Loving Cafe - Fort Wayne, IN

I figured today was the perfect day to blog about The Loving Cafe in Fort Wayne, Indiana, since I will be stuck in my house due to inclement weather.  Taking a look back on our fall road trip, I knew I had to dedicate a post about The Loving Cafe which is a 100% vegan restaurant in Fort Wayne.

The cafe was part of a plaza area that was pretty nice and had parking directly in front of the establishment.  The food was fast and fresh and full of flavor!  Hubby started off with a salad that had a nice creamy ginger type dressing.  

We decided to split some loaded fries.  There was a bean chili and vegan cheese they topped the plate with as you can see.  I decided to opt for the Mushroom Pistachio Soup and it was 'out of this world'!  Hubby chose the Cabbage soup and he said it was some of the best he ever had when it came to Cabbage soup...vegan or non-vegan!

I did sample some of his soup and it was darn tasty!  It was sweet AND savory.  I was surprised by the sweet and then realized they used raisins on the soup!  Clever!

Everything on the menu was clearly described and there were many creative dishes I was thrilled to see!  Ones I would have never assumed would be offered.  I took a few photos of the menus because I wanted to remember the food combos and ideas to see if I could make a version of some of them at home.

Some of them, I was a little afraid to try, because I thought they might taste too much like meat.  They seemed to do a lot with vegan shrimp which intrigued me but I couldn't seem to bring myself to try them at first day we were there.  I'm betting if I lived full-time near this place I would eventually have to try everything on their menu!

I loved the color of the cafe dining area!  The light fixtures were nice, too!  The prices seemed to be right in line with other non-veggie offerings in the area.  I'm so glad we were able to visit The Loving Cafe in Fort Wayne, IN, it was a great experience!

The Lunch Room - Ann Arbor, MI

I know I briefly mentioned our trip to Fort Wayne, IN (which ended up being our 'home base' and we hopped around to several other cities in the process) a few posts ago when I was doing my 6-packs of photo posts and recaps since I was so behind on blogging but I really wanted to dedicate a blog post to my experience at a few of those places because of their vegan friendliness!

First up is The Lunch Room - Ann Arbor - Michigan.  It was nestled in the Kerrytown District of Ann Arbor and I TOTALLY FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS PLACE!  It was original hippie meets new/millennial-hippie and I seemed to fall smack dab in the middle age-wise.  There were brand-new college kids straight up to the higher ages of the Baby Boomers and I couldn't have been more 'at home'.  Their menu was completely vegan.  Because was 'new to the place' I asked the guy at the counter if everything on the menu was vegetarian or vegan and he said with a big smile 'always been vegan - always will be vegan' to which I said AWESOME and THANK YOU!

In these first three photos you can see the outside of the building.  The first one was taken from the back of the parking lot and the other two are looking in on the middle section of the building...their courtyard, if you will.  I took one from inside the red tunnel and the other one outside from across the way.  They were all decorated for fall and it was lovely!

This was a pic of their counter area.  They showcased a slew of vegan desserts and goodies but by the time we were done with our meals I couldn't eat another bite AND the place was totally packed and wanted to make sure we weren't hogging a table.

We decided to get nachos to split.  They were HUGE!  The Loaded Nachos were about $10, I believe.  It was a meal for one (or two) by itself that is for sure! Tortilla chips, Cuban black beans & corn, avocado, their house vegan nacho cheese & pico de gallo. Gluten-free, too!

Next up...this GINORMOUS bowl of Vegan Mac & Cheese!  Spoiler Alert...I took most of this back to the hotel with me and ate it for another 2 meals!  So yeah...$8 for Gourmet Vegan Mac that lasts you 3 meals was TOTALLY WORTH IT!  The official description of this dish?  "The ultimate comfort food. The “cheese” is rich with butternut squash & red bell peppers. With a crunchy almasen (almonds, lemon zest & sesame seeds) & parsley topping."

And then there was hubby's meal...Queso Burrito Bowl.  It was a Gluten-free bowl with Black Pepper Tofu, Cuban black beans & corn, rice, pico de gallo, nacho cheese, chipotle ranch, avocado, baby greens, red bell pepper & tortilla chips.  I believe this was about $10 as well but DH the omni said he liked it.  However, and it was to no fault of The Lunch Room, between the vegan cheese on the nachos and the vegan cheese on his GIANT Salad/Bowl, we learned a lesson that day...Nutritional Yeast isn't a friend to those with Crohn's Disease.  I have been reading about it ever since and apparently SOME Crohn's people can't handle Nutritional Yeast.  DH hardly ever eats my food at home so he hasn't had much if at all any Nutritional Yeast in the past and even if he did it was in very small quantities.  He had a LOT that day and now we know he can't handle it.  YIKES!  But....everything was WONDERFUL tasting and SO FILLING!  I highly recommend The Lunch Room to anyone!

Infusion Tea & Vegetarian Restaurant - Winter Park, FL

Photo Credits: TasteMyBuds

Lately I have been thinking back to the Vegetarian Restaurants I have been able to visit the last several years.  It's not as many as most Veg*n Bloggers as I live in a Rural Area and must travel to the ones I do come across but I am grateful for the ones I have been to thus far.  Some of them have gone out of business but some have been around for a while, too!

The last time we went to Florida was in 2009 and I was luck enough to visit Winter Park - just outside of Orlando!  Not only was this place a vegetarian restaurant it was also a Tea Place!  Combining TWO of my favorite things!  YAY!

BUT...back then I didn't have this blog active so I didn't blog about it!  BUT...I did review it over on Steepster!  Thank GOODNESS!  Here is that review!

Again...this is from 2009...

This past summer I visited Infusion Tea in (Winter Park) Orlando, FL. The facade and location surroundings are in such a beautiful downtown/Main Street Type setting. We parked on the street in mid-afternoon so I am not the best to judge their actual parking situation.
The selection of Loose Leaf Teas was awesome…I ended up ordering 2 FRESH and ICED and then brought 3 to take home…I liked them all. They featured a vegetarian and vegan menu which was great…since I am a vegetarian. My husband is NOT a vegetarian but also enjoyed the food there…which is a BIG DEAL (trust me). They had a neat little gift shop as well as a local Artisan Section and more than a couple of shelves of books and other areas of interest. I noticed posters and flyers advertising upcoming events and it seems like they always have something going on whether it’s game night or poetry night or something for artists or tea lovers or vegetarians.
I really enjoyed my experience and would love to go back someday. The staff was nice and the tea and food were awesome. Last time I looked at their website they didn’t have all of their teas listed on it and even though I have sent them emails – and they have emailed back most times – when I asked about ordering their tea online – or getting a complete list of teas available for order – I received mixed responses and have yet to purchase online.
But all and all I really like this place and their tea!

Labyrinth Press Company Vegetarian Restaurant - Jamestown, NY

 I'm embarrassed!  The Labyrinth Press Company Vegetarian Restaurant has been on East 4th Street in Jamestown for 5 years and I didn't even know it was a vegetarian restaurant up until this past week.  I knew it was a place for live local bands and artists but I didn't know it was 100% vegetarian.  I used to be so UP on that stuff.  Oye!  Well, it's time for me to redeem myself!

 First...I think their logo is pretty cool!  I also like their neon sign.  They are located 'under' street level so it's a little hidden but still pretty neat.  They have a Drink Menu, All the Time Menu (which we ordered off of), and a Brunch Menu.  They are working on a Craft Brewery upstairs so when that's good-to-go I'm told they will be bringing back their Pizza Menu for Wednesdays thru Saturday evenings.  There were two younger guys working on Friday when we went.  They were both really nice, knowledgeable, and helpful...and in good spirits!  Their menus are pretty amazing!  They use organic and/or local ingredients whenever possible.  They make their own Coconut Soy Milk Blend.  As a 'default' their smoothies have Almond Milk in them but you can substitute that by request. 

I forgot to take a pic of my husband's meal.  He got the Southwest Grilled Burrito.  For an additional side he chose the Home Over The Border Fries.  And for the beverage he got the Tropical Rendezvous Smoothie.  He's NOT a vegetarian - far from it!  He really liked this place.  He said the meal was tasty, spiced 'just right', and filling, and he LOVED the smoothie!  The 'fries' were like 'home fries'.  He liked those, too!

Now...what are those other two meal photos, you ask?  Well, they are MINE...ALL MINE!!!! (evil laugh)

Seriously!  The first one is a pic of my lunch that I ate THERE.  I got the Havana Shakedown...it has Black Beans, seasoned rice, Avocado, Agave Nectar, Fresh Lime, Diced Tomatoes, Fresh Salsa, Hot Sauce, Almonds, Sunflower Seeds!  For an additional side I chose the Chickpea Salad...the Balsamic drizzle really MADE it!  Both were AWESOME!  For my beverage I decided to go with the Mint Mochaccino.  It was made with Chocolate Almond Milk, Organic Cane Sugar, and Natural Peppermint Extract.  Hubby tried it and really like it, too!  BEST PART = Dairy Free!  Woot!

Below that photo is another one.  YUP!  I ordered my dinner TO GO!  The guys wrapped it in foil and hours later I put in the microwave for about 45 secs and it was warm and tasty!  It's the BBQ Tofu Rodeo Burger!  Grilled Tofu, their OWN Guava-Lime BBQ Sauce, topped with onion, sliced tomato, fresh baby spinach, and hot sauce!  AWE-SOME!

So...let's recap!

We purchased:

3 Meals

2 additional sides (which were huge)

2 specialty drinks

AND...

our bill was only $25.50 - NOT BAD AT ALL for going 'All Out', eh?

I'm super excited about this place and hope to go often now that I know it's 100% vegetarian and has LOTS of vegan options!

Participating In:
Just Another Meatless Monday
Macro Monday
My Meatless Mondays
Veggie Mama's Meatless Mondays