London vegan news, reviews & events
It is time for a straight up vegan food blog post. Sometimes I love simply describing a delicious meal and nothing more.
222 Veggie Vegan is a glorious restaurant situated in West London. If you want details on their fabulous vegan alcohol menu or their handy location, check my earlier post. This one is just a quick fix for serious vegan foodies.
I apologise in advance for the money you will be forced to spend after reading this review. The plane tickets, the train bookings and the coach fares will be inevitable.
Sowerby Bridge is a picturesque village situated approximately halfway between Leeds and Manchester. The market town is nestled alongside the rushing River Calder and is made up of true story book visuals. Cobbled lane ways meet narrow passages amid historical churches, chimneys and shop fronts. Sowerby Bridge is a charming location sure to enchant most. Sold? OK. Well what if I throw in a world class, vegan restaurant?
It has been a difficult battle and at times I have felt like I can’t go on. The vegan ice cream wars are starting to take a serious toll on me (mostly my waistline), but for the sake of public interest and immense greed I will continue. If only for my dear readers.
This is the part that gets confusing. Tofutti is a well-established brand, churning out masses of dairy-free products that are exported all over the planet. I have often enjoyed their vegan ice creams, dessert sandwiches, cheese imitations and even a mini, frozen, vegan cheese pizza. I don’t believe they are the healthiest food choices, but they satisfy in a cholesterol-free and cruelty-free way.
If vegan cupcakes are a sure way to my heart, I was head over heels in love today during a visit to the Ms Cupcake pop-up shop in Soho, London today.
Ms Cupcake is a fabulous vegan cupcake company I have written about previously and they create the best small cakes I have ever eaten. Since my visit to their Greenwich Market stall, I’ve suffered through countless sleepless nights as I’ve plotted, schemed and dreamed of a way back to their sweet treats. Well, my pleas were heard apparently. Ms Cupcake have a pop-up store situated in Soho, London this week and it is set to return again for two days next week in the same location. Positioned in a fair trade gift store called Fair Share, the Ms Cupcake table is brimming with six specially-created fair trade flavours that have to be tasted to be believed.
Leeds city centre isn’t exactly drowning in vegan food choices, but there is a special eatery that has been keeping our lot nutritiously-fed for over 20 years.
Hansa’s Gujarati Vegetarian Restaurant is every bit as much an institution as it is a success story. Hansa Dabhi is an accomplished chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, travel guide and business person. She has been at the forefront of quality dining in West Yorkshire for more than two decades and her North Street location employs an all-female staff. Hansa has made many appearances in support of her first cookbook and has been rigorously promoting her second. Charities supported by Hansa and her customers include Saraswati Vidayala, an organisation committed to constructing schools in India. As you can gather from this paragraph, Hansa is a busy human… and I haven’t even described her food yet.
Have you got a favourite retail outlet when it comes to vegan groceries? Somewhere that never lets you down and always ensures your basket is well-stocked? Me too.
Out Of This World is a small, comprehensive grocery store located in Leeds city centre. This ethically-minded outlet dedicates shelf upon shelf to products free of non-human animals as well as vegetarian specialties and organic, fair trade goods. If you want a few slices of pig-free bacon or a couple of vegan cupcakes to see you through a chilly northern afternoon, Out Of This World is the place to shop. You can snap up vitamins, shampoo, vegan fudge, cider, organic wine and so much more.
A fat, gay vegan needs to put in the hard yards in order to be worthy of the name and sugar is one of my top secrets when it comes to keeping my voluptuous figure.
Marshmallows are a fabulous foodstuff full of sugar turned fluffy. On the very rare occasion I see vegan marshmallows for sale, I like to stock up. There isn’t an abundance of cruelty-free marshmallow manufacturers in the world as it is a product traditionally associated with crushed bone. A few years ago I enjoyed a salacious affair with the glorious products of Sweet and Sara, but since then I have been in a marshmallow wilderness. Thankfully, Sweet Vegan has now come into my life.
The vegan ice cream wars detailed throughout my blog have been pleasing a lot of readers and keeping me on the plump side of hefty.
This latest edition to the ranks is set to keep the trend alive. Juicy Raspberry is one of the premium flavours produced by vegan ice cream manufacturer Swedish Glace. The texture is fluffy and creamy while the juicy in its name is well justified. Huge deposits of sweet raspberry flavouring are scattered throughout the tub. This variety is a fine addition to the Swedish Glace family and it enjoys a well-deserved place within my wide range of food addictions.
Sheffield has given humanity a lot. Pulp. ABC. The Human League. Heaven 17. Moloko. Def Leppard. Arctic Monkeys. Seemingly, the stream of musical output doesn’t end. But now this northern city has expanded its gift-giving into the fields of vegan food and roller derby.
Last weekend Stuart, Baby Bobby and I decided to go on a bit of a northern road trip. We packed up the car with vegan sweets and our warmest winter accessories and hit the road. It was my first trip to Sheffield and I was keen to discover what it had in store besides an eclectic musical history.
First up was lunch at the Blue Moon Cafe. This vegetarian eatery sits in the shadow of the main cathedral and is housed in a huge, stunning room featuring a skylight. Bobby was right at home as the cafe supplied a number of high chairs for patrons and was buzzing with babies and infants. The food is pre-made and displayed in glass cases along the counter. Most of the dishes are vegan and anything containing dairy is clearly labeled.
From NYC to Sydney and from Barcelona to Los Angeles people just can’t get enough of a certain sweet treat. Yep, the world is obsessed with vegan cupcakes.
As a well-travelled FGV, I have devoured my fair share of cupcakes all around the globe. I’ve dined on Babycakes in New York, slobbered over frosted sponges in Gopal, Barcelona and licked the sugar off my fingers in Loving Hut, Brisbane. Cupcakes are everywhere and I thought I had eaten the best a cupcake can get. That was until Ms. Cupcake crash landed into my life. My entire cupcake appreciation framework is being forcibly re-imagined.