Firstly: Happy World Vegetarian Day! Secondly: Happy 1st Day of Vegan Month of Food! Salutations aside, let’s return to our scheduled programming.
As a vegan in France, you learn to roll with the food tragedies and groove on those minuscule vegan treasures. “The mayo for my carrot-corn-anemic-tomato sandwich was swapped for olive oil!” “I found garlic Cheezly at the hippie store today, yippe!” “At our group dinner, the waiter did not cop a vicious ‘tude about my dietary needs.” “I can’t see that mushy pile of unseasoned vegetables with a warm toasty baguette crammed in my maw.” Et cetera.
Thus, after many a sad day of Scary Cafeteria Meals, I can honestly say that my exceptional dinner at Paris’ Loving Hut was a pretty freaking huge “little thing” that cemented my love for Paris and its’ vegan delights.
As you can see, my lovely (awesome vegetarian) friend Rachel got in on the lovin’.
With a full day of Paris touristin’ complete, our feet inevitably ached and our bellies rancorously roared. This appetizer of deep-fried samosas (€5) definitely dammed up the waves of hunger for a bit. I’m iffy on the filling details, but I honestly have better things to keep in my memory stores from 5 months ago. Samosas gobbled up, I attacked the odd peanut-doused veggie slaw with vigor; t’was un-dressed.
This crêpe aux champingons (mushroom crêpe) deserves all-caps to convey its deliciousness, but I’ll spare you in the name of classy. Clocking in at €13.50, your money conscience might shudder; however, we vegans aren’t exactly spenders ordering the wretchedly boring pasta with marinara sauce 5 times a week. Besides, this is one entree worth a bill-fold or two. Stuffed silly with creamy vegan cheese and mushrooms galivanting in a pool of (tofu-based?) cream sauce, I considered how peaceful life would be if I ate this everyday. I’m happy to call this–the first French crepe I’d ever eaten–worth waiting through all the jealousy pangs as friends waxed poetic (endlessly) about €3 Nutella crepes. One gripe: the salad, while fresh, was virtually naked; I detected nay but a few drops of dressing in all my fork-hunting.
When fruit is your dessert practically everyday for months, you don’t hesitate when given the chance to order a proper (non-sorbet) dessert. I hate admitting that dining sans eggs/milk becomes demeaning when all others feast on something deliciously decadent while I’m forced to awkwardly watch, slowly masticating an apple in bitter resentment. But bah to this ugly reality! A Banana Split (€9.50) was necessary, no question marks in sight.
Upon columns of banana lay mounds of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream doused in chocolate sauce, all engulfed in a fluffy rave-worthy vegan whip. As Rachel and I dug in, words were abandoned and we gradually surrendered fully to the orgasmic gustatory sensations. Dessert catharsis status? Achieved.
I didn’t get in on this, but the Hut also carries the mystical vegan pain au chocolat, as well as many other uniquely French vegan sundries. I am returning to Paris in less than 10 days (provided my visa arrives!) so you can bet I will blow my wages here very soon indeed. My advice is that if you’re lucky enough to visit the City of Lights, go here and devour ALL OF THE FOODS.
92 Boulevard Beaumarchais
75011 Paris, 11th arrondisement, Metro: Chemin Vert or Saint-Sébastien – Froissart
