‘No matter what you are going through in life, good food will warm your heart.’

A new vegan eatery opened inside Yamashiro, a 106-year-old Japanese restaurant in Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, CA on April 30.

The restaurant called The VTree Hollywood is a partnership between rapper, actor, and television host Nick Cannon and acclaimed plant-based chef, Chef Velvet.

The collaboration is to give Hollywood a taste to soulful plant-based food.

“Hollywood! Are you ready for SoulFULL Plant Based cuisine,” wrote VTree Hollywood on Instagram to announce the launch of the restaurant.

“Get your tastebuds ready.”

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Hollywood! Are you ready for SoulFULL Plant Based cuisine? @thevtreehollywood by @thevelvetchef will launch our takeout orders on 4/30/20 at @yamashirola . Get your tastebuds ready . #vegan #vegan #lavegans #vegansofla #plantbased #soulfood #vegansoulfood #womenempowerment #womenownedbusiness

A post shared by The Vtree (@thevtreehollywood) on Apr 25, 2020 at 10:45am PDT

Explaining why the restaurant opened its doors despite the ongoing pandemic, Chef Velvet, who also owns vegan restaurant VelTree in Charlotte, NC said: “We decided to open our doors early despite the COVID-19 lockdown, because I believe that you can find comfort in good soul food!

“No matter what you are going through in life, good food will warm your heart. And my goal is to put my soul in every dish and bring a smile into Los Angeles homes.”  

‘Tastes better than chicken’

Cannon has been a fan of Chef Velvet’s cooking. In a video shared on Facebook, last year, Cannon was seen eating vegan chicken from the chef’s VelTree restaurant menu and heard saying: “This is, uh, chicken, well… or something like it! It tastes better than chicken; it feels better than chicken.”

The actor, who switched to healthier eating eliminating chicken, pork, and processed foods, after being diagnosed with lupus in 2012 continued: “They’re doing it. I haven’t had chicken in I don’t know how long. I got it now.”

The vegan chicken is also available at VTree.

Soulful Menu

The new restaurant offers entrées such as seitan-based BBQ Ribz, Cajun Shrimp, African Peanut Stew, Lasagna, Salisbury Steak over rice, Krab Cakes, and Chic’N & Waffles; sides such as mac and cheese, yams, cornbread, and chef’s choice veggies; and red velvet cupcakes for dessert.

Presently the restaurant is catering only for curbside service, with plans to open for dine-in once the lockdown is relaxed.

• Read: Make a spicy vegan McChicken sandwich at home with Lizzo’s viral TikTok tutorial

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