One of the many great things about being vegan is, when it comes to choosing where (or what) to eat, there are usually only a few options, making decisions pretty easy! On my trip to Barcelona, whichever neighbourhood I happened to find myself in, I did a quick search of 'vegan' in maps, and walked to the first place within a 20 minute walk. The next great thing is, that almost always vegan places are super cute and lovely. Hesitant as ever whether my trip would lead to a compromise of my vegan lifestyle, Barcelona had me pleasantly surprised with vegan cafes, bakeries and options on every block! 7 Vegan Pit Stops in Barcelona For a really good dinner at the best price in Barcelona don't hesitate to come to Veggie Garden! They have a set menu for about 9 euros getting you an abundant starter, bread, main, pudding and wine or water. You won't find better anywhere! There is a changing daily menu with several choices but you can also eat à la carte. From lasagna, to calzones, to curry, you'll be spoiled for choice!
I'd rather lost hope in vegan burgers, having been confronted with less than satisfactory texture and taste on too many occasions. For me, mushing some beans together with a few spices just doesn't cut it. La Trocadero, however, does! They have a large choice of all vegan burgers to choose from and I didn't regret my choice of a crispy and firm Campburg with roasted red peppers, caramelized onion and 'cheese'. For a meal deal of €8 you can get a delicious juice and herbed potatoes too! I felt really indulged, not to mention the interior is as usual gorgeous!
While not an all vegan place this place has a great menu of vegan pizzas with great 'cheese'! They also do a good sangria and have outdoor seating in a lovely square for the evening. Not an Italian classic, this one was topped with spinach and sweet currants and had a mouthwatering crust.
If you've been wandering round the park or shops of El Born you can stop by this little place for something to take away, or if it's rainy go inside their cosy cave. They have everything from Empanadas, various vegan lasagnas, seitan and meat alternatives, vegetables and potatoes, as well as cakes. There's not much space but a few bar seats to sit on in the entrance too. After exhausting myself in Park Güell I walked down (via a bit of shopping) in search of something to eat. This is about a 15 minute downhill walk. It was a beautiful day and they only have indoor seating here and it was very busy but they happily said they could do me anything to take away. In case you fancy sitting down, it's a beautiful space as you can see. The staff are lovely and I think the owners are Italian (but then Catalan and Italian are more similar than I thought so maybe I confused them!) It's not the cheapest place you'll find but not expensive either and I saw my pasta, tofu, veg and sauce being cooked before my eyes. Park Güell tip: much of the park is free to roam in and has a nice outlook over the city. However to enter the 'monumental area' where most of the Gaudi buildings are you need to book a time online then join the appropriate queue for your time slot. This system works quite well meaning it's not overcrowded and you don't have to wait.
I found this place after visiting La Pedrera (also known as Casa Milà) although it was a bit of a walk. The owner was a little vacant and didn't acknowledge me at all when entering and standing at the bar and inquiring! Most of the small seating areas were occupied so eventually I went and found the owner from behind and asked some food to take away. I got some spinach quiche and a pumpkin empanada which he furnishes with some tomatoes spread on seeded bread. The 'quiche' wasn't amazing but the range of vegan empanadas was the best I'd seen yet and it turned out filling me up for good value. I walked down to sit in the sun in a flowery square as you can see.
If you're ever stuck for where to go, there's bound to be a Vegetalia around the corner! Well we often get a bad feeling about chains, but it can't be bad if it's a vegan/vegetarian chain right?! They are usually set in nice squares with outdoor seating and hippie interiors. The menu is broad with plenty to choose from at decent prices. This sharing platter was a-maz-ing! I'd advise against the pizzas though...having lived a few years in Italy, my experience of pizzas in Barcelona was a bit of a shock!
If you're down on the beach and fancy something to eat, there's certainly quite a few restaurants and tapas bars around, but for an easy fix there's Bacao burger who have dedicated quite a bit of time to their vegan burger. You can even see a video for the recipe here on their dedicated webpage! Grab some chips and homemade ketchup and head back to the beach!
0 Comments
A trip down to Sicily can leave you thinking you might be missing out on the food scene if you follow a vegan diet. Fear not! A quick whizz around the the circumference of this island left me, my tastebuds and my stomach more than happy. Read on for where to go and what to eat! Typical dishesThe Sicilian diet in my opinion far outranks the typical Italian fare of pasta and pizza. It is a more rounded and perhaps healthy, mediterranean style diet that caters well to vegans and vegetarians. Being an island, naturally fish features strongly and in Palermo and other sea towns the specialities and primos all focus on local seafood, - but as a result the use of other meats seems much reduced. Sicily boasts verdant pistachios and their Sicilian pesto -as opposed to Genovese pesto from Genoa in the north of Italy - is made extra tasty with these nuts instead of pine nuts inside. Lemons and Sanguinelli, - blood oranges, are also famous on this island so you can enjoy fresh juice and fruits wherever you are, even stopping on the edge of a road for a refresher. The aubergines in this part of Italy exceed melanzane I've seen in any other part of the country. Bulbous, plump and a rich purple, they are far more appealing than the wrinkly black things you sometimes find and feel like they contain all the volcanic nutrients of Sicily's soil inside. They are also the base of the local dish Pasta alla Norma. Usually topped with a special salty baked ricotta you can ask them to leave it off or even ask for bread crumbs instead. SyracuseArancina Gluten Free When visiting Syracuse, there are only 2 places that should be on your list. First there is the archaeological park which is a beautiful walk on a sunny day through the necropolis, the enormous S-shaped cavern, the 'Ear of Dionysius', and one of the largest Greek amphitheatres. Then, if you're not already staying there you must go to Ortigia, the gorgeous little island which with its castles, turquoise sea, and charming curvy traffic-free streets, make it a perfect place to stroll around. At this stage in our trip I was determined to eat an Arancina - Sicilian fried-rice balls and was even considering a compromise for a vegetarian option, but everything we found had the traditional ragu - a small amount of bolognese like meat sauce - inside. Being winter many places were closed but trusty Google maps provided me the answer as I typed 'vegan' into its search engine and up popped 'Arancina Gluten Free'. This little joint is just over the bridge from the mainland, with the most bizarre nationalistic and military decoration, but, if you take away (which is also cheaper), is definitely worth putting up with! As the name suggests they are all gluten free, so the rice isn't fried in wheat batter, and are meant to be more digestible. If you don't visit in the dead of winter as we did, he'll have the oven on too where he can even bake the arancini for a healthier option. There is a list of 6 vegan options. I had one with pistachios, pesto and curry and another with creamy porcini mushrooms. Grab a freshly squeezed blood orange juice and head to the quay with the boats to look out to sea! Palermo I love Palermo, it has quite a calm, civilised feel amongst the supposed Sicilian chaos, beautiful architecture from its rich history and plenty of these awesome Magnolian Fig trees! Fud Although at first relucant, due to its very loud atmosphere, shared tables and not so Sicilian looking menu, if you fancy something a little different, try FUD where everything is written in purposefully bad phonetic spelling. We had a bottle of the 'haus uain' for example. They have several vegan burgers, sandwiches or wraps on their menu and I went for this seitan kebab piadina which was very tasty, if a little overdone on the vegan salad cream and iceberg lettuce. Beware of the chips which are these thin fried potatoes often known as 'crisps' instead! Ke Palle If you're not quite done with Arancine or if you're looking for a pick-me-up snack, stop off at the humorously named Ke Palle (Literally 'what balls!', in the sense of bollocks, an expression used to express disappointment or irritation). They have an abundant array of arancini with a clearly marked vegan selection. I tried one of these warming oven baked ones and it was delicious! Cafe Cartari We happily stumbled upon this cosy little eatery not far off the main road. Dishes were a bargain at 4€ each so we hungrily ordered 2 each! Here I started with a warming chickpea soup and followed up with a caponata, deliciously stewed aubergines. Pasta dishes come up at the same price and you can pretty much request anything from the owner, such as pasta alla norma (no cheese please) or pasta with broccoli (no anchovies please), as they cook it up fresh for order. TaorminaIf you're in the region of Catania, the beautiful town of Taormina is an hour or so north and provides beautiful views from their well-preserved Greek amphitheatre. If you're lucky, the view should include Mount Etna where above you see just clouds. Continue your drive -or take the local bus- up the incredibly steep winding roads to Castelmola and savour the spectacular heights! De Gustibus While not specifically targeting vegans, with salads and juices for the summer and a choice of warming broad bean, chickpea or lentil soups with homemade bread for the winter, De Gustibus should have you sorted for something to eat. Nothing particularly special and not the cheapest, but it has an elegant seating area and a friendly owner. On the Road to Syracuse - Priolo GargalloDelizie dei Sensi Driving from Catania towards Modica -the highway that goes to Syracuse- hunger got the better of me and we decided to get off at the next junction. Just a 2 minute drive into the village of Priolo Gargallo led us to this 5 star spot full of locals playing cards on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. No particular menu, the waiter asked us what we wanted. My boyfriend asked what vegetables they have - spinach and brocolli - and then requested a pasta with those. Not a problem! I can think of a fair few places in Italy where personal requests do not go down well or at least not without a little shrivel of the nose, but here they didn't bat an eye-lid. I went for tomato and aubergine, - alla norma. The results were fantastic. We were brought a little appetiser of tomato and olive oil bruschetta while we waited, followed by two enormous plates of pasta. After a bit of wine, mineral water, coffee and a complementary biscuity pudding to nibble on, I couldn't believe it when we were just charged a flat 7€ each!
If you're visiting or moving to Rome and don't want to miss out on the food scene, I hope to provide you with some pitstops from a full Roman dinner to a quick snack or gelato and where to do your shopping! You don't have to feel left out, or embarrassed about expressing your diet choice in most Italian cities. Some people and places will always kick up a fuss or pretend not to understand. We've all heard the same silly questions... "So....can you eat...bread...?" But since Italy's primary industry is tourism, catering to the needs of their international visitors is what businesses do best, and that means adapting to the rise of veganism too. It's true that fundamental to some of Rome's traditional dishes are cheese and meat. 'Cacio e Pepe' is pasta stirred with pecorino cheese and black pepper. Simple, delicious, vegetarian, but not vegan. Carbonara, another Roman speciality requires cheese and guanciale - boar cheek (sorry, -rather graphic perhaps). However, another very famous Roman dish is Carciofi alla Romana or Carciofi alla Giuda. Artichokes with lots of olive oil, in the latter case, deep fried. This is 100% vegan, bingo! Definitely not raw though...Raw foodists should scroll down for a bit. Below, I provide some vegan pitstops for every occasion, but if you do find yourself, as is often the case, stuck in any old Roman trattoria look out for: pasta e ceci or pasta e fagioli. Failing that, get the minestre. These are all soups. The first, with chickpeas and pasta is totally delicious and I can't seem to replicate it at home. The second, pasta with beans, usually borlotti, is equally mysteriously yummy, thick and warming. Finally, you can't go wrong with the third option of a mixed vegetable minestrone, (no pasta). Almost all places will have at least one, if not all of these hearty dishes to leave you satisfied. So, beginning with my hands down favourite place for vegan food in Rome and where you can some of this Roman food whether you're an omnivore, vegetarian or vegan, take a look at this list to have you covered for your trip to Rome! Vegan eats in Rome Classic Roman dinner - Rifugio RomanoFor a real Roman culinary experience go to Rifugio Romano, at the top of Via Nazionale, a 5 minute walk from Termini. They have all the Italian and Roman specialities in both traditional and vegan form. They actually have an entire separate vegan menu. So for those who like exclusive places, there is meat in this restaurant, but they must have a very dedicated and clever vegan chef who can make all the cheesy pizzas, pastas and calzones with vegan ingredients. They also usually have special vegans meals of the day which usually amount to about 10 different dishes involving seitan and tofu cooked in various ways and with various sauces and vegetables. Seitan steaks with creamy mushrooms are a recommendation! Buffet lunch - 100% BioWhen I'm taking a trip to Ostia this is my pitstop for a delicious vegan calzone to go. They always have different fillings of tempeh, setain, tofu and veg, and they're always delightful. At 3€ each, I sometimes take 2 for the whole day! Right in the piazza at Piramide, this is not only 100% vegan but 100% organic as the name suggests. They have everything from coffees, muffins and juices to a sumptuous daily lunch buffet priced on weight. You have to be careful, because it is abundant and a vegan's heaven...but it weighs and before you know it you've got a plate worth double what you intended to pay. A normally large portion might come in at about 14€. On a sunny day it's worth it to sit outside and watch the world go by, plus there's a 10% discount for under 25s and if you come on a bike! Burgers - Flower BurgerIf you're in Rome long enough, you might start wanting something to different to eat and at Flower Burger you can bite down into a beautiful selection of vegan burgers complete colourful home-made bun and potato wedge chips. Not far from the Vatican, if you're famished after a long traipse around the Sistine chapel try stopping by here for a 'cherry bomb' burger! Gelato - Olive DolciThis one is clever. Many gelaterias have dairy free and vegan options sign-posted. Some limit this to just fruit flavours -sorbetti- other's will manage a dark chocolate -fondente- and maybe even a pistachio or other vegan alternative. Olive Dolci has over 30 vegan ice creams to choose from as well as a range of ice lollies and cakes and a very sweet cat. They are all entirely free from animal products and made very cleverly with olive oil (hence the name 'sweet olives'), carob flour, and muscovado sugar. With this many flavours the selection ranges from standard to interesting to outright unusual such as Ginger and Zibibbo! They've recently opened another store and can be found both by Manzoni metro and over in Piazza Cavour. Nuts and fruit - Mercato Vittorio Emanuele Each zone of Rome has a covered market open most days and they all sell fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, cheese and more or less everything you can think of. The area near Termini main station of Esquilino is one largely inhabited by the Asian community of Rome and this makes it my choices for both price and selection. I stock up on beautiful pistachios, cashews, walnuts, herbs, spices, lentils of every colour and every legume you can imagine at unbeatable prices. There's a lot of effortless haggling to be done - by which I mean you ask the price and they lower it 2 euros than the written price so nuts here usually cost around 13€ a kilo whereas in Testaccio market you pay between 20-22€! Afternoon tea with cats - Romeow Cat BistrotIt's hard to decide whether the cats or the food are more beautiful. Firstly I strongly recommend you follow their gorgeous instagram account here for a good dose of heartwarming sunshine. While this bistrot restuarant and 'cat cafe' has top class vegan gourmet chefs, it's that type of fancy food that is amazing to look at and very tasty but just a bit too fussy and small a portion to fill you up for an evening. For this reason -and the slightly but justifiably high price tags- that I prefer this spot to hang out for a tea or hot chocolate (still a little hefty at 4-6€ but they do provide adorable yummy home made biscuits). The decor is beautiful, the staff float with a feline warmth and plant-based gentleness that reminds me a bit of being in a spa. But this spa has furry treatments of soft sweet rescue cats; if you're lucky enough that they should deign to approach you that is! Light lunch - Foodie In Piazza Testaccio, not far from the market where there is a vegan food shop not especially worth going given the vegan options available in many supermarkets, there is a little nameless corner store selling organic vegetables but also juices, soups, salads and even a burger. The name is apparently 'Foodie Fresh Market' but I'm still yet to see it written anywhere. Nothing outstanding but definitely a great tasty vegan option if you're in the area and it's nice to step out and sit in the sunny piazza and watch all the goings-on! Sandwich on the go and RAW options - Manna Not far from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele -admittedly not somewhere you're likely to find yourself on a short trip to Rome- there's this little pit stop with various vegan and vegetarian soups, raw bites and falafel balls, salads and sandwiches as well as all the juices you could want. Not being something that I buy often as I'm a bit wary of vegan dairy alternatives, I went for a sandwich containing vegan cheese and was pleasantly surprised. It was much larger than I expected, on a toasty roll and brimming with filling. Perhaps not the most elegant or homogenous of paninis but definitely filling and good value at €4.50. Where to shop? - NaturasiWhile I don't feel that good about promoting a supermarket chain and I certainly don't do all my shopping here, this is where you can find anything particular vegan if you're looking for it. While the organic fruit, veg and nuts come in at ridiculous prices, rolled oats, plant milks and many other products are very reasonable. The key products I get here are:
This said, almost every other supermarket chain has vegan products available, including vegan burgers -ubiquitous, I don't know why they all think vegans have to eat vegan burgers, - tofu, tofu-based pesto (in the cold section Biffi has a range of 'vegetale' sauces), plant-based milks and also soy or rice-based cooking creams and béchamel sauces which I recently dared to try. It's a little irritating that a vegan ragu costs more than one that requires raising, feeding, cleaning, transporting and slaughtering an animal, but it's because overall for the health conscious Italians veganism is still a sort of trendy posh-mum healthy life choice rather than an ethical one and so in this sense the more expensive the fancier it seems, even if it is a few veg in a blender. -I usually stick to my own sauces for this reason as vegetables can be bought cheaply and abundantly at most street 'Ortofrutta's : Nutrition NoteUnlike in the UK where many breakfast cereals, biscuits, vegetable milks and soy products are fortified with vital nutrients like zinc, iron and B vitamins, in Italy it is extremely rare to find fortified foods. This is a shame for where you once could rely on at least getting a little boost from a bowel of cereal, it turns out that even the soy milk is virtually nutritionally empty. Usually a oats to make porridge sort of person I have now started buying Kellogg's thanks to the added folic acid, iron and B vitamins which is just a reassuring presence for me when I'm feeling a bit unwell or lacking. My favourite would be Bran Flakes, seemingly one of the least processed cereals and it is hilarious to find the chosen name for this product in Italy is 'Nice Morning'! Anyway if you're looking for fortified foods, you'll have to look for imported brands. If Italians still don't know what dishwashers are, you can't expect them to have vitamins in their processed foods. The one addition you'll always find though is iodine in the salt. Tastes a bit strange but is as normal as the addition of fluoride in British water, as the scare of 'iodine deficiency', a leading cause of preventable 'mental retardation' usually more susceptible to remote inland areas is real. A staple for a vegan diet is nutritional yeast, also known as NOOSH apparently, which can be grown in a vitamin B culture to create a tasty topping with a vitamin B source. But once again Italy fails us here and provides (not that)nutrional yeast without the precious Bs. I managed to find a fortified one eventually (more expensive) combined with a malt extract which had a slightly different texture and tangier taste and have eventually come round to it but it doesn't quite work on pasta as a parmesan replacement. Feel free to contact me for more advice about eating in Rome!
- Foodprintz
Breakfast, toasts, soup, juices, cakes and cookies and lunch mains. Also do yoga and meditation sessions - Jardim does Sentidos Great priced buffet lunch and dinner and cheap drinks. From lasagna to stews to 'meatballs', to salads, soups, tofu, grab a plate and help yourself! - The Food Temple Busy and tiny home cooking and shared tables. Be sure to book for the weekends as you will be turned away! - A Mercearia Saudável Beautiful interior, freshly prepared food, mainly vegan, closes at 7pm. You will find some fish featuring on the menu though. - Casa Indipendente Has a great menu of various tapas including vegan versions of traditional dishes involving tofu and seitan which I always like to see when out and about. Nice atmosphere with a large terrace and also has a club room with one of the most hilarious DJS I've ever witnessed. (see below) - Lisbon Vegan Dinner: RDA69 This alternative spot is often closed, sometimes a bike repair shop but through websites such as Couchsurfing keep an eye out for the weekly Vegan dinner currently on Friday's at 8pm. €3 for your meal! |
Archives
June 2018
Categories |