Have you noticed that light gray building with white trim on Akron Cleveland Road in Boston Heights?

You know, the one right next to The Budget Inn?

Turns out it’s a lovely little vegan- and vegetarian-friendly restaurant worth visiting. The kitchen also prepares chicken and fish dishes for those who prefer some meat in their meals.

Cuisine is ‘1,000/10’ at Veg+

During my visit, I sat in the front section of the eatery that overlooks a fenced patio with over a half-dozen potted plants to keep me company. They were the perfect dates – extraordinarily cheap and quiet.   

On the other side of the restaurant, in one of its plush booths, sat a small but energetic family.

I don’t know exactly what each person ordered, but I do know that the little girl was adamant her lunch was “1,000/10.” In fact, after the rest of the family was in the car, her dad came back in to tell our server and the restaurant’s owner, Betsy DuWaldt, how much they enjoyed the food.

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I had a very similar experience during that lunch hour.

I started off by ordering a loaf of pillowy soft bread served with whipped pumpkin butter and roasted garlic-herb oil ($6). Having pumpkin butter as a sweet spread and a savory dipping option with the garlic-herb oil is a great way to make sure everyone at the table gets what they want from an appetizer.

Next up was one of their most popular menu items, the pickled beet salad ($12) – a mix of greens, house-made pickled beets and candied nuts with vegan white French dressing.

This was probably the first salad I’ve ever bought at a restaurant. (Why buy a $10+ bowl of lettuce when I can make it at home?) But it only seemed appropriate to get some salad at a veggie-forward place.

I’m glad I gave it a chance. The pickled beets brought a bright color and flavor to the dish while the candied nuts provided texture, and the vegan French dressing made everything work together – greens and all.

The Metro Parks Chicken sandwich ($15) was juicy and plentiful considering it had a 6-oz. brined chicken breast, avocado, greens and rosemary-dried cran aioli on a house-made bun, and it was served with hand-cut French fries.

Last was a flourless chocolate strawberry cake served warm with vanilla ice cream on top. It was ooey-gooey goodness in a white ramekin. Warm and dense with pops of strawberry contrasting with the creamy, cold vanilla ice cream…what a great way to end lunch.  

Adding in a Shirley Temple, my total before tip came to $46.96.

History of Veg+

The building, owned by DuWaldt, was once home to Tiki Underground, a cocktail bar and lounge that now resides in downtown Cuyahoga Falls where Hunt’s Bar & Grill used to be.

DuWaldt has almost two decades of front- and back-of-house restaurant experience. Her experience ranges from being a fraternity dinner cook at UC Davis to bartending at a Legal Seafoods in Cambridge, Massachusetts, all while getting degrees in technical communications and business administration.

“Student loans moved me out of the restaurant business for some time, but it’s such a human endeavor — feeding people — that I am making a go of it,” DuWaldt stated. “While there are more vegan places opening up, and they’re all fantastic, really, I just want to give more options. I don’t want to tell people what to eat, I just want to provide a few different things.”

I was surprised to find the restaurant mostly empty, considering it’s been open since July and certainly isn’t lacking in the food department. DuWaldt attributes this to a lack of advertising and signage, something she has waited to implement, at least in part, to allow the kitchen to get comfortable with the menu.

“It’s been a very soft opening because, although it’s a short menu, it is not uncomplicated,” she said. “We try to do a lot of things. Everything is scratch-[made] in the kitchen except for two things we’ve purchased and then tinker with, like Frank’s RedHot sauce for our tofu wings…and then Sweet Baby Ray’s for our barbecue tofu wings.” 

Favorites and upcoming dishes at Veg+

DuWaldt finds herself cycling through the menu when it comes to preferred dishes at Veg+, but the chilly weather has her favoring its soups right now.

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“The mulligatawny and the roasted corn chowder still taste great to me, even though I test them everyday,” the owner explained. “The chowder was meant to be a special one week, but it was good enough to have a place on the menu, at least for this season. Many people love our riff on a Nashville chicken, but it is a huge sandwich.”

Vegan doughnuts are also up for grabs on Sundays. DuWaldt’s kitchen is working on “unicorn” recipes that are both vegan and gluten-free, but it will likely be another month or two before they are rolled out.  

But there will soon be more for Veg+ customers to enjoy each week.

“At the start of the year, we’ll likely be having a special pasta each week [since] dried pasta typically is already vegan,” DuWaldt said. “We’re working on a ‘woodsperson’ pasta that will have lots of mushrooms in a light tomato-vodka sauce.”

Got a restaurant recommendation? Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at [email protected] and on Twitter @TawneyBeans. And follow her food adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal.

Details

Place: Veg+

Address: 5893 Akron Cleveland Rd., Hudson

Phone: 234-284-8483

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Website: facebook.com/vegplus