Dining out in the ATL

There are so many great places to eat here in Atlanta if you're vegan I can't possibly list them all. But Adrienne over at Crack the Plates did almost exactly that! Check out her Vegan Dining Guide. 

Soul Vegetarian

Vegan. Soul. Food. Country Fried Steak? Mac & Cheese? BBQ Tofu? Peppersteak? Gigantic Brunch? Oh. Hell. Yes. There are two Soul Veg locations in Atlanta (Virginia-Highland and West End) and they are institutions here. I think the menus are slightly different between the two – we always go to the one in Va-Hi. The link will take you to the site for the Tallahassee restaurant but it’s the best one I can find for this chain – the menu is completely different, though. A quick Google search will be your best bet for info about your local restaurant, if you have one. The food is really good, but it’s also heavy so we don’t eat there that often. Also, they don’t serve alcohol, so if you want a beer with your burger, you probably want to get takeout.

Café Sunflower

So pretty much the other end of the spectrum from Soul Veg is Café Sunflower. There are two of these here, too. It’s an upscale vegetarian restaurant with one location in Buckhead and the other in Sandy Springs. They are vegetarian and not strictly vegan, but many of the menu items are vegan, including sides like mashed potatoes. They also have vegan dinner specials and vegan tapas. The regular menu includes Orzo Eggplant Lasagne and Peppercorn Crusted Tempeh, both of which I will personally vouch for as delicious. The desserts are vegan (oh happy day!) and ridiculously good. I’m partial to the Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse cake and the Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake. The food is really outstanding, the atmosphere is lovely and we’ve always had really good service. We love to eat here, but it’s a little bit pricey so it’s more of a treat than a regular thing for us. I really want their cookbook. Bad.

Loving Hut

OK, technically, this outside of Atlanta – in Norcross. There are Loving Hut's the world over, all with varying menus, but I can tell you for sure the food is really good at this one (skip the veggie burger - it's a big no, but everything else is good). Lunch is pretty reasonably priced and they. The menu is rather extensive, and they have a buffet on the third Saturday of the month, so go check it out. 

Dulce Vegan Bakery & Café

Oh, Dulce we are so glad you’re here. This magic little place is, as the name suggests, a 100% vegan bakery. In addition to tasty sweets, they also have san amazing breakfast and lunch options. For breakfast (which is served all day) they feature not only the standard fare of bagels with vegan cream cheese and so forth, but also breakfast sandwiches served on your choice of English muffin, bagel or biscuit and filled with vegan egg, sausage, bacon cheese or any combination thereof. Seriously yum. Lunch has several sandwich options including "chicken" salad (it's amazing) and balsamic tofu, as well as salads and soups that will knock your little vegan socks right off your little vegan feet. They have tables outside so when the weather is nice, you can enjoy your vegan yummies al fresco. Oh, and as a native New Yorker, I can tell you, the cheesecake is stupid good. 

Dough Bakery & Gutenfleiher's Deli

Dough is the second vegan bakery to open in Atlanta (take THAT San Francisco!) and it's quickly become a local favorite. They have a wide variety of cakes, cookies and other treats as well as soft serve ice cream and milkshakes. Oh, and a deli. Yes. A deli. With housemade deli meats. They have weekly sandwich specials that have included a french dip, a cheesesteak, a cuban and so on. There are a variety of sides to choose from including potato salad, Bahn Mi pasta salad (my favorite) and kale salad. Want to take some of the yumminess home with you? They sell the meats and sides by the pound as well. For breakfast, in addition to sweets, there are also freshly made biscuit sandwiches with vegan egg, cheese and a choice of tempeh bacon, Canadian bacon or sausage. These little gems are almost always available in the grab & go case and I can assure you they heat up really well the next morning. Oh, and on Sundays? They have a full breakfast menu with panckes, tofu scramble and some really inventive dishes called "The Pile" and "The Dive Bar". Go on a Sunday morning. Seriously.