Loving Vegan – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Loving Vegan Closed Its Doors on Friday, November 13th, Two Days After My Inaugural and Only Visit
Loving Vegan gave it the “old college try,” initially launching in June, 2012 on Coors Blvd before relocating in November, 2013 to a much more heavily trafficked Nob Hill location. In its relatively short life, Loving Vegan garnered a loyal following and a very prestigious honor. Within a year of opening, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) named Loving Vegan the “top restaurant for vegan sushi” in the United States and Canada. The citation from PETA read: “Loving Vegan earned our top prize because it truly proves that any food can be made deliciously and healthfully without animal products. Cheers and congratulations to Loving Vegan — this number-one award is well deserved!”

Interior of Loving Vegan
Kathy also knows restaurants. After all vestiges of Loving Vegan have been cleared out, one of her other restaurants, Soul and Vine, a downtown fine-dining gem will be moving in. Parking in Nob Hill is probably only slightly better than in the downtown district, but Nob Hill may be more heavily trafficked in the evening hours than is the downtown area, especially by the dining demographic.

In 2013 PETA named Loving Vegan the best Vegan Sushi Restaurant in America
As we discovered, diners didn’t need to be of the vegan or vegetarian persuasion to enjoy a meal at Loving Vegan. If we hadn’t known better, in fact, we would have sworn there was little discernible difference between some of the vegan sushi we enjoyed and sushi at traditional “fishy” sushi restaurants throughout the Duke City and that’s not just the horseradish-heavy wasabi talking. Before finding out about the restaurant’s impending closure, it pleased Ruben to no end that despite his new healthful dietetic lifestyle, he’d be able to continue enjoying sushi.

Miso soup
We initially wondered if the sheer number of ingredients on each sushi roll was a deliberate attempt at “masking” the flavor of the vegan ingredients, but it dawned on us that most American sushi rolls also tend to constructed from a preponderance of ingredients. The vegan spicy tuna crunch roll was an exception in that the sole listed ingredients were vegan spicy tuna and cucumber inside with tempura flakes and sweet sauce on top. Frankly, we didn’t spend much time trying to discern the nuanced differences between vegan tuna and its “regular” sushi counterpart. That’s more indicative of our genuine appreciation for its deliciousness than any perceived lack of scientific curiosity. This was a very good roll.

Left: Loving Vegan Roll; Right: Vegan Spicy Tuna Crunch Roll
Framed and captioned photographs on the walls proved very enticing–true food porn, none more alluring than the grilled portobello (SIC) roll (a unagi roll with cucumber, salmon and sweet sauce on top). “Mock” unagi was nearly as good as its eel-based counterpart thanks largely to a generous application of the sweet “eel sauce.” If the rapidity with which we dispensed of this roll is any indication, we enjoyed it thoroughly…and as with our previous vegan sushi conquests, we didn’t spend much time trying to determine its composition though I now surmise roasted eggplant may have been the basis for mock unagi.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Roll
Loving Vegan
3409 Central Avenue, N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
LATEST VISIT: 11 November 2015
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET: Miso Soup, Grilled Portobello Mushroom Roll, Loving Sushi Roll, Vegan Spicy Tuna Roll
Gil, it was truly a pleasure to discover a really good restaurant with you. Alas, the sense of accomplishment was short lived. My quest has gone from discovering the holy grail of Carne Adovada dishes to finding the equivalent of meatless food. Just goes to show you that delicious food exists in many forms and categories. Thanks again for taking the time to introduce me to this place. Next time before we go out, let’s call ahead to see if the restaurant is in imminent danger of closing.
Full Disclosure: I do not condone the killing of plant/vegetable life forms as a substitute for killing non-human animal life to lessen pollution by methane as purportedly responsible for Global Warming.
My Comment is: Kudos (but Adieu) to the Folks of Loving Vegan for giving it their All for trying to make it in what is, IMHO, a tough town of enigmatic diners, unsupporting Local eating establishments. (Most puzzling of all, is being in the University area!!!)
On a fuzzy note, I can’t help but to wonder if Canvas Artistry’s offering of Tempura Fried SPAM Musubi http://www.nmgastronome.com/?p=37677, just up (or down) the street, proved to be a strong competitor, given that no Folks have readily validated in published, peer reviewed, scientific journals that SPAM is not of Vegan composition. Whoa, in trying to remember the name of Canvas Artistry, I found you can also get SPAM Musubi elsewhere in ABQ at http://www.nmgastronome.com/?s=adieux as well as at http://www.kimosabq.com/menu/ ! For all you SPAM scoffers out there: I believe Folks Back East tend to be a couple of years behind foodie discoveries in California and we ABQians are multiple behind those Back East! As such, let me offer what’s coming down the pike in terms of Gourmet Dining ala SPAM: http://tinyurl.com/pzhpa8z