Gil and I were recently in Los Angeles, so I made sure I put some time aside in order to visit a Veggie Grill location.
In case you don’t know, Veggie Grill is a vegan restaurant chain with locations around the USA.
The growth of the restaurant group has been sensational with approximately thirty locations spread around the country.
Their food is some of the best plant-based cuisine you will eat on the planet, with a special seasonal mini menu that changes throughout the year in addition to their regular items.
Check out my photos below and be sure to follow Veggie Grill on Instagram.
Brussels sprouts and tempura green beans with ranch dipping sauceBuffalo Bomber burger with Smoky Corn Bisque, All Hail Kale salad, and mash potato with mushroom gravy
I hadn’t chosen to visit Seville for the food, but a quick Google told me that some gems awaited me in this tiny but perfectly formed city.
We stayed at the Hotel Fernando III on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Vegan breakfast options were pretty decent; a huge selection of breads, jams, dairy-free margarine spread, cereal, soya milk (already out on the buffet table), three types of juice, nuts, seeds and fresh fruit was all available. From the hot options the baked beans, fried tomatoes and breakfast potatoes were suitable for vegans too.
Directly opposite our hotel was a charming tapas bar called La Bartola. It had good reviews on HappyCow and it was in an incredibly convenient location so we decided to check it out. They had a small but interesting menu with all vegan items clearly marked and knowledgeable staff on hand to provide extra information if needed.
We had the aubergine bruschetta and the sushi, which was battered and deep fried. It sounded like sacrilege at first, but one taste was all the convincing we needed! It was utterly delicious with a crisp outer but still fresh and zingy in the middle. The baked aubergine on the bruschetta had been roasted to perfection before being topped with fresh tomatoes and rocket. It was something I could easily eat every day!
The old town is tiny and very compact so there isn’t much need for public transport, it’s best explored on foot. As we walked down one little road we stumbled upon a lovely little smoothie bar called Milk Away. They sell lots of healthy options like porridge, fruit pots, salad bowls and so on but we had a giant smoothie each. You can choose any combination from the dizzying selection of options they have or pick one of their suggested blends.
While strolling around, we saw vegan options being proudly offered in so many places, sadly we didn’t have time to try them all.
Our final stop was at Bar Alfalfa. A good friend of mine had recommended that we visit this place during our trip, this was the only recommendation we had. It lived up to our expectations with some truly special options packed full of flavour. We had the red pesto bruschetta, pumpkin soup and seeded red pepper hummus with toasted breads. I know nobody can go wrong with hummus but this one definitely surpassed expectations. They told us that the pesto was made from scratch on the premises and the bruschetta was generously topped with toasted pine nuts. The soup was the perfect consistency and came topped with a few extra vegetables.
Back in December, Los Angeles city councilmember Paul Koretz introduced a bill that, if passed, would require entertainment and travel venues around the city to put at least one vegan dish on their menus.
The Fry Family Food Company and Los Angeles cinema chain Laemmle Theatres decided to get a jump on the passing of the bill and have partnered to bring delicious, healthy vegan products to three Laemmle Theatre locations around Los Angeles.
Family-owned Fry’s is a global plant-based food brand based in South Africa which sells its products in 28 countries around the world and is about to make its U.S. retail debut this spring. Laemmle Theatres, also family owned, is one of the most iconic cinema chains in Los Angeles with its origins dating back to the 1930s.
Fry’s Chik’n Nuggets, which are both non-GMO and gluten-free, are now available in Laemmle Theatres in Santa Monica, North Hollywood and Glendale.
This is fabulous news and I truly believe this is just the start of a new wave of vegan food catering in entertainment venues.
Extra news: some extra gossip on the grapevine suggests Laemmle Theatres will soon be introducing additional menu items from Fry’s including hot dogs and sausage rolls.
Follow Laemmle on Instagram and view movie times/locations online.
Follow Fry’s on Instagram and view their entire range online.
How about a fully vegan summer retreat in the French Alps?
Amanda and her husband have put together a truly sensational 4-day retreat at their chalet situated in the French Alps above the popular alpine town of Morzine.
The couple have spent the last four years renovating their old farmhouse and it is now a beautiful 5-bedroom retreat.
They plan to offer retreats throughout the year and this summer 2019 outing is your first chance to experience the beautiful setting.
The summer vegan retreat takes place between June 27 and 30, 2019.
You get to eat vegan food, hike through stunning countryside, enjoy a few yoga sessions, visit local towns, or just kick back on the terrace and drink in the views.
The cost of this stay is £450 per person based on sharing a twin room.
If you would like to find out more or book a space, you can email info@poleski.co.uk and let yourself be known to Amanda.
Just when you think we’ve reached peak veganism, along comes Blackout with their unique dark dining experience in Las Vegas.
This concept is rather unusual, but also highly enjoyable.
Diners eat their 7-course vegan dinner in complete darkness. Not semi-darkness where eyes can adjust after a few minutes, but rather total darkness.
On arrival, guests read and sign a waiver before locking phones and all light emitting objects into a secure locker.
Each group of diners is assigned a server just as you would be in any regular restaurant. At Blackout however, the servers wear night vision goggles in order to navigate the room and serve food and drinks.
Gil and I were invited down by the restaurant to try the menu and our server Anthony was a true delight. He was obviously our eyes for the night but he was much more than that.
Anthony talked us through each dish, gave directions to cutlery, and kept us feeling relaxed through the hour and a half experience.
The entire experience was amazing, a little nerve-racking, and something that I will never forget.
Anthony gave us minimal details on the ingredients of each dish, allowing us the freedom to explore the flavours on our own.
Gil and I had a great time trying to work out what we were eating. You don’t realise how much your taste is influenced by sight until you find yourself trying to deconstruct the flavours in a 7-course meal!
Hearing the other diners talk, laugh, and sometimes smash a glass (!) is surreal and has you questioning so much about your senses.
When we got outside, Gil said it was like I had been inside his brain for an hour and a half. How awful for him!
You are allowed to view the menu AFTER you finish your meal but you are not permitted to read it aloud nor can you photograph it.
Blackout prides itself on offering the experience as a complete surprise for diners and they don’t want it ruined by menu leaks.
In addition, the restaurant does not advertise as vegan even though all food and drink is completely plant-based. Imagine the thousands of non-vegans having this fun experience only to discover at the end of the night that they were eating vegan food.
That is some seriously stealth vegan activism!
You MUST try Blackout Dining in the Dark when you are in Las Vegas. You will love the food AND the dark dining room.
It’s been a few years since I last dined with Pancho’s Vegan Tacos and my visit this week reminded me instantly why this is one of the best places to eat in Las Vegas.
With a location about 4 miles off the world famous casino Strip, Pancho’s is the perfect place to load up on Mexican comfort food.
But be warned. The portions are HUGE.
Gil and I were almost outdone by the giant loaded fries… seriously, these things were almost too much.
The rest of the menu reads like one of my dreams. Quesadillas. Pozole. Tacos. Burgers. Cake. Agua frescas.
Follow Pancho’s on Instagram and watch out for extra locations (like Henderson and a mobile truck) and others coming very soon.
Nothing satisfies me quite like vegan comfort food. Give me a solid burger and some crispy fries to see me at my happiest.
I’m currently in Las Vegas and found my way to The Modern Vegan, a restaurant in a strip mall located not too far from the airport that left me grinning from ear to ear.
The menu is stacked with classics you’d expect in a comfort food place including loaded fries, buffalo burgers, shakes, and waffles.
Gil and I ate as much as we could but these were BIG portions.
Check out the photos below and follow The Modern Vegan on Instagram.
Following on from my jaunt around Europe thanks to Vegan Travel’s NYE cruise on the Rhine, I’m slowly catching up with reporting on some of the food places I visited.
After the cruise, Gil and I got a chance to spend a few days in Paris.
One of my food highlights from the city of lights was VG Pâtisserie, a super cute vegan patisserie located just a few steps away from the Voltaire Metro station in the 11th arrondissement.
The handcrafted patisserie items at VG Pâtisserie were exquisite and we had a difficult time trying to pick a selection. The cafe was absolutely bustling and seemed to be the most popular business on its block.
Check out the photos below to see what we ended up with and be sure to follow VG Pâtisserie on Instagram to stay updated with their gorgeous offerings.
I recently had 12 hours to hang out in Amsterdam and I made damn sure that I made time to dine with Deer Mama.
Deer Mama is a relatively new burger and shake bar located just south of the central canals of Amsterdam. It’s close enough to walk from the centre, or you can whizz down there via a tram in minutes.
I had been reading about the restaurant for a few weeks before my visit, meaning my anticipation was high and my excitement levels for decadent burgers, boozy shakes, and vegan soft serve were at fever pitch.
Sometimes being THAT excited about a new vegan place can kinda set you up for disappointment, but I’m happy to say that I walked out of Deer Mama one extremely satisfied customer.
The burgers were some of the nicest I’ve tasted in recent years and the baked-on-premises cookies, cakes, and cinnamon scrolls added an extra layer of delicious temptation.
Check out my photos below and be sure to drop in next time you are in Amsterdam.
The exact location of Deer Mama can be seen thanks to Google Maps and you can follow the vegan restaurant on Instagram.
