Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, March 1, 2000
Cory Lambrecht, Topeka junior, and Jennifer Ricci. University of Kansas graduate, enjoy the addition of "soup" in *Salad*, 939 Massachusetts St., to Lawrence's restaurant
selection. Soup 'n Salad and Lotus are two new restaurants downtown that have a variety of vegetarian options. Photo by Ellie Hajek/KANSAN
Local vegetarian eateries open
Downtown welcomes two veggie options
By Ryan Devlin
writer@kanson.com
Kansan staff writer
Vegetarians, reioice!
Two new restaurants with vegetarian emphases have opened on Massachusetts Street in the past week. Lotus, 811 Massachusetts St., and Soup 'n Salad, 939 Massachusetts St., have widened the options for vegetarians who want to eat out in Lawrence.
Kelfel Aqui, who owns Soup 'n Salad with his wife, Mireya, said the restaurants catered to a significant portion of the Lawrence community. Aqui said so far his restaurant had received a tremendous response.
"Downtown Lawrence is such a desirable space." Aqui said. "The people who live and work and play downtown are diverse, but they share things in common. They're cool, they're interactive and they like to eat well. We've tried to keep that in mind from the conception to the design of our restaurant."
Aqui, who also owns the Mexican restaurant Coco Loco, 943 Massachusetts St., and plays in the local band Son Venezuela, said the concept of his restaurant was simple.
"It's all-you-can-eat soups, salads and baked potatoes at a very cheap price. On Sundays, we make things a bit more complicated and also offer an all-you-can-eat pasta bar," Aqui said.
In addition to a wide array of fresh vegetables on the salad bar
and soups, Soup 'n Salad also offers options for the carnivorous, featuring a meat chill topping for baked potatoes and several soups with meat, such as southwestern chicken and chicken gumbo. On Sundays, the pasta bar features spaghetti and meatballs and other meat-based dishes.
In contrast, the menu at Lotus is primarily vegetarian and features several vegan options. Its diverse menu includes smoothies with names like the Maki Waki (coconut milk, peach and mango nectar) and Frugavior (raspberry, peach, apricot and honey), rice bowls and daily stir-frys, a salad bar, soups, Pakistani flat breads served with sauteed greens or curried potatoes, and several different sushi rolls.
Lotus also features entertainment such as disc jockeys and local bands and has devoted wall space for local artists.
Aqui said it was crucial for business owners to stay in touch with the community and to give the community several reasons to come to their establishments.
"We're keeping our eyes and ears open and listening to what people are saying," Aqui said. He said Soup'n Salad planned to display a community calendar and also to provide wall-space for works by local artists.
Sara Pike, Lawrence senior, said she had eaten at Lotus and enjoyed the food.
"I had a sushi roll with avocado." Pike said. "It was really good and reasonably priced, too. I would definitely recommend it."
Jennifer Ricci, a December KU graduate, had a similar reaction to Soup'n Salad.
"I was in Chicago recently and they had little joints like these on every corner," Ricci said. "It's just really nice to be able to get really good, fresh food downtown."
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