I'm Loving It At The Global Vegan Empire Loving Hut

 Savory Crepe Filled With Cheese And Mushrooms

So delicious! 

     Okay, so I teased you thinking I was going to review one of the best restaurants I've ever been to, Le Potager du Marais, but the pictures don't seem to be on my computer so I might have to do some digging. Moving over to the global vegan empire of loving hut might be a little bit of a disappointment, but I was impressed. Since this is my first post about Paris, after covering the amazing Berlin with Lucky Leek, La Mano Verde, Mio Matto and Kopps (and the Berlin vs. Paris battle of the vegan grocery store), Let me first counter the myth that Parisians are rude. Not only were Parisians awesome, but incredibly friendly and helpful. And it was delightful to be vegan in Paris. Not only was vegan paris day going on, but a plethora of compassionate restaurants to choose from. While it might be surprising we choose Loving Hut (we don't have one here in Utah so that was a draw) and not to mention that it was one of the only places on the menu that had a vegan savory crepe on the menu and a cheese plate. Crepes are ubiquitous all over Paris, and seems like the quintessential Parisian treat, so I had to indulge, even if it's owned by someone calling herself a Supreme Master, but with food this delicious I might be willing to follow. 

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Vegan Cheese Sampler Plate

Yup, A Cheese Plate in Paris! 

     The savory crepe was perfection and gushing with cheese and mushrooms. This was exactly why we wanted to visit Loving Hut, not only was it close to the subway, but it provided the perfect Parisian experience. To top things off, we started with a vegan cheese sampler plate. How's that for cliche, Huffington Post? The cheeses were awesome and provided a good tasting of what I believe to be vegusto cheese, something we don't get in the states (or at least in Salt Lake). Yes, it was good just by itself or even better paired with the crusty slices of baguette that accompanied the dish. Back when I went vegan, I never thought I would be eating vegan cheese by itself. The only thing missing was a glass of wine, which unfortunately the loving hut is a dry restaurant.

New York Crisps

Crispy, Crunchy and Yummy! 

     Beside the cheese plate, we decided to try the crispy breaded chicken aka New York Crisps. In my opinion the fake meats from loving hut are one of the the reasons I like that place. If that's not your thing, there's still plenty to love at loving hut. Breaded and fried fake chicken with a tangy tomato dipping sauce.Sometimes simple is just what is in order.Not to mention, this taste like the real thing, so much so I bet you could fool a meat eater just like Beyond Meat did on Good Morning America. 

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Quiche  

Killer Quiche!

    With the appetizers figured out, it was a given that the crepe had to be ordered. We almost ordered two but decided to branch out into the rest of the menu. The vegan quiche caught my eye. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a vegan version on any menu ever so we decided to give it a go. The quiche was delightful, like a bunch of crepe pilled on top of each other, but denser and without the cheese. I was pleasantly surprised, but damn if that savory crepe didn't keep eyeing me. Luckily, the special one and I switched plates so we could share each meal.

Durian Fruit and Taro Sorbet 

Durian Fruit

      I'm always willing to try new things. To be honest, I love it and it's no secret that my sweet teeth always have room for dessert. I've never heard of durian fruit before, so I had to give it a try. They had a lot of other flavors, but I went with the two unique flavors I found, taro root in purple and durian fruit the yellow. When I ordered our awesome server asked me if I ever had it.  I hadn't and he warned me that some people don't like it. Not to mention, it's banned in asian hotels because it's so smelly. While the sorbet didn't smell, I loved the funk that it had, kinda like the sour beers that I've been all about lately. The special one didn't care for it that much, but I would get this again. The taro root was also delectable and was like a sweet version of the root. 

 

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Mano A Mano With La Mano Verde

Passion Fruit Creme Brulee

Did I mentioned flamed at my table?

     Okay, if you read the last installment of the F the Huffington Post series about Germany's all vegan and amazing Kopps, you know I mentioned creme brulee flamed right at my table. If that doesn't give you any indication of how impressive the menu at La Mano Verde is, I'm not sure what will. While Kopps focused on veganized rich version of German dishes, Mio Matto focused on Italian delights (and Veganz focused on groceries), La Mano Verde focuses on healthy and flavorful dishes. The menu flirts between raw, gluten free and cooked option as well as decadent desserts, like creme brulee flamed at your table. While I won't pick my favorite German restaurant that we visited, I would give La Mano Verde an award for most impressive dessert presentation of my life. I would've taking a picture, but it was already awkward having someone flame my dessert at the table.

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Raw Raviolis

 Raw And Delicious!

     This was our first foray into Berlin cuisine so I didn't take a picture of the menu so you'll have to forgive my not-as-appealing name like raw raviolis. I will confess, the menu was an Ipad where you click English or German and proceed to look that way so I thought I was safe in not photographing it. Alas, I was wrong. However, I looked at their menu, but as I guessed, the focus on seasonal cuisine and rotate their menu. The closest thing I found was Ravioli Rouge & Blanc which features: Chioggia beetroot ravioli made with cedar nut cream on a bed of fennel, apple and horseradish salad. This didn't have the red and white beets in it, but everything else seemed to fit. Oh, and forgive the shadow, I was working on my taking flash photos in romantic restaurants approach.

Raw Appetizer

Wish I could Remember What This Was Called!

    Okay, this is starting to get silly. I have no clue what this was called. Perhaps some kinda of vegetable terrine or lasagna. Stop, judging me.  I kinda dropped the ball on this review, but look at that presentation. The sauce and pesto really brought this dish together. Oh, look at those German beer out of focus. While it's tempting to go with wine, the beers on draft from La Mano Verde were outstanding. I think we might have had 2 or three to try and sample the menu. The special one did declare that she loves German beer so take that. Though I lean towards to hoppy and sour beers right now, German beers tend to have a high malt presence and not my favorite style, but these beers were impressive. I'm not sure if it was the freshness or the brewery, but I came around. 

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Orange Glazed Tempeh Medallions

Tempeh!

    We decided to go raw for the appetizers and go cooked for the dinner. Raw is like having a salad, right? One of the best tempeh dishes I ever had was from Sage's. Guess what? It was orange glazed and I've been looking for that dish like I look for the perfect powder turn, so it was a no brainer on what to order. This dish might not have been the windmill I've been searching for, but it was still impressive. I wish it was served with some flavored rice dish instead of sauteed greens, but that's just me. It's hard for me to break my grains addiction and go with something lighter like a bed of greens. The orange glaze popped and complimented the nuttiness of the tempeh. I was left wanting more.

Pumpkin Filled Raviolis Topped With a Homemade Nut Cheese

Perhaps Spinach Ravioli?

      I guess you thought I was kidding when I mentioned we wanted to taste as much pumpkin based foods during this. It was October after all. This gives you the level of my posting procrastination. While Kopps was fried and had a cream sauce, this dish was light and fresh. The seasonal ingredients really get to shine. I can't really compare the two, since frying seems like cheating, but both were impressive. 

Mango Raw Cheesecake With Berry Coulis

Beautiful Presentation

      With presentation this beautiful, do we need anything else. Instead of a cookbook, La Mano Verde should do a presentation book, but I would settle for an English version of their cookbook (or a german person to translate!). The mango raw cheesecake was delicious and had the bright mango flavor. Now unto the passion fruit creme brulee, this was a dessert. As I mentioned they get an award for presentation, but the taste deserves a mention. Creme Brulee is a vegan rarity. I had it in France, at Philly's Vedge and here. This was outstanding. Worth the visit alone. Up next will be the final restaurant of Berlin and move over to Paris. Yet another place mentioned in the terrible Huffington Post article, but had amazing vegan food. Maybe if I keep posting they;ll issue a retraction?

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Berlin Pedestrian Light

Famous Hat Guy!

 Berlin Wall Art

Checkpoint Charlie With American Spy Building In The Background

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Ich Bin Ein Bjorn!

Pepperoni, Artichoke and Mushroom Vegan Pizza

Pizza. Pasta. Passion! 

     Bjorn Moschinski is a vegan rock star. Not only did he formerly direct the venerable Kopps (my next review!), pen three cookbooks, appearances on TV, but he also has a new Italian venture called Mio Matto, which is conveniently located above the Veganz store. Pretty awesome especially as self-taught chef, I might have a cook crush on him. Anyone wanna translate a cookbook from German to English? Not to mention a conversion from metric to the loving and anachronistic imperial system, because, you know, we Americans love paying tribute to Cesar and the Romans in the form of a measuring system. Regardless, someone needs to tell Huffington Post to pull their heads out of their asses and that, yes, Germany has a celebrity vegan chef. Does that suffice? 

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     Enough about america's misguided measuring system and back to food. The special one loves Italian food and so few vegan options exists (except for New York's recently moved and hopefully still open Three Brothers Pizza) so it was a no brainer to check out his new place. Even though it was raining, after a drizzling day at the Berliner Dome, including hundreds of steps to the top and an obligatory umbrella purchase, we splashed down to Mio Matto. Luckily, it wasn't too far from one of the trains. Best of all you can feed two bellies with one stop! Lunch and then shopping inside an all vegan grocery store and shoe store. Pretty sure this is a must when visiting Berlin. And a big middle finger to the Huffington Post, an all vegan Italian place. Boy, it sure was hard to be vegan in Berlin. This city makes New York nervous. 

Pasta Bologense Sauce

Pasta and Passion!

     The Mio Matto motto's is pretty simple Pizza, Pasta and Passion. There's no surprises here. As usual, the special one and I went into divide and conquer mode, though we had to not go overboard because we had dinner reservations for Kopps. We bought wanted the pizza, I saw several different ones that looked interesting, but I decided to go with the pasta bologense because it sounds fancy; it's essentially a meat based pasta sauce. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, but damn that pizza was fabulous. It was one of those lunch dates where I couldn't stop staring at the special one's meal. The pizza was perfection, a crisp crust, cooked perhaps in a wood fired oven (I'm guessing here) with some of the best vegan cheese I've had. Not to mention the artichokes and the pepperoni. I'm not sure what they are using, but damn Bjorn knows his way around the kitchen. This was perhaps one of the best pizzas I've ever had. All hail Bjorn! 

Decor of Mio Matto

Rustic & Fancy!

     I'm not sure if you can use rustic and fancy in the same sentence, but like the food the decor of Mio Matto shows the attention to detail of Mr Bjorn. As you can see in the picture, wood panels were prominent with a purple tiled roof, complete with chandlers. Yeah, like I said rustic and fancy. Although we were there for lunch, I hard it turns fancier for the dinner service. Like the desk clerk told us, you need at least a week to see (and eat!) all of Berlin! If you're thinking of a vacation, Berlin is the vegan mecca with pretty rad tourist things to visit.

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Thomas Henry Ginger Beer

Spicy!

     Along with the food, I was really hoping to try Europe's ginger beers. It's no secret I'm a ginger fanatic, so trying every ginger beer I come across is a given, despite the impressive German beers on tap. This (Thomas Henry) was the first ginger beer I was impressed with, it lived up to one of, if not my favorite ginger beer from maine root. Spicy just like the label says or as I say, like sticking a straw into ginger. 

German Strudel Pudding 

Dessert! 

     Remember when I said we had dinner reservations and we had to go light? Yeah, I like to contradict myself in the same review. I couldn't pass this up and almost two weeks of navigating 3 countries public transit system was taking a toll so a latte and this german pudding sounded awesome. The whole trip I've been photographing the menu so I could remember everything or at least connect the bites. Call me lazy. Either way, I didn't at Mio Matto so I declare it to be a german pudding strudel with peaches. Pretty awesome, I dare say. It was the perfect ending to a meal and heading down to Veganz and to tourist trap of checkpoint charlie! 

Mio Matto 

Veganz to the right!

Berlin Dome

One of the few building to surviving the WW bombings!

Berlin Wall Art

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