Wagamama Launches Vegan Menu

Since I left the UK in January 2015 the vegan options at chain restaurants have blossomed, with chains like Zizzi's adding vegan menu items and Tofurky launching their range of vegan sandwiches I'm going to be coming back to a country that's a whole lot more vegan friendly. One of the few downsides of travelling is that I don't get to go and eat all of these delicious new things the very second they're launched but when Wagamama contacted me about trying their new vegan menu I decided to do the only sensible thing and pay it forward. After scouring Instagram for Brighton peep's who take excellent photos I found Stevie, @thebrightonvegan, who was more than happy to attend the event on my behalf. Hopefully I'll be bringing you more guest posts as I try to keep on top of the UK's growing vegan scene from a continent far, far away. Over to Stevie...

For some time, the word on the vegan grapevine has been that Wagamama was launching an all new vegan menu. Vague news articles and the occasional insta-story indicated that it was tantalisingly close.

Well friends, it's here. And, oh, it's good.

Green Kitchen

I was so stoked when I first heard about Green Kitchen, totally vegan cafes aren't the easiest to come by - most of Brighton's best brekkie spots are veggie with vegan leanings - but what makes this spot stand out even more is it's location. You'll find Green Kitchen just beyond Preston Circus on Preston Road which is a first for a veggie eatery let alone a completely vegan one. 

I visited on a Saturday morning and the place was busy with an eclectic clientele and a frankily mind boggling amount of Deliveroo orders which was only annoying due to the fact that the drivers kept leaving the front door wide open ruining the cosy atmosphere and letting in the chilly March air.

LARDER

Larder is the most recent addition to Gardner Street's impressive roster of vegan and vegan friendly eateries. They went vegan for vegnuary and due to the popularity of the dishes decided to stay that way for good. SO COOL! 

I visited on a Saturday afternoon and they were steadily busy with all sorts of people, vegans and non vegans, looking to try out their plant based fare. I was waiting for a friend so I had a little time to peruse the menu before she arrived and I enjoyed a can of Cawston Press whilst I was waiting. The rhubarb is my favourite but cloudy apple comes a close second.

I'd basically decided on a toasted sandwich with avocado, beets, coriander, and red onion chutney when I realised that they had mac and cheese balls on the menu! I think I'd ignored the Mac and Peas balls assuming that I'd be allergic to the BBQ sauce (correct!) but as it comes on the side I was able to switch it for mayo.

The Coffee Counter

Having lived just one street away from The Coffee Counter's location for almost ten years I've seen a huge number of businesses open and close in this spot. The difference I can see here is that The Coffee Counter is warm, inviting, and moving with the times with their vegetarian and vegan menus so hopefully they'll be a permanent addition to the area.

The vegan menu is pretty substantial and offeres vegan versions of most of the things I'd be interested in eating on the meaty menu.

You get to choose your bread and I went with sourdough because it's the best bread. I also obviously ordered a reuben because it's the best sandwich.

Happy Maki Vegan Sushi

I'm always happy to return to Brighton but never more so than when a new vegan place opens its doors to the public. 100% vegan sushi spot Happy Maki has been on my radar for a while now and I finally made it to their new brick & mortar spot last week. Based in Pool Valley within a stones throw of the pier and practically next door to Boho Gelato they've picked a great spot to open a vegan business. Concept wise the peeps behind Happy Maki want to show people what sustainable sushi can look like - totally fish free, zero cruelty, leave the oceans alone please and thank you.

The menu is small but varied, there's something for everyone here, from the mock meat fan to your vegetable loving pal. Nick and I ordered the Fully Loaded roll and the Thai Sweet Potato roll to share and grabbed a side of inari tofu too because nobody should see inari pockets on a menu and take a pass.

Food Donation Drive for Help Refugees

This past week has been a whirlwind. Between getting my IUD replaced early last week (OMG that hurt so bad), to flying to Scotland and back today to investigate some exciting future plans I've met up with friends in London for delicious vegan eats, volunteered at FRIEND Sanctuary in Kent, hung out with my dad, spent time barbecueing and hanging in a hot tub with old friends, and even squeezed in a little dinner date with Nick's oldest friends and their new (to us, she's actually four months old already) baby. I've basically been all over the place!

In between all of this madness (don't worry I've scheduled a self care day for tomorrow!) I've been organising a food donation drive for Help Refugees. Nick and I will be driving our little camper van to Calais to volunteer at the refugee camp there. Did you read about my fun European road trip adventures last summer? Well whilst Nick and I were zig zagging across the continent in our silly tiny van with our British passports we passed numerous refugees who were unable to cross any borders. They were camping in city parks, being blocked from getting on trains, and arriving on Greek beaches with nothing after the most horrendous journeys. I think that it's bullshit that I can travel pretty much wherever I want because of some weird twist of birth whereas these people, not migrants as the British press are so fond of calling them, people, are what? Just meant to stay put whilst their countries are bombed? Where there are no opportunities for their children? Where they face persecution? Where members of their families are being killed? One of the first things I saw when we drove off of the ferry into France last summer was all of the fencing around not just the camp but all of the roads leading from the camp to the ferry and train terminals and I was both horrified and disgusted that my government was paying for this to keep refugees, people who by definition have been forced to leave their countries, away from the UK. Aside from feeling saddened by the state of the world I felt like I needed to at least try do something to help. 

Nick and I will be at the refugee camp for two weeks and I think we're mainly going to be volunteering in the warehouse sorting donations. It doesn't make sense to drive an empty van over there so we're going to try to fill the van with as many donations as possible. If you're in Brighton you can donate some food this Thursday 25th or Friday 26th at Punktured or The Hope and Ruin. I'll be at Punktured, located on Gardner Street close to Infinity Foods, between 11am and 6pm on both days and then at the Hope & Ruin, on Queen's Road, on Thursday night from 6pm - close. Don't ask how I'm going to be in both places at 6pm on Thursday, I'll figure it out. Maybe I'll run! If you drop donations off at The Hope & Ruin you get the added bonus of getting to order some delicious food from Beelzebab whose food I am totally obsessed with. The loaded fries are especially uh-mazing.

Help Refugees have to be quite strict with the donations that can be dropped off, there are only a small number of volunteers sorting through them and then an even smaller number manning the kitchen and cooking food for people. This is why everything has to be non perishable, donating some gorgeous veggies from your allotment would be a lovely idea but they wouldn't be good by the time our delivery slot rolls around on Sunday and they need a lot of each item to feed everybody.

If you'd like to donate here's your shopping list, screen shot it and grab a few things! 

• 1kg bags of sugar

• 1 litre bottle of oil (vegetable or olive)

• 1kg bags of rice

• 750g bags of salt

• Tinned pulses especially chickpeas and kidney beans (ring pull tops only)

• Tinned tomatoes (ring pull tops only)

• Dried red lentils

• Dried fruit and nuts

• Vegetable stock cubes

• Biscuits (good vegan biscuit options include Bourbons, HobNobs, McVities Fruit Shortcake and Lotus Biscoff)

• Tea

• Coffee

No one person needs to donate everything single thing on the list. A few small things will be really helpful, maybe your local shop will have an epic deal on canned pulses, or litre bottles of oil will be going cheap at the corner store you pass on the way to work. Every little helps!

Some of you super sweet people have let me know that you'd like to help from afar and I super appreciate it! Y'all are the best. Help Refugees need fresh fruit, veggies, herbs, onions, garlic, and potatoes so we'll be using any monetary donations to buy these things at a supermarket in Calais. The best way to donate is probably via Paypal to jojo.huxster@me.com with a note that it's for Calais but if you have any other ideas of how to get cash to me then just holler on that same e-mail.

Thanks for reading! See you soon!

Purezza Brighton

If you follow me on social media you'll have seen that my travels have taken me to Scotland. Unfortunately I seem to have left summer behind in the south, it's kinda gloomy (but completely gorgeous) up here but road tripping past lochs and mountains all day has been dreamy. The food has also been uh-mazing so far. I've been taking plenty of photos so expect a blog post soon - right now I'm sitting on a camping chair looking out at Loch Leven. It's lovely.

Before heading north I popped to Brighton to grab some camping stuff from my storage unit and managed to fit in some eating whilst I was down there. I only had 36 hours so I had to prioritise and getting my paws on some pizza from Purezza, the UK's first 100% vegan pizzeria, was a top priority.

I visited early on a quiet Thursday lunchtime but from chatting to owner Tim I gathered that this wasn't usual. As the afternoon progressed the place filled up with people searching for delicious Italian food and I was excited to hear that they're in the process of adding a downstairs dining room so that everyone can get their pizza fix even at peak times.

Goemon Ramen Bar, Brighton

Japanese is definitely my favourite cuisine, I love everything from maki to matcha and from soba noodles to silken tofu. No exceptions! Whilst I was visiting Tokyo last year I fell in love with ramen hence why I'm super excited to share the deets of this hot new restaurant with you. Goemon Ramen Bar recently opened on Brighton's Preston Street (often known locally as restaurant street) and, as the name suggests, they specialise in Japanese ramen. 

When they launched they had a vegetarian option on the menu which was veganisable and they've recently expanded that section of the menu to add some great 100% vegan options.

Vegan in... Austin!

These past two weeks have been a total whirlwind of excitement, travel, stress and just plain old getting shit done.

May 5th saw Nick and I hopping onto a flight from Bangkok to Heathrow and from there we headed straight to Brighton for six nights of BFF shaped food and fun at Tabitha's house. I managed to see almost every single person I like that week; I met up with friends at the new Loving Hut on Gardner Street, had dinner at Pho (which I have to admit was a little disappointing after eating the real thing all over Vietnam) with all of Nick's old friends, hung with Randi at both VBites and Boho Gelato (they made me pistachio!) and caught up with Sal for sleepover fun, much chatting and a whole lotta Pizza Face.

I also managed to cram in a whole lot of Vego bars and blustery seafront walks. It was a strong week! I also managed to get my zine, European Vegan, 99% finished which I was super excited about. Having not only a place to just sit still but also a printer really helped with the zine productivity!

After six days in Brighton Nick and I were on the move again and we had Austin in our sights. After some tasty eats at Cornucopia in Dublin, their potato salad is so amazing, and my first time ever sleeping on the floor at an airport we were winging our way to Austin.

We arrived last tuesday and checked into our super cute Air B&B. A combination of research and local knowledge from our previous trips totally paid off and we're in a brilliant location. We can walk to Barton Springs and we're a 10 minute drive from both Wheatsville and Whole Foods which is perfect. I'm definitely going to be blogging more about the food I've been eating so far but here are some of the highlights...

The Vegan Nom! I have been craving a Del Ray, their "fish" taco, since we left Austin last September and I was super excited to be reunited with it. In fact, as soon as I finish writing this, I'm going to go and grab another one because it's just so damn good. Breaded, black pepper coated faux fish, crispy cabbage and a lime creme all topped off with perfectly ripe avocado and even more black pepper... it's perfect.

Via 313 is another spot I've been dreaming of non-stop and I couldn't wait to get a slice (or four) of their vegan margherita pizza into my mouth. They use Follow Your Heart cheese and it's baked right into the perfectly oily Detroit style crust before being topped off with the most delicious marinara sauce. So damn good! I enjoyed checking out their new sit down location in Oak Hill because the Friday night bar scene really isn't my thing but I'll definitely be revisiting their truck at Violet Crown when it's quieter.

As well as eating I've been hanging out with all of the wonderful Austin (and Portland!) vegans at quiz nights, on patios, at ramen joints, at brunch spots and ice cream parlours and even in their kitchens! It's been a blast and I am beyond excited that I get to be here for four more weeks. I also managed to swing by the brand new Rabbit Food Grocery to grab some fun treats and I've been getting down with the huge range of American vegan products, from s'more fudge to canned vegan tuna and everything in-between I've probably tried it! More on that next time but as it's the first time I've ever had more than a microwave in the US you can bet your ass I've been getting a little crazy in the kitchen.

Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, my zine was 99% finished when I left Brighton and now it's 100% a reality and I am so excited about it! I've been working on it for about 7 or 8 months because translating everything and then getting it all checked over by fluent / native speakers is process to say the least. European Vegan is a pocket sized guide to reading labels Europe-wide. For years I've made lists of all of the ingredients I'd like to avoid at home and translated them into the language of the country I've been heading to, my zine sees that through to it's logical conclusion with translations in 32 languages to help make shopping abroad a breeze.

I've used the lists to find churros in a Spanish hypermarket, fun snacks at a Bratislavan health food store, and to suss out which sausages are egg free in a Belgian supermarket so it's a tried and tested method of finding vegan eats when you can't read the language. As well as including translations for things like eggs, milk and honey the zine also covers you if you're looking for shoes or clothes with translations for leather, silk, wool etc included too. If being able to shop abroad easily isn't enough of a draw I'm also donating 20% of the sale price to the League Against Cruel Sports because after the hideous election results our furry friends in the UK need our help more than ever.

European Vegan is on sale now in my Big Cartel store. It's currently shipping first class airmail from the USA so if you're in Europe please be patient as it won't arrive quite as speedily as if I was sending it from the UK. If you need it urgently I can send you any page you need as a PDF document as soon as you purchase a copy! If you're heading to Austin for Vida Vegan Con firstly, yay! I am excited to hang out with you! And secondly, I'll be selling European Vegan at the Speakers Table at the Vegan Bazaar next Friday so you can grab a copy in person.

The Final Nail, Brighton.

I don't consider myself to be a make up person. I gave up wearing make up years and years ago just to see if I could, and because in summer my allergies are so bad that I'd spend 90% of the time looking like a panda anyway, and I went years without it. Now I occasionally wear a little eye sparkle, mascara or lip colour for fun but it's nice to not feel like I need it y'know. Nail polish is a whole 'nother thing, I don't really even see nail polish as make up, it's just another way to add a pop of colour to my day to day look and I love colours and patterns and glitter! Nail polish is totally one of the things I'm going to miss whilst I'm travelling as those little glass bottles aren't carry-on compatible...I totally stashed a couple of bottles of polish and a box of Superdrug's nail polish removing wipes amongst the extra stuff I'll be taking in the van though and boy was picking those two colours a challenge!

I'm super conscientious when I'm choosing nail products because animal testing was at the forefront of my veganism. For me veganism definitely isn't just about what I'm eating, it's what I'm wearing and where my money's going when I shop too. I actually stopped buying animal tested household, make up & personal care products years before I quit dairy, eggs and honey but I would still say that it's the the most challenging part about being vegan. Why? Because big companies and corporations are shady as hell when it comes to animal testing! They make confusing statements which will insist that they didn't test the product on animals (so, they paid someone else to) or that the final product wasn't tested (read: but we did test the individual ingredients / paid someone else to do so on our behalf) and then there are the parent company issues which mean that even Vegan Society certified products like Original Source aren't actually cruelty free because they're owned by PZ Cuzzons one of the worlds biggest animal testers. Amimals die in horrific ways in laboratories every day and buying products from a company who are owned by someone who tests on animals, like with The Body Shop and L'oreal or Tom's of Maine and Colgate, means that your money is supporting that. Same in the case of companies like Urban Decay who made the decision to sell in China despite knowing it meant that they would need to test on animals, to simplify that decision they basically chose profits over bunnies which isn't cool at all. 

I definitely know vegans who think that these parent company issues don't matter and I think it's up to you as an individual to draw your own line but these issues matter to me and I think I'm showing that it is possible to avoid giving money to these companies if that's what you want to do. I'm not claiming to be perfect (I still haven't found an acceptable alternative to Mitchum's antiperspirant deodorant - update! Yes I have. In love with Lush's Aromaco!) but this is an ideal that I strive towards. To find out more check out this guide from Uncaged or come and chat to the beauty obsessed peep's in The Mall area of The PPK forums.

The reasons I've just laid out are why I was so happy when I got an e-mail from local salon The Final Nail a few days ago letting me know that after 6 months of research and sourcing products they are now the place to go in Brighton if you want a 100% vegan & cruelty free manicure or pedicure. How awesome! I've actually e-mailed many local salons in the last two or three years trying to find someone to fancy up my nails and had come up with nothing, sure there are some places with vegan nail polishes if you're willing to let the cruelty free thing slide or places where yep they know what's in the polishes and they're ok from a cruelty free perspective but they have no idea about polish removers, hand creams etc. The Final Nail is refreshingly different and I could tell after a quick e-mail convo that they knew what they were talking about, excitingly they also use Floss Gloss, a brand I'd been dying to try for a while.

I went in yesterday for a complimentary mani pedi from Alex and Lilli the ladies behind this alternative salon where piercings and coloured hair are a-ok.

We started with the manicure and after Alex put on the Orly base coat I picked Floss Gloss's Con Limon which I luuurve. It's SO BRIGHT which is getting me extra excited about it only being six days until I'll be lying on a beach in the sun. It was topped off with Seche Vite's topcoat which is what I use at home thanks to my make up loving buddy Sal's expert recommendation. 

Tofu 4 Lyfe

Having a pedicure was just as lovely as getting a manicure and I chose Floss Gloss's Wet which just so happens to match the flowers I have tattooed on my feet. Perfect.

Despite having wanted to give having a mani pedi a go for a while I was a little nervous about the whole experience but Alex and Lilli were ridiculously easy to talk to and soon an hour and a half had whizzed by and my nails had been all fancied up!

The Final Nail is located below PORTA at 4 Bond Street which is wonderfully close to all sorts of vegan friendly eateries including Infinity Foods Kitchen, Larder, and Gelato Gusto. Vegan manicures start at £25 and they also do vegan and cruelty free Gelicure manicures and nail art. You can find The Final Nail on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. 

The Great Moshimo Vegan Challenge

Last Thursday saw Brighton's Moshimo hosting an event that's always a highlight on my foodie calendar, The Great Moshimo Vegan Challenge. Once a year Moshimo go vegan for an evening and chefs from all over the city compete to create the most inventive, beautiful and delicious small dishes. The event was thought up by owners Karl and Nicholas as they pondered what would happen to Moshimo if fish socks did run out. Obviously my vegan perspective on this is that they should stop using fish altogether to help save the oceans and to cease contributing to any animal cruelty but I do appreciate that they were one of the first places to remove blue fin tuna from their menu, to add vegan options and to focus on sustainable methods of fishing. Steps in the right direction for sure and it's a great spot to eat at with non vegan friends an family who aren't so open to a vegan meal.

The opinions expressed here are a mix of mine and my dining companions as due to my chilli allergy I had to skip or eat a modified version of some of the dishes.

The first dish out of the kitchen was a sample platter of three dishes from the vegan bento box that will be appearing on the winter menu shortly. I was excited by this strong start to the evening as my only real criticism of last years event was regarding the lack of Moshimo's own regular vegan menu items. In 2011 and 2012 there were plenty of their own small plates available for sampling, from edamame to dumplings via their inventive maki, but last year there was none of that which everyone at my table thought was a shame. I'm glad they responded to feedback and sent their own dishes out again this year.

The seaweed and inari tofu salad, sweet potato croquettes with ume and steamed pumpkin were all excellent. I've never been happier to have a pumpkin hating diner sitting next to me! This actually turned out to be one of my favourite dishes and I can't wait to go and get myself a bento box as soon as it appears on the menu.

The first competition entrant was Terre à Terre with their pickled lotus and kimchee dish with bean sprouts, lychee and coriander.

This could have been great, it seemed to have a vegan creamy cheesy sauce thing going on in there (something I'd love to see appearing on Terre à Terre's own menu!) but unfortunately it wasn't great. One of my dining companions described it as "like that curry they serve on BA flights to the USA", not great praise I'm sure we can agree.

Edamame was next, not a part of the competition but always a favourite snack of mine.

Cashew Catering went next in the competition with a dish that was one of my favourites for sure. The mixed mushroom and edamame stuffed mochi scored well across the board gaining some of my highest scores for taste, innovation and presentation.

I've never had hot mochi before and deep frying it definitely changed the texture from gelatinous to soft and almost potato croquette like. It was excellent with the accompanying ume but even better dipped in soy sauce. I'm pleased to say that the other diners agreed with my high scores as Cashew Catering came third overall.

My favourite dumplings from Moshimo's menu were next, they're deep fried to perfect crispiness and they're incredibly delicious. I usually order a couple of portions every time I eat there.

Next up was a dish that could only have been made by VBites who were the overall winners of the challenge yet again. This sprouting maki was inspired by donburi one of my favourite Japanese dishes. Donburi pretty much translates to bowl and in an inventive twist VBites put the rice both inside maki and shaped into onigiri and topped them with teriyaki vegan chicken and wasabi caviar. Mine arrived sans caviar but you can see Randi's in the background and Moshimo owner Karl was lovely enough to drop a sample off at our table and later we found out that it was Caviart brand, something I'm already a fan of but I'd never have considered picking the wasabi flavour!

Whilst this scored highly for innovation and won the competition I'd have preferred a straight up teriyaki vegan chicken maki. The teriyaki chicken itself was a favourite across our whole table, it was definitely one of the best things I ate all evening and something I'd love to see added to either VBites or Moshimo's menu. If either of them added a donburi dish like this one from LOVE Pacific Cafe in Nagoya to their menus I'd be there quicker than they could say deep fry!

The next dish from Indian Summer was one I had to eat a modified version of but the consensus from everyone at my table was that it was kinda tasteless and unenjoyable texturally. In fact when Randi and I compared notes she's just written "weird, very weird" and I had written "very odd". We think that just about summed it up.

More dishes from the Moshimo menu came out next to bridge the gap between competition dishes. I love both the cucumber and avocado maki, especially on a Monday or Tuesday night when everything on the menu is half price to Moshimo Members card holders, then I super love them!

Dish numer five was a Japanese rice cracker dish with a gochujang and miso glaze and a cucumber and tigers milk salad. My table enjoyed this Korean and South American fusion twist from 64 Degrees and agreed that it had a nice level of spice. I found the texture of the rice crackers themselves really moorish. The texture was strange, chewy and almost gummy inside but I just couldn't stop eating them!

The flour tortilla used here made this one immediately stand out as La Choza's entry. It was stuffed with habanero chills, squash, avocado and it came atop a wasabi sauce. Apparently the heat overwhelmed the flavours. It also made Randi sneeze into her water glass twice which was kinda hilarious, bonus point?!

Dish seven stood out to us as a potential winner despite the excessive use of quinoa. I loved the nori cracker and we all thought that the tofu fish was really inventive. The yuzu ketchup was super tasty too. It was also fried. Yup. Always the sign of a winner! This dish came in second and could only have been better if they'd used less quinoa.

The last dish was, and I'm not going to pull any punches here, definitely the worst thing we ate that evening. It sounded promising, thinly sliced kohlrabi topped with shiitake mushrooms, mizuna, sesame dressing and toasted sesame seeds. Unfortunately this thing was swimming in oil (and you know I'm no oil phobic vegan) and topped with a truly excessive amount of sesame seeds. It was ridiculous. Blech.

Thankfully dessert was on it's way and Moshimo had veganised the chocolate mousse from their regular dessert menu. They did this once before and my feedback wasn't great (it was super bitter) so I'm super happy they listened and gave this a whirl again but this time with some sweetener in the form of agave. This was spot on and of course I suggested that they add it to their menu instead of the dairy filled version.

Overall we had an enjoyable evening but the quality of the entries was, if I'm completely honest, way down on previous years. There were still some good dishes but they were all surpassed by Moshimo's own creations and nothing stood out in the way that some of the dishes from 2011 or 2012's event did. I can't help but wonder if this is because everyone taking part is doing it out of their own pockets? This years event was for charity but if the companies involved are paying for both ingredients and covering staff costs it must be difficult to choose the pricier ingredients or more laborious prep methods year after year. Maybe a shake up of the entrants is in order?

Infinity Kitchen

Infinity Foods recently rebranded and reopened what was the Infinity Foods Cafe and what is now Infinity Foods Kitchen after a month long refit and revamp and it looks gorgeous both inside and out.

They now have canteen style dining for lunch and there are rotating specials which, over the last week, have included pasta and Autumnal veggie bakes, Shepherd's pie and a Japanese platter that I'm kicking myself for missing out on because it sounded perfect. Next time!

It's so light and bright inside and I love the revamped upstairs area, instead of one large table near the window there are three small counter style tables facing out on the street. They're absolutely perfect for dog / people watching.

They've added some great new options to the breakfast menu including pancakes. Pancakes! So exciting! You can add syrup or fruit or go big and add both syrup and fruit which is clearly the best option.

These were some seriously fantastic pancakes and I love that they've gone with European style pancakes rather than American style. They were really delicious and I loved the medley of maple syrup, berry coulis and fruit. This is even a situation where banana totally worked for me! Thankfully some of the classic Infinity Foods breakfasts are present on the new Infinity Kitchen menu (I suspect it's because they knew I'd riot if they took my favourite breakfast away!) so my dining partner ordered that and we shared both dishes.

This is a seriously great breakfast, the toast's perfect, I love the fried polenta and despite thinking it could do with a touch more salt or maybe some nutritional yeast I love that they're making tofu scramble now. They do my favourite sausage in town too and they're the only place in the city that includes veggie bacon as part of their brekkie, my fave. Yum town!

Delicious breakfasts aside I'm always in the market for a sweet treat and Infinity Kitchen have decided to make all of their desserts vegan which is so rad. There are almost no un-veganisable sweets these days if you know the correct egg substitution and I love it when places make a real effort with the vegan desserts. I tried the Raw Chocolate and Almond Cake and a Magic Energy Ball a few weeks ago and a Pistachio and Orange Blossom cupcake a week after that.

These were all excellent and I was just super surprised to note that the chocolate torte was sugar free. It was really, really good and sugar free isn't my usual jam. I loved the energy ball too and it makes a great on the go snack. The pistachio orange blossom cupcake had a dense almost muffin like texture and I liked that the icing wasn't too sweet, it's a super fun flavour too and I'll definitely be picking up another one soon. I've also tried the chocolate gateaux (yum!) and Nick loved the chocolate and vanilla cheesecake he tried this afternoon.

There's also a new grab-and-go fridge full of sandwiches, soups, dips, salads and drinks which makes Infinity Kitchen a great place to grab lunch on the go.

They even have vegan panninis which include Vegusto Melty Cheese & Tomato and Sausage and Spicy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto.

You can get them heated up to go or to eat in making them a great new North Laine lunch option, I love a hot melty cheesy sandwich.

Yum indeed! Infinity Foods Kitchen is open from 10:30 - 5 Monday to Friday, 10 - 5 Saturday and 11 - 4 Sunday. They serve breakfast from 10:30 to 12 Monday - Friday, 10 - 12 on Saturday and 11 - 2 on Sunday. I've also noticed that they often discount sandwiches and things in the last hour or so of business so if you work in the area you can grab a bargain before you head home for the day. Keep an eye on their Facebook and / or Twitter accounts for the daily specials.

Disclaimer: Infinity invited me to come over for a complimentary breakfast because they're the nicest but I paid for everything else.

Recent Brighton Eats: Casa don Carlos and VBites

Aside from being situated in the very same city these two restaurants have absolutely nothing in common. VBites is entirely vegan, Casa don Carlos doesn't even have v's marking the vegetarian items on their menu. Why, you might ask, would I even bother visiting the latter when the former exists? Well, it's my dad's favourite restaurant and last night was the night my family got together to celebrate his birthday. Usually we come to some kind of dining compromise and end up at Pizza Express but on my 30th we all ventured to Terre à Terre so for my dad's 70th it seemed only right that I back down and venture into his preferred restaurant.

Things didn't start of overly well at Casa don Carlos, there was no online menu for me to scope out but, as I had to go in at lunchtime to confirm our evening booking, I took that quiet opportunity to warn them that there were two vegans in our group and was handed the gluten free menu. This is something I've heard much talk of, the confusion people seem to have between the two vastly different dietary restrictions, but it had never happened to me until now. After some explaining the proprietor told me that it might not be very exciting but that I wouldn't starve. Just what every paying diner wants to hear!

The olives we started with were far from unexciting though, in fact I'd go as far as to say that they were ridiculously good, some of the best olives I've ever eaten and by far the best I've tried in the UK. These were green and not at all oily and I polished off at least one dish full all by myself. There is no picture as the first plate was demolished almost immediately and the placement of the second meant there was no good meat-free shot and nobody wants to see that. I also dived headfirst into the bread which I ate with olive oil rather than the garlic mayo it was served with. I do not understand the appeal of mayo on bread. Chips, sure, bread no. I didn't feel like I was missing out! I also ordered the Potatoes with Mojo Sauce, the Gazpacho and the Garlic Mushrooms.

We were told that the Mojo sauce on the potatoes was going to be very hot but I wanted to give them a whirl as I thought the dish looked to be one of the more exciting ones on the vegetable side of the menu. These were really delicious, the potatoes were perfectly cooked with their skins on but the sauce was not at all spicy, as you might've heard I'm very sensitive to chilli based heat and these didn't even register. I'd totally order them again but if spicy is what you're looking for this isn't going to be the dish for you. The gazpacho was great, it's pretty hard not to impress me with gazpacho though. I love it and I've never met one I didn't like. I was pretty excited when I heard that the Garlic Mushrooms were cooked in oil and not butter but I was less impressed when, upon tasting them, they tasted nothing like garlic. I mean, I could see plenty of garlic bit the dish was pretty flavourless. Next time I'd skip this one and try something else but I'm happy to report that there will be a next time. My dad will be pleased! We'll definitely avoid friday night next time though, the incredibly loud group of 30 or so throwing things at each other from table to table, drunkenly shouting and inappropriately groping each other on their way to and from the bathroom was annoying to say the least.

VBites is an entirely different dining experience to Casa don Carlos, partly because they're entirely vegan and partly because you can't eat there in the evening even if your dining companions are up for a vegan meal. VBites recently extended their opening hours until 7pm but despite trying to eat there at 6:17 one day I was told that the kitchen was closed. This seems pretty stupid, nobody who finishes work at 6 could get there much before then which crosses VBites off of the list for the post-work crowd. I was actually wondering why I don't eat at VBites much after this delicious meal and I realised it's totally because of the hours, I tend to eat out, or get take out, with Nick and as he works pretty regular retail hours we hardly ever get to go to VBites together.

Anyway, my vegan meet up group met up last sunday for a spot of adventure golf which is essentially sport and therefore makes you hungry. Fish and Chips was on the specials menu and I couldn't resist despite also being tempted by my regular order, the Hickory Chick Burger, or one of the pizzas.

The Fish & Chips comes with two fishless fish steaks, hand cut chips, minted peas and tartare sauce. They also happily gave us a generous amount of mayo and ketchup for the table with no charge. I'm always pleased when places do this as charging for condiments just makes a place look cheap.

This was legit delicious, the fishless steaks are one of my all-time fave' VBites products but they really need to be eaten alongside chips which I can't often be bothered to cook at home. I was suspicious about the minty peas as I'm not usually a fan but, despite there being a little fresh mint in there, they really didn't taste very minty - this will be either a positive or a negative depending on your opinion of minted peas! The chips were amazing and there were the perfect amount of them, one of my fellow golfers suggested the meal would have been better with half of the chips but they clearly aren't as committed to carbs as I am - this was perfect, don't go changing! I also happily polished off all of that tartar sauce as well as a decent helping of mayo with my chips. I really want to go out and eat this again right now but obviously by the time I manage to put on a bra and grab some shoes they'll be closed so I'll just have to cook my own damn dinner.