Lynchburg serves up a variety of dishes for vegetarian and vegan diners
By Brandy Centolanza
Those who are on a vegetarian or vegan diet are in luck when it comes to dining out in Lynchburg. Many of the city’s restaurants offer diverse menus catering toward an herbivore’s palate. Whether you prefer a soup, salad, or sandwich, be sure to bring your appetite along when visiting one of these restaurants.
Hot & Cold Café
102 Main Street
Uday & Timby at Hot & Cold Café
Hot & Cold Café specializes in a blend of Indian and Mediterranean cuisine, with more than 85 vegetarian items and more than 35 vegan items that are all natural and color-free. “All of our starters are vegan,” says co-owner Timby Mukherjee. “We also offer Mediterranean vegetarian wraps, salads and soups and a wide variety of vegan and vegetarian Indian cuisine. You can even create your own vegan or vegetarian dish by adding other vegetables to your entree selection.” Popular dishes include Aloo Gobhi (potato with cauliflower), Mixed Vegetable Korma, Palak Paneer (spinach with homemade cheese), and Mataar Paneer (green peas with cheese). For dessert, vegans can indulge in Kulfi, an Indian ice cream.
Crisp
1124 Church Street
Prefer a salad? Head over to Crisp, a salad and juice bar, where eating healthy is fast and affordable. Here, you can choose from a variety of salads or wraps or build your own meal. Depending on your mood, you can nosh on the Baja, Caesar, Greek Garden, Thai, or Moroccan salad options. Or, go a little more adventurous and try the Superfood salad with romaine, spinach, kale, organic quinoa, sweet potato, beets, carrots, sunflower seeds, and apple. Wash it down with one of four different smoothies or one of seven different juices. Try the Green Drink with spinach, apple, and cucumber or the Eye of the Tiger with apple, carrot, and ginger.
Millie’s Living Café
1701 Enterprise Drive
All of the dishes on the menu at Millie’s Living Café are vegetarian with most dishes being vegan-friendly. “We are mainly known for our smoothie bowls,” says Blair Dawson, café manager. The café offers seven different smoothie bowls topped with seasonal fresh fruit, granola, and coconut. Millie’s Living Café also uses meat substitutions including nuts and jackfruit. Order the jackfruit sliders with BBQ jackfruit, homemade slaw, and pickle, or the Tex-Mex jackfruit tacos with black beans, vegan siracha cheese, cucumber, and guacamole. “People also like our chickpea wrap because it is like chicken salad without the chicken,” Dawson says. The chickpea wrap is made with chickpea salad, carrot, onion, celery, relish, and seasonings wrapped in collards.
Hawaii Poke & Green
112 A Cornerstone Street
Poke is having a moment, so be sure to check out Hawaii Poke & Green. The restaurant uses all-Patrons can choose from signature salads and wraps or poke bowls or you can create your own. The Hawaiian Passion salad boasts mixed greens, kale, apples, grapes, pineapples, coconut, bleu cheese, and walnuts while the Thai Salad comes with kale, edamame, yellow pepper, green onion, cashews, cilantro and other spices. Meanwhile, you can substitute tofu for the chicken in a poke bowl that includes a spring mix, mango, edamame, cucumber, seaweed salad, and green onion.
Rolled Cold Creamery
819 Main Street
On the hunt for a vegan dessert? Satisfy your sweet tooth with a bowl of the vegan ice cream at Rolled Cold Creamery. Top seller is the vegan coffee ice cream. “Like all our ice cream, we make our vegan base in house,” says operating manager Josh Finley “It’s fresh, creamy, and made with oat milk. This base can be used with any flavor on our ice cream menu. For completely vegan options, the base can be used with our vegan flavors such as honey lavender, blueberry earl grey, and chocolate brownie.”
Brandy Centolanza is a freelance writer who covers health, family travel, and the hospitality industry. She writes from her Virginia home surrounded by her husband of 20 years and their two teens, three cats, and a bearded dragon named Craig.
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