie with house-made BBQ sauce over soy slices, pickled carrots and daikon on a toasted baguette.

“People rave about our coconut, strawberry mousse and peanut butter cakes,” Jackson said.

VeGreen Vegetarian Fusion Restaurant

VeGreen Vegetarian Fusion Restaurant at 3780 Old Norcross Road, Suite 106 in Duluth is the result of two vegetarian friends coming together, one from Hong Kong and the other from Taiwan. Together, they spread the good news about the health benefits of veganism and choosing kindness in all we do, including our food choices.

“Increased vegetable intake combined with decreased meat consumption has been shown to reduce health risks,” Assistant Manager Jackie Szeto said. VeGreen embraces a plant-based lifestyle and encourages people to eat better by serving delicious vegan alternatives that are just as good as celebrated Asian dishes like General Tso’s Chicken and Mongolian Beef.

“Each vegan meal consumed by a happy customer leads to a smaller carbon footprint, less animal cruelty and better health,” Szeto affirmed.

Manager Jeromy Chanthavisay spoke about widening our circles of compassion to include all living creatures. He cited a menu of almost 100 dishes that people can enjoy without eating meats. Most vegan proteins are made from soybeans. Their appearance and texture are very similar to animal protein. Dishes on the VeGreen menu are made with these “mock meats” which are becoming more common as more people transition to veganism.

Plant-based seafood, a small but growing part of the market, includes vegan sushi. “We pride ourselves on having many different vegan sushi rolls since it’s rare. Sushi is still derived mainly from seafood,” Szeto said.

According to Szeto, many vegans have life-changing stories about how transitioning to more plant-based diets have made their serious illnesses disappear.

Besides VeGreen Fusion and VeGreen 2Go in Duluth, you can visit VeGreen Burger in Kennesaw. A new Buford location is opening soon. Citing the founders of VeGreen, Szeto shared, “we wish everyone to live life with a happy, healthy and full belly.”

Slutty vegan

CEO Pinky Cole knows a thing or two about having a belly full of scrumptious vegan food. Cole started Slutty Vegan out of her West End Atlanta apartment in 2018.

Originally, her meatless burger joint creations could be ordered on Instagram, then from a food truck, and within the same year, from the first brick-and-mortar location.

Her motivation? Bringing vegan options that she craved herself to a community steeped in Black history and culture that may never have considered eating plant-based food before. In the plant-based meat category, burgers are the most popular, and Cole’s empire has flourished accordingly. There are currently seven locations in Georgia, two in New York and one in Alabama.

Hey, slut!” is how you’ll be greeted in her restaurants, challenging notions that veganism is stuffy or that only certain kinds of people partake in the often-stigmatized lifestyle. Our parents may once have punished us for being foulmouthed, but swearing has been proven by popular science to be good for you. It can lower anxiety, reduce pain, prevent violence, help trauma victims recover language and even promote cooperation.

Now, partake in swearing while ordering healthier, plant-based options of your favorite “junk foods” at Slutty Vegan in Duluth at 2045 Pleasant Hill Road, and you’re practically on a health retreat!

Instead of a bar of soap in your mouth, you’ll be rewarded with a vegan Philly, a plant-based burger and a boozy slushy for requesting “A Hollywood Hooker, a One Night Stand and a Slutty Slushy.”

All this talk about healthy food options in Southwest Gwinnett has me eager to try some. Where shall we go first? ##