Potato equals truth

‘Til I’m fit to burst

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What will you travel long distances for?

Some people will sit on a train for hours just to take in the wonders of an art gallery at the other end. Individuals will fly half way around the globe to spend time with loved ones. What does a FGV make the effort for? Music and food, of course.

Martin Rossiter back in the (blurred) spotlight

It was these two top hobbies of eating and listening that resulted in me traveling to Brighton last week. Gene, one of my favourite bands of all time, disbanded many years ago and their former lead singer is only now returning to organised solo performing. Martin Rossiter was booked to appear at the Brighton Unitarian Church and I just had to be there. Josh and I packed up the car and made haste to the iconic seaside town.

We arrived to our destination with several hours to spare, so of course we hunted down the nearest food outlet serving vegan dishes. The Brighton Loving Hut supplied us with a feast consisting of a fry up, burger, chips and vegan candy.

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I’d rather Jack

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One of the best things about living in the UK is the copious amounts of vegan crisps (potato chips) on offer. Wafer thin, crunchy potato is everywhere and the flavours available are increasing at an amazing rate.

The East Anglian Crisp Company has joined the party and is now supplying this FGV with Jackpots, some of the most delicious vegan crisps on the UK market.

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Something I’m having a hard time resisting

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It is time for a straight up vegan food blog post. Sometimes I love simply describing a delicious meal and nothing more.

222 Veggie Vegan is a glorious restaurant situated in West London. If you want details on their fabulous vegan alcohol menu or their handy location, check my earlier post. This one is just a quick fix for serious vegan foodies.

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Each ridge and narrow bridge

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I apologise in advance for the money you will be forced to spend after reading this review. The plane tickets, the train bookings and the coach fares will be inevitable.

Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire

Sowerby Bridge is a picturesque village situated approximately halfway between Leeds and Manchester. The market town is nestled alongside the rushing River Calder and is made up of true story book visuals. Cobbled lane ways meet narrow passages amid historical churches, chimneys and shop fronts. Sowerby Bridge is a charming location sure to enchant most. Sold? OK. Well what if I throw in a world class, vegan restaurant?

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I like my potatoes creamy

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Potato is a food I enjoy mostly any which way. Roasted, fried, mashed… you cook it, I’ll devour it. With this established, you will understand it was with great excitement I set about creating a mouth-watering potato breakfast swimming in vegan cream and cheese.

Alpro long-life vegan cream

Alpro products are everywhere in the UK. You can’t go into a major store without running into their yogurt, custard, pudding and milks. They produce a wide range of dairy substitutes using non-GM soy beans grown on land that is investigated to not have been deforested or reclaimed. Best of all, the entire Alpro range is suitable for a vegan diet. I had recently been craving creamy potatoes, leading me to search out the Alpro long-life, dairy free soy cream. This cream is housed in a handy and neat resealable carton. But I won’t pretend I needed to reseal it. All of the cream was used in one sitting.

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Cruelty-free curry

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Leeds city centre isn’t exactly drowning in vegan food choices, but there is a special eatery that has  been keeping our lot nutritiously-fed for over 20 years.

My meal at Hansa's in Leeds

Hansa’s Gujarati Vegetarian Restaurant is every bit as much an institution as it is a success story. Hansa Dabhi is an accomplished chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, travel guide and business person. She has been at the forefront of quality dining in West Yorkshire for more than two decades and her North Street location employs an all-female staff. Hansa has made many appearances in support of her first cookbook and has been rigorously promoting her second.  Charities supported by Hansa and her customers include Saraswati Vidayala, an organisation committed to constructing schools in India. As you can gather from this paragraph, Hansa is a busy human… and I haven’t even described her food yet.

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Pocket bread, flavor sauce and crunch patties

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Australia may have lost its only Maoz outlet when the Perth store shut up shop, but at least I’m still able to delight in their crunchy falafel goodness here in London.

Falafel and Belgian fries from Maoz in London

Maoz Vegetarian is a chain of falafel bars that originated when their first store front opened in Amsterdam during 1991. Since then, the company has franchised locations all around the world. They serve delicious falafel, salad and tahini masterpieces in cities as widespread and diverse as Madrid, Hoboken, Paris, Rotterdam and Berkeley. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough falafel lovers in Western Australia to keep the doors of the Perth outlet open. I believe a Maoz in Germany might have also fallen by the wayside. But luckily for fine food connoisseurs, 15 Maoz locations are still left standing for our eating pleasure.

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The winds blow all of my dreams away

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When I stepped out my front door inappropriately-wearing canvas shoes and landed in a few inches of slushy snow, I should have turned back and climbed into bed. Instead, I forged on into the dark depths of a hideous northern town called Wakefield.

The Albion Inn... a Samuel Smith pub in Wakefield

Simon and I thought it would be a fun adventure to check out the bars and pubs of Wakefield. This Yorkshire city is located roughly 8km/12 miles from Leeds and is easily reached by car or public transport. Whether people should attempt to reach it is another matter. The town centre is littered with closed stores and bankrupted businesses. Unemployment is higher than the national average and there doesn’t seem to be much of anything happening. Disillusioned with the grim first impression of the town, we decided to brace ourselves and delve a little deeper. Of course when prospects look down, I always head for vegan cider. This time I wish I hadn’t.

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Taking the long way ’round

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Isn’t it fab when something wonderful pops up where you least expect it?

A few days ago I was cheerfully strolling around Halifax town centre in West Yorkshire when I stumbled upon a shop front called Food Therapy. As I possess the skill to spot a health food store from a quarter of a mile away, I hotfooted it over to explore just as quickly as my FGV trotters could carry my ample frame.

Soya mince pie with vegetables and gravy at Ginger, Halifax

Opening the door was akin to walking into my very own vegan heaven. Food Therapy is brimming with Redwood products, vegan ice cream, Fry’s frozen goods, sweets, hair care products and anything else needed to sustain a cruelty-free existence. They aren’t a vegan store, but they certainly have a fantastic range of products suitable for us. The grocery range is reason enough to sing the praises of this establishment but you suddenly get more bang for your quid when you take the internal staircase inside the store to the mezzanine housing Ginger Vegetarian Cafe.

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Meat is murder… eat falafel

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Yes, I am overweight. Sure, I am a homosexual. Certainly, I choose to not eat animal products. For people who know me well, it also wouldn’t have been a surprise to see a reference to musical icon Morrissey crammed into my self-deprecating blog title.

Morrissey (a)live in Leeds 2009 (Flickr credit: Man Alive!)

Since my early teen years (and I have been around for a while), I have been comfortably obsessed with all things Morrissey and The Smiths. If you are a disciple like I am, there is no need for me to convince you. If you are anti-Morrissey (or worse still… indifferent!), I’m not in the habit of trying to convert you. For the purpose of this blog post, let’s agree that I love Morrissey and I exploit any opportunity to celebrate his contribution to popular culture and animal welfare.

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