The Voluptuous Vegan Ventures Out…
Anybody who watched The Restaurant on BBC 2 on Wednesday night will be acutely aware how difficult dining out is for vegans and veggies as a whole. Getting a plate of cabbage really isn't good enough. This week our good living correspondent, The Voluptuous Vegan, ventured out in search of something scrummy to eat. Vegan food? In Belfast? That'll be a baked potato then......
the voluptuous vegan........seriously she has grapes for hair and peppers for eyes
"Since giving up 90% of the ‘Western diet’ in favour for a more ‘hippy’ culinary adventure, eating good and tasty food has been less of a problem or issue than I first envisaged. However, this has only been so for one reason; for three out of five days, I work from home. Therefore, I bake and cook a helluva lot (you’ll find out just how much next week!!). Yet there comes a time when a girl just gotta get out of the house and put her trust in the ‘experts’. Oh yes, this voluptuous vegan has been putting Northern Ireland’s finest to the test and duly presents to you, dear readers, ‘The Voluptuous Vegan’s (mini) Guide to Eating Out in Belfast’.
For starters, The Cloth Ear. I was pretty hopeful about the Cloth Ear after downloading their menu in advance. Numerous vegan friendly delights graced the pages, making my mouth water and my heart skip. However, dear friends, this was but a tease as it appears that the menu provided is just a guide. And a bad guide at that! Upon reaching the Cloth Ear and perusing the menu, none of the previous delights were to be found.
But the ‘fun’ didn’t stop there, oh no…
I was dining with three other lovely ladies, one of whom is vegetarian and also unfortunately a coeliac. Suddenly my restrictions seem immaterial, one bad choice on her part could lead to pain and all sorts of unpleasantness whilst I'd just be annoyed at getting it wrong! What followed made me realise just how much of a kick up the bum some Belfast restaurateurs need. After 3 - 4 trips back to the kitchen (the chef wouldn't come to her it seems, despite it being 6pm and the place practically empty) a compromise was reached: a bit of fish and some spuds.
Then it was my turn.
The waiter turned to take my order and I asked if the veggie pasta had any eggs or dairy in it. I could see her die a little inside as she turned back to the kitchen and face the chef again (I can only imagine what was going on behind those kitchen doors). It turns out I was a lot easier sorted: I could have the chips or I could have the salad. Lucky me! I had both as I was pretty hungry, and happily I didn't spy any of the (by now I’m guessing pretty huffy) chef's 'special sauce' on my plate. On a positive note, the chips were bloody gorgeous, mmmmm...
Moving on to the main course, and having had my 'vegan dining' cherry broken in such a dismal manner, my faith in restaurants was greatly restored by the Archana. I had forgotten how great this place is; not only do they have a vegetarian section, but within this are symbols denoting vegan friendly meals! Yes, I said it: VEGAN FRIENDLY MEALS!! And there were a couple dozen of them too! The food is great in there anyways, but that's just going the extra mile really, innit? I was out with the same cohort as the Cloth Ear experience and the vegetarian coeliac was more than catered for, with warnings given in advance of the pappadums and everything! A grand time was had by all and I can’t wait to get back there. Yum yum!
And for dessert, well, there aren’t many I can have so instead I’m covering some take-out options. I googled Subway and found out that if I'm out and about and stuck for grub I can grab a veggie delight on Italian White with one or two of the sauces. Or if I’m feeling a little flush, then maybe a Boojum. For anyone who's not had a Boojum yet, shame on you. Tex mex fast food, mmmmm.......
And that concludes my learning curve in relation to Belfast vegan dining. I’m clearly going to get on better in ‘ethnic’ places compared to the good old ‘meat and two veg’ but there you go.
‘Tis a good job I likes me spices!!"
V.V. xxxx
