Soul Veg, Vegan Soul Food in Chicago

Not so long ago, I went to Chicago for my boyfriend’s sister’s bachelorette party. I was the only vegan in the group but everybody was cool about it. They even let me meet up with a friend who lives there.

My friend Joy who lives there now was equally gracious. She let me choose our meeting place knowing very well I would choose a vegan restaurant. That’s very considerate despite the fact she had never been at a vegan restaurant before.

I wanted to show my appreciation to her by finding a vegan restaurant that would impress her. I dug up reviews on Yelp and found out “Soul Veg Chicago” would be my best bet.

“Soul Veg” is an all vegan soul food restaurant in East Chicago that has been around since 1980! I could just imagine how tough business was for them when veganism was not that popular yet.

To start off, we got the protein tidbit with barbecue sauce. The tidbits were made of wheat protein or seitan. They were chewy. In fact, very chewy. I assume the restaurant makes its own mock meats because I’ve tried tons of mock meats on the market and they don’t have the same texture like the ones I had at “Soul Veg”.

For the entree, I got the “Stir Fried Tofu with brown rice”. Their tofu was also something I never had before.  It wasn’t just a regular bean curd, it tasted peppery savory and was very chewy inside and crunchy on the outside. Their tofu was probably the chewiest tofu I’ve ever had.

The rice was also tasty but a bit dry. I guess they were being health conscious by cutting back on the fat and opting for brown instead of white.

I was super curious about their Stir Fried steak so we got that too. Actually, the platter was more like a seitan meat loaf. My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

I had to order dessert after seeing their ice cream sundae on the menu. We got the tropical fruit sundae and the chocolate cake. The cake was quite dense but very filling and delicious. The sundae tasted like guava fruit, yum!  My friend said she was especially impressed with our dessert.

The ambiance had a nice, casual feel. Nothing too fancy, although they also have a banquet hall in another room.

Aside from table service, “Soul Veg” also has a snack and salad kiosk. My friend and I were too full to order anything from there so I just snapped some pictures.

 Looks tasty and hearty to me.

While enjoying our meal, my friend and I talked about fun times. We laughed, giggled, gossiped, and talked about future plans.

After our meal, my friend drove me back to my hotel. She even offered to drive me and the group to the airport when we fly back to San Francisco -and she did. I will forever remember her kindness and hospitality. I think that’s why she’s my friend-she’s one amazing gall!

Few days later, she texted me saying after eating at a vegan restaurant, she has noticed more vegan and vegetarian restaurants in her neighborhood!

Original Soul Vegetarian
Located at 203 E. 75th street
Chicago, IL 60619. View Map
Phone: (773) 451-9796
Website: originalsoulvegetarian.com