February 16, 2015

La Suite West

Vegan afternoon tea. Yes, it exists at La Suite West in London. 


An assortment of vegan tea sandwiches. Lots of great options here, even my omni husband enjoyed them. 


Followed by scones with coconut cream and strawberries. (This was not my favorite course, but I did love the concept and the presentation, and I was just so thrilled to have a full vegan three course menu).


Topped off with three beautiful little cakes. The cranberry orange was my favorite cake. 


And, of course, we had tea. 

Jacket potatoes at the Leeds train station

Now onto England...we were in Leeds for 24 hours. On the way back to London, we had time to kill and stopped by a traditional pub inside the station.


Jacket potatoes are really popular in the UK, and luckily baked beans are a very normal topping there. Their baked beans are completely tomato based, no bacon or other animal products are used. So they're totally safe, and great for breakfast there too! So, dinner was a jacket potato with baked beans with a side salad. So simple. 


La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Near Cojean, there was an adorable sweets shop called La Pâtisserie des Rêves. Of course, I assumed there was nothing for me. 


But then...I saw Pâtes de fruits. I love them so. And these had a hint of vanilla running through each of their fruit flavors, which was really unique. I kept them with me during the rest of our trip so that I had something sweet when surrounded by pain au chocolat, creme brûlée, and strawberry tarts that sadly I could not eat. 



Cojean

My cousin took us to a cute little casual restaurant, Cojean, with lots of veggie options. 


I chose their Veggie Thai salad with tofu, which was really fresh and flavorful. The tofu was sweet and chewy and the veggies were crisp and tangy. They also have really healthy granola bars, nuts and fruits for dessert. 


It's a great spot for a quick, but still healthy bite. 

Musee d'Orsay

My family and I visited Musee d'Orsay in Paris a couple of weeks ago...it was my first visit there. There were some really phenomenal paintings and photos, this one was one of my favorites. 


And after, we had lunch at their cafe. With nothing vegan on their menu, they were happy to come up with an altered version of one of their salads for me. 


A Rocket salad with sautéed mushrooms and onions with a balsamic dressing. It was really good, and with a baguette on the side, very filing. 


And the best part of lunch in France, a cafe and some dark chocolate. 


Cafe Pinson

Also in Paris, Cafe Pinson. We didn't have much time but I had to stop by for a dessert to take back to the hotel with me. 



They have a decent amount of vegan options, savory and sweet. I went for the Panna Cotta with Kiwi Coulis. Although I found the kiwi a bit of a strange pairing with the vanilla panna cotta, I did enjoy the panna cotta itself. 


Hank Burger

Heath and I recently made a trip to Europe for work + play. In Paris, we stopped by Hank Vegan Burger, short for Have A Nice Karma. 



The space is really cute. They have 5 different burger topic combinations or you can create your own. I had the l'Allume with smoked bbq sauce, red pepper, tomato, red onions, pickles and lettuce + I added vegan cheese. 


It was delicious. And their vegan cheese was super creamy and thick, and really flavorful. 


Rose City Chocolatier

My amazing vegan friends, Dave and Rachel, sent Heath and me this amazing box of vegan chocolates. They are beyond delicious. They are 100% vegan and not by accident. Rose City Chocolatier makes this box and it's so so lovely. Don't you love having vegan friends?!?!?!?




Mexican Radio . Hudson

For Valentine's Day, Heath and I went to Hudson NY for the weekend. It is such a cute town and there are so many amazing surrounding towns as well. There was a Mexican Radio across the street from our hotel, and since they are super vegan friendly we stopped by for a quick bite and to warm up. (They have a location in Manhattan that we frequent).

They had an awesome V Day special - Baja Vegetarian Fish Tacos with crispy seating, cabbage slaw, pico de gallo, guacamole and vegan crema.