Oh Manchester – so much to answer for

Vegan comfort food for Manchester

by

I wrote about the vegan food options at Manchester’s The Deaf Institute a while ago, but only just got around to trying some of it for myself last night.

The Deaf Institute is a bar, kitchen and live music venue just off Oxford Road. The kitchen is open every single day from 4pm until late and is packed solid with vegan comfort food.

Confusingly, the menu does make claims about a full vegan kitchen but during my visit their were a few non-vegan items listed on that very same menu such as meat and cheese. I’m not really sure what this means.

Anyway, the vegan food is plentiful and really quite good.

You can follow The Deaf Institute on Instagram and keep scrolling down to see everything Josh and I devoured last night.

Extra note: I wasn’t keen on the wall of animal skulls and horns as decorations, either.

Extra extra note: The Deaf Institute might very well be a great hangover spot for you and your friends the day after Manchester Vegan Beer Fest, taking place in three weeks! Book a ticket.

Vegan pizza in Manchester

by

Big news for the vegan and vegan-curious people of Manchester. A 100% vegan pizza and fast food joint has opened today!

Zad’s of Chorlton is boasting a pretty impressive menu that includes a huge range of pizzas, burgers, hot dogs, sides and more. Seriously, this menu is epic.

Check it out below.

What do you think?!

Zad’s threw open their doors today (Friday July 21, 2017) so get along as soon as you can to say hello and support this new plant-based business.

You can click here to see the exact location of Zad’s thanks to Google Maps. The restaurant is open from 4pm until 11pm every day of the week except Monday when it is closed.

Follow Zad’s on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Monthly vegan event in Manchester

by

How about getting yourself to Manchester (or if you are already there, get yourself out your front door) for this monthly vegan food and beer event. It sounds fab.

Presented by Chorlton Brewing Company, this market takes place on the first Saturday of each month with the next instalment happening July 1, 2017.

There will be food by V Rev Vegan Diner (best vegan junk food in the UK!), Nicely Kitchen (cakes!) and Jammin’ Jally’s Vegan Delicacies (aged vegan cheese!). To wash down all that great food, Chorlton Brewing Company be pouring two taps of their beer (all vegan!) as well as making their one-of-a-kind sour beer smoothies.

The is all happening at Chorlton Brewery, 69 North Western Street, M12 6DX, around a ten minute walk from Piccadilly station. The event is at an actual brewery with some outdoor seating. Click here to see it on Google Maps.

Dogs (and cats, ferrets and any of your other furry mates) are welcome!

Good times, Manchester.

You can RSVP and invite friends over on the Facebook event page.

Best vegan bakery?

by

Did you know that the best vegan eatery in the UK (V Rev Diner) has an in house bakery that is one of the best vegan bakeries on the planet?

The stunning line up of sweet treats being churned out by the Tender Vegan Bakery team is almost unbearable to follow on their Instagram account. It’s too good.

It’s as though they have taken the concept of decadent vegan cakes and catapulted it into the heavens.

Please check out some of these choice photos.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQGnHGQDhmk/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQItbhmDtDq/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRc23EJh4m8/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRvXiKlBCm_/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSEQRITBAxX/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSTSr5lBGmG/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS3bGYBBgNZ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTvzko-l5uH/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTv6lRTleBY/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT6R8cdFwoX/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUjZJB7lBlq/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUot0lpFmRn/

Where else are you seeing this sort of outrageous offering?

Follow Tender Vegan Bakery on Instagram and get into V Rev for gorgeous food, both savoury and sweet.

Click here to see the location of V Rev thanks to Google Maps.

What’s up, Manchester?

by

Have you noticed the vegan revolution taking place in Manchester?

The city is being swept up in a plant-based frenzy, so I thought I would tell you about five vegan places I think you NEED to know about in the Northern city.

Let’s take a look.

#1 Unicorn Grocery – this legendary workers cooperative has been serving animal-free groceries, produce, household products, deli items and more for decades. If you have never stepped inside, do yourself a favour soon. It’s the UK’s original vegan supermarket.


#2 V-REV Vegan Diner – what’s left to say about this beyond-fucking-righteous diner with the finest junk food you’ll find in the UK? They care about animals. They care about people. They tell fascists to fuck off. They pay Living Wage. I love them.

A post shared by V Rev Vegan Diner (@vrevmcr) on


#3 Teatime Collective – this café is a hidden gem in Hulme, nestled away in a nondescript park. The chick’n sandwich I devoured here was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten and top marks for leading the charge of vegan ice cream parlours in the area!


#4 Ice Shack – this dessert parlour is a recent vegan convert and is electrifying Withington Village with LOTS of ice cream flavours, including one named after Fat Gay Vegan! Enjoy a milkshake, enjoy some cake. Ice Shack has it all.

A post shared by Ice Shack (@iceshackm20) on


#5 Manchester Vegan Beer Fest – I know this is a bit cheeky as it’s one of mine mine but last year almost 1,000 people descended upon the first ever Manchester version of this event. It is back bigger and extremely better on September 16, 2017. Manchester, you had a lot of fun last year so I’m super-sizing it in 2017 because I adore you so very much. There will be plenty of beer and some surprise food vendors. RSVP to the Facebook event page to stay updated for ticket information.


What else would you recommend in Manchester? I know Aladdin’s has recently gone vegan but I’ve yet to try it. Any other 100% plant-based wonders around the city?

New vegan food truck in Manchester

by

Manchester (and the north west) is flying high with vegan developments.

Check out this incredible new vegan food van spotted in Manchester and nearby Cheshire.

The Vegan Food Pod exists thanks to the hard work and culinary skills of Steph. A quick look over some social media posts mentioning the food van will make it clear that Steph is a baked goods genius.

If you see The Vegan Food Pod at an event near you, get along for some truly delicious looking cinnamon scrolls and decadent donuts.

Keep track of the food van by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Especially hit up Instagram for the fab photos.

New vegan pizza joint for Manchester

by

This is all a bit mysterious and details are thin on the ground, but you really should know that a brand new vegan pizza and fast food restaurant is set to open in Manchester.

That’s about the extent of my knowledge. I don’t know the opening date. I don’t know the location.

The restaurant has shared a sample menu on Facebook. Check it out below:

As you can see, it’s as if Fat Gay Vegan himself had a hand in the menu. Pizzas, cheesy fries, curly fries, hot dogs, onion rings and more.

You need to follow Zad’s on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so you can be the first to know about grand opening details.

Extra note: images used belong to Zad’s and have been used for promotional purposes.

Chinese restaurant has vegan menu

by

Hey Manchester and Manchester-curious people. Did you know about this non-vegan restaurant specialising in Chinese cuisine that features a separate vegan menu?

Let’s take a closer look!

Sweet Mandarin is a family owned and operated restaurant in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, although an earlier version of the business dates back to 1950.

The big drawcard at Sweet Mandarin for plant-eaters is the rather sizeable vegan menu.

The Sweet Mandarin vegan menu is rammed solid with glorious-sounding starters such as Salt & Pepper Tofu, Hot & Sour Soup and Vegetable Spring Rolls.

The main dishes section presents choices such as Tofu with BBQ Sauce, Hot & Sticky Vegetables, Jungle Green Mixed Vegetable Curry, and Volcano Tofu.

You can also dive into the vegan sides including Sweet Potato Fries and Pak Choy with Garlic.

You can follow Sweet Mandarin on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but be warned you may encounter photos of meat as this is not a vegan business.

Click here to see the entire vegan menu online.

You can see the exact location of Sweet Mandarin thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan supermarket nominated for BBC award

by

File this news under ‘Fuck yeah!’.

A legendary vegan workers’ co-operative, which has served the Manchester community for two decades (yes, 20 years), has been shortlisted for a national BBC Food and Farming award.

Unicorn Grocery in Chorlton is a fabulous store packed solid with fresh produce, locally-sourced deli foods, ciders, pantry items, personal care items and much more.

In fact, you could comfortably find everything you need for a weekly shop under their roof.

The BBC Food and Farming Awards are broken up into several categories, with Unicorn being shortlisted in the Best Food Retailer category.

The BBC explain this category by saying:

This award celebrates the local shops making a positive difference to our lives, our high streets and communities by selling great quality, delicious and affordable food. Whether it’s a butchers or fishmongers, a bakery, deli or farm shop – we asked what is great about the food they source, the service they provide and their impact on the surrounding area.

I think it is fantastic that a completely vegan grocery store is one of just three businesses to have been nominated in this category.

We can’t do anything to help Unicorn Grocery win their category as the awards are completely judge voted, but we can send out best wishes to them via social media.

Let them know how thankful you are for the hard work they do for their community and how pleased you are to see them nominated by sending a message of support via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

UK ice cream shop going vegan!

by

Amazing news!

An ice cream and dessert parlour in Withington, Manchester is turning into a 100% vegan establishment from April 4, 2017.

Ice Shack is set to impress as they bring 22 vegan ice creams (a mixture of sorbets and ice creams) into the parlour, as well as a counter featuring approximately 10 cakes!

All dairy ice cream flavours are being fazed out and removed as I type, in preparation for the huge new direction next week.

In addition, Ice Shack will feature a chocolate counter hosting more than 20 vegan dark, milk and white chocolate truffles, a raw chocolate bar range featuring five flavours, chocolate shortbreads and a vegan dog biscuit range with peanut butter and carrot treats.

Want a milkshake? You can choose between soy, almond or oat milk at Ice Shack.

In even more amazing news (well, for me anyway), the owners of the ice cream parlour have named a brand new flavour after me. Yes, me!

You will be able to get your fill of Fat Gay Vegan Mojito. I’m so excited to have a flavour named after me and super proud to be a tiny, tiny part of this incredible vegan business transformation.

If you live in Manchester, make it a priority to get along after April 4, 2017 and support this independent business. Ice Shack is basing everything on our community getting behind them so make plans and buy a lot and buy often.

Follow Ice Shack on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Show them all the love and thank them for everything they are doing to help reduce harm to cows. Amazing. I’m in awe.