LUHV Food opens vegan deli at Reading Terminal Market
It's all vegan. Even the Reuben.
Reading Terminal Market now has two delis.
On one side of an aisle is Hershel's East Side Deli, which puts out hot sandwiches overstuffed with sliced-to-order cuts such as corned beef and pastrami.
On the other side of the aisle is LUHV Vegan Deli, a spinoff of the Hatboro vegan manufacturer/restaurant.
LUHV started at the market earlier this year in a day cart and moved into the market's "Avenue B" this week.
(By all means, read the Lucci family's profile.)
LUHV's menu board looks like that of a traditional deli, with a menu board of cold cuts, cheeses, and salads available by the pound and half-pound — except that everything is vegan.
The sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich on a bagel?.
Free of animal products, as are the "Reuben sandwich, the "brisket" sandwich garnished with " cheese" and coleslaw, and the "tuna" salad made using chickpeas. (Lots of quotation marks.)
LUHV's signature Energy Soup and black bean burgers are also on the menu, as is burger dough for those who want to make their own at home.
Interesting note: LUHV is set up in a stall topped with a circa-1947 sign that reads, in part, "Drink buttermilk and live forever." It's a quaint holdover from merchant Domenic Spataro, who incidentally lived to age 94 and died in 2012 after working at the market for 81 years. The stall most recently sold soaps.