Taking the long way around

Más falafel

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I often get asked (by people aware of my love for the city) how easy it is to source vegan food in Mexico City. I usually answer that it is easy if you know where to look, which doesn’t help if you don’t know where to look.

That’s where this blog comes in. I like to share information about plant based foods in Mexico and (un)fortunately I have just come to the end of a short vacation, meaning I have more eating advice to disseminate.

My latest discovery is a friendly falafel outlet called El Rey del Falafel. Located in the neighbourhood known as Condesa, this fast food outlet is one of two store fronts for The King of Falafel in the Mexican capital.

I rocked up in the evening with Josh, Julio, Carlos and Lety following a theatre performance in nearby Polanco. Nobody in the group had eaten at El Rey del Falafel and the anticipation was high based on our experiences with the 100% vegan falafel shop Falafelito just a few blocks away.

Let’s just say the king of falafel is really the king. The food in El Rey del Falafel was outstanding.

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Eating en DF

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I have just woken up from an afternoon nap in my rented vacation apartment in Mexico City. In a short while I will be getting dressed and having a few sips of mezcal before heading out for some early evening drinks in the nearby gay cantinas.

But you didn’t come here to hear about my leisurely holiday. You want to see gorgeous photos of enticing vegan food, right?

When have I ever let you down? Keep scrolling to see a fraction of the food I have been busying myself with here in Mexico. This city does have vegan dining-out options but what follows is a small selection of my self-catering creations with a few store bought snacks thrown in for good measure.

Enjoy.

Vegan brunch included fried herb tofu, fried tomato, papas bravas, totopos y guacamole
Salsa verde and totopos
Esquites – corn, onion, garlic, epazote & lime juice topped with vegan sour cream & hot sauce
Wheat steaks with hot sauce
NuGo mint chocolate chip bar
Charritos!
Kale chips with nutritional yeast and chipotle
Fresh fruit salad topped with salted peanuts and pumpkin seeds
Silk chocolate almond milk
Blue corn quesadillas
Toffuti ice cream
Nut snacks
Mini macaroni with beans, olives & spinach in a tomato hot sauce
Guacamole on mini bagels
Fried rice with pineapple, corn, spinach, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, spring onions, tomato & chile
Warm oats cooked with Mexican chocolate topped with salted peanuts & pumpkin seeds
Beans with epazote & black pepper served on tostada
Giant dark chocolate with almond candy
Tofu pate on crackers

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Damn fine cookbook

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Josh is popping in to tell you about a new vegan recipe collection we got our grubby hands on this week.

Take it away, Josh…

I love Christmas. Actually that’s a complete lie. I bloody hate Christmas and the orgy of capitalist consumption that it involves. But I DO like having a couple of weeks off work: time to try out new recipes and basically eat and sleep intermittently throughout the day and avoid the outside world in all of its grey, present-buying frenzied misery.

So when my friend Leigh Drew in Australia sent me her latest cookbook a couple of weeks ago, I happily flicked through the pages working out what I was going to make when I finally had some spare time at home. I’ll let you know which two recipes I chose, but first let me tell you about Leigh.

Leigh holding her book
Leigh holding her book

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Mexico otra vez

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This post serves two functions.

Firstly, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my love of Mexico. I adore it in so many ways, some of which have been highlighted here on my blog. You might recall:

All this is great, but you are probably still wondering why I’m dragging you down memory lane.

Mexico City from high
Mexico City from high

Josh and I have just booked a short vacation for Mexico this February and I want your help. Are there any places you know of that I must visit during my trip? Obviously I’m more concerned with eating, but I am open to all suggestions. Tell me best places for groceries, wonderful vegan meals you’ve enjoyed or even cultural or sightseeing tips. I want it all!

¡Vamanos!

A little too late

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I feel kinda guilty.

I’m not trying to suggest that a blog post from me would have saved this company, but taking two years to write a review certainly isn’t getting them any attention they could use.

I was trolling through some old holiday snaps (imagining myself in the sunshine somewhere), when I came across these pics of a completely vegan food truck that once fed hungry highway commuters just outside of Miami, Florida.

Josh and I paid a visit to the Mac’n Food Truck  a couple of years ago on a journey between Miami and the Florida Keys. This gorgeous looking truck was positioned in a nondescript parking lot just off the South Dixie Highway outside of Miami and we were so keen to eat that we lined up to be the first customers of the day.

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Buy cake without leaving the house

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I make no secret for the respect I have for Ms Cupcake and the hard work Mellissa Morgan has put in to make her brand one of the most respected independent businesses in London. Notice I didn’t say ‘vegan’ before businesses? That’s right. Ms Cupcake is in the majors.

One of the secrets to their success has surely got to be the relentless attitude to keep creating new products and new ways to get them to people.

Take for instance their new mail order service. 

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Mystery writer Lomez tantalises

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I am thrilled to welcome Lomez to the fold as a guest contributor to Fat Gay Vegan. This post about eating vegan in the Netherlands is a fascinating and entertaining read that will leave you desperate to get to the land erroneously known as Holland.

Take it away, Lomez.

Ah, the Netherlands, more commonly (and incorrectly) referred to as Holland. Land of tulips, clogs, cycling, Gouda, Edam, Leerdammer… (for those of you so deep into veganism that dairy doesn’t exist, the last three are cheeses.)

My partner and I have been to the Netherlands a few times over the past year, and we’ve managed to eat vegan throughout. We’ve learned so much on our travels, and have so many vegan tips, that it’s difficult to know where to start!

So why don’t I begin with the best? If you only go to one restaurant in the Netherlands, go to Veggies on Fire.

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Maple syrup and jam

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One of the most popular recurring features on this blog is airline food. You people are mad for it. No other posts get as much instant attention as these airline meal posts. If you have any theories as to why this is, please let me know below.

While I wait for your replies to pour in, let me tell you about a recent eating adventure from above the clouds that was made a whole lot more enjoyable by music.

Recently returning from Philadelphia on British Airways, Josh and I were treated to a decent-verging-on-notable meal that appeared to be completely vegan. But it wasn’t just the inclusion of vegan spread and a salad dressing kit that made my flight enjoyable. I was also blown away by the staggering amount of super cool music featured within the inflight entertainment catalogue.

Let’s get the food over and done with and then we can talk music.

My main meal tray featured a tasty tomato dish with sides of mushroom sauce and steamed broccoli. I wasn’t running up and down the plane celebrating culinary greatness, but it was a solid dish that was consumed promptly. That’s about as good as it gets on a flight for vegans.

The salad was just a salad except for the little dressing kit accompanying the bowl. A small bottle of olive oil sat with a sachet of salt and herb called Mrs Dash. It was life-altering, but I don’t think I’ve seen ingredients to make your own vegan dressing on any other flight.

Toss in a bit of fruit and my meal was of a fairly high standard, but it was the music that made this the best flight of recent times. Check out the food photos mixed with shots of some of the albums I enjoyed.

Any of your favourites in there?

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That’s so Ravens

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Josh is jumping in again with his take on our eating experience at a vegan restaurant in California. You are all going to be fans of his writing and you won’t want me back!

Take it away, Josh.

A couple of weeks ago FGV and I were on our way to Portland, driving up the Northern Californian coast, marvelling at ancient redwood trees and gasping at stunningly dramatic coastal roads.  On our way, we stopped to stay with our friend Susan in delightful Mendocino, a picturesque period town overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Not only is Mendocino visually charming, it is also home to the luxurious Stanford Inn which incorporates the legendary Ravens’ Vegan Restaurant. Of course there was no doubt about where we were heading for dinner!

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Never enough: the final chapter

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Like all good love affairs, my recent dalliance with vegan snack across the USA had to end.

I’m sure it wasn’t the reality, but my memory leads me to believe I ate from the time I set foot on San Franciscan soil to the moment they rolled me onto a London-bound plane departing Philadelphia. Readers based in the US know how readily-available vegan junk food is and my chubby hands were rarely empty.

Following are a collection of photos documenting my final days of vegan vacation snacking. These pictures, together with the previous posts, detail the food adventures Josh and I experienced throughout San Francisco, Oakland, Mendocino, Bend, Portland, New York City and Philadelphia.

Enjoy the visuals!

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