UPDATE 12/07/09: sadly eat and two veg has shut down. 🙁 this sucks. read update here.

i have dined at loads of vegetarian/vegan restaurants in london, and one of my all-time favorites has to be eat and two veg. we go there at least once (usually twice) on every trip across the pond, and each visit leaves us loving it more and more. the trendy west end eatery has fashioned itself after an old school american diner—big red booths, a galvanized steel interior and neatly-dressed chefs (with white hats and all) make this place total 50s throwback heaven. big diffy is, while they serve up home cookin’, it’s all meat free and refreshingly healthy.

take for instance the full english breakfast…you know, the standard british morning meal filled with animal bits that almost every pub, diner, and cafe sells. well, eat and two veg offers a slap-up traditional-style breakfast as well, except it’s all either vegetarian or vegan. we of course opted for the vegan version, which came compete with grilled tofu, baked beans, toast and an array of hearty vegetables.

big vegan breakfast: tofu, tomato, mushrooms, beans, spinach and 2 toasts. £5.95

from looking at this picture, you may be thinking that this meal looks simple/boring/easy-to-make-at-home. let me tell ya, it was none of those things. this dish was exceptional. from the perfectly seasoned tofu, to the plump tomatoes and well sauteed mushrooms…everything was perfect. not to mention the excellent and insanely spicy fresh spinach, along with the crispy toast. if you ever go to london, don’t leave without trying this. it gives you the chance to enjoy the traditional english breakfast in all its vegan glory. you fucking deserve it.

to be fair, eat and two veg only has a few vegan options on the breakfast menu, the big breakfast pictured being one of them. if that doesn’t look good to you, you may want to skip the morning menu. the main menu has even more tempting vegan offeringsl…so you kind of have no excuse not to visit them.

plus, it’s not just about the food. all around eat and two veg is fucking immaculate and gorgeous. the service is great, the atmosphere is stunning and the ingredients are all top notch. they’re located in a really swish but quiet part of the west end called marylebone…just steps away from baker street station. go there.

eat and two veg
50 marylebone high street
london, w1u 5hn
020 7258 8595

quarrygirl’s tour of nyc continues! in this installment, we’re here to tell you all about a cozy little chinese joint in manhattan called zen palate.

you see, here in los angeles when you hear “vegan asian food”, you probably think of one of the 975,000 vegan thai restaurants that are so popular here. well, nyc is packed full of vegan options that aren’t thai food: chinese, korean, malaysian, you name it! what a relief.

granted these places are usually a lot more expensive than the thai ones i’m used to here in la, it’s usually pretty easy to sneak in on a lunch special and get a fixed price meal for not a lot of money. zen palate, a semi-fancy chinese vegetarian restaurant located right in the hustle and bustle of midtown, has a pretty good deal going where during the day, you can get an appetizer, rice and a tasty entree for just under ten bucks. plus, the menu has tons of vegan options and anything that contains dairy or eggs is clearly marked. my husband and i had to check it out.

shredded melody (with taro spring rolls and rice): shredded soy protein stir-fried with celery, carrots, zucchini, & pine nuts in a light garlic sauce. $9.50

my husband ordered the shredded melody, which was definitely the favorite at the table. it had so many vegetables, delicious and garlicky sauce with thin strips of soy meat. plus, it came with pine nuts…which i love and have never ever eaten an asian dish. seriously, so good. the taro rolls were delicious as well, albeit fried and pretty unhealthy tasting.

i opted for the tofu delight, because i love black bean sauce, and it was pretty good as well.

tofu delight (with taro spring rolls and rice): soft tofu with zucchini & tomatoes in a black bean sauce. $9.50

the tofu was soft and silken, but cooked sooooo nicely. i think they must have fried it, because the outside got kinda crispy and developed a bit of a skin, but the inside stayed fluffy and white. the black bean sauce was delicious as well, and perfectly coated the yummy array of vegetables. so lovely to have vegan chinese food for a change, and not have to worry about anything icky like fish stock or even cross-contamination. 🙂

overall, zen palate was lovely. judging by the menu, it may be a bit pricey for dinner, but their lunch specials are a deal and a half! the service is great as well, they were happy to accommodate my obsessive orders that nothing contain bell peppers, and they were quite knowledgeable about veganism upfront about their ingredients. plus the food came out in like 5 minutes….now that i like!

so check out zen palate when you visit nyc for some fast, tasty, no-brainer chinese food. ahhhhh, such a welcome rest from all this los angeles thai fare. 😀

i write this post for two reasons: to give you a wonderful, hearty chili recipe that can be ready in no time, AND to show you a great new product i just discovered.

extra protein seitan and worthington chili

this chili recipe is awesome, and soooooo full of protein…but even more importantly, i hope it introduces you to a WHOLE NEW VEGAN PRODUCT that’s been right under your nose for years: worthington! 

have you ever even heard of this product? i hadn’t until recently. but now that i know it exists, i find it in every ralphs i visit, from city to city. 

recipe after the jump. (and even if you are familiar with worthington, you’ll wanna read how to make this ultimate seitan chili meal anyways!)
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