Vegan Hampton Roads

Sometimes you just want a really good sandwich. But, for vegans, sandwiches can be tricky. Sure, we can make some great ones on our own, but restaurants leave us with roasted vegetable and hummus wraps. Don’t get me wrong - I love roasted veggies, I love hummus, but I feel like I deserve a little more every once in a while.

Enter Gourmet Gang. The company has been around for a while serving the lunch and office crowd with sandwiches and salads. They offer a few vegetarian options on their regular menu, but most include cheese and well, without the cheese they aren’t that good.

Sometime last year Gourmet Gang got the great idea to start offering a weekly vegetarian sandwich special and, lucky for you and me, most of them are vegan. I’ve never had a sandwich as delicious as the crabless crabcake at Gourmet Gang. Now, if you’re like me, the idea of vegan seafood is just about the most unappetizing thing imaginable. But you need to let your guard down on this one.

The crabless crabcake ($6.25) is a mixture of tofu and traditional crabcake ingredients like celery, red pepper, Old Bay seasoning and bread crumbs. Everything is pulled together by a vegan roasted red pepper mayo, diced tomatoes and field greens. Sounds simple enough, but it’s mind-blowingly delicious. So delicious a friend had it catered at her wedding. That good!

The crabless crabcake sandwich at Gourmet Gang. Easily the best vegan sandwich in Hampton Roads.

My second favorite GG vegan sandwich is the tempeh ruben ($6.25). The ruben is vegan if you ask for no-cheese, but thankfully you don’t miss the Swiss. On delicious sliced rye, they put some well-cooked and seasoned tempeh, apple sauerkraut, vegan Thousand Island dressing and pickles.

The vegan tempeh ruben at Gourmet Gang

As for their regular menu, you can order the roasted vegetable ($5.95) or grilled portabella ($6.25) sandwiches without cheese or mayo as vegan options if you’re stuck without a delicious special that week. And bonus - Veganaise is available upon request!

There are a few side items available. Sometimes the weekly pasta salad is vegan and the fruit salad is vegan, of course. None of the desserts are vegan - but they should think about adding a vegan option soon (wink, wink).

Gourmet Gang has seven locations across Hampton Roads and has pretty skimpy hours - generally between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. They will deliver to some offices, but your best bet is to call in an order and pick up because these places get insane at lunch time. The food is good and people swarm during lunch. You can also fax in an order…if you have a fax machine laying around.

The current special is the Italian Lentil Ball with vegan mozzarella and marinara…you would know that already if you followed us on Twitter @veganHR!

You can also keep up with local vegan food porn through our flickr photostream.

Frozen yogurt. Reminds me of the days when I would beg my mom to take me to TCBY after doctor’s visits. I loved that place.

Now, thanks to Swirls on Colley Avenue in Norfolk, the vegans can get a taste of some vanilla fro-yo and reminisce about those days in the bright lights and weird 80s decor of the TCBY.

This place is adorable. Tiny as can be and very simple. You get a cup, you fill it with fro-yo (vegans only have one option at a time - vanilla or chocolate), and then you can put as many toppings on as you like. Toppings go from the typical chocolate sauce, nuts, and strawberries, to fun stuff like Oreos and those beloved cereals from our childhood Cap’n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Puffs. All of which are vegan.

The DIY frozen yogurt wall at Swirls. The vegan flavor is usually at the far left.

And the berries don’t stop. The day I visited there were blueberries and raspberries, and a friend told me he lucked out with kiwi on a recent trip. And the nuts include typical chopped walnuts as well as slivered almonds.

For my first Swirls frozen yogurt treat, I topped the vanilla with fresh strawberries, chopped walnuts, Hershey’s chocolate sauce and shredded coconut. It was so icy cold and delicious. I ate it all on my short walk home.

On my second visit I went crazy with chocolate vegan frozen yogurt, Cap’n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, coconut, strawberries, kiwi, almonds, chocolate sauce, and a maraschino cherry on top.

The toppings wall at Swirls. Definitely try the Cap'n Crunch and the Fruity Pebbles.

The flavor of all the toppings and the creaminess of the frozen yogurt was great. My only complaint was that the vanilla fro-yo was so cold it didn’t want to snake into my cup like you imagine soft serve would. And the vanilla flavor wasn’t very pronounced. However, the chocolate was perfect.

But I’m not complaining! Swirls fills a void left by the closure of KB’s Custard just a few blocks down, which offered a couple vegan frozen custard flavors every week. Come to think of it, KB’s Web site has been hinting at a new location to be revealed “soon” for nearly two years. We’re still waiting!

Prices are fair, I think. Here’s how it works. Once you get the cup and fill it up with your fro-yo and all the toppings you can handle, the friendly person at the cash register weighs the cup and charges you by weight. My cup cost about $4.60.

Swirls is tiny and really meant as a carry-out joint, but there are one or two window seats in case you want to dine-in.

They accept credit cards. I’ll update this post with important things like address and hours once I find out, but the place is new and doesn’t have a Web site. It’s located across from the Naro Cinema on Colley Avenue in the Ghent section of Norfolk, in a strip of shops that include an art/framing store, a hair salon and a laundromat. It’s also, ironically, next to a Dairy Queen.

And another update - You can now follow Vegan Hampton Roads on Twitter @veganHR. I’m using the Twitter account to post immediate info about vegan dining news in the region, including specials at local restaurants, and trying to keep the Web site for reviews.

Let’s take a moment of silence to remember Amalfi Ristorante in Ghent, along with its vegan brunch, vegan cheesecake, faux chicken marsala, spicy vegan spaghetti and meatballs, vegan gelato…wow, what a loss! And I could have continued with the list.

I don’t have too many details about the closure, only that last week someone tried to visit the restaurant and there was a “for rent” sign in the window and all of its patio tables and chairs were removed.

It’s Web site and phone are still operational, but I couldn’t get a hold of anyone. The reviews of Amalfi were mixed - some people had delicious food and service, other times the food was sub-par and the service absent. I’ve experienced both. The prices were a little high, but for a nice vegan Italian dinner every once in a while I didn’t mind.

This leaves a big void in the vegan dining options in Hampton Roads, but a big opportunity for someone wanting to bring a new Italian place into the mix, possibly with better service and lower prices? We’ll be waiting.

When I seek out greasy, bloat-inducing Chinese food I usually dial up Kin’s Wok on 21st Street in Ghent for some General Tso’s Tofu. But every once in a while I crave Dragon City and their faux meat dishes. Kin’s Wok doesn’t serve any faux meat or seitan - only tofu - but Dragon City offers on its menu “veg beef, veg chicken, and veg shrimp.” There is a separate menu called “Health Food” with all of the faux meat dishes, however I’ve found that you can often just request anything on the menu but ask for it with one of the vegetarian meat substitutes. Oh, and I wouldn’t call any of this health food.

On a recent weekend night, a friend of mine and I decided to get some Dragon City, stuff our faces and watch episodes of Dexter at her place. I went to the restaurant, which looks like your typical take-out Chinese place with friendly staff. I ordered faux shrimp lo mein for her and faux general tso’s chicken for me and two spring rolls.

The faux shrimp lo mein is eerily like real shrimp. The shrimps themselves had little flavor, but the lo mein was delicious. My dish was tasty, but a little disappointing. The General Tso’s sauce was very thick, like someone had added a little too much corn starch. The faux chicken pieces are deep-fried. I enjoyed the dish overall, which was served with perfectly cooked broccoli and white rice, but could have used more sauce and a less viscous version.

Not all of the faux meats are deep-fried like the General Tso’s Chicken. I’ve had other dishes where the faux meat has been steamed or sauteed. I’ve yet to try the faux beef. And I would skip the spring rolls next time. The only filling was cabbage and not worth it to me.

Like faux meat, Dragon City is a novelty in Norfolk. It’s not somewhere I order all the time, but I’m really happy to have it around when I want to indulge. And there are plenty of people out there that would call Dragon City their favorite over Kin’s Wok.

Dragon City
2301 D Colley Ave.
Norfolk, VA 23517
(757) 664-7900
Open 7 days a week: Mon-Thurs 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m., Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m., Sun. 12:00 noon - 10:00 p.m.
Delivery, take-out and dine-in (there’s a table and some chairs at which I’m assuming you can eat your meal)

Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it. Red Dog Saloon on Colley Avenue in the Ghent section of Norfolk makes the best damn vegan cheese pizza in town. Seriously. Though it’s not hard to make the top of the list considering there are only two restaurants in the area serving pizza with vegan cheese.

The crust is well-cooked, but not hard as a rock. The vegetable toppings are rich and flavorful (spinach, big sun dried tomatoes, olives). The sauce is tasty. And the vegan cheese doesn’t taste like chalk/rubber/etc.

I’m pretty sure Red Dog is using Follow Your Heart vegan cheese, known for its meltiness, but there’s just something about the vegan cheese alongside everything else this great pizza has going for it that has me craving it!

And there’s even more great news…if you don’t want to order a whole pie, Red Dog will sell them by the slice. Known for its happy hour specials, Red Dog is used to catering to thirsty visitors just looking for munchies to absorb the alcohol, so they don’t force you into the entire pizza unless you want it. I really appreciate that! And not to mention the slices are gigantic - almost the size of two slices, if you ask me. A slice will run you close to four dollars, but keep in ming it is pretty much the size of two normal slices and it comes with vegan cheese.

On a recent trip with friends we tried the vegan chicken tenders as well, which are basically deep fried chunks of Chickette roll served with some sort of mango mustard dipping sauce. The sweetness of the mango serves as a great replacement to the typical honey mustard sauce served with chicken fingers.

I’ve heard the vegan chicken sandwich is great there as well. A larger piece of chickette roll, deep fried and served sandwich style with the fixin’s.

Red Dog is a saloon and there is smoking, but if it’s nice a nice day and not too crowded you can usually luck out with a seat outdoors. There’s not really a great ambiance to Red Dog. I wouldn’t bring a family there at night on the weekends and I’d be a little upset if a date ever brought me there, but we’re just talking about vegan pizza and chicken tenders here.

Full disclosure: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” plays almost every hour at Red Dog (or at least it seems that way). You have been warned.

Red Dog Saloon
1421 Colley Ave
Norfolk, VA 23517
(757) 625-4674

Couldn’t find a listing of their hours, but I know they’re open for lunch and I’ve been there for last call on a number of occasions. So, my educated guess would be most likely 11:30/12 until 2 a.m.

When you think of vegan Indian food in Hampton Roads, no doubt Rajput in Ghent comes to mind. But that’s a review for another day.

Before Rajput hit the scene, there was Nawab and the restaurant, with its four location, is still going strong. When I first tried Indian food it was at Nawab’s famous lunch buffet. I was hooked.

While their vegan selections aren’t as extensive as Rajput’s menu (supposedly the largest vegan menu in Virginia), the dishes they do offer are to die for. My current favorite is the Goan Curry, a coconut-infused, creamy mixed vegetable dish. When it’s brought to your table it smells like the coconut will overpower the dish. Shredded coconut is garnished on top. But the coconut flavor is just right. I tend to order my Indian food medium to medium-hot and this dish has just enough creaminess to cut the heat.

If you’re not a coconut fan, the Eggplant Bartha, a spicy mashed eggplant dish punctuated with green peas, is also great. It was my favorite for quite a while. Other vegan dishes offered are Vegetable Jhalfrazie and Chana Masala.

All dishes are served with perfectly-cooked jasmine rice. Indian food is traditionally served with a bread known as naan, however naan is not vegan. The roti, a vegan, unleavened whole wheat bread, is great at Nawab. Roti tends to have a more cracker-like texture, but the roti at Nawab is fluffy and tender.

And I always order a side of mint chutney to slather onto my roti. It’s my favorite part of the meal, truth be told.

Nawab does offer lunch buffets, though there usually only tends to be one vegan entree. I always check with the servers about what’s vegan before deciding whether to order from the menu.

Another great thing about Nawab? Four locations! I know, most of my reviews have been of Norfolk restaurants, but I’m trying to expand. Nawab has locations at Hilltop in Virginia Beach, at Military Circle in Norfolk, on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News and one in Williamsburg.

Rather than list all the details of every location, you can visit Nawab’s Web site here.

We have a long list of places to review for VHR, but we want to hear from you about places we should check out, especially ones outside of Norfolk and specifically Ghent. Norfolk has a ton of great vegan options, but they exist in other cities as well and we want this to be a regional blog. So if there’s a place with vegan options, even if it’s a really good veggie burger, let us know!

There’s not much to say about this one, only that if you’re looking for a vegan pizza you can get it here. Bella carries Follow Your Heart vegan cheese, which I consider one of the most melty vegan cheeses around. I’ve ordered takeout from Bella and dined in and the pizza is much better in person - trust me. It’s not horrible on delivery, but their crust is much better fresh and I’ve found they give you more vegan cheese when you dine in. It’s a little skimpy when you order delivery.

The waitress at the restaurant said they only serve the vegan cheese with the pizzas, but I’m sure with some prodding you could get it on a veggie sub as well, which they also serve.

The restaurant is a typical family place with some al fresco seating along Colley Avenue in the warmer months. They also sell pastas, salads, sandwiches and beer.

This is the only vegan cheese pizza I’ve had in town, but, word is Red Dog’s new vegan menu includes a mean pizza. The last few times I’ve hit Red Dog it’s been for drinks only, but it’s on my list!

You all know what pizza looks like, but here’s a shot from my most recent visit. A pie with vegan cheese, black olives, garlic, onions and tomatoes.

I will update this post with prices as soon as I track down that take-out menu, but be warned they charge almost a dollar per topping, so check out the menu for topping specials. And they charge an extra fee for the vegan cheese, but you should have expected that.

The details:

Bella Pizzeria
1308 Colley Ave
Norfolk, VA 23517
(757) 625-3525

Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m; Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Dine-in, take-out or delivery
Accepts cash and major credit cards.

Wow, this place came out of nowhere! Well, not really. They’ve had a location at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for seven years or so, but they recently opened a Ghent location and added a large number of vegan items to their menu.

Nearly every item on their menu can be made vegan – even their famous fish tacos – for an additional 20 percent. After numerous visits in the last month (I think I’m addicted), the fish tacos have to be my favorite. And to tell you the truth, when I considered a vegan fish taco, I wasn’t too excited. I was picturing scary, rubbery, faux fish.

Vegan fish taco from Pelon's.

This version pleasantly surprised me. One vegan fish taco at Pelon’s ($2.75) is just enough for a light snack, or you can get three for $7.50. The tacos are traditional, with fried tofu cubes on a warm corn tortilla topped with raw green cabbage, fresh salsa and a spicy Baja cream sauce. The tacos are served with lime wedges to give them an even fresher taste, if you so choose.

Vegan fish taco from Pelon's - the money shot!

The bulk of the Pelon’s menu is dedicated to its Baja burritos. I was impressed with the selection – these aren’t the typical burritos. Sure there’s black beans, delicious guacamole, salsa, etc., but there’s also mixed greens, zucchini, squash, pineapple habanero sauce, just to name a few of the fixins.

This isn’t a make-your-own burrito bar like Machismo, Chipotle or Moe’s – the burritos are specific – but the friendly staff is more than happy to make substitutions.

My favorite burrito so far is the Grass Hut ($7.25), a vegetarian burrito chocked full of some of my favorite sautéed veggies, including bell peppers, green onions, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, shredded cabbage (cooked!), rice, black beans, fresh salsa and guacamole. The burrito normally comes with cheddar and jack cheeses, but you only need to “make it vegan” and Pelon’s will sub them with vegan cheese. I’m not really a fan of vegan cheese (it is the edible, culinary precipice we’ve yet to reach, in my opinion), so I ask to make it vegan and sub the cheese with vegan sour cream.

The veg options don’t end there. For nearly every meat on the menu, there is a vegan substitution – vegan steak, vegan chicken, and tofu.

For the sake of research, I tested the Hang Ten ($7.25) and made it vegan, which included faux grilled chicken, rice, black beans, cheese (which I subbed with vegan sour cream), cilantro, onions, guacamole and a mild verde sauce. I wasn’t as excited about this one as I was the Grass Hut, but I’m also not a big faux meat consumer. The chicken was tasty, but had a very strong charbroiled flavor that overpowered the burrito. I may try a vegan meat burrito again, but make it The Curl, a fish burrito subbing tofu.

The guacamole at Pelon’s is some of the greatest, in my opinion. This tasty avocado dip is so damn simple, yet there are so many terrible versions out there. You can order it regular or chunky. I recommend chunky for the huge avocado bits. The guacamole ranges in price from $1.95 for a 3-ounce cup to $9.50 for a pint.

Pelon’s runs a special on Tuesdays where ordering a regular drink gets you a free brownie. And yes, bless their little hearts, they carry vegan brownies. I thought for sure they were going to be stingy, telling me vegan brownies aren’t included in the special, but they are! They’re cakey vegan brownies, and I’m a fudgy brownie person, but they can be a great treat when the timing is right.

Pelon’s is a casual joint with a very bright, Baja/surf décor. Two television screens in the restaurant were even playing End of Summer 2 on a recent afternoon. Despite the over-the-top, surf waxy decorations, it’s a great atmosphere. There are plenty of drink options, including beer, wine and margaritas. You order at the counter and your food is brought to you.

If you’re a hot sauce fan, Pelon’s has a wide assortment of homemade and bottled sauces to top your eats. My favorite is the peri peri pepper sauce.

The Pelon’s menu also features quesadillas, nachos, tortilla soup and salads, all of which can be made vegan upon request. Just look for the little flower next to a menu item and it can be made vegan.

Please note that all items “made vegan” will cost you an extra 20 percent at Pelon’s, but all the prices listed in this review are the prices of the regular items.

The details:

Pelon’s Baja Grill
738 W. 22nd St, Suite 15
Norfolk, VA 23417
Phone (757) 961-4673

Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Dine-in or take-out
Accepts cash, Visa and Mastercard

Sorry for the lengthy hiatus.

We launched this blog in the middle of a lot of other things and just couldn’t get it together, but we’re back and hungry for delicious vegan eats. And wow, in less than a year, Hampton Roads seems to have started getting its act together in the way of options for vegans and vegetarians. There are plenty of great reviews slated, but if you have a recommendation please contact us here.

On deck are two Ghent eateries that have pulled out all the stops for vegans…look for those reviews this week and next!

PS: There were a ton of comments in moderation - mostly spam - so if yours was marked as such on accident, our apologies!