Vegan Vox Travels...to Berlin

Berlin is a wonderful city for many reasons, the history, the architecture and the people, but as a vegan, it is a paradise – full of vegan choices at every turn.

Here are some of the highlights:

All over the city there are kebab shops, but unlike the UK versions, all of these serve delicious falafel in pitta with salad. A great vegan-friendly option if you need something fast!

There are a few chains of organic shops and health food stores, such as Viv Stores and LPG, which have a wide variety of vegan products and an entirely vegan chain of food shops called Veganz – these are filled with mock meats, cheeses, store cupboard essentials, sweets and drinks including the American brands such as Tofurky, Gardein and Daiya. There is also a coffee shop attached to Veganz – Goodies which sells amazing cakes, paninis, brownies and more. Nearby there are other vegan boutiques selling shoes and clothes such as Avesu and DearGoods. Nearly every shop sells vegan-friendly Fritz Cola if you fancy a soft drink and we found almond and soy options as well as at least one vegan cake at most coffee shops.

Dr. Pogo is an independent vegan shop selling a wide range of chocolates, sweets, mock meats, cheeses, ready meals, drinks, whole foods, skincare and cleaning products.

You have to try the following restaurants/eateries too:

Sfizy Pizza – An all-vegan pizzeria with over a hundred different pizza options on the menu!

Voner – An all-vegan doner kebab shop!

Asia Gourmet – Choose your noodles, veg, tofu and sauce. Eat in or take away.

Vego Cafe – An all-vegan fast food cafe – think hot dogs, burgers, chips, bratwurst etc.

Delores – A Mexican burrito place with two vegan options.

Cupcake Cafe – Lots of vegan cupcakes, cakes and cookies.

Mio Matto – A gourmet veggie/vegan restaurant.

Goura Pakora – An all-vegetarian eatery with many vegan options.

There are so many more all over Berlin, you would need a month to try them all!

Go and visit because Berlin is a perfect weekend break destination for vegans. Have you been to Berlin? Is there somewhere else we should try or have missed out of this brief guide? Let me know in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

A version of this article has already been published in the TeenVGN MiniMag Summer Edition.

Vegan Vox Reviews...The 100% Vegan Shop in Birmingham

Some of you may remember last summer I reviewed a little vegan shop in Birmingham called The One Earth Shop. Well, they sadly closed down a few months ago but it has now reopened with a brand new owner, new design, new name and new products... I give you... The 100% Vegan Shop in Birmingham!

I went along recently to meet with Ray, the owner, and to see what the new shop offered.

Ray took over the lease for the shop around Christmas and opened the store at the beginning of February, 2014. The inside of the shop has had a make over, with the counter being moved, a new hot food display and lots of new stock. Ray wanted to create a shop which sold the type of vegan products he would like to be able to buy, not just whole foods, pulses, seeds and nuts (although he does sell these too!). The great thing about the whole food items he does sell is that he portions them up himself into packets which are the perfect size for a meal or two rather than you having to buy a 1kg bag of pulses. He is very aware of the other vegan delights that are available nearby and leaves those foods to the experts. For example, the store is a few minutes walk from the fabulous fresh fruit and veg markets and Birmingham's Chinese Quarter. For this reason, Ray doesn't sell fresh fruit, fresh vegetables or many types of tofu as they are all available competitively so close by. He does, however stock those hard to find (in Birmingham) vegan ingredients and snacks, like Henderson's Relish, Space Bars, Amy's Rice Mac & Cheeze, 25 different types of vegan cheeses, vegan steaks, nutritional yeast, Pudology, whipped cream, good organic teas and coffee, Razzle Dazzle Ices, vegan Bakewell Tarts, cupcakes, snack wraps, sos rolls and good vegan chocolate. He also stocks vegan and eco friendly household products such as bamboo toothbrushes, cleaning products, toiletries and even vegan guitar straps!

Ray is very passionate about his business and is open to suggestions, if there are vegan ingredients, snacks, food items or household items which you would like to get hold of, he will try and source them for you, and will look at importing goods not yet sold in the UK if there is enough interest.

There are a range of vegan pastries, wraps, hummus and cakes delivered in fresh several times a week, and whilst I was there I was given a gorgeous Banana Choc Chip Muffin to sample :-)

Here are some of the items I purchased whilst on my visit:

So if you are in the Birmingham area and fancy a quick snack, some lunch, some ingredients for tonight's dinner or just to say hi to a lovely friendly vegan shopkeeper, pop over to The 100% Vegan Shop, located next to The Warehouse Cafe - a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options, in Allison Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 5TH.

You can also follow the shop on Twitter 

Big Vegan Love,

VVx