Vegan

A drunk, Welsh poet walks into a bar

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If you fancy a sampling of vegan food and alcohol, with a dash of animal rights and queer history thrown in for good measure, head to the central London area known as Fitzrovia.

A map showing the approximate area of Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia is an unofficial neighbourhood situated just north of Soho in central London. By many accounts, Fitzrovia was well-known as a hot spot for bohemians, free-thinkers, artists and even the odd socialist from the late 1800s through to the ending of the Second World War. The pubs and cafes of this district provided gloomy spaces in which outsiders were able to socialise, politicise and drink. Art, alcoholism and social justice melded perfectly and remnants of this bygone era can be enjoyed in Fitzrovia today.

Last week, Jordan and I ventured into the heart of Fitzrovia and what better place to commence my retelling of our adventures than the Fitzroy Tavern.

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Vegan ice cream wars

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It is part of my genetic make-up as a fat, gay vegan to be obsessed with ice cream.

Swedish Glace and Worthenshaws Freedom

Dairy free desserts are becoming increasingly easy to locate with most major supermarkets stocking at least one or two brands of vegan ice cream for the discerning, sweet-toothed vegan to purchase. I have become quite the non-dairy connoisseur during the last few years and have enjoyed scandalous affairs with various ice cream brands from all around the globe. Tofutti from the USA is a reliable friend and never lets me down. Coco Luscious is crafted in Australia and is too good to be true. I often dream of the decadent Booja Booja from the UK and its rich, chocolatey delights. This short list of favourites is just the tip of the vegan ice cream iceberg.

You get the picture, right? I am a self-proclaimed vegan ice cream know-it-all. I recently put this expertise to the test by comparing two brands available here in the UK.

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Bobbing for apple cider

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One of the best things about being vegan in the UK is the access to an abundance of clearly-labelled, cruelty-free alcohol.

Look for this on your alcohol purchases

As I have mentioned previously, alcohol is often made with the aid of animal by-products. The most common way this occurs is during the fining process of beer, cider or wine. A large vat or container of drink contains much unwanted organic matter that needs to be filtered out before it can be sold. Egg, bone, fish stomach or sometimes milk protein is used to create a film that is sprinkled over the product. As the dead animal remains sink and pass through the booze, the organic matter is dragged down leaving the final product. Sounds tasty, right?

The above description is my take on what is a rather complex process. If you are a brewery technician and can add finer detail to this explanation, please enlighten us.

The good news is a large number of booze producers are opting out of this grisly practice. Increasingly here in the UK, a recreational drinker such as myself can walk into the local supermarket and experience no trouble in finding vegan drinks.

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Meat is murder… eat falafel

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Yes, I am overweight. Sure, I am a homosexual. Certainly, I choose to not eat animal products. For people who know me well, it also wouldn’t have been a surprise to see a reference to musical icon Morrissey crammed into my self-deprecating blog title.

Morrissey (a)live in Leeds 2009 (Flickr credit: Man Alive!)

Since my early teen years (and I have been around for a while), I have been comfortably obsessed with all things Morrissey and The Smiths. If you are a disciple like I am, there is no need for me to convince you. If you are anti-Morrissey (or worse still… indifferent!), I’m not in the habit of trying to convert you. For the purpose of this blog post, let’s agree that I love Morrissey and I exploit any opportunity to celebrate his contribution to popular culture and animal welfare.

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One of everything, please

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Do you ever have difficulty deciding what to eat when faced with many options?

One way out of this precarious situation is to buy one of everything. My trip to Whole Foods Market in Kensington a few days ago saw me tempted to do just that. I was entrusted with the task of buying some pre-packed goodies for Josh and myself to devour. The plan was to nab a window seat in the store’s food court, eat ourselves silly and watch frenzied Christmas shoppers collide with each other on the obscenely-busy high street below.

So sit down, relax and enjoy the visual delights of my lunchtime shopping spree. For a FGV, I was actually rather restrained.

Whole Foods in-house vegan yoghurt varieties

I wanted to commence the meal with healthy food that tasted great, so I opted for two tubs of vegan yoghurt with muesli and fruit. Buying both flavours was the only option when I couldn’t decide between mixed berry and blackberry. They weren’t fabulous, but fulfilled my expectations.

Saf is a vegan restaurant located in Shoreditch, East London that has now opened an outlet in the Whole Foods Kensington food court. While  I didn’t buy from them directly, I chose one of their pre-packaged wraps from the sandwich case instore.

I promise I’m not being hysterical when I state it

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Cereal killer

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Breakfast isn’t my most consistent meal of the day.

It’s not that I don’t like eating in the morning, but I often find myself keeping strange hours that result in my first meal of the day being closer to midday. This anomaly of time-keeping results in me missing out on some more traditional breakfast foods. Today I decided it was time to break with this (lack of) tradition. I wanted a bowl of cereal and milk.

Whole Earth corn flakes for breakfast

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222 Veggie Vegan ate my heart

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Rest assured, I know about food.

During the course of my FGV existence, I have consumed food in many countries and across several continents. I consider myself quite the connoisseur when it comes to vegan cuisine. You should seriously consider these self-proclaimed credentials as you ponder my recommendation that you head to 222 Veggie Vegan at your earliest convenience.

Interior of 222 Veggie Vegan

This unassuming eatery is nestled on North End Road in West Kensington, London. It offers an all-you-can-eat buffet during the day and an a la carte menu in the evenings. The food is healthy, hot and incredibly tasty.

My visit took place on a Sunday afternoon which meant I could serve myself from the hot buffet and I could serve myself from the hot buffet and I

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Brotherly love

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I recently discovered something that is drastically changing my drinking habits.

Most people I know would consider me a moderate to heavy drinker. The arrival of Brothers ciders into my life is pushing me ever closer to the more extreme end of that spectrum. This range of refreshing beverages is suitable for vegan drinkers as it is made without the use of animal by-products to filter or fine. Cider? Cruelty-free? Just take my wallet.

Vegan cider by Brothers accompanied by UK winter snow

Please check out the Brothers cider website to view all of the available flavours. My empty bottles of the strawberry and pear varieties can be seen nestled in the snow on this page, but I am beyond keen to get my FGV paws around a few bottles of the Toffee Apple cider. I know, right?!?! Sounds too good to be true. I’ll report back to you on that one.

Wait(rose) for sugar!

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The UK has a knack of turning a short car journey up the motorway into an epic battle for survival.

If you have ever traversed one of the main vehicle routes, you would know that the slightest hint of adverse weather can bring proceedings to a standstill. A 4-hour trip between London and Manchester once took 9 hours due to snowfall. You never quite know what you are getting yourself into.

I think it is for this reason you will find highway stopping points jammed with petrol/gas stations, mini-supermarkets, fast food joints and motels every twenty miles or so. These hubs of consumerism are known as services and offer a place to sleep, eat and take shelter from multiple car pile ups and icy roads.

When it comes to finding vegan treats in these services,

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Return of the mac

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When people give me the old line, “I couldn’t go vegan because I would miss cheese too much” I say, “Boo fuckin’ hoo!”.

Then I count to ten and take a few deep breaths before explaining there is now a wealth of cheese options available. You can remove yourself from the suffering cycle associated with dairy industrialisation by choosing plant-based cheeses to grate, sprinkle and melt.

One such product is the glorious Daiya. I have experienced this delightful, cruelty-free cheese during my numerous trips to the USA. Daiya is made from fermented cassava root and I could only hope to taste it whenever I found myself Stateside… until now.

Amy's vegan macaroni and cheeze

Whole Foods Market in Kensington, London shocked me senseless by selling me a fabulous box of frozen macaroni and Daiya. To my knowledge, this Amy’s product isn’t available anywhere else in the UK. If you know otherwise, please educate this FGV.

While I wait for your postcards to come flooding in, I am happy to share a photo of the ridiculously-lovely meal Josh cobbled together around the macaroni.

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