Meat Free Monday at The Lass O'Gowrie.

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of attending Manchester's weekly Meat Free Monday event at the Lass O'Gowrie pub. Vegan organisational whirlwind Lynnmarie from the Manchester Vegan Society and her husband Mod of Mod's Cafe fame put together this awesome vegan outreach event. Last night's was a busy one with food selling out fast.

Food at the event is a huge plate of food for a fiver and it's usually rice 'n' three - something I'd never even heard of until this trip up north. Basically it's as it sounds, you get a plate with rice and a choice of three sides. The food has an international flair with a choice of six dishes usually including some kind of curry and something with a Jamaican influence. Mod had been tipped off by the lovely Caroline that I can't do chilli and he put together a plate of not-too-spicy food for me! What a legend!

My £5 got me a soy and ginger seitan dish with carrots and chunks of soy based chorizo, garlic mushrooms, sausage and beans, a lightly spiced portion of veggie curry and a side salad. It was such a great, filling meal. I especially loved the seitan dish, which only had a touch of spice from the chorizo, and the sausage and beans which has always been a solid favourite of mine.

Lynnmarie's skills don't just lie in her organisational prowess though, she's also a whiz in the kitchen. She bakes cakes for charity just like I do and sells them at events like this one for 50p, for that price (and because it was for a good cause!) I had to try both. This week she'd made a vanilla cupcake with chocolate icing and a chocolate chip banana cake.

The vanilla cake / chocolate frosting combo is a favourite of mine and one that I hardly ever make myself so this was a real treat. Regular readers of my blog will also know that banana bread is one of the only ways I'll tolerate banana and I always put chocolate chips in mine too. Lynnmarie put chocolate chunks in her perfectly gooey banana bread and I have to say that it was wonderful - if they hadn't have sold out I'd have gotten another piece for my bus journey home.

If you're in Manchester on a Monday night I would definitely suggest that you eat here. As well as a tasty and filling feed for five quid there's a wonderful community atmosphere. Everyone I met was super friendly and happy to chat to an almost-stranger! If you aren't around on a Monday Mod also cooks at Mod's Cafe at The Thirsty Scholar Mon - Fri 12 & 4 and Sat & Sun 1-5.