Loving Hut, Falls Church, VA

I've had take-out from Loving Hut in Falls Church, Virginia, before when I was at a meeting in Manassas and simply had to try the food, even though it was about 20 miles out of the way on a stretch of incredibly high-traffic road! Loving Hut is an all-vegan restaurant with a decent sized menu and an excellent reputation, at least from what I can find online. For carry out I got a few appetizers (the golden rolls, golden nuggets, and fried wontons), the club sandwich, and a raspberry cheesecake. Everything was phenomenal and the fries that came with the sandwich were even incredibly delicious.

Check out the menu for the Falls Church location: Loving Hut menu.

Anyway, when my boyfriend and I were going to a concert at Verizon Center (only about 10 miles from Loving Hut) I knew we needed to stop in for dinner.

We definitely came with huge appetites. Since we live about an hour and a half away, we ordered extra so we'd have plenty for leftovers at home. Bryan ordered the corn and potato chowder to start. It cam with an awesome grain bread which was good on its own or dunked in the soup.

We ordered the fried wontons, golden rolls, and summer rolls as appetizers. (A picture of the summer rolls is directly below this paragraph.)

I was torn trying to decide what to have for an entree. I wanted something that was unique and that I don't cook all the time already at home, such as burgers and stir-fry, so I decided on the Spicy Cha Cha, which is their rendition of a vegan breaded/fried shrimp. Bryan decided to try the Sesame Eggplant Tofu, which was very nicely presented (much nicer than the photo directly below, which is the leftovers from our visit).

The Sesame Eggplant Tofu came with eggplant, tofu, mushrooms, onions, peppers, sesame, a delicious sauce, and rice on the side. Bryan wasn't overly fond of the texture of the eggplant. He thought the sauce made it a bit too soggy and the skin left on the eggplant was slightly tough to him, but I thought it was really good, especially today when I ate it for lunch. The tofu was nicely seasoned and firm on the outside but soft and flavorful on the inside.

The friend shrimp I was a bit hesitant to order, as I have had fake shrimp before and it was only so-so, but never have I ordered it breaded. I decided to be adventurous and was very glad, because it was great. The crust was spiced perfectly, a bit salty and tasted a bit like the sea in some way, which made the coating and the shrimp together delicious. (Pictured above, both whole and cut in half.) Finally, we got dessert to go. I got the strawberry cheesecake and Bryan ordered the Death by Chocolate cake, which really was to die for! Unfortunately, I didn't snap and photos of the cakes before they were greedily consumed.

We had leftovers of almost everything to enjoy the next day. I took the rest of the Sesame Eggplant Tofu to work with me for lunch the next day and the remaining Summer Roll. Bryan had the Spicy Cha Cha leftovers and the Wontons. With all the food we ordered, our bill was only $46 and some change. To sum it all up, we ordered a soup, three appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts for under $50!

I highly recommend Loving Hut if you're in the area. The diverse menu and delicious food can draw almost anyone in! Both times I've sampled their food I was impressed and satisfied. The prices are very reasonable, the staff is polite, and the food is great! Check out the reviews on HappyCow.net.