I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Atlanta (Hotlanta), Georgia for a friend’s wedding. I was grateful and excited to find plenty of raw vegan food options around the area. I took the MERTA (train) to East Point where I had the pleasure to eat at THE only; organic, living, vegan restaurant in the state of Georgia called Lovin’ It Live. Below is a photograph of a quote from Imhotep that is on the door frame and below that is what the restaurant looks like from the corner.

The restaurant has a cozy feeling, as if you were eating at home or at a friend’s house. When I sat down one woman was getting some juices to go and once I was almost finished with my meal, a couple was coming in so the restaurant was never loud or crowded. There is music playing softly in the background, a bar-like area to sit at, and tables. Lovin’ It Live is located at 2796 East Point Street, and is about 5 minutes away from the East Point train stop on the red line.

When I first entered I was interested in the special entrées and desserts they had for the day listed on a white board as soon as I walked in. But once I sat down and looked at the menu my mind completely changed on what I wanted to have. I decided on the Mushroom Steak entrée on top of Kale Salad.

The Mushroom steak was thick strips of portabella mushrooms marinated in oil, red onion, and savory spices. I am almost certain I saw and tasted mustard seeds, and Cajun spices such as fennel seeds, cayenne, garlic, onion, paprika, salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. The kale salad consisted of green curly kale, tomatoes, avocado, onion, and a little bit of the spices that were also on the mushrooms. Over the dish was a red pepper sauce drizzle. Here are some photos!

I totally recommend this dish and for people to try to recreate something like this at home. It was super filling, savory, refreshing, and gave me the energy I need to stand the heat. I paid an extra fee for the kale salad; the original options were a green salad or rice. The total of the dish was $14.50, plus a tax for sitting in the restaurant on top of the sales tax. For the most part entrées are around $10-$15 and salads are roughly $8.

If you are not familiar with the cost of raw food at restaurants this may sound expensive but this is actually the average price a raw main entrée costs. I think the “sitting in” tax makes this restaurant on the expensive side. On a range from $-$$$, $$$ beginning expensive, I give this restaurant $$.

If you ever have the pleasure of visiting Georgia stop by Lovin’ It Live, but check their hours first online or give them a call (404-765-9220)! The restaurant does not open until 2pm and there is not much to do in this area to kill time, believe me I waited around 2 hours for the restaurant to open and just sat under a tree listening to music.

I had the pleasure of speaking to the owner of Lovin’ It Live during my visit and she was very calm, sweet, and honest. She informed me that everyday she goes to the market to buy produce and other ingredients. Everything is made fresh so it may take 20 minutes to be served (it didn’t even take that much time when I went). One of their priorities is to buy as much local produce as possible, yay! Lovin’ It Live also has fresh juices, moss drinks, soups, pizzas, appetizers, burgers, salads and desserts.

Even if you are not traveling to Georgia I still recommend checking out their menu, it may give you some inspiration. Their use of seasonings has sparked my interest and I want to play around more with them in my own recipes. The dish tasted as if it were grilled, and the spices even gave me the feeling that the food was warm.

The only negative things I have to say is that the restaurant was not very clean. I didn’t get sick from eating the food or anything like that, but I did see several bugs on the floor. I understand it is difficult in the heat to control such things, especially during the summertime. Another problem was that the restaurant was only accepting cash that day but I was not informed until I had already ordered. Thankfully I had cash, just not enough to spoil myself like I had planned. But the great serve, fresh food, genuine smiles, and jazz music playing makes me want to forget the negatives and focus on the fact that this restaurant is doing something amazing for their community, environment and every person who comes in and out of their establishment.