On the Road: Loving Hut, Huntington Beach, CA

Loving Hut, Huntington Beach, Ca

I adore the two Loving Huts we have here in the Phoenix area. I do notice a slight difference in taste for the items that are served at both locations. Sometimes they have different entree names on the menu, which might be differences in ingredients and preparation, but the images and look of the dishes are still quite similar and seem to be the same base recipe.


My recent trip to southern California only heightened my sense that each Loving Hut kinda does its own thing while still serving the basic menu. All three locations have a variation of this delicious crispy soy protein with lemongrass and red chile flakes; the Golden Beauty (Glendale), Sage Lemongrass (Central Phoenix), and the Lemongrass Beauty (HB). This is my favorite dish and so I had to order it.

While it was quite tasty, my taste buds rebelled a little at the differences. The Lemongrass Beauty was served in something of a light sauce, whereas I'm used to a drier, crispy nugget. By no means untasty, in fact it was very good, but it just seemed to be a little too different from the dish I was expecting and craving. This despite trying to go in knowing it was likely made a little differently.

clockwise from top left: Lemongrass Beauty, Lemongrass Tofu, Blissful Fried Rice
with Thai Iced Tea

Loving Hut Counter & Seating

While there I also ordered the Lemongrass Tofu because I adore lemongrass and the pictures and descriptions of the two entrees sounded just different enough. The Lemongrass Tofu was okay. It was a bit on the spicy side and had curry powder. Oops. I am not a huge fan of curry, and I must have missed that in the description, focusing only on the lemongrass, otherwise I would probably have asked for it without (an option per the menu) or tried something else.

I sampled their Thai Iced Tea which was decent, but I think I like  Fresh Mint's better because they use a coconut cream instead of soy. Lastly, everything was accompanied by their Blissful Fried Rice. Fried Rice, in general, is a perfect food. It definitely tasted like Glendale's Blissful Fried Rice, only greasier. Which was not necessarily a bad thing, since it reminded me a bit of the fried rice I used to get at Chinese restaurants growing up. Sure, prolly a little less healthy, but no less tasty.

The restaurant itself is tiny and tucked into a small strip mall. But its clean and has the same cheerful yellow and white decor as all of the other Loving Huts. Overall, a nice place to visit. Just check the hours before you go. Seems like they might vary.

Loving Hut, Fridge Case and Behind the Counter Scenes

Loving Hut - Huntington Beach
Ranking: ****

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

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Loving Hut - Huntington Beach
19891 Brookhurst St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
(714) 962-6449
http://lovinghut.us/huntingtonbeach/

Hours
Call for Hours (per website)