London vegan news, reviews & events
I think I am living in the wrong city.
I want vegan junk food. I want vegan comfort food. I want the food to be tasty. I want the food to have flair. I want to eat the food in a super cool setting. I want cake options. I want drinks like shakes and floats.
I got exactly what I wanted in Manchester.
V Revolution is the type of food provider the UK has been screaming out for and of which vegan Londoners are surely gravely jealous. Of course the food is incredible or I wouldn’t be considering moving back to Manchester, but I’ll get to that with photos shortly. Let’s first talk about the fucking coolness of the shop.
It’s a determined trickle in London. Slowly, but surely. Vegan food is taking a foothold as more and more compassionate people take chances on creating and selling plant-based foods. One such vendor is vegan baker Giancarlo Roncato.
A trained chef who decided to swap the animal based ingredients out of all his food, Giancarlo can now be found plying his wares on market stalls around London. Josh and I paid a visit to his Chatsworth Road operation a few weekends back and were delighted not only by the choice on offer from Giancarlo, but also the vegan-friendly vibe of the entire market.
So, what does Giancarlo and his Vegan Sweet Tooth bakery offer? Check it out below.
I ate something that was delicious. Do you wanna see it?
I’m not sure if vegan food in the UK really is as lacklustre as I think it is or if the problem is I have eaten in incredible restaurants that have made me hyper-critical, but I am getting grumpy about second rate options in this country.
There are moments of deliciousness and innovation, but overall I find the UK vegan food scene to be desperately in need of a revolution.
Take VBites Brighton as an example.
Enough with the torturous posts about divine food half a world away from where the majority of my readers reside. I will stop teasing.
Well, I will stop after this post. I promise.
I have given you some decidedly convincing reasons why you should visit San Diego. The Southern California city is a gorgeous location bursting with attractions that will keep compassionate people on the delirious side of happy. See the vegan drive thru and the vegan market stall as examples.
And there is more.
Moncai Vegan is exactly what I see when I close my eyes at night. It is like the dream I have where the food is irresistible, the service is lovely and there are vegan donuts in a large glass case.
Apologies to my loyal non-Californian readers who have been suffering through post after post about vegan food well out of their reach. Maybe you can think of it as the motivation you need to scrape some savings together and get away on holiday. Make Southern California your next vacation destination.
So really, these tempting posts of decadent dishes are a public service. My civil duty to inspire the plant-inclined people of the world to broaden their horizons.
To carry on in this completely selfless fashion, let me tell you what you are missing by not eating at Doomie’s Home Cookin’ in Hollywood.
Doomie’s is the FGV version of heaven. Vegan pulled pork sandwich served with mac and cheese? Check. Cocktails and cold beer? Check. Decadent vegan desserts and sweet treats? Double check.
If I lived in Hollywood, I would most certainly develop an unhealthy emotional relationship with this meat free restaurant. Their menu is what you would show someone wanting to understand the term comfort food.
The only thing that I can’t approve of is the fact Doomie’s offer cow-derived cheese on request. Their food is so utterly delicious and out of this world, offering dairy seems such an unnecessary concession. I can’t imagine that any diner would feel short changed by eating the vegan versions. It is all staggeringly good.
Check out my meal photos below, including the bonus photo of the jumbo vegan burger Doomie’s served me during the Los Angeles Vegan Beer Festival.
Being a frequent traveller, I am used to the exorbitant prices charged for food items at airports. I am not sure if the food vendors are paying a premium for the space or they have just discovered people will pay anything because they are trapped in that location.
Let’s play a guessing game.
How much do you think I paid for this vegan salad at Los Angeles International Airport last week? The answer is below the photo in US dollars. Take a guess and then scroll down to see how close you were.
Ready for the answer?
It hasn’t even been a year since I first blogged about the glorious vegan food vendor The Mighty Fork so it is with great sadness and shock to find out that the people behind it have no future plans to trade.
London has lost one of its only world class, 100% vegan food providers. The Mighty Fork were a shining light in a slate grey Victorian sky filled with hummus and falafel. Their gourmet dogs were loved by many and the capital is a decidedly less adventurous food landscape without them.
Owner and founder Rita sent the following tweet this morning to her devoted fans via Twitter.
I followed this tweet up with an email to Rita, asking if this really is the end of her vegan hot dogs on the streets of London.
She replied that there are no plans for The Mighty Fork in the future and she has no plans to return to street food. Rita also stated it was important to her to get word out to the people who have supported her business. She loved meeting the thousands of people she served vegan street food to and is thankful for all the new friends she made along the way.
It turns out that the final outing for The Mighty Fork was the roller disco I held to raise funds for Sea Shepherd. I’m glad I had the good sense to eat two of their delicious creations on the day.
Much love to The Mighty Fork for the brief enjoyment they gave to London vegans.
Along with a lot of other west London based vegans, I often complain that not a lot happens for plant eaters on this side of the city.
Well, here is one event.
Angela Malik has just opened a culinary school in Ealing and is set to host a vegan cooking demonstration next week on June 5, 2014. The event will be a chance for attendees to watch a vegan Chinese meal be prepared from scratch before diving in for some tasting.
The event website states that you will observe the creation of wood ear salad with coriander, pock marked old woman’s tofu and stir fried Chinese greens with sizzling oil. Then you will eat it!
The tickets are available now. I would love to hear what this event is like if you go along.
Let’s hope this is just the start of more vegan events in the forgotten western part of the capital.