Taking the long way around

Veganz news

by

Post by:

joe panel

I’m sure it’s not news that Berlin has two branches of the Veganz supermarket (by the way, does anyone get the pun in the name?), but for me perhaps an even greater sign of progress are the Veganz sections in one of Germany’s mainstream supermarkets, Kaiser’s (know as Tengelmann in Bavaria for some reason).

veganz-shelf-in-kaisers
Veganz section in Kaiser’s

Highly visible vegan labelling in prominent locations in a major supermarket is a good sight to see. I feel it helps to normalise the word and concept. This in addition to other products proudly promoted as vegan, for instance in Kaisers’ own chilled sections.

not-veganz-section-just-kaisers-own-advertisement
Not Veganz section – just Kaiser’s own vegan advertisement

It’s not just Kaiser’s either, other supermarkets are pushing vegan products as well. Veganz also has concessions in Metro and Globus supermarkets. It’s good to know if you desperately need to do some midnight vegan shopping from treats to staples, there’s somewhere to go. Seitan powder, dried soya chunks, vegan cream (pouring or whipped), energy bars, sweets and chocolate, kale chips, cooking spices, omelette mix… (p.s. If you’re wondering, the pun in Veganz is that ‘ganz’ is German for ‘everything’).

Reminder: Join Joe for Berlin Vegan Drinks this week and join the Facebook page for future updates.

beer fest bottom banner

Eat in Birmingham

by

Birmingham, you are on a massive vegan roll at the moment.

First there was this news of a vegan shop opening and now you can go along to this vegan-friendly food and drink event this weekend.

Check it out.

Read more

Vegan Rotterdam

by

Post  by:

joe panel

I’m going to take a brief break from Berlin this week, and tell you about a unique vegan restaurant called Gare du Nord. Despite the name, it’s not in Paris but actually in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and we visited in November last year.

Well, the restaurant does have a strange link to Berlin actually. One of my specialist subjects is the former East Germany. For anyone interested in recent history, what happened in this part of the world during the 45 years after the war is fascinating.

Read more

New Vegan Drinks

by

Post by:

joe panel

You know, Berlin really is the city that keeps on giving, if you’re vegan. Hardly a week goes by without some new addition to the city’s vegan menu.

But one thing that Berlin has lacked is an equivalent to the London Vegan Drinks event… until now! (Well, until Friday 17th of July, anyway.) 

Read more

Glorious food experience

by

It has taken me a while to get around to posting these photos, partly because I didn’t want to be reminded of the fact that this stunning food is served daily on the opposite side of the world.

If you have room for a new goal on your bucket list, scribble ‘Gracias Madre Los Angeles’ on a scrap of paper and throw it onto the pile of things you must experience before you kick it.

Gracias Madre is a 99.9% vegan restaurant (honey in some cocktails… don’t get me started!) located in West Hollywood with an original location still operating in the San Francisco area. We visited the WeHo outlet during a recent trip to Southern California so we could satisfy our cravings for vegan Mexican food.

Let me give the page over to the photos as I believe they don’t need much help in conveying the glory of the food crafted and served by Gracias Madre. 

Read more

Green Market

by

Post by:

joe panel

This weekend found myself and my little vegan gang at a little festival called the Green Market, a small festival which happens three times a year.

The ‘summer edition’ took place next to the river Spree (in part of the former Berlin border strip, for any other history geeks out there!).

And though it may be small (about 30 stands?) the market has quality over quantity, as in addition to vegan clothing, shoes and accessories, there were tons of delicious things to eat.

Plenty of burger and wrap trucks, an ice-cream stand by Kontor (reviewed previously), and – behind a crowd of excited vegans – a new doughnut company called Brammibals, who are currently seeking crowdfunding for a new shop.

So without further ado, check out the following food photos:

Read more

Vegan Ethiopian

by

Post by:

josh panel

A trip to Little Ethiopia

Most Los Angeles vegans will already know about Rahel – it’s a vegan Ethiopian restaurant that has been on Fairfax for years and years. The secret to its success? Consistently amazing food. I’ve dined there multiple times over the years and on each occasion, Rahel has nailed it. A couple of weeks ago I was in LA and met my friend Brian for dinner. Check out the photos below of the ‘Millennium Special’ platter which included a dessert. Forgetting that I can never finish the platters, I also ordered a sambussa and instantly regretted it (although it was delicious).

If you’re familiar with Ethiopian food then you’ll know that the feast platters are served on a bed of injera and include many different and diverse dishes. Accompanying this were some of the tastiest vegetable and lentil stews ever, which combined with the injera made a mouth-watering combination of flavours and textures. The melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin stew was out of this world.

The dessert, a little like baklava, was nothing to write home about but who cares after such a delicious platter?

IMG_0930IMG_0928 IMG_0929

You can visit Rahel online and make sure you pencil in a stop when you are in Los Angeles.

beer fest bottom banner

Discount in Berlin

by

Post by:

joe panel

One of the great things about living in Berlin is that there’s a Veganz vegan supermarket a 10 minute walk away, or even less on the bike. Veganz is really more of a mini-supermarket, though they do have a huge range of products available.

But like all supermarkets, Veganz often has special offers or last- minute reductions on items nearing the end of their shelf-life. This is great for a cheapskate like me. My eyes can sense those bright orange price stickers before I’ve even set off. As a result, we end up trying exotic foodstuffs that are normally out of our price range. (Our freezer is full of bags of grated Daiya cheese that were a bargain at €0.99 each!)

Read more

This will change your view

by

Which city on the planet has the most vegan ‘heat’ and ‘buzz’ at the moment?

I’m sure you are rattling off dozens of city names in your head right now. You are thinking of all the familiar destinations you hear about when people talk about vegan hotspots. Los Angeles. Berlin. Glasgow. New York City. Portland. Austin.

Well, how would you react if I told you a lot of the above are about to be trumped for vegan superiority by Warsaw, Poland?

A reader we will call Luke (because that’s his name!) sent me the following video and I have to be honest when I say it completely took me by surprise. Made by a production team named wawangrada, this 30-minute long video is an exposé on the truly staggering  presence of vegan food in the Polish capital.

I can hear the groans of the soundbite-only consumers already, but I implore you to take half an hour out of your day to watch this short documentary. It is one of the most eye-opening chronicles of vegan eating I have ever seen.

Video highlights include:

Read more

Vegan restaurant in an airport

by

I’ve been vegan for almost 17 years and I’ve seen a lot of changes during that period.

I can remember going to my first vegan fair at Conway Hall in London back in 1999. Somebody gave me seitan and I recall being incredibly confused.

I think there was choice of just one soya milk we used to buy from Sainsbury’s back in my early vegan days. It was sweetened with apple juice! Cheezly was the only vegan cheese on the block and I had the feeling that eating vegan was going to remain an outsider concern for a long, long time.

Flash forward to 2015 and I am now blogging about a vegan restaurant outlet situated inside Los Angeles International Airport. Times have changed.

Following on from our vacation in Southern California recently, Josh and I were booked to fly out of LAX Terminal 4. This air travel hub just so happens to be the site of an outlet for legendary vegan food chain, Real Food Daily. Yep. A vegan food outlet inside an airport.

The photos below show my club sandwich that was stacked solid with seitan, tempeh and avocado. Josh’s ‘build your own bowl’ meal was filled with brown rice, seitan, marinated tofu and steamed kale.

Read more