and I’ll say it again…
Babycakes NYC equals M-E-H.
Vegan
I’m all about fudge
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.
A job well Dun
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“.
I feel the earth move
Here I go again. The selfish, fat, gay vegan is going to bad mouth a restaurant that makes vegan food. I don’t know how I live with myself. But seriously… I gotta call it the way I see it, right? You wouldn’t want me to be all fake and lovely about a place if it just didn’t set my world on fire.
So here we go. Sorry Earth Cafe of Manchester. Your food and (some of) your service left a whole lot to be desired.
Drink for the next 8 months
If you are one of the 100 or so people who enjoy London Vegan Drinks on a monthly basis, you will love this news. If you have never joined us for one of London’s best nights out, you will no longer have an excuse.
Or just make pies all day
This January is an exciting time to be in the UK. The days are slowly getting longer, Spring is in the not-too-distant future and Fry’s Vegetarian are unleashing a slew of new vegan products onto the masses.
You probably already saw my posts about the ridiculously-delicious vegan popcorn chicken and the Louisiana tenders, right? Well, put down your faux-chicken appreciation pennants for just a moment as I show you two of the best vegan pies available on the planet.
Best vegan restaurant in the world?
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.
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.
Smores, smores, smores
Marshmallow wrapped in chocolate with a biscuit base.
If the above sentence is the key to my FGV heart, my affections well and truly rest in the hands of Sweet & Sara. This confectionery company has been churning out irresistible snacks for years and are unmatched in the field of vegan marshmallow production. From their entirely-vegan premises in New York City, Sweet & Sara gift the world with chocolate bark, biscotti, macaroons, marshmallows and the world famous smores.
During my recent US vacation, I have taken every Sweet & Sara smores sighting as a sign that I must eat one. My intuition is usually spot on and in this case, foolproof. The smores are chewy and delectable. With their chocolate shell, cookie base and fluffy inside, I can’t think of another compact snack that captures my affections the way this one does. Start picking out your wedding outfits…it is true love.
Feeding frenzy
It might technically be the middle of winter, but I’m in a summer lovin’ kind of mood. Josh and I just spent four glorious days of sunshine in Florida where we soaked up the goodness of tropical weather. My current location of Philadelphia is nowhere near as warm, but the temperature here is certainly unseasonal. Instead of snow drifts and ice patches, I’m faced with blue skies and cool but pleasant temperatures.
The word from back in the UK is much of the same, so all this non-wintry weather has got me thinking about a frozen treat I sampled some time ago. Is it warm enough where you are to enjoy an ice lolly/popsicle?
Not all cheeses are created equal
This is the kind of blog post a lot of people don’t like to read… I am a vegan and I’m about to be less than complimentary about a vegan product made by a vegan company.
My years as a vegan have been spent tasting and rating vegan cheeses. I have enjoyed many fine dairy alternatives including Cheezly, Vegusto, Daiya and Sheese. These brands are market leaders in the field of compassionate cheese production and I rarely go more than a few days without consuming a bit of something from this list.
As an established vegan cheese lover, it is therefore upsetting to discover a product that fails to impress. I hate to be the bearer of such a negative opinion, but I bought some Vegourmet and it was sadly sub par.