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TLO Restaurant Review: The Loaded Bowl

Louis cleansed his chicken-fried palate with a trip to this popular vegan eatery.

10:52 AM EST on December 13, 2022

For most of the week, I didn’t want any meat.

So, after taking a trip to the post office, I tried The Loaded Bowl, 1211 SW 2nd, a rare full-time vegan establishment located in the Farmer's Market District in Oklahoma City.

With beef, pork and chicken still oozing out of my pecking soul from last week's calorically-laden Chickasha lunch, I thought a vegan meal of fruits, nuts, noodles, and artificially-derived anti-meat would help cleanse my soul.

I think I picked the right spot.

The Loaded Bowl seems like it's primarily a to-go restaurant, with countless people waiting to pick up orders. But, I didn’t know that, and had to wait around like a goof with a menu and a speech impediment.

But, thanks to a caring clerk, I got my order in about ten minutes, hot and ready right as the afternoon sun lit up the room.

I started with a heaping helping of the Cashew Mac + Cheese Bowl ($10.00), a truly sinful dive to living well. With a few corkscrew noodles, the creamy dish is topped with a sprinkle of small spices, answering the question “Why did you take the powdered stuff so seriously?”

While I usually take macaroni and cheese with little fanfare, Loaded Bowl’s takes top honors. Creating the ultimate comfort vegan food, this dish is enough to either be a star in the break room or while vegging on the couch at 2 a.m. Next time, I may add some broccoli to it.

For my other dish, I went with my old reliable – nachos.

Usually, I'm a nacho purist —some chips, some cheese, you’re all set— but I was flabbergasted by Loaded Bowl’s take on the border meal.

Dubbed the Loaded Nacho Bowl ($16.00), they take some LB Tortilla Chips and Beyond Meat, with some beans, tomatoes, onions, and other spices, as well as cashew queso, sweet potato puree, and shredded cabbage, and bond it all together to create a taste-bud pleasing dish.

Helped along by the extra driving heat of guacamole and cool softness of vegan sour cream, the nachos were a new way to ingest good fake-meat and all it does for the world.

The flavor of the Beyond Meat and the beans was utterly triumphant, providing a bold taste that left me speechless. It's a real win for true nacho fans around the world, whether they like meat or not.

After putting my leftovers in the bag, I had one more treat: a voluminous vegan cupcake, with a berry middle and a sweet berry frosting.

Taking a bite and another, I silently wished I could eat like this all of the time.

Cómpralo ya!

_

Follow Louis on Twitter at @LouisFowler and Instagram at @louisfowler78.

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