Tuesday, October 25, 2011

On the Road: Lovin' Spoonfuls, Tucson, AZ

Lovin' Spoonfuls
Lovin' Spoonfuls is a 100% vegan restaurant located near the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. I'd say that, overall, they serve vegan comfort foods; a wide variety of them at that. You can find tofu scrambles, country fried chicken, lasagna, fries, chocolate cake, stroganoff, and veggie burgers but also thai curry, dolmas, egg rolls, and polenta. They also have a separate gluten-free menu.


Lovin' Spoonfuls, Interior
They have a nice dining room with plenty of tables and booths. Or you can eat on the patio.


Two omnis accompanied me to Lovin' Spoonfuls for this visit. One got the Southwest Breakfast Burrito which wasn't as spicy or "chorizo"ed as he would have liked. I didn't try it, but it was huge.

Southwest Breakfast Burrito

Southwest Breakfast Burrito, Innards


My other companion took on two appetizers for her meal, the nuggets and fries. I stole some fries, which were average (and they needed more salt). And I snared a good few of the nuggets too. We dipped them in an apple-y sweet and sour sauce which I liked. I thought the nuggets were good, but maybe a teeny bit skimpy on the mock meat parts. I wouldn't hesitate to order their fried deliciousness again.

Golden Nuggets and Shoestring French Fries


I ordered the Route 66 Bacon Cheeseburger because I am a sucker for them. I didn't realize the burger came with chips or I would not have picked the potato salad as the side. Oh well. The potato salad was ok. It was better than my own homemade attempts have been, so I was satisfied. I'm just having trouble finding the perfect potato salad these days. Maybe it's like an alchemical delusion- the perfect version doesn't exist. The sandwich itself was good, though I have to admit I have had better vegan bacon cheeseburgers....Native Foods comes to mind.

Route 66 Bacon Cheeseburger with Potato Salad & Poore Brothers Chips


I also made sure to sample the Tempura Shrimp. These battered shrimps were so delish! My only problem was they were served with a spicy cocktail sauce which did not complement them at all. I would love for these to be served with that sweet and sour sauce or some kind of sweet chili sauce. I really want a do over on these faux shrimps, where I can eat them properly sauced.

Tempura Shrimp with Spicy Seafood Sauce

We also shared a piece of Raspberry Orange Cake. The cake was slightly orange flavored with raspberry filling and a light chocolate frosting. I neglected to snap a picture, but we all agreed the cake was really good.

Lovin' Spoonfuls even placed 3rd in PETA's Top 5 Vegan Pies ranking with their Banana Cream Pie. That's a pretty high honor!

Lovin' Spoonfuls is worth the visit. The food is pretty good and the owner is super nice. If you are in Tucson, it would be silly to miss this place.


Lovin' Spoonfuls
Ranking: ***3/4

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

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Lovin’ Spoonfuls
2990 N. Campbell Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 325-7766

Hours
Monday - Saturday 9:30am to 9pm
Sunday 10am to 3pm

2 comments:

JL goes Vegan said...

I was in Tucson earlier this year at went to Lovin' Spoonfuls....twice! LOL I really liked it. Vegan comfort food makes me happy!

Kenike said...

Awesome! I think AZ vegans have a lot to be proud about with our veg*n restaurants. :)


Oh, and I think I forgot to mention they placed 3rd in PETA's Top 5 Vegan Pies, with their Banana Cream Pie. I'll have to edit the post.