VeganMoFo 2017: VgOloso, Venice Mestre

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Jenny

Like many visitors to Venice, we stayed in nearby Mestre – a short tram ride away from the tourist centre.  We did most of our eating in the city, but we found one vegan place in our neighbourhood that we were keen to try.  And in the end we loved it so much we went twice!

VgOloso is on quite a busy road, which is a shame considering there’s outdoor seating.  Fortunately the interior is just lovely too!  The menu is available in both English and Italian, and has some slight variations daily but basically has some pasta dishes, some burgers, and some other fun stuff.

On our first visit, Dr HH got this tagliatelle seafood ragout.  He loved the salty sea flavour, toasted nuts and hint of lemon, and was a very satisfied customer.

I got the carbonara, and could have eaten a second portion it was so delicious! (Mains were only about €6 each, hence they were a little on the small side – but coupled with a dessert, I was full.)  The mock meat bits were my favourite, they had so much flavour.

On our second visit a couple of nights later, Dr HH went for the hazelnut and chickpea balls.  They were good and meaty, and came with a really rich,thick tomato sauce – none of that watery stuff you sometimes get.  The potatoes were also sensational.

And I stuck with the pasta theme, this time with some ravioli.  The inside was solid green from the spinach, and they were really well-stuffed!  I also loved the tomato sauce.  It was just beautiful!

We had desserts both nights.  The first time, Dr HH ordered the coconut and blueberry crumble with lemon pistachio cream, which came in this little jar. He would have liked a bit more crumble than cream (which is always my approach to crumble too), but really liked it.

I was blown away by my dessert.  This tart with cocoa and cream was delicious!  The base was so thick, the cream was so creamy, it just ticked all the boxes.

We were both planning on having the tart again when we returned, but they’d sold out.  Nooooo!  Fortunately, the owner offered to make us an improvised dessert and returned with this lovely crunchy, nutty crumble with delicious chocolate cream.  Not only did it taste amazing, but we also appreciated them going to extra lengths to accommodate a pair of gluttons.

And finally, we also got a couple of gigantic biscuits to takeaway for breakfast the next day.  It was sandwiched with apple and mint jam, though we couldn’t really taste the mint.  The cookie was lovely and soft, and made a good breakfast.

This is one of the friendliest and nicest places I’ve been to, and if you’re staying in Mestre you owe it to yourself to pop in for a cheap and delicious feast!

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VeganMoFo 2017: Vegan Gelato in Venice

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Jenny

Venice was a spectacular place for gelato!

On our first evening we got our fix at Gelateria al Sole, which is located on the Grand Canal but far enough from the tourist centre that it’s actually really pleasant.  (It was the priciest place we’d visited so far on our gelato quest, and all the gelato in Venice turned out to be quite expenive.)  We sat in the seats outside and enjoyed the lapping of the water.

Unfortunately the cones aren’t vegan, but besides that it’s quite a vegan-friendly place – they even have a variety of plant-based milks for hot drinks!  The vegan gelato flavours were mostly the usual suspects:  fruit, chocolate, and coffee, for a change.  I got chocolate and orange together.  The orange was a little bitter on its own, but they were beautiful when combined.

Our next gelato stop was Gelatoteca SuSo, right in the thick of the tourist mayhem in the winding little alleys of central Venice.  Also, it was an insanely popular place with a queue well out of the door.  The obvious downside of this is that it’s impossible to actually see the flavours before you get to the front, and there’s quite a bit of pressure to keep things moving and decide quickly.  I could only see three vegan flavours, though it’s possible there were more.  I got a scoop of chocolate and one of ‘notanera’, which I believe combined raspberries and chocolate ganache.  It was absolutely glorious!

They have an assortment of cones, but only one is suitable for vegans – and it costs €1 extra!  Bah!  Hence I got a cup.

Something different next:  gelato on a stick!  Stickhouse has various ice lolly options, but I only saw one that was clearly identified as vegan and it was this chocolate sorbet.  The sorbets are already on sticks, and then you can have it dunked in chocolate and in your preferred topping.  The server confirmed that the dark chocolate coating was vegan, so I dunked it in there and got the pistachios for a nice colour contrast.  It was one of the best of the holiday!  The chocolate coating was nice and thick, with that satisfying crunch.  The chocolate sorbet itself was delicious.  A definite winner!

There are a few branches of Stickhouse around the city centre – we saw one branch that quite prominently displayed vegan options, and this one that didn’t.  So keep your eyes open!

dav

And finally at Gelateria il Doge I got my hands on some chocolate and hazelnut.  Hurray!  The cones are vegan, and the portions, as you can see, were extremely generous.  The gelato was really creamy, and I had to eat it quickly to avoid it all melting away – quite the challenge!

If you’re wandering around the city collecting vegan gelato ice cream, you can also factor in some artistic endeavours too if you are visiting during the Biennale. You can pay to visit the main exhibitions at two central locations, but we’d already blown our art allowance on another exhibition.  Instead, we went to some of the free pavilions for individual countries and got to see some weird and wonderful art.  This one was from Azerbaijan…

…while the Cuban Pavilion featured a library full of illuminated bottles of plants.

Here’s the Montenegro Pavilion, featuring lots of little figures presumably inspired by Gru from Despicable Me.

Any art experts who can explain what this from the Estonian Pavilion means?!

At least the climate change installation was a bit easier to understand!

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VeganMoFo 2017: Pizzeria L’Angelo, Venice

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Jenny

I ate surprisingly little pizza during my fortnight in Italy, but I managed two while in Venice and this was the first, acquired at Pizzeria L’Angelo.  This place serves meat, but it’s extremely vegan-friendly, with around five vegan sandwiches displayed and five pizzas in the vegan section of the blackboard menu.

I got the sirio, which was topped with radicchio, lupine slices, vegan mozzarella and mushrooms.  I had no idea what radicchio was, and apparently I hate it, but it was easy to pick off.  Besides that, I loved this pizza!  It was very generously topped, and the cheese was especially good and creamy.  The meaty slices were tasty, but I wish they’d been baked into the pizza with everything else, rather than just balanced on top.

Pizzeria L’Angelo is a very popular spot in a busy, bustling little alley. It’s pretty close to St Mark’s Square and the real tourist hub, so it’s very convenient too. It’s takeaway only, which poses quite the problem:  where to eat your delicious vegan pizza?  We first found a little spot by the canal next to a shop, but the shop owner came out with the harried look of someone who does this a million times a day and asked us not to eat right by the water as it attracts rats.  Lovely!

So we crossed the bridge to a big square where numerous people were just sitting on the ground eating takeaway from various eateries.  We found a shaded spot outside a bank, at least 10 metres away from the entrance and well out of everyone’s way – or so we thought.  Just as we were finishing up, a local scolded us in Italian, telling us:  “It’s a bank, not a restaurant!”

I’ve read a lot about the tourist industry in Venice and how the locals hate it, and it is something I thought about a lot while I was there.  But I felt like that was a bit unfair.  Where are people who get takeaway pizza supposed to eat?  I can’t imagine shouting at the many people who eat sandwiches or burgers on the street in Manchester – but I guess Manchester isn’t as pretty as Venice.

In conclusion, I can’t recommend the pizza here enough, but try to have a plan of where you will eat – or be prepared to be shouted at by a local!

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VeganMoFo 2017: La Tecia Vegana, Venice

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Jenny

There’s nothing quite so exciting as seeing the word “vegan” when you’re hungry, is there?  We arrived in Venice Mestre train station in the late afternoon, dumped our stuff at our airbnb and set a route for La Tecia Vegana ready for its 6pm opening time.  We walked from Piazzale Roma, where the tram drops you off, and it was a really charming walk.

I kept warning Dr HH that he would hate Venice as much as I did because it was so crowded and dirty – I’d only ever visited on day trips before, and had spent my few hours right in the thick of it.  So this little walk was my first time seeing the more charming side of Venice:  small alleys, little canals, not too many people.  I loved it!  I didn’t stop for any photos though, because I was hungry.

Fortunately I didn’t have long to wait for food!  Although it opens at 6pm, we were the only customers till 7pm (though they did have a few takeaway customers in that time).  The menu covers the standard Italian elements: antipasti, primi, secondi, sides and desserts, all priced at around €6 each.  Also, they serve vegan wine by the glass, which I so far hadn’t spotted for our whole time in Italy.  Finally!  I was very happy indeed.

On to the food!  I ordered the lasagne from the primi section, so of course it was a little small. It packed a lot of flavour in there though! The seitan ragu was really nice, and the texture on top was just perfect.  I’d happily order this again.

Dr HH ordered from the secondi section, so he got a bigger helping of parmigiana.  It was his first ever ‘parmo’, and he raved about it – the smoky aubergine, the bits of potato, the cheese.  A very satisfied customer!

He also couldn’t resist a portion of tiramisu (I held out for ice cream later in the evening), which he found very good and creamy, though not as creamy as at La Lanterna in Verona a few days earlier!

All in all, we were very satisfied with our first culinary experience in Venice. Service was super friendly and fast too.  Once it hit 7pm quite a few people arrived, and there were already several tables reserved, so I’d strongly recommend either booking in advance or arriving early.

And I’d also recommend wandering the alleys and bridges away from the tourist drag.  It’s so quiet and charming, you won’t want to return to the chaos of St Mark’s Square ever again!

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VeganMoFo 2017: Dulcamara Bio Vegan Bistrot, Verona

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Jenny

The highlight of our trip to Verona was undoubtedly visiting the arena.  It’s right in the middle of the city and is considerably more relaxed than the chaotic Colosseum in Rome.  I first visited it one summer when I was a teenager and saw that the inside was prepared with a stage and scenery for an opera that evening.  Since then, I always wanted to go back and see an opera.  This time, I finally did it!

Dr HH and I went to see Aida, and it was really impressive.  Or the first half was, anyway.  It was a four hour long performance that didn’t even start until 9pm – practically bed time!  We were nodding off by the second interval, and that was no reflection on the performance itself, so we sloped off.  Tickets were surprisingly affordable, as long as you’re happy sitting on the stone seats rather than the fancy folding chairs (take a cushion, or rent one at least if you do go for the cheap option).  It was so great watching the sun set while we listened to these singers belting it out!

That show was the highlight of our stay in Verona, but the food came a close second: we ate really well.  That continued through our last meal there as well.

Dulcamara Bio Vegan Bistrot is an all-vegan place is quite near the train station (a little way out of the city centre), so we grabbed lunch there just before hopping on our train to our next location, Venice.  It was a really friendly and cute little place that got quite busy over lunch time.  The menu (also available in English) predominantly featured burgers and sandwiches.

I couldn’t resist the kebarba, which had delicious seitan strips in lovely toasted bread.  It was a bit too saucy for me (with both mayo and ketchup), but I think for most people it would be fine.  It was an absolute beast of a kebab, and I had no room left for dessert (though the cupcake selection looked spectacular!).

Dr HH was a bit less impressed with the delicato:  breaded tofu cutlet in a bagel with salad and avocado sauce.  He loved the avo sauce, all the veg and the texture of the tofu, but thought it needed more seasoning.  Still, he was stuffed too.

While we couldn’t squeeze in a dessert, we did get two apricot croissants to takeaway for breakfast the next morning.  And very good they were too – if a little breadier than the flaky ones we’d had elsewhere.  There was quite a lot of jam in there, and they set us up nicely for a day of exploring in Venice.

And what of the vegan scene in Venice?  Come back tomorrow to find out more!

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VeganMoFo 2017: Caffe & Parole, Verona

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Jenny

I think coffee is perhaps the most disgusting drink in the world, and like any good Brit abroad, I always travel with a packet of my preferred brand of teabags, so I was happy to miss out on the ‘coffee and pastry’ culture in Italy.  Dr HH, less so.  So one morning we decided to go for coffee (for him) and vegan pastries (for us) at this lovely place right next to the Duomo in Verona.

Caffe & Parole was a lovely place with outdoor and indoor seating, soy and almond milk for hot drinks, a few vegan salad and toast options, and three listed vegan croissants or cakes.  Delightful!

There were two kinds of croissants listed on the menu:  those filled with custard cream, and those filled with jam.  Apparently we should have got there earlier than 10:30am because they only had jam left.

Fortunately, they were still delicious:  the pastry was good and flaky, and the jam definitely packed a punch without being too tart.  They cost €2 each, which was pricey but not extortionate.

And it felt very civilised to sit beside a cathedral, eating vegan pastries and (watching someone else) drinking coffee.  The only way Dr HH could have been more Italian would be if he’d taken up smoking for the occasion – though I’m thankful that he did not!

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VeganMoFo 2017: Pizza Doge, Verona

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Jenny

This isn’t a particularly vegan-friendly place, and in fact there are no advertised vegan options.  But we were looking for a light meal and Dr HH had his heart set on some of the vegetarian pizza and calzone goods displayed in the window.  While he was placing his order, I asked the server (who spoke perfect English) if they had any vegan goods.  “Veganism?  That’s a bit too far for me,” he replied, then instantly added, “Oh, but these ones here are fine.”

He pointed to this tomato bread and a similar olive-topped one.  Hurrah! It was a good deep dish bread which he warmed up for me, topped with flavoursome tomatoes and a hearty drizzle of oil.  It was just what I needed!

This place is just along the road from Castelvecchio, so it’s handy to stop in when you’re seeing the sights.  You can pay to enter the castle properly, which enables you to climb the towers and walk the ramparts.  We just wandered as much of the grounds as possible for free, including this bridge.

Alas, there’s a metal chain on the bridge, and you all know what that means:  people have covered the chain with their love locks.  Guess who thinks love locks are a self-indulgent eyesore?

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VeganMoFo 2017: Trattoria Alessi, Desenzano

Posted on October 15, 2017 by Jenny

Verona is a lovely place to spend a few nights, and lends itself really well to day trips – there isn’t loads to do in the city itself, and it’s quite easy to get around the area on public transport.  We wanted to take a day trip to Lake Garda, and some of my local friends recommended getting the train to Desenzano followed by the boat to Sirmione.  It turned out to be a top recommendation, and I would pass it along to any other visitors to the area.  They were both small and pretty towns, transport was easy to manage, and while there were lots of tourists, neither place was overcrowded.

I was also encouraged by the fact that there were a few vegan options listed on Happy Cow for Desenzano…though it turns out, I could have chosen much better.

This place is listed on Happy Cow as Conte Pizza – but it seemed to be one huge establishment with various names and entrances as it worked its way up the hill.  The part we went to (closest to the lakefront) was called Trattoria Alessi.  All the different parts had the same menu though, with this delightful vegan section filling me with hope.  Of course, I ordered the pie.  Cheese and tomato pie sounded quite exciting.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn’t expecting this.  Yes, this is the tomato pie with tofu cheese.  And yes, this cost €11.50 (plus €2.50 cover charge).  I mean, everything was nicely grilled, but this is not what I was paying for.

Be warned, there is also a “chocolate pie” on the dessert menu – any guesses as to what that might actually be?  A bar of dark chocolate?  A mousse?  I couldn’t risk another disappointment, so I didn’t order it.

Another black mark against this place was that they wouldn’t even acknowledge that tap water existed, despite my excellent mime work.  The waiter kept determinedly asking: “Natural or sparkling?” even as I frantically turned my hands and said:  “Tap?”  Bottled water is one of my biggest hates – especially in places that are happy to put out bowls of tap water for dogs to drink.

So, it was just as well that Desenzano itself was so pretty because if I’d been judging it solely on this place, I’d have been seriously unimpressed!

And do take the ferry over to Sirmione.  It was so pretty!

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VeganMoFo 2017: Vegan Gelato in Verona

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Jenny

Yesterday I said that the vegan scene really improved once we hit Verona.  Well, Verona was also the turning point for ice cream.  So far I’d only seen dark chocolate and fruit flavours (except for a more exciting flavour in Varenna), but here’s where it starts getting good.

Gelateria Verona was our first stop when we arrived, as it was just a short walk from our airbnb.  It’s not central, but it’s in a nice square and worth a short detour.  The staff were very friendly and spoke perfect English (like most people we dealt with in Italy).

As well as the standard fruit and dark chocolate, this place had one of the flavours I’d been craving from the start:  nocciola.  Hazelnut!  Yes!  The combination of hazelnut and chocolate was like eating a really cold Vego bar…in a cone.  Yes, the cones were also vegan.  Delicious!

The next day we went to L’Arte del Gelato, which was generally less exciting:  their only vegan flavours were fruit, not even a dark chocolate.  At least they were all well-labelled though, and one of their flavours was extremely exciting:  lemon sorbet with chunks of ginger and dark chocolate.  I missed the creamier gelato texture I had become accustomed to, but it was still really tasty.  This one is located in the central hub, so it’s easy to swing by.

The last gelateria we visited in Verona also required a detour, but was worth it.  Gelateria La Romana looked quite fancy, and even provided the possibility of buying whole pots of ice cream to take away.  The staff were really knowledgeable about veganism and helped me to put together my perfect cone:  the cones themselves are vegan, but they coat the inside with chocolate on request – at present, it’s only milk or white chocolate, so don’t get it!

There were a few fruity vegan flavours, but I only had eyes for this one:  ‘crumbles fondente all’amerena’.  Basically, it was sublimely creamy and chocolatey, with lovely biscuity chunks.  If only I’d got a tub of it to take home!

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VeganMoFo 2017: La Tigella Verona

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Jenny

It’s time for Dr HH’s traditional VeganMoFo guest post.  Regular readers will know that Dr HH is a secretive fellow who has never been named or photographed on this blog.  Today, at last, I have his permission to share some real footage of him in action at this restaurant in Verona:

Now over to the man himself to tell you about all the food he devoured!

When I think about my favourite meals of all time, I think of large slabs of lasagne, an endless bowl of saag with makki di roti, or anything fried.  When I move away from these glorious comfort foods, I like to try as many things as possible.  A mixed starter plate, a thali, or a buffet.  Give me a meal filled with lots of different things and I am a happy man.  When looking back at our recent holiday it made sense for me to write about La Tigella Verona for two reasons; one, I am truly in my element with this thali-style feast; and two, I ate most of it!

The feast consisted of 10 little pots, each filled with some sort of exciting mystery dish:

Something best described as punchy vegetables

Green vegetables

Green olive tapenade

Sundried tomato spread

Nutty cream cheese

Cheddar style cheese squares

Mayonnaise

Asparagus cream

Strawberry jam

Chocolate spread

This was accompanied by a plate each filled with grilled vegetables (aubergine, courgette, peppers), pate and 3 types of cheese (mozzarella, cheddar and something that was kind of in the middle).

And it was all served up with 6 tigelle, little warm round breads that reminded me a little of flat English muffins, and a gnocco frito, a glorious fried dumpling which was lovely and soft on the inside and crispy and flaky outside – a truly magnificent bready feat (pictured here).

How do you go about eating such a feast? There is only one rule…there are no rules! Except save the sweet stuff for last (Ms HH’s doing, not mine).  In I went, combining everything.  Olive and cheese, asparagus cream and courgette, sundried tomatoes and green vegetables, a pizza with tomatoes, cheese and olives, a gluten free pizza where I replaced the tigella base with a slice of aubergine.  You name a combination, I probably tried it!

I ate, and I ate and I ate. Ms HH was left rolling on the floor clutching her belly, other diners were staring at me open-mouthed, people were pouring in from the streets to watch events unfold – and I just kept on eating until everything was gone.  Well, almost everything.  The mayonnaise just wasn’t that exciting.

I believe the ‘correct’ way of eating tigelle is to open them up, fill them and eat them like a sandwich.  To hell with the correct way: I broke, I tore, I scooped, I did it all and I’d do it again.  This was a fine feast! A few things that really stood out were the mozzarella, the punchy vegetable and of course the gnocco frito.  

If you ever get the opportunity to sample this glorious feast, I recommend you take it, and I’d recommend you take along someone who can’t eat their half share.

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