Have you got plans for this Thursday? You have now!
Check out this message from celebrated vegan chef Sara Mittersteiner.
Owl cafe
You can dress it up any which way you like, but using animals in a retail or entertainment setting is the equivalent of a zoo. It is the exploitation of animals for human enjoyment, often under the guise of conservation or animal protection.
My critique of the cat cafe in east London drew a huge number of responses, ranging from people who thought it was an unacceptable use of animals for profit through to those who branded me a cat-hating lunatic.
Now, almost a year on from that post, I find myself scratching my head at news of an owl-themed pop-up cocktail bar set to open in Soho.
Warrington!
The UK is experiencing a vegan revolution. News has broken of a vegan raw food cafe opening in the Northern town of Warrington.
What? You don’t know where Warrington is on a map? Here you go.
Best sandwich in London?
I think we need to hand over the title of best vegan sandwich in London to a new champion and I haven’t even tasted it yet. The photos are deserving of platitudes all of their own.
A non-vegan eatery has popped up on the South Bank and it is good to see vegan food is very much on the agenda.
The Green Room is an eatery housed just behind the National Theatre, with all profits from the restaurant channeled back into the theatre and the local community.
So, what of this amazing vegan sandwich of which I speak? Check it out below.
An entire cake
It happens all the time, right?
You are in Central London and suddenly you are in desperate need of an entire vegan chocolate cake. What a dilemma!
All time Champs
Many have tried but no one else comes close to what Champs do with diner comfort food in Brooklyn.
As my bus trundled into the Port Authority bus terminal, I had an overwhelming chorus of NYC vegan eatery recommendations swimming in my head. A call out on my blog for food ideas to explore during my time in the Big Apple had been met with countless suggestions and recommendations, so it was up to me to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Of all the recommendations that landed in my laptop, one place towered above the rest for sheer number of mentions.
Vegans of the world, I give you Champs Diner.
Vegan beer this weekend
Here are two fabulous opportunities to get your lips wet with vegan beer this weekend.
Opportunity the first is with Clarkshaws Brewery.
We’ll be open for tours of our new brewery and the chance to try exclusively available beers, including our Coldharbour Helles. The brewery taproom will open regularly on Saturdays from March, but this is your chance to get ahead of the crowd and visit the brewery before it officially opens to the public. The Beer Hive is a collaboration between Clarkshaws Brewery and London Beer Lab, and will expand to include other breweries in the coming months, creating a cooperative of microbreweries and letting visitors taste the work of different breweries all on one site.
Saturday 21 February, 12.00-18.00.
Arch 283 Belinda Road, off Coldharbour Lane, Loughborough Junction, SW9 7DT.Details: No need to book, just turn up on the day. We will be licensed for on and off sales so come by for a drink and pick up a bottle or two to take-away! Facebook event page here.
Opportunity the second is with Orpington Liberal Club.
Our next Beer and Cider Festival is on Friday, 20 February to Saturday, 21 February 2015
Festival times:
Friday, 20 February 5pm to 11pm
Saturday, 21 February Noon to 11pmYou must buy a ticket in advance, but THERE IS NO ENTRY CHARGE. The ticket is pre purchase of a voucher for the first two pints of real ale, cider or perry. Tickets are £6.00 over the bar or £6.40 online (people buying online should bring their receipt on the day to collect their vouchers). Vouchers can also be used for food. Soft drinks, wine etc will be available. All beer/cider/perry is just £3.00 a pint. Slightly more than previous festivals, but we are sourcing harder to get and more expensive beers.
We have 27 real ales plus ciders and perries. Following a number of requests, and given the big response we had to them last time, all the real ales will be free of isinglass finings. This means they may be a bit hazy, but they will be very tasty!
You can find out more (including line up of drinks) and buy tickets online.
Get involved with vegan beer drinking this weekend!
Also, don’t forget to pencil July 18, 2015 into your diary as London Vegan Beer Fest returns for a third year. Add your email address to the mailing list form below to ensure you are the first to know about ticket sales.
Vegan Scottish tablet
Do you like to eat delicious things?
This post is just for you.
I was recently contacted via email about a product called Dairy-free Scottish Tablet. Due to my birth having taken place decidedly south of the equator, I had no idea what to make of this information. Scottish tablet? How unusual!
I wrote back to explain my ignorance of tablet as a food and the producer explained it as a chunkier, grainier version of fudge.
Of course I was intrigued (you had me at fudge!) and I happily agreed to receive a bag for sampling purposes. Check it out below.
NYC to LDN eating
If you are a vegan traveller, you probably spend a fair chunk of your preparation time wondering what your airline-supplied meal will consist of once you are in the sky.
I have a recurring section on this blog dealing with just that very topic. You can click here to view past stories of airline meals, or keep scrolling down this page to see what I was served on my British Airways flight between JFK New York and London Heathrow last week.
Shop vegan in Mexico
I recently named Mexico City as one of the best places on the planet for vegans.
This mega-city has some truly inspiring vegan enterprises springing up and is a must-visit destination for plant eaters all over the world. You can get delicious handcrafted food delivered by bicycle, have dinner served from a 100% vegan taco stand and visit one of the locations of a deliriously-cute falafel chain.
But it doesn’t end there.
I am thrilled to find out there is now a vegan grocery store in Mexico City!
My pal Kay is currently in Mexico City for work and has been sending me updates about the vegan scene. One of her more interesting finds is vegan grocery store called Vegattos.
Vegattos is a small store selling food, clothing, personal care products and more for humans, as well as toys and accessories for cats. The store helps to raise funds for rescued cats in Mexico City and has been opened since 2014.
Check out some of the photos sent to me by Kay.