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A serving of Squid & Whale

15/12/2014

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After a rather laborious hunt around Glasgow for good APF Mexican food, we feel rather pleased with our latest discovery...

On Glasgow's Great Western Road, Squid & Whale is completely unassuming from the outside (it looks more like a dimly lit cafe) but when you make it inside, you see people littered around the bar, wooden tables and dj decks! As with many of Glasgow's venues, music is the anchor. As a bonus, it looks like Frida Kahlo did the decorating, and when you come to choose your tipple you'll have a serious case of choice anxiety: there are more than 50 beers and ciders on offer, and a particular specialisation in American craft lagers. If you are going for dinner, make sure you book! 

There are clearly marked vegan options - go for the massive bowl of guacamole and tortilla chips, but share these, (and we never encourage sharing, but trust us, you'll need room for the main course!)

The vegan meals use a gorgeously flavoured seitan base (the Japanese term for what is essentially 'wheat meat' or 'gluten meat'). Seitan is made by washing the starch from wheat flour and then flavouring, and cooking, the mass that is left. For tofu-overexposed vegans, seitan makes a welcome break from soybean-based products, it really fills you up and it has that chewy, moreish texture that vegans crave but have generally chosen to sacrifice when going 'APF'.
There's a big 'grill plate' that could be shared between two people easily or tacos and fries. However, it's the burrito here that has got us, hook, line and sinker! It is bulging with guacamole, rice, salad and that all important seitan. 

Wash it down with something strong from their extensive (and vegan-approved by the Gods at Barnivore) list and you've got yourself an amazing time - you'll be so happy with your meal, it won't matter if your date sucks! 

Buen provecho!
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Lunch at 78

21/10/2014

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Head out from the centre of Glasgow towards the wheeze-inducing hills of Kelvingrove Park, turn right down a nondescript street of Wimpey-style student apartments that could double as retirement flats and there you will stumble upon 78, the former home of Stereo and part of the music-themed vegan empire that is Mono, Stereo and 78.

This Scottish empire certainly has a student feel, and we wonder whether 78 will fail our pot plant test - fortunately it doesn’t, as the loos are very much 1950s public house!

78 is in fact a cross between your favourite village pub complete with fireplace, tall pine benches, and long bar, your great aunt's house pre-clearout with worn down paisley pattern velvet sofas and tapestry Queen Anne armchairs, and a student union with gig posters and sticky tables. 78 even has a corner bookshelf stacked with LPs and a wall frieze of old 78s.

Our mission was to test the claim that 78 does the best vegan lunch in town. Verdict: seriously yummy. Seriously. There was a list of tasty specials, and the bartender had such enthusiasm for the vegan quesadillas (with cheese that actually melted) that we wondered whether she would explode with glee.

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The special burger was indeed special, although we had a nagging feeling we should have gone for the quesadillas. Who cares, though. We'll certainly be back.  Our burger was  deliciously creamy and combined sweet potato and chick pea with a hint of curry powder and cinnamon. It was juicy, and a far cry from the standard dry vegan patty of chickpea and carrot. Top marks. It was excellent.

If we had a tip for improvement it would be to drop the hummus. The chef clearly had such anxiety about the burger being dry that our already juicy and flavoursome burger had a thick layer of hummus on top. Not necessary.

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After lunch, and unable to move mid-food-induced-coma, we settled in for coffee and cake. What a treat! This was just about the best vegan chocolate cake we've tasted. Fluffy and cake-like rather than the usual dense slab of carob, which tastes of self-raising flour as someone has vainly tried to conquer the laws of vegan cakery with baking soda. This proper cake was light and heavy with the taste of chocolate, laid on a bed of vegan cream.

Your teatimes and your waistlines will never be so full, and all for £4. If anything, the hot chocolate was too sweet, but we were less concerned. We were smothered in chocolate.

It was the perfect accompaniment for the curious teatime scene that followed, as a pigeon flew into bar, no doubt trying to get in on the scrumptious food action, and a curly-haired student tried to chase it out. You're slap bang in the middle of student central here, and presentation and service could certainly have been a little more tip-top. This is grunge rather than fine dining, and there was a whiff of 70s pine. However, the shabby chic won through, even with the bonus pigeon, and this can rightly claim to be modern vegan/trendy rather than outdated 70s ratatouille and watery stodge. Of all the places in this burgeoning vegan empire, this is the one to watch.

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Voted best UK vegetarian restaurant

16/10/2014

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In a slightly off-the-beaten-track part of Glasgow city centre, in an 80s yellowish brick and light blue steel enclave that could have been lifted straight from a Milton Keynes superstore, lies Mono. Welcome to the UK’s Best Vegetarian Restaurant for the 2nd year running.

Given the accolades, we thought it was time we checked it out.
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On the plus side, Mono is 100% vegan, so you can genuinely order every item on the full menu without having to beg that cheese is left off (and then send the dish back when the well-meaning waiter forgets). Four brewing vats welcome you as you enter. Another plus: a vegan microbrewery producing its own ginger beer. It would be even better with vegan craft beer, but perhaps licensing doesn’t permit that.

The biggest plus though: pizza. How many times have you wanted pizza, and had to restrain yourself for fear of being served desiccated flatbread with a thin layer of tomato paste, some limp basil and a burnt crust? For, as you experienced vegans know, that is your destiny when you order a Margherita without mozzarella.


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Fear no longer. The pizzas we had were plump, doughy comfort food with tasty fresh vegetables, a thick layer of tomato sauce and garlic cream cheese. The purist might complain that they were not pizzas, as the base was more doughy loaf than thin crust, but these tick the craving boxes for vegans. As it was a Monday, we had two for a tenner, which eased the pressure on the Extraveganza coffers. The falafel sandwich was more standard, and could easily have been less interesting, but was in fact excellent. A staple it may have been, but it was made to perfection and wowed us.

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The vibe of Mono is definitely sixth-form-cum-community-centre. It has a second-hand record store to one side, a book shop on the other, a central, raised seating area with beaten-up sofas, and a restaurant area with pine tables and benches. The serving area has a rollup shutter that screams university bar.

The university resonance doesn’t stop there either. There’s a disco on occasional Sundays, and a full gig calendar throughout the year. You’ll be transported back to Freshers’ week, and wonder whether you’re going to end up in a strange room after a night of vodka shots. The Sunday gigs may challenge your eardrums, so don’t think this a place to take the family for Sunday lunch as you introduce them to veganism.


We do like Mono, and we’ll definitely be back (in fact we’ve already visited twice). It has a clear Bohemian charm. However, the fact that this restaurant has beaten off all competition to be voted best vegetarian restaurant of the year shows that we still have a long way to go if vegans and non-vegans alike are to get the same dining-out experience.

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Sweet Sunday

17/6/2014

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Sunday is a day for decadence, and what better way to be decadent than indulging your sweet tooth. Off we went to Manna in Primrose Hill with the sole intention of eating as many sweet things on the menu as we could find.

Manna is an interesting place: like the other small chic restaurants in Primrose Hill, you know it's going to be elegant and a treat. And chic at a price. Go with your parents or a rich aunt, so that you can overlook the £8 pricetag for desserts.

Having ordered the top half of the dessert menu, we settled in for a lazy graze. The table behind us noisily complained that they wanted more light, so we were left in our own little backwater (note to visitors to Manna - if you want light, ensure you are not seated in the rear alcove where you will have wood and William Morris-esque floral wall prints for company) to savour the flavours.

Whereas the usual complaint at vegan restaurants is that the main dishes are acceptable, but the desserts are the nadir, at Manna the converse is true. Mains can be slightly too earthy and 1970s in their presentation, but the desserts were tip-top, in the Gate restaurant league.
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The semifreddo was perfect for that summer's day - the cold and soft of the creamy vanilla ice-cream with the hard chocolate biscuit chunks. We could have eaten another three right then and there.

The raw mojito tart is creamy, indulgent and feels like snuggling into your warm comfy clean bed after a hard day.

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Of the four that we tried, the sticky toffee pudding was the most disappointing. The sponge was dry, and suffered from the disease of all vegan cake, namely a lack of plump fluffiness. It was dense and no amount of coconut ice cream (which was, we admit, pretty scrumptious) could compensate for the dry and dense sponge.

Our final assault on the senses was a cheesecake. It had a slightly familiar, soy vegan aftertaste but it had a delicious texture and was topped with a berry compote. 8 out 10 from us.

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No doubt egged on by the delicious puddings (three out of four ain't bad), we rounded the meal off with a takeaway portion of petits four. They are advertised on the menu as being available for sale, so we were a little surprised to get them packaged in a disposable burger carton.

The contents were, sadly, as bland and disappointing as their packaging. The small biscuits were brittle and under-sugared, having a texture of french toast and a taste somewhere between rusk and Rich Tea.

Among the dessicated cargo of biscuits were four delicious coconut truffles, but by that stage we were wallowing in despair at the toothcracker biscuits. Guess that will teach us for being greedy!

In spite of our mild gripes, this is a definite favourite for pudding. It's a shame they don't have afternoon tea, as the puddings eclipse the main courses. Get there when that sugar and cream craving needs a good beating.



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Eating in the revamped Kings Cross

30/5/2014

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Tucked away next to Central St Martins, amidst the cranes and rising concrete of the revamped Kings Cross, is the Grain Store, a beautiful restaurant in a converted warehouse. Ravers who used to congregate here at Bagleys and the Cross would be struck at the change.

You might struggle to find this restaurant, but once inside you'll be glad you persevered. It is spacious, light and well-decorated, blending the industrial charm of the building with eclectic modern touches. It feels like somewhere for elaborate cocktails in expensive outfits, and there's a bar area at the front for just that.

We applaud the fact that their menu has at least one APF (Animal Product Free) starter, main course and dessert, which frankly is a rarity in London. If you're anything like us, and get swamped in indecision and want to order absolutely everything on the menu, then a barrier to choice anxiety is far from a bad thing.
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Our criticism is that if you're going to try and appeal to vegans who are bored with bland, vegetarian mush, then you need to ensure that your dishes are carefully thought out and not simply vegetarian options with the dairy on the side. The main course of chilli with vegetables and wild rice was neither spicy nor that satisfying, for our £11.50. Its presentation was cute and the wild rice crunchy and salty but as it was the only APF option on the menu and advertised with sour cream, we expected something specifically APF rather than being told that the vegetarian parts came as side dishes, and so we could simply leave them on the side. Chill with rice and sour cream became vegetables and rice.

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We hoped things might improve for dessert. The APF dessert option sounded innovative and tempting: kaffir lime and coconut tapioca. We could see kaffir lime being zingy and refreshing on a hot summer day, but perhaps it was the lack of London heatwave that left us feeling slightly let down.

We are however ever optimistic. The staff were helpful and happy, and the decor is a delightful change from the usual dour surroundings of a vegan cafe. Our veggie dining friends did have, so we were told, delicious main courses. So we just seemed like 'difficult, hard to please vegans' once again. *Sigh* Not our intention!

We'd love to come back, and will when there are some more APF options on offer which are specifically created as APF dishes rather than being afterthoughts.

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