My good pal Hannah sent me a tweet earlier today asking if I had heard about the poor cows connected to Kensington vegetarian cafe Down To Earth. I hadn’t, so I did some searching online.
What I found out is very distressing.
London can you wait?
Reward for you
What’s better than a gorgeous vegan meal in a convenient central London location? A 10% discount off your total bill at the end of your meal, that’s what!
I had the pleasure of working with Saf Restaurant & Bar to help deliver a memorable dinner party on New Year’s Eve and now I get the thrill of offering a special discount to all my readers.
Saf reached out to ask if my readers would like a discount to dine with them until February 28th, 2014 at a 10% discount. I said, “Of course!”.
The restaurant has an attractive menu featuring raw starters, hearty mains, irresistible desserts and an impressive selection of vegan drinks. I truly believe it is the leader of the pack in London at the moment for vegan dining.
How do you get the discount?
Burger
You know I adore Saf. I love them so much I even worked with them to host a New Year’s Eve dinner and now I have even another reason to be a fan. Their mouthwatering burger is now available for £4.50 as a bar snack. Perfect for a quick bite. Maybe you can even find the time to wash it down with a vegan beer or cocktail. I see a lot of these burgers in my future!
See this and other photos over on my Instagram account.
Don’t hold the cheese
One of the greatest fears for a lot of people looking to make the leap to a vegan lifestyle is the lack of pizza. Surely humans cannot exist without this crucial dish? Fortunately for wannabe vegans, Basilico make it possible for you to be able to consume pizza without hurting anyone.
The giant pizzas at Basilico are legendary. The first time we ordered an 18 inch delight, I squealed with joy. We have been enjoying the cheese-less margherita on and off for a while now but had somehow overlooked the fact the pizza crafters also make a mouth watering roasted vegetable pizza with vegan cheese. Oh yes.
I apologise if you are hungry. These photos are going to be difficult to view. Put yourself out of your misery and order an 18 inch vegan vegetarian pizza featuring Veganic grated cheese today. Basilico will even deliver it for you if you are local to one of their eight branches.
New Year’s Cheer
24 hours on, I am still a bit worn out from hosting my vegan New Year’s Eve dinner for 70 people at Saf Restaurant & Bar. It was a lot of hard work, but well worth it. Every single guest looked to be having a fantastic night out.
My pal Luke has kindly offered to stop by and give you his take on the evening. You can follow Luke on Twitter and check out his blog.
Tell us what you thought, Luke.
Chillin
My Vegan Ice Cream Wars feature is only sporadically updated due to the lack of diversity in the UK vegan ice cream market. We need more variety.
It is this lack of choice that is forcing me to include gelato in this category. However, the gelato flavours at Oddono’s Italian ice cream parlours are not going to make it appear as if I have stretched the category too wide.
Oddono’s is a company with half a dozen locations scattered around central London and almost-central London. They make all their vegan and non-vegan desserts on site and you can even peek into the preparation areas at some of the locations to see the magic in action.
Tempting tofu and tempeh
Do you enjoy cooking with tempeh and tofu? What about taro? Do you use a lot of bean curd skins in your kitchen? If yes is your answer, you will adore this supermarket in central London brimming with ingredients from Korea, Thailand, Japan and countries across Asia.
On a recent ramble along Queensway, a bustling street springing from the northern side of Hyde Park, I was delighted to see a shop front emblazoned with the words Oriental Supermarket. Well, I was delighted by the idea of the food inside but slightly confronted by the use of the word oriental. It always strikes me as an old-fashioned term used to frame entire cultures as mysterious and intoxicating.
But you didn’t come here for pseudo-sociology, so let me crack on with vegan food talk.
Animal Welfare Party
The European Parliament elections are coming up in 2014 and vegans the world over have the extremely rare opportunity to help London get animal activists elected.
The Animal Welfare Party has been formed to bring the issues vegans care about to the European Parliament. The party predicts it needs approximately 140 000 votes in London to gain a seat. Before I tell you how you can help, let’s find out a little bit more about the elections.
Some details from APCOForum:
In each Member State of the EU, everybody can vote to elect their Member of European Parliament (MEP). In some countries they’ll vote for an MEP in their region or city, in others they’ll vote on a national list meaning their MEPs represent the whole country, rather than a specific area. Potential MEPs will come from a wide range of political parties, from right to left, and will also include some independent candidates.
Whether you think the EU is a good or a bad thing, or somewhere in between, this is your chance to have a say. Despite what people say about ‘unelected bureaucrats’ making all the rules in Brussels, those people really just put a proposal on the table. It is then MEPs (who you elect directly) and representatives of all 28 Governments (who you also elect) that make the final decision on most issues. Your Government might like to ‘blame it on Brussels’ when things don’t go to plan, but they are part of Brussels too, so why not hold them accountable!
So, we kinda know what the elections are about but maybe we are not sure what the Animal Welfare Party are hoping to take to the table. What policies do they plan to influence? Take a look at these few talking points from their manifesto.
Some of the key policies of the party include:
- Redirect subsidies from livestock and fisheries farming to plant-based agriculture
- Phase out the failed practice of animal experimentation with binding targets for reduction and funding and support for alternatives
- Increased penalties for those convicted of animal cruelty
- Extend the current ban on hunting with greater enforcement and stronger penalties for abuse
- A ban on ‘puppy farms’ and a ban on the sale of animals in all retail stores
- Educate children about the importance of compassion and respect towards all living beings
The election takes place on May 22nd, 2014 and the Animal Welfare Needs your help in the following ways:
- Make a donation to their fundraising appeal (urgently as it ends on December 31st, 2013)
- Share the link for the fundraising appeal everywhere: http://igg.me/at/animalwelfareparty/x/4544
- Follow AWP on Twitter
- Like AWP on Facebook
- If you are in London, vote on May 22nd!
- If you are outside London raise money, spread the link and do whatever you can to help the Animal Welfare Party put the animal agenda front in centre in Europe.
I know it is a bit confusing but if every vegan or animal-concerned person reading this was to share, donate and vote (if eligible), we can get the Animal Welfare Party across the line.
Gluten free Japanese secret supper
So, you are hunting around for a niche dining experience. Think you have seen it all? Think again. Leading London-based secret supper club expert The Vegan Ronin is hosting a special lunch that will have you redefining your understanding of the word exclusive.
Before I explore the actual food component of this limited event, I want to quickly let you know only five people will be able to book a space just in case you want to skip ahead of my ramblings in order to book instantly.
OK. Down to business.
The Vegan Ronin proudly presents a five course gluten-free Japanese lunch. Oh yes!
In an intimate setting, the fortunate and tiny group of diners will be served the following menu:
- Lotus chips, yuzu spinach salad, seared daikon, ginger-miso aubergine and Japanese potato salad
- Tofu course: fresh tofu, yuba, agedashi dofu, ganmodoki (Buddhist tofu patty), tofu sesame salad
- Tempura zaru soba with all the fixings
- Traditional meal ender of mixed miso soup, rice and fresh pickles.
- Sesame brittle and daigaku imo (candied sweet potatoes fries)
Make haste and get on over to the booking page. Once you have registered, you will receive notification on how to secure your booking.
- When: Saturday 25th January, 2014 – 1:00 -4:00 pm
- Where: Finchley Central, North London
- Cost: £35 pre-pay donation
- Drinks: A Japanese aperitif is included – BYOB permitted
See my own personal experience of eating at a Vegan Ronin event.
Eat like an Egyptian
Unless something drastic happens such as a Veggie Grill opening in Soho or a Native Foods Cafe popping up on Regent Street, I will probably never again eat vegan food in another central London location other than Koshari Street.
Koshari Street is what vegan London has been lacking. Affordable, quick and incredibly tasty food to eat on the go. Every single person I know who has eaten there cannot sing its praises loudly enough. It is beyond game changing. It is the best vegan food in central London.
