Vegan Mofo V Day 28: You Got Served

Tonight we went to the new Loving Hut restaurant in Claremont. It's been there for a while, but we haven't been yet so it is new to us.  I was biased from the beginning, but hopefully I learned not to be such a whiny, crabby brat by the end of this.

For starters, I love the Upland location. Even though it is in a strip mall and is not as fancily decorated, it's my spot. We went there before it changed to Loving Hut, before it was Veggie Era, back when it was Veggie Panda almost 10 years ago. I'm not trying to claim cred or anything like that, just saying we've been going there for a long time. We're comfortable in the space and we've been seeing the same faces from the beginning. It's like home. Their menu has been through some changes, but if not for those I would not have found my favorite dish ever: three cup wonder! In the beginning I used to get the orange chicken and the fried rice, whatever most resembled the "normal" food I ate before I became veg. Now I actually eat vegetables, can you believe it?

The Claremont restaurant is in the newer part of the village. It's swankier and way less homey than Upland. The menu is elevated too. There is no specials board. There are no fries on the notably smaller menu. Instead of too many yummy treats to choose from, the dessert case is nearly empty. Go Max Go Bars and Primal Strips are not bookends to the cash register. But, for all my talk of what this place isn't,  it just isn't fair to compare the two.

Our food was really good. My sandwich was yummy thanks to spicy mayo and caramelized onions. I sampled a little bit of everyone else's food and I wouldn't have sent any of it back. Even though I couldn't make up my mind when it was time to order, I know the next time I will have to be careful not to order too much food or plan to share so I can have a bit of everything.On the way home I tried to make my arguments for why I didn't like it and wouldn't ever go back, but I basically fell on my face. I had no point. "I like the other place better" doesn't count. When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong.