Vegan

You’re hiding, underneath the smoke in the room

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Rushing the Homegrown Smoker food truck

During a recent trip to Portland to attend Vida Vegan Con 2011, I was overwhelmed by vegan food choices. Every restaurant appeared to cater thoughtfully to my type, no matter if they were a veggie establishment or not. The picturesque city was packed wall to wall with cruelty-free dining options.

By far my favourite dining experience was the Homegrown Smoker food truck. Actually, it was so stunning I dined with them three days running. Everything I ate was tasty like I’ve never known, the staff were incredibly welcoming and I adored the concept of ordering my meal from a mobile kitchen parked up on a city sidewalk.

I must warn you the following pictures could lead to growling tummies. I make no apologies.

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London Vegan Potluck 5 review

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If you missed out on September’s London Vegan Potluck 5, you are just going to have to take me on my FGV word… it was a fantastic event. Seriously.

There were well over 50 potluckers in attendance and many more dishes on offer. The food was never ending and you could find almost any type of cuisine. We had lasagna, fruit skewers, mini burgers, seitan, tofu, tartlets, cheese platters, raw spaghetti, mole, chicken alfredo, hand-crafted truffles, cheesecake, falafel, spaghetti bolognese, iced tea, vegan wines, fruit drinks, dips, crisps, home-baked bread and much, much more.

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Call me up whenever u want 2 grind

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As a frequent traveler, I often rely on coffee shops for beverages, restrooms and internet access. Coffee shops can be your lifeline to friends, a much-needed hiding spot from the world outside or even just a place to replenish your bodily fluids. A coffee shop with vegan options is extremely common in 2011. You can increasingly find soy milk and other dairy alternatives such as almond or rice milk.

Having established that the humble coffee shop can be a sanctuary for the weary, vegan traveler, let’s move on to discuss how it can get better. Yes, I’m referring to a 100% vegan coffee shop. What was once a fanciful dream is now a fabulous reality in Philadelphia.

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Here we go, I’m hanging out in Camden

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Camden is famous for a lot of cool, outsider culture that eventually works its way into the mainstream. The historical Camden Market is now a must-see for thousands of tourists every year, the underground music scene exploded out of the borough in the 90’s spawning the Indie craze and more recently, the tragic demise of Amy Winehouse has been inextricably linked to the area as her Back to Black album became the highest-selling release of recent times in the UK.

It is understandable when members of minorities bemoan their insider knowledge being shared with the world. To have something intimate blown up to a global scale can be extremely challenging and confronting. However, there is one alternative happening coming out of Camden that I hope continues its explosion into the mainstream… vegan dining.

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We said meh. M-E-H, meh.

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After spending an entire weekend with other vegan bloggers at the Vida Vegan Con event in Portland, I am buzzing with possibility and new enthusiasm. There were so many interesting and compassionate people sharing news, views and practical advice. I personally got so much from the weekend and hopefully made a few new friends.

One of the themes of discussion I heard throughout the conference was bloggers not wanting to write negative or disparaging comments or reviews about vegan establishments. As much as I understand this approach in the writing of other people, it doesn’t float for me. Yes, I write this blog as a means to help people find veganism and also as a tool to entertain and show off my ready-wit, but I’m not going to say something is amazing when it isn’t in my opinion. I want to give my opinion and I want people to disagree if they feel compelled. It’s called open dialogue.

This is building to something. I’m just preparing you all for a rather negative review of a 100% vegan restaurant. Of course speak up in the comments if you have an opinion on the eatery. Don’t let my fat, gay mouth have the final word.

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LHR-Foodswings-LAX

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My regular readers will be aware of a story category I use on here known as Taking the long way around. The bulk of my stories deal with London-based tales of depravity, over-consumption and brief queer history, however I do venture further afield and I love to bring you the details of these adventures and misadventures too.

With that overly-verbose introduction out of the way, I want to tell you how a vegan eatery named Foodswings saved my life during a journey from London to LA.

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Ooh man, I love dee cake!

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My vacation in Barcelona was a moving experience and I enjoyed many profound moments. Celebrations, street carnivals, cultural awakenings and informative strolls throughout historical neighbourhoods… I guzzled it all up like it was a cheap, vegan beer.

Now I am in Los Angeles and eating my way around the city, but I wanted to take a brief moment to reflect on one of my Barcelona highlights that helped me become a better, more rounded FGV. Vegan cake.

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Be my guest

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If you follow me on Twitter, you will already know I am eating and drinking myself into oblivion in Los Angeles. I am having a fab time in my favourite city and have eaten in some of the best vegan establishments in the world.

Vegan life in London has kept trundling along while I have been living it up in SoCal, specifically the annual London Vegan Festival. I am a bit down about missing out on all the cruelty-free action but I do still get a small insight into the proceedings as Josh very kindly collected some photos of the event and has even written a few words about what went down.

Let’s get straight into it. Thanks, Josh!

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Vegans need more B12

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There are a few more updates still to come from my trip to Barcelona, but before we get to those I would like to inform you of a stunning vegan eatery located roughly an hour north of this city.

In the northeastern Catalan city of Girona is a vegan food destination known as B12. This cafe is a gem of a location for vegans  and it is full of burgers, desserts, beers, colas, hot drinks and more. Every single item in the restaurant is 100% vegan and the staff are 100% helpful, welcoming and friendly.

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Mega vegan food super photo post

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Gopal vegan deli in Barcelona

If you want to go to vegan food heaven, get your backside to Barcelona and walk straight into a fantastic vegan deli known as Gopal. I proclaim this to be the finest vegan food in the entire city and I might even be bold enough to declare it in my top 5 restaurants in the world.

This post is very thin on words because I want the photos to do the talking. It was also important to me to get this up in the same week that Gopal announced their expansion. Madrid is very shortly and very fortunately going to be exposed to the Gopal goodness.

But enough from me and my FGV mouth. Let’s head on inside the deli to drool over some of the food I’ve consumed during my stay in Barcelona.

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