London vegan news, reviews & events
Something has been troubling me and I had no other choice than to bring in a guest. Many months ago Josh and I dined in a West London vegetarian restaurant. I was underwhelmed by the Indian food and have not been inspired to write a review about our experience.
Although much time has passed, Josh kindly agreed to write his first ever blog entry and has recounted our night at Sagar in Hammersmith as a FGV guest contributor. Take it away, Josh.
How much would you pay for a meal? When dining out in a fancy restaurant, do you set yourself a budget or do you sometimes allow yourself to splurge on fine food?
If you don’t mind distributing your wealth now and again, I have some advice for you. Think twice before distributing it to The Gate Restaurant, a vegetarian eatery located in Hammersmith, London. I am going to be blunt and brief. I found it to be over-priced, over-dependent on dairy and severely lacking in vegan options.
The restaurant itself is rather pleasant, if a bit grubby. My seat afforded me a lovely view across the restaurant to the massive feature window. Unfortunately I was also next to a wall that was riddled with bizarre scuff marks and scratches. I’m not above eating in a venue with a bad paint job, but after viewing the prices on the menu I would expect The Gate Restaurant to splash out on a lick of paint now and again.
Speaking of prices, I have never paid so much money for such unexciting, unadventurous and downright dull food.
There is no big mystery here. I love Ms. Cupcake and I love all of her delicious treats and temptations. I have eaten every imaginable variety of mini cake from the bakery but today I got served. That means I was taught a lesson. A lesson where the learning intention was the tastiness of the watermelon cupcake I devoured.
Delicious. Moist. Super sweet. Frosting outweighing sponge.
Hampstead Heath is just about as famous/infamous a location as you can get in London. The stunning inner-city parkland is a historical, picturesque expanse of greenery dotted with reservoirs and woodlands. People make the trip to the park from all over the city to take in the glorious skyline views, admire the wildlife and engage in sexual activities.
Oh yes. Sex. The Heath has long been a destination for men seeking casual and anonymous encounters. Of course, its most famous cruiser is George Michael who allegedly shouted “Fuck off! It’s part of my culture” to a snooping tabloid reporter as he unashamedly went about his business.
But aside from Hampstead being a visual treat and a place for the interested to meet, it is also a charming and surprising must-visit location for vegans.
I’m not a fan of festivals. The thought of searing sun, overpriced booze and fools with flags has been deterrent enough for most of my FGV life. Up until a few weeks ago, I had only ever been lured to a music festival once in my life and that was by the promise of seeing Morrissey live. I suffered through a stifling Australian day back in the Summer of 2002 and was forced to listen to some truly dreary supporting bands.
Fast forward almost a decade and Morrissey managed to drag me back to my second ever festival. A few weeks ago, I found myself strolling around a rather pleasant field of people in Kent as a cavalcade of musical legends (including Morrissey) thrilled on stage. Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and Prince (yes, Prince!) drew tens of thousands of people to the three day event known as the Hop Farm Festival. Morrissey and Prince were my major draw cards and both artists were close to the best I have ever seen them, but I must say I was also blown away by the copious amounts of vegan food on offer.
I love a good piece of meat… fake, that is and fake meat rarely comes better than a chunky slab of seitan. Seitan is a meat substitute made of wheat gluten originating from China and it is particularly chewy. It is perfect for cooking with sauces and marinades as it sucks up liquid and flavours expertly.
I don’t see a lot of quality seitan in the UK so it was with immense delight that I watched Josh produce a jar of the good stuff from his grocery bag recently. Lima seitan is a quality wheat meat that is easy to carve and is barely flavoured, making it perfect to absorb any sauce you throw at it.
It doesn’t appear to be available in many stores but the Lima website does have a list of suppliers and retail outlets. It is apparently available in countries as far spread as the Czech Republic, Bahrain, Croatia, Spain, Israel, Slovenia and Iceland. Their availability reads like the Eurovision finalist list! We didn’t have to travel that far to nab our jar as Josh made his purchase in Alara Health Store located on Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury.
So what did I make with this wonder product?
Do you want to get involved in one of the most exciting vegan projects that has ever taken place in London?
Peter from October Cafe is developing a multi-vendor market in the heart of the city! I won’t waffle on too much as I want to give Peter the floor to explain how it works. Let’s just say it is a dream of mine to shop at an all vegan market and I will be first in line to see what the cruelty-free vendors have on offer.
Long before I was fat and vegan (gay always), I spent a lot of time in a seaside town that Australia forgot to close down. My friends and I constantly lived on the verge of adventure and despair as we dodged the equally-dangerous obstacles of local thugs and mediocrity. The main attractions were an almost-dilapidated pier, a skate park and many drive through liquor stores that asked very few questions of disengaged teenagers with a few dollars to spend. We would walk through the idling cars filled with older-than-us locals buying cartons of ice cold beer before boldly placing our orders for the cheapest drinks in the store.
After such a successful potluck last month, it was getting difficult to believe part 3 could be bigger and better. But guess what? London Vegan Potluck 3 was bigger and better!
The vast array of delicious dishes on offer pushed our tables to the limit. With over 40 fabulous potluckers, there was an incredibly-diverse range of foods to choose from. It got so busy up in there I had to push my way through to the tables at one point.
The centerpiece was two massive trays of meatballs. These delicacies were made possible by the kind folk of the Redwood Wholefood Company. The award-winning, all-vegan food producers supplied us with a generous portion of their meatballs which were turned into Italian and English style dishes by the glorious staff at Ms. Cupcake. The Redwood meatballs are versatile, tasty and chewy. Thank you Redwood. You helped make our event extra special.
Proper gratitude must also be paid to Ms. Cupcake and her staff for all the hard work they put in to helping make the potluck the success it is, as well as allowing their space to be used once a month. A million thanks.
Following are a few photos of just a fraction of the food that was offered up tonight.
There is a place in the north of England with crooked lanes paved with old stones. This town knows a brutal and harsh history. Pubs are named after torture devices and methods of execution while a seemingly-benign grass patch hides the remains of a cholera burial ground. It is a location that both delights and astounds with its past of inglorious tales.
It is also a place where many fabulous occurrences take place. Within the space of a few hours in the city this past weekend I ate at a completely vegan Spanish restaurant, had my photo taken with superstar of screen and fashion Chloë Sevigny and witnessed Morrissey perform a stellar concert to a venue packed with adoring fans.
Welcome to York.