Black-eyed pea hummus at Detroit Vegan Soul

Can soul food be good for you? Sure, if you swap out meat for veg protein and reduce the fat content and refined carbs. But it’s still heavy food, I learned during a visit to Detroit Vegan Soul.

This special Detroit restaurant veganizes traditional African American soul food. I was super excited to learn of DVS’s existence in a city I never associated with veg food.

Owners Erika Boyd and Kirsten Ussery loved traditional soul food, but didn’t like the toll it took on people’s health. “We became vegan for health reasons, just to break the cycle of disease in our family,” Ussery said when I visited. They started their food biz as meal delivery and catering. But it caught on fast and now they’re planning their second brick and mortar restaurant.

Southern-fried tofu bites

I wanted to order a more soul food type entrée, but after deciding on black-eyed pea hummus and Southern fried tofu bites with spicy buffalo dipping sauce as starters, I thought I better scale back. Deep-fried tofu bits are preferable to deep-fried meat, but they still take a toll on the stomach. So I ordered the sesame kale salad with added tempeh and avocado slices.

Sesame kale salad

If you’re visiting Detroit, for sure stop by and support this friendly and unusual restaurant.