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.
united kingdom
Am I moving too fast for you?
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.
I find another beauty mark with every glass of red wine
I wanted to write a post with a long title and a short story.
Vegan red wine is available at UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s in a plastic bottle. This pleases me immensely. The Cabernet Sauvignon is delicious and ridiculously inexpensive.
Over and out.
To infinity and beyond
I love a quality co-operative grocery store and that love turns to adoration when a grocery store is completely vegetarian.
If you are in Brighton and on the look out for vegan groceries, you couldn’t really do better than stopping by Infinity Foods on North Road. This 40 year old institution contains many of my favourite foods and several I had never seen before strolling through their doors. So what do they have on offer?
A plant-based feast
There is a charming eatery tucked away in West Yorkshire that is a firm favourite of the FGV. Dandelion & Burdock is a completely vegan restaurant that serves up some of the finest cruelty-free food anywhere in the world.
I recently returned to the lovely town of Sowerby Bridge with a large group of friends for weekend brunch and the food we consumed was intoxicating (read about my previous D&B visit here). Nestled beside a window overlooking the picturesque river, my friends and I ordered enough delicacies to sink a barge.
Say vegan cheese
Every now and then something so revolutionary comes along, it turns the vegan world upside down. Vegusto is one of those things. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
During the last few months I have been enjoying a new vegan cheese range known as Vegusto. It isn’t easy to find in the UK but when you do get your hands on it, you won’t soon forget. The plant-based cheeses are made in Switzerland and are slowly working their way around Europe. I spoke with representatives at the recent Bristol VegFest who assured me they are toiling away with plans to get the range into health food stores around the UK as soon as possible.
October is my favourite month
Being vegan in London has just been blown sky high with amazingness. If you think that sounds like hyperbole on overdrive, check out the new vegan patisserie known as October Cafe and you’ll soon see the reason for my excitement.
Following a disappointing, half-uneaten breakfast at another vegan establishment, Josh and I were on the lookout for something to lift our spirits. We hopped a few buses, walked along Old Street in the City of London for a short while and arrived at one of the loveliest vegan experiences in existence.
Crisp alert
The approach of summer really isn’t amounting to much here in the UK. The warm days are few and far between while the rain has been visiting more than usual. We are in dire need of a morale boost in these grey times and Tyrrells just might be the folk to dish it out.
Vegan ice cream wars are back on
The lovely people of Booja-Booja recently got in touch with me to ask if I would be willing to give one of their vegan ice cream flavours a try. Ummm… how long do you think I needed to think about that one? I’m not sure I finished reading their email before I hit the reply button.
If you cast your mind back a short while, you will remember my ecstatic review of the Booja-Booja Hunky Punky Chocolate variety. I have been a massive fan of their frozen treats since that day and the flavour that was recently delivered to me by the company has only cemented my love.
Legumes for me
Here we have a super fast post about a terrific snack on the go.
When it comes to snacks, one of my favourite companies is Tyrrells. Operating out of Herefordshire, Tyrrells produce a large range of gourmet potato crisps of which a significant amount are marked as suitable for vegans. I have long been a fan(atic) of their crisps and now I have an extra reason to sing their praises. That reason is Habas Fritas.
This packet of glory contains broad beans that have been covered in some sort of magical and irresistible coating before being cooked to crunchy perfection. Never before have I experienced such an urge to keep eating. Every time I have torn a packet open, the bag hasn’t left my hand until every last bean was in my belly.
Apologies for the short post but I’ve worked myself into such a Tyrrells frenzy I need to go shopping. You should grab a bag soon and let me know what you think.
