Cucina Seventy Three King Street Whalley - 21st January 2017

I reviewed Cucina Seventy Three back in July last year (see here) and booked again, for a belated birthday celebration.   I had positive contact with owners Raffaella, who runs front of house and chef Fabbio her brother, who oversees the kitchen, so I was looking forward to our visit.   This is not the kind of place, you would just turn up and expect a vegan option, its a compact menu, as the emphasis is on homemade authentic cooking, mainly based on meat and fish, with the pasta normally made with egg.

The restaurant derives its name from its address 73 King Street and Cucina means kitchen in Italian and on sunny days, it must be nice to sit outside, in the walled front garden.   Luckily we had what I think is the best table, in the front window, which is better for taking photos, with slightly better light, as the low light in the restaurant, although perfect for dining, is not ideal for crystal clear pics, but they came out better this visit.

I kicked off with my favourite drink of the moment, a large Aperol and soda and Steven had a Negroni, which due to Martini not being vegan friendly, is off limits for me sadly.

A small complimentary basket of bread is offered, with balsamic and olive oil, which we ate, whilst Steven perused the menu, its an advantage knowing what you are having, no decisions to make.

I am a creature of habit and so I ordered a bottle of Villa Dei Fiori Fiano white wine from Puglia, which I was told was vegan on our last visit.   I prefer drinking white wine these days, rather than red which gives me a bad head!

My soup starter was made with farro, an ancient Italian grain and an ingredient I have heard of, but never tried before.   Fabbio makes a mean soup, it was delicious, creamy rich, with perfectly cooked farro, served with garlic crostini and drizzled with olive oil, it was a warming winter dish.

Main course was orecchiette pasta, typical of the region of Apulia in southern Italy, made without egg, its name originates from the word orecchia meaning 'ear' and etta meaning 'small', I love the name.   The pasta was served with broccoli, savoy cabbage, mushroom and chilli, its a simple dish, but I love it and could eat it time and time again, its my ideal pasta dish.   The homemade pasta is much nicer than bought, has a solid texture, not dense or hard, but holds its shape and I demolished the lot.

I was far too full for anything else, so finished the meal with a refreshing pot of peppermint tea.   Service was professional, helpful and really friendly from everyone.   We had a chat with Raffaella, about the benefits of herbal teas and our caffeine detox, as I was dying for my usual double espresso or two and her brother Stefano, who also works front of house, has a great sense of humour, so there is always good banter.

I notice they have started offering pizza on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, so that is another visit to organise, because I love pizza.

The Cross Keys East Marton Skipton - 20th January 2017

I was meeting a friend for lunch with Steven, but finding it difficult to find somewhere, with anything remotely veganisable.   I remembered The Cross Keys, where I have not been for over 30 years, so went online to check their menu.   I was impressed to find a clearly labelled vegan main course, but a shame no starter or dessert was available, I can only presume they are testing the water.

The pub is far larger than I remember, as we were shown through to the large room to the rear, with a huge wood burning fire and plenty tables and chairs, so we sat in the window to soak up the rare January sunshine.

I kicked off with some delicious olives, with loads of garlic, baby onions and red and yellow peppers, with a name like mine, it would be rude not to.

I decided to ask if the Thai curry paste was definitely fish free, as they often contain fish sauce or shrimp paste, but I was impressed they knew their stuff and confirmed it totally vegan.   The main course when it came was a hearty portion, packed with chickpeas, potatoes and spinach, in a delicious yellow Thai curry sauce and with the rice, made an excellent tasty lunch.   I do not understand places, that think vegans have the appetite of a sparrow and serve minute amounts, mind you The Cross Keys is in Yorkshire, renowned for healthy portions.

I hope The Cross Keys expand their vegan offerings, it makes for impromptu dining, no need to give notice or pre-order and I would definitely return, if ever in the area.

Turners Wines Gisburn Road Barrowford - 16th January 2017

I was meeting a friend for lunch, who lives near Barrowford, so I emailed Turners Wines asking as to vegan options and if their bread contained soya or not.   I had a great response from Jane, who suggested a vegan platter, with homemade buckwheat pancakes, in lieu of bread, how inventive.

Turners is on the main road in Barrowford and has evolved over the years and is a great place for breakfast or lunch, with a deli counter  and a huge wine selection.   You can either sit at one of the tables or they have small booths for more intimate dining.

I arrived and was shown to our table by Steve, who I think is one of the owners, who said chef Matthew had planned a vegan feast and gave me a handwritten menu.   Was I looking forward to my lunch after reading it, Matthew had really pushed the boat out.

When my vegan feast arrived, I was blown away by Matthew's care and attention, to ensure I had a tasty filling lunch and loved the presentation.

The arancini were better than the ones I made last week and to achieve a crunchy texture, they were coated in ground almonds (I will be stealing that clever idea).   The buckwheat pancakes were like Indian dosas, aerated with tiny bubbles, making them so light, filled with oyster mushrooms and spinach.   The sweet potato wedges had a real kick of chilli and were delicious dipped into the houmous and I loved all the salad bits, like artichoke, olives, rocket and beetroot slaw.   This definitely was a vegan feast, I was so impressed and I demolished the lot.

The pudding was equally delicious, perfectly roasted plums, pineapple and pear, with rose syrup and toasted almonds.   The flavour of rose can be dominating and I am not keen on sickly sweet syrups, but the balance of both was spot on, the syrup really complimented the fruit.

I find that when I enquire about vegan options, its the family run independents, who really rise to the challenge and in this case, Turners really came up trumps, right from my initial contact with Jane.   If Matthew reads my review, a big thank you, you did great, I was a very happy well fed vegan and I will definitely revisit.

The Allotment Vegan Restaurant Vernon Street Stockport - 14th January 2017

The Allotment is the brainchild of plant based chef Matthew Nutter, who on his website says:

"We don't do boring at The Allotment, we're here to bring veganism into your life without sacrificing taste.   Tucked away down the cobbles of Stockport's Old Town, we create locally sourced, high quality vegan and gluten free food like you've never tasted before"

I love The Allotment's frontage, with its clear leaf logo, on the frosted windows.

I did not take photos of the interior, as due to low lighting I would need to use flash, which was inappropriate on a busy Saturday night, intruding on customer dining experiences, but I loved its cosy atmosphere.   The lighting though perfect for dining (I hate bright in your face lights) impacted on the quality of my photos and as some of the dishes were served on dark plates, they do not do justice to the food at all.

There is a choice of a Tasting Menu priced at £55 per person or A La Carte with three choices for each course, with optional side dishes.

The Allotment is not licensed, so have a Bring Your Own policy, with a minimal corkage charge of £5 per table, so I took a bottle of organic Miguel Torres Rose wine, with its clear vegan labelling.

We were shown to a table in the window and given menus, whilst our wine was whisked off, opened and brought back in a wine chiller.   We were given a small amuse bouche, to kick off the meal, pickled onions in a very light batter with beetroot gel, it was delicious.

My starter was apple and sage, crispy parsnip and roasted celeriac, a refreshing starter, beautiful presentation and maybe my taste buds were playing games, but I got the warmth of wasabi.

Steven chose the fennel, pear and avocado tartare, a delicate tasty dish, a perfect start to the meal.

I chose chilli chocolate and aubergine for mains, served with cornbread and sour cream.   I have always been sceptical of chocolate in a savoury dish, its a fine line that can be easily crossed, this was spot on.   Cornbread can be stodgy and heavy, but not this rendition, it was so light and just the job for mopping up the chocolate sauce.   The aubergine, one of my favourite vegetables, was hickory smoked and the components of the dish all complimented each other so well.

Steven chose the cheese and onion mains, comprising roasted garlic cashew cheese, which he thought was a revelation, complimented by confit shallots and creamy mash, it was his highlight dish of the evening, he loved it.

We shared a side order of cauliflower hot wings, with pickled scotch bonnet chillies.   This was a knock out dish, they were fantastic, with a crisp batter and a spicy kick from the chillies.

We were then served pre-dessert, a palate cleansing lemongrass sorbet with coconut sugar and edible flower, ideal before pudding.

We had a rest at this stage of the meal, to finish our wine, whilst we decided on desserts, the Spanish Turkish delight for me and lemon cheesecake for Steven.   I loved the textures of chocolate coated honeycomb, blood orange jelly, citrus sorbet and the candle in recognition of my birthday.   Orange and chocolate is a classic combination, think Terry's chocolate orange on a plate, it was heaven.

Stevens lemon and Yuzu cheesecake, with star anise pear and chilli crumble, was served deconstructed, and was his least favourite dish of his meal, but he wolfed it down nevertheless.

Service was friendly and efficient, from the young front of house team, and when asked about the demographic of their customers, we were told only about 40% of diners were vegan or vegetarian.   Chef Matthew Nutter and his team are knocking out top notch, creative plant based dishes, its accomplished cooking.   I cannot think of anywhere else like The Alloment, they are breaking new ground on the vegan scene and long may it continue.

My only issues were the chairs, maybe its an age thing, but we found them extremely uncomfortable, especially if you leaned onto the chair back, with a hard piece of wood digging into you.   The second was the use of small green hand towels, in the unisex toilets, I really did not like this at all, paper towels or a hand dryer would be much more hygenic.   I did not use the towels, I wiped my hands on a clean paper hanky, which luckily I had in my bag.

I would love to revisit and try their Sunday vegan roast at some point, but as a vegan of thirty years, visiting somewhere like The Allotment, is a dream come true for me.

Earthlings Organic Juice Bar & Cafe Darwen Road Bromley Cross Bolton - 14th January 2017

Earthlings is owned by Hilary Martin, located in the heart of Bromley Cross village near Bolton.   Earthlings is not a vegan cafe per se, but specialises in healthy food, that is 100% plant based, made to order using the best ingredients, without refined sugars or additives.   Hilary offers Juice Cleanse packages, to suit individual requirements, consultations, life coaching, classes and workshops and Earthlings is available for private functions to hire.

I have been wanting to visit, since hearing about Earthlings on Facebook and my birthday was the perfect excuse, as I had planned a full vegan weekend, so birthday lunch it was.

I love the frontage, first impressions count and it looks clean and inviting and is equally so inside, I really loved the decor, modern but cosy.

The menu is amazing, so much so, that it was difficult to decide what to have, with plenty of gluten free options for Steven and a specials board too.

I chose celery soup, avocado and houmous sandwich served with tortilla chips, whilst Steven had the Buddha bowl with cauliflower rice.   We both chose Pukka Refresh tea made of fennel, peppermint, rose and liquorice, which certainly lived up to its name.

The dishes were delicious, fresh and packed with flavour and we enjoyed every morsel, this is not your usual cafe fare, this is star quality.

Who could resist the dessert menu, neither of us could, so I chose the salted caramel slice and Steven the mango cheesecake.   I have included all the photos I took, I was so impressed with the visual aspect, before even trying them, how pretty do these plates look.

I will be reminiscing about my salted caramel slice for a long while to come, as will Steven and his cheesecake, how to put into words our thoughts....AWESOME.

Hilary has created an oasis in Bromley Cross, apparent by its popularity and how busy it was, many others think so too.   Earthlings is a hop skip and a jump from the rail station and although there is no parking, just a couple of spaces outside, there is off street parking.

I loved it and cannot wait to return to sample some more of the menu, especially those desserts.