Gopal: Vegan Oasis

Hello fellow veggie lovers!
I found an amazing vegan place in the Gothic area and felt I could not keep it secret any longer!  It is called Gopal and their patatas bravas will change your life.  I took 2 meat eaters there and they both have requested to go back because they loved the patatas bravas so much!  Obviously I went back with them (twice this week).  Not only is the food here amazing, the prices make you want to kiss the lady behind the counter.
So everyday they have new food, AND they make all their own veggie burgers.

THESE ARE ALL VEGGIE BURGERS!

Anywho, they also have fantastic desserts, I had the coconut and purple donuts before, both chocolate filled, both amazing.  I am partial to coconut though so I would recommend that for a first timer.

I have yet to try the cakes or cinnamon buns so I cannot tell you about those, however I do know everything I have tried here has been fantastico!  They also sell vegan cheese and sausages and more here!  Really this place is the bee's knees of Spanish vegan food.
Finally, my meal.  For 7.25 euros you get a massive veggie burger, a huge plate of patatas bravas, and a choice of any of the drinks they have; this was what I got (mucha comida!)

I couldn't even finish it all!  This burger was about the size of my face.  As a side note, I hate pickles and didn't know they were on it because I didn't know "encurtidos" meant pickles.  Lesson learned, either ask what things are on the menu, or don't be a pompous idiot and read the English menu.

As a completely unrelated note, I am going to the capital city Lisbon in Portugal on Friday for the weekend! If you know any good vegan friendly places there please let me know!

Stumbling into a Street Fiesta!

So yesterday my friends and I were walking around exploring Barcelona when we stumbled upon this amazing street festival that was dedicated solely to food and drinks.  I found out after that it was the Mercat de Mercats event.  So at first it seemed like it was just all meat and cheese and I was going to be out of luck.  BUT, I have said it before and I will say it again, you need to just ask!
I saw an amazing pasta tent and asked if any of the dishes they had made were without meat or cheese and they gave me a huge plate of amazing pesto pasta.  And it was only 2 euros!  That is really cheap for that heaping pile of pasta!

A little bit oily because it was the bottom of the bowl

Then, you guys won't believe it but I actually got to have a chocolate filled pastry that was vegan!  I did not know this could happen outside of a specialty store.  I asked the man running the stall twice if there were eggs or dairy in them and he swore there was not (and accompanied that with a weird look; I highly doubt he gets these questions a lot).  Boy oh boy was that a delicious treat!  And it was 2.50 euros and I split it with my two friends because it was massive.  I mean seriously, look at the size of those things.

I had the dark chocolate filled one on the left.

 I also ended up buying a fresh mojito, which just completed my meal so well.  I had all this great food, with great friends, and a great view for under 6 euros.  Not a bad Saturday!

Food Reviews of VegFest

Hello all,
I told you I would do more than one post on VegFest UK so here is my review of some of the food items I took home with me.
First let's start with the energy drink I bought from the gals over at Teen Vgn.  They told me it was good and I needed a little pick me up before my Harry Potter Studio Tour.  They were 100% on this; not only was it light and tasty but it is also organic and vegan and full of ingredients I could pronounce!  That is a big win in my book.

Next I have the unbelievable, amazing, scrumptious, best chocolate bar I have EVER had in my entire life!  If I could live off these bars I totally would.  I got to try many of their flavors at VegFest and decided on the "mint hint" bar but seriously every single one was fantastic.  Conscious Chocolate is something you have to try at some point in your life.  Their chocolate is raw, vegan, and organic; where can you go wrong?! (If anyone wants to buy me some of their chocolate for my birthday next week, the 23rd, or Christmas that would be fabulous).

The next snack I bought were these Chimes ginger chews.  Now you should know I adore ginger flavored anything (for the most part).  So when I saw these I had to give it a try, and they did not disappoint.  However, to be honest there was nothing very different between these and other ginger chews I have had.  So just look at the ingredients and make sure you're not eating 50 shades of what is that?!

My final review for today are the inSpiral Kale chips I bought. I tried every flavor they had out, which made my decision on the bag I bought very difficult.  EVERY FLAVOR WAS AMAZING!  I decided on the Raw Baobab and Onion flavor which were so addicting.  Sadly that bag did not last very long because I devoured it all.  I would love some more (hint hint: birthday in one week), but do not have the funds to ship myself copious amounts of kale chips at the moment.  It is a very sad story.

The chips kind of look like what I imagine marijuana looks like.

That's all I have for today's food reviews.  Please remember to try new things, let me know what you like, and food is always a nice birthday gift!

VegFest AKA the Best Vegan Experience of Your Life

Hello all,
it is a miserable rainy day in Barcelona so I have been locked inside for most of the day.  However, this is good because I can finally write about the time of my life at VegFest UK!  Seriously, the food was enough to last me a life time.  I wish it was longer so I could of bought meals from all of the vendors, but that was impossible in two days.  So I am going to talk about VegFest in 2 blog posts just because there is a lot to share.  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did experiencing them!

 

The basics: there were speakers, singers, comedians, work out gurus, awards, panels, cooking demonstrations, tons of samples, food, groups to join, products to buy, clothes, cookware, and the list goes on!  Clearly I was in vegan heaven.
Day one, I woke up in Spain at 4:30 am to catch my flight (3:30 am London time).  I got to my hotel a little before 11 in London, dropped off my luggage, and went straight to VegFest where the line was around the block for ages.  A little boy exclaimed "holy moley!" when he saw the line.  But when I got inside I got a free bottle of Zeo which was awesome.  I got to try all three flavors and really thought they were delicious.  You should consider buying a bottle if you see them around.
Next I had to get some grub because I was starving; but it was really hard to choose because everything looked so good!  So I decided on the Southern Fried Chicken sandwich from Vbites with vegan cheese, onions and ketchup, and I got an amazing cupcake but I sadly do not remember the vendor and they were only there on Saturday.

Sea salt caramel with a caramel center!

This sandwich was so good I honestly thought about getting it again on Sunday.

That night for dinner I went to the sushi truck that was parked inside, it looked so cool but the lines were always horrendous during the lunch period.  I got the sweet potato roll from them which was amazing! (The only type of sushi I have ever liked is sweet potato roll so I was ecstatic to see that on the menu).

 The only thing I didn't like was that the sushi was not cut but they had a lot going on in their little truck so I understand.  For dessert, which I had to take back to my hotel because I was too stuffed to eat it at VegFest, was a blueberry vanilla vegan cheese cake.  And it was to die for!  I wish I knew the bakers of that as well so I could have kissed them.  Sadly there were so many different bakeries there it was hard to tell who was who after a while.  There were over 180 stalls there so it was quite hectic.

 

 I also got to try a seed from the cacao plant, where chocolate comes from.  Let me tell you this is nothing like any chocolate I have ever experienced.  For one thing the white stuff on the outside is slimy and the bean is very bitter.  While it was not what I was expecting, it was really cool to say I've tried it because not many people in the world can say that!

For Sunday I had a felafel for lunch from a place I cannot remember the name and could not find their information on the catering list.  It was really good though, nice and warm.  Then I also had that massive chocolate cookie icing sandwich which actually took me all day to eat because it was so large and the icing was very sweet.  

And I did not get anything for dinner because I was so stuffed and had to go to my Harry Potter Studio Tour, which was actually the best thing ever.  However, I was kicking myself when I finally got back to my hotel that night, around 11 pm and had to be up at 6 for my flight, because I was hungry and did not have anything but the snacks I bought.

All in all VegFest UK was a success and an experience I will remember forever.  I really hope one day I can go back because it was that amazing!