If you read my ramblings with any regularity, you’ll have noticed I don’t follow the healthiest of eating regimes. Fats, sugars and a whole lot of carbs are usually hanging around my plate. I know what healthy eating is, but there are some habits that are a bit more than a struggle to break.
However, these less than desirable (but tasty) eating habits are increasingly being challenged by the delicious raw food I have been coming into contact with lately. inSpiral Lounge of Camden have me well and truly hooked with their raw crackers, granola bites and kale chips. Saf are also magicians of raw snacks of which I increasingly can’t get enough.
Then of course there is the relatively-new vegan raw restaurant in Madrid that has captured my heart, belly and taste buds. Oh my!
If you had to choose one city to eat in for the rest of your days, where would you settle down? Imagine for a moment that you couldn’t leave the city limits of your chosen locale… I wonder which vegan-friendly city you would choose. My choice is a no-brainer.
Los Angeles.
Not only does this supercity house some of my favourite vegan eateries in the world, it no doubt possesses the largest number of vegan individuals anywhere on the planet. Lots of vegan people equates a stunning range of plant-based restaurants that are truly world class. Native Foods Cafe. Veggie Grill. Cruzer Pizza. Rahel. Real Food Daily. Seed. The list goes on and on.
I’m feeling romantic. Come with me as I spirit you back to 2005, the year I first met one of the true loves of my life. People often say you can’t help who you fall in love with and in that vein, dear FGV readers, I would like to introduce you to Original Pale Ale by Coopers Brewery.
My trips to NYC come along more frequently than most people can enjoy and for that I am humble and grateful. Travel is a luxury and New York is one hell of a destination. I am extremely fortunate.
But I can’t help feeling sorry for myself when I think of how very far I live from Red Bamboo and how infrequently I experience their delights. Come with me as I step back in time to December 2011. That date marks my most recent trip to this vegetarian paradise. Preparing the photos for this post was enough to make my head spin. Take a peep, won’t you.
My travels have taken me far and wide. I have enjoyed poolside cocktails in Western Australia and Winter walks through NYC’s East Village. The nights spent drinking in Mexico City gay bars are balanced by the morning train journeys endured between Leeds and Halifax. I have witnessed sunsets in Paris, Narita and Phoenix. City lights and country stars have hypnotised me on several continents. I never want discovery to end.
This insatiable appetite for moving recently spirited me to an unusual place located only 90 miles from Cuba, yet many more miles removed from my reality. Bound by water, Key West turned out to be a bizarre yet lovable town with one of the best vegan cafes found anywhere and a rather vibrant gay scene.
The vegan ice cream wars have been rather quiet lately. Old favourites such as Booja Booja and Swedish Glace have been keeping me company but there hasn’t been much competition to speak of. I have been trundling along with my predictable frozen dessert consumption for months.
It’s not that I don’t adore the delights made by these companies, but a FGV needs to change it up a bit now and again… and change it up I did during a recent visit to the United States of America.
You know I travel a lot, right? I have hauled my hefty frame from one continent to another for many years and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The desire to keep moving runs deep in my veins and I’m perpetually plotting and scheming my next journey.
People have often asked me where I would ‘settle’ if I had to and I always answer, “I never want to settle’. But then they get annoyed at me for not playing the game properly so I answer, “Wherever I can purchase and consume Dun-Well Doughnuts“.
Can we talk? I don’t want to sound nasty, but Philadelphia hasn’t been a model city when it comes to healthy or cruelty-free eating. From cheese steaks to hoagies, the city of brotherly love just loves to pile dead animals up in buns. The food for which Philly is famous for isn’t necessarily creative, either.
But hold on to you faux-suede fedora readers because there is a new sheriff in town. Vedge restaurant is not simply ringing the Liberty Bell for all creatures great and small, they might just turn out to be the finest vegan restaurant on the face of the planet.
The owners of Vedge had nothing to prove in my FGV eyes. They had already run the wildly successful vegan Horizons where the quality of food was of an unusually lofty standard. It’s South Philly location was always packed during my visits and I never left the premises without feeling like I had just enjoyed one of the best meals of my life.
Well, flash forward to a few months past the closing of Horizons and we find owners Kate and Rich have taken vegan fine dining to even more unbelievable levels of greatness.
The recently opened Vedge sits unassumingly behind a brick facade in Philadelphia’s Center City area. As Josh and I entered via the brief stone steps off Locust Street, we were faced with a gorgeous interior and seductive lighting. Some of the friendliest hospitality people I have ever encountered made sure we were comfortable and refreshed in the sumptuous cocktail lounge as we waited for our table to become available. My thirst was satisfied with a cold glass of lager as Josh opted for a scotch on the rocks. We were only on drinks in the bar and Vedge was already stratospheres above its competition.
My refreshment
Once seated we wasted no time in getting down to 5 star dining. A whole lot of world-class, vegan food was consumed by the pair of us and there is no easy way of getting it all down on screen. I’m just going to have to trundle through it, so sit back and experience the culinary delights of Vedge through the following photos.
One of the true joys of traveling for me is experiencing unexpected food delights. Just when I least expect it, something tasty and delectable and intriguing pops up begging to be consumed. I always oblige. It would be impolite not to.
Josh and I are currently enjoying a brief road trip along the Florida Keys. This part of the world is gorgeous but the vegan options are a bit thin on the ground. Car journeys such as this require careful planning to ensure I keep my calorie intake at a level worthy of a fat, gay vegan. To be certain I ate well on the Keys, we did a quick Whole Foods Market trip before we left the mainland. I am delighted we did.
