"Urinetown" in the West End: A Privilege to Seeby Randi / December 20, 2014
I can never have enough polenta. Isn’t it the best? It’s so cheap, it’s super easy to play with, and it’s Italian. Most importantly, it’s insanely versatile. You can make it straight for a plain side dish, fry up ready-made pieces, use it for dessert, and bake it in a pan with a variety of interesting toppings. Like a pizza or flatbread!
Recently, I went to London’s polenta-based restaurant called La Polentaria (review coming soon). I loved that polenta was front and center for all the dishes (obviously). I also loved that the walls had interesting information about polenta, like that it has more protein per serving than an egg! (So the wall said. I am not checking because I want that to be true.) Here are two recipes, one for a cheesy mushroom baked polenta casserole-sort-of thing, and one for classic polenta bruschetta. Both dishes would be great for entertaining company, although I prefer to hoard the entire casserole pan myself.
Recently, I went to London’s polenta-based restaurant called La Polentaria (review coming soon). I loved that polenta was front and center for all the dishes (obviously). I also loved that the walls had interesting information about polenta, like that it has more protein per serving than an egg! (So the wall said. I am not checking because I want that to be true.) Here are two recipes, one for a cheesy mushroom baked polenta casserole-sort-of thing, and one for classic polenta bruschetta. Both dishes would be great for entertaining company, although I prefer to hoard the entire casserole pan myself.
First, the bruschetta! Lots of bruschetta will use a raw tomato and garlic mixture, but that’s nothing special, really. If you want that, you can easily just chop up some tomatoes and mix with garlic and basil and olive oil. Easy peasy. But it’s winter so I wanted a warm cooked tomato topping. It really pays off to make your own and not use store-bought tomato sauce or any crap like that. I mean you could; you can put literally anything edible on top of hardened polenta and it would be delectable. But when it comes to sauce, this is the way to do it.
POLENTA BRUSCHETTA
Remember: it’s a hard ‘k’ sound. None of this ‘shetta’ bullshit.
Remember: it’s a hard ‘k’ sound. None of this ‘shetta’ bullshit.
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Ingredients:
Directions:
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hahaha this is the longest picture ever I love it 
I ran out of pictures |
Next up, we have a ridiculously addictive vegan-cheese topped mushroom casserole. I never buy vegan cheese like ever, but all this talk about the new Field Roast Chao slices over in Murka has made me quite envious. But apparently, the UK’s best vegan cheese, Violife, is just like the Chao stuff! So I bought it. And it is soooo gooooood. It asked me to be used over a homemade pizza but come on I can’t plan weeknight dinner long enough in advance to account for rising yeast dough. Ain’t nobody got time for that! So instead this is kind of like a polenta pizza! It even has my favorite pizza topping: mushrooms! I also threw on cannellini beans because I love beans.
Cheesy Mushroom & White Bean Polenta Casserole
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“Vegwells” Supper Club: Tredwells Joins the “Plant-based” Menu Craze in London & Straight Kills It
The renowned restaurant Tredwells, in the Seven Dials area of the West End (close to “Matilda”!), has joined the happy trend of mainstream restaurants doing special-night plant-based supper clubs. And yes, they do mean vegan. Calling their one-night-a-month supper club “Vegwells” to be adorable, Tredwells in their attempt this past Monday has lept ahead of the competition. I’d expect nothing less from a restaurant of Marcus Wareing, the celebrity chef with the two-Michelin starred restaurant in Knightsbridge (remind me to look into whether that one is vegan-friendly too, and thus a candidate for the Vegan Michelin series). So I just googled Marcus Wareing and was like ‘hmm why is he sooo familiar looking’ and realized it’s because he was on an episode of Masterchef that Husbo P and I watched during our short but EMBARRASSING hate-fueled obsession with that terrible addictive af show. Anyway, the Tredwells chef, Chantelle Nicholson, has created this ‘plant-based’ supper club to highlight the magic that can unfold when you focus on good, sustainable ingredients. As the author of an apparently vegan (!!) cookbook called Planted, she seemed up to the challenge of impressing me with this meal. Spoiler, she did.
Chef Chantelle spoke at the start of the meal, which is when I realized that like a true supper club, every table in our basement room was part of this special night and we were all going to be served the same courses at the same time. I like that! It made it seem extra special and like a real event. I am pretty sure this was the first edition of this new version of their supper club, which will be held on the last Monday of every month and must be booked (and paid for) in advance. I am not sure how often the menu will change, but given the restaurant’s dedication to sustainability, seasonality, and innovation, I assume that it will be different each time. Although if the desserts wanted to stay the same, I would be happy.
The concept focuses on five ‘plant-based’ courses, and I was assured that everything was vegan. I’m always nervous when places use the phrase ‘plant-based’ (more on that later), so even when someone tells me it’s all vegan, a part of me never really is certain. Well, thanks to Chef Chantelle’s welcome speech, I was finally at ease, because she mentioned how they were using fun new ingredients like ‘the water from chickpeas’. GIRL I almost screamed! High caliber chefs embracing the magic of aquafaba (remind me to ask her if she’s familiar with this name for it) (I’m asking you to remind me of a lot of things but like it’s in writing now so don’t worry) makes me so happy. And I figured, if they’re using aquafaba, I’m pretty sure that means everything is vegan.
Our waitress was very sweet, and after I quickly and repeatedly emptied my small-to-medium (it wasn’t a thimble, but I downed it in a sip) water glass, I said ‘would it be possible to get a pitcher? I think it would be easier for all of us’ and she laughed and brought me one so huzzah.
The concept focuses on five ‘plant-based’ courses, and I was assured that everything was vegan. I’m always nervous when places use the phrase ‘plant-based’ (more on that later), so even when someone tells me it’s all vegan, a part of me never really is certain. Well, thanks to Chef Chantelle’s welcome speech, I was finally at ease, because she mentioned how they were using fun new ingredients like ‘the water from chickpeas’. GIRL I almost screamed! High caliber chefs embracing the magic of aquafaba (remind me to ask her if she’s familiar with this name for it) (I’m asking you to remind me of a lot of things but like it’s in writing now so don’t worry) makes me so happy. And I figured, if they’re using aquafaba, I’m pretty sure that means everything is vegan.
Our waitress was very sweet, and after I quickly and repeatedly emptied my small-to-medium (it wasn’t a thimble, but I downed it in a sip) water glass, I said ‘would it be possible to get a pitcher? I think it would be easier for all of us’ and she laughed and brought me one so huzzah.
The first course was a little jar of mushroom mousse that sounds weird but was great. The caramelized shallots seemed to be concentrated at the bottom, which I didn’t know, so my last few bites were a little too full of them, and the pickled mushrooms were big ole strips to be eating out of a tiny jar with a teaspoon. But those are just little quibbles because this was hella delicious. I’d be happy eating that again.
Course 2 was avocado, lemon, and kohlrabi, which the chef said was her idea of summer in a dish. And it was very summery and bright, and I was glad to have something fresh and refreshing, even though it wasn’t anything revolutionary. You always need something to break up heavier foods and stronger flavors.
For the main course, we were served a chickpea panisse, which is a fried chickpea flour cake kind of thing from the south of France. If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with chickpea flour and run out weekly because I make socca probably too often. It’s the best stuff and there are endless ways to use it. So I was excited to get it as my main, especially since that meant at least a little bit of protein. It’s rare to see someone at one of these ‘plant-based’ shibangs give us more than vegetables, so I welcomed these sort-of frittery, sort-of cakey slabs heartily. I was also just happy that we got this dish because the other ‘plant-based’ item on their restaurant’s regular sample menu was grilled cauliflower, and you know what happens when a restaurant tries to give vegans a slab of cauliflower as a meal (I burn it down). The socca fingers (new name) were very good and not super dry like mine always are. They were served with grilled onions (a few too many/too big for my taste), mint salsa, and very thin slices of whatever white veg that is, fennel maybe? Good stuff.
As good as all the savory dishes were, dessert brought everything to a whole nother level. I know what you’re thinking: um, y’all crazy. Dessert on ‘plant-based’ menus at non-vegan restaurants are universally tragic. They’re always futile attempts that show zero awareness of what vegans want (they always seem to be trying to be low-sugar or healthy or whatever and you’re like I’m eating out at a restaurant do you think that’s what I’m here for?). But against all odds (take a good look at me nowwww), dessert at Tredwells was the best freaking part. These little jars of deconstructed strawberry meringue pie were astounding. It was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had, and probably the best in the Non-Chocolate category. Simply sublime. It actually made me giddy (probably the sugar rush) and I started acting a little loopy and I shouted “ANOTHER ROUND GOOD SIR” and husband was sooo embarrassed but I wasn’t because I wanted more. Like Jon Lovitz and his rock shrimp ravioli, I could have eaten 100 of these. Man alive I really want to have this again. They had to have used aquafaba for the meringue, which was a little more mousse-y and not as stiff as you’d expect if it was on a pie, but considering it was all in a little jar it worked for that form. The strawberries were perfect, and that scorched surface was gorgeous. LOVES IT!
I also loved the second dessert! Yes we got a second dessert that was also wonderful! Screw every other ‘plant-based’ menu! This was toasted hazelnut pudding with hazelnut caramel, just out of the oven so the waiters warned everyone not to touch the dish (I did of course because they said not to and it was extremely hot even ten minutes later). The pudding-y cake was great itself (I didn’t really see where the caramel came into play? it was probably mixed in maybe) but what made this dish was the dark chocolate sorbet on top. The little discs of sorbet were extra extra frozen, so that when it was first served, you literally could not cut into the sorbet with a spoon. They were softened by the heat of the cake! So they slowly melted a little and would mix into the hazelnut pudding and it was so lovely and delicious and I was very very full and very very happy. You know how many ‘plant-based’ menus we’ve tried in London and elsewhere over the years – have you EVER seen a place provide two incredible desserts (besides Alinea?) like this? I can’t think of anywhere right now and I’m impressed.
So yes, you’ll notice I’ve been using ‘plant-based’ in quotes allatime because I forking hate that phrase, especially when the user is using it instead of vegan. I’ve said in lots of posts (and probably ranted to you in person if we know each other (and on twitter) (and instagram) (complaining is my jam)) why it is problematic, but for a quick refresher: Plant-based is not a real term. Businesses, including restaurants, pop-ups, AND companies selling regular supermarket goods have been using the phrase – for a while now – to mean anything based on a plant. Meaning, when I found a protein bar at the grocery store that screamed “Plant-based!” on the box and I went to check the ingredients, it contained milk and egg. Its first two ingredients were oats and apples – so it was “plant-based” in the truest in-quotes meaning possible. Bless their f-ing hearts, it was founded on plant materials, I guess they were saying, but they added non-plants to it and no one can do shit about it because who is defining ‘plant-based’? Honestly, to me it makes more sense, to get into the semantics of the word ‘based’, that it would mean something that is centered on plants but not 100% entirely made of plants. Like how movies are ‘based on the true story’ or ‘based on the book’ but are never exact copies. They’re just based on it. And I realize that mainstream companies do this because using the word ‘vegan’ would scare away potential nonveg customers – but would it really? Is there any evidence that Joe Spare Ribs wouldn’t try the new vegan menu if it said Vegan at the top but he would if it said ‘Plant-Based’?
And this rant, and be sure that I’m always going to make this rant (see, e.g., my review of Plates) is a little unfair to put on this review, because the chef and staff at Tredwells seem much more amenable to using the V word than others; I mean the chef even has a vegan cookbook. But, it’s messy to me that they commit so hard to the phrase that it informs the code for their regular menu – V means vegetarian, but P-B is used for plant-based. That’s not a very commonsensical code for vegans to look for on a menu. I see that on a menu, I think there’s peanut butter in there and they’re coding it to warn the peanut allergy sufferers, but then, as a fanatic lover of peanut butter, I would do my peanut butter dance and order every peanut butter thing on the menu and so when it turns out it was all the vegan stuff I would, well I would be fine but disappointed because hot damn I love peanut butter. You get what I’m saying. I’m joking yes but it is a wee bit unintelligible for something that is supposed to easily inform customers, especially since vegans are probably the ones looking for the plant-based items. People just trying to eat more vegetables but without real restrictions can use the common sense skill of reading item names without needing a code. I would never think to look for p-b next to a dish name to see if it’s ok for me. And I’ve never seen that before anywhere, so it seems like bending over backwards to avoid using the v word. That kind of mental acrobatics is a big turn-off and I wish people would just embrace the word vegan, especially as ‘plant-based’ continues to get more and more bastardized by commercial ventures.
Aside from my requisite p-b rant (not peanut butter) (I know you thought I meant peanut butter right), the experience at Vegwells supper club was a real treat. Everything was delicious and some dishes were extraordinary. I have no idea how they will top these desserts but I believe in them. And I’ll let you know, because I will definitely be going back.
Tredwells “Vegwells” Supper Club, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe for right now
Water speed: I was happy to get a pitcher so I didn’t have to worry about it, but before that, the waiters did a good job filling the water glasses of normal people and their normal drinking speeds.
Service: Overall very nice. It was really hard to get the bill at the end (we paid before, as I said, but you had to pay for service and any drinks you got at the end) because everyone was finishing at the exact same time, so I wish next time you could just pay for service beforehand too, like we did for Plates and others.
Bathrooms: Around the corner so you pass a little window into the kitchen on the way. Fine, clean individual doors marked separately for men and women.
Food: Fantastic! And we’re getting closer and closer to getting sufficient protein at these things! Sun’s out guns out!
Bonus: Amazing desserts! Like seeing a double rainbow.
Water speed: I was happy to get a pitcher so I didn’t have to worry about it, but before that, the waiters did a good job filling the water glasses of normal people and their normal drinking speeds.
Service: Overall very nice. It was really hard to get the bill at the end (we paid before, as I said, but you had to pay for service and any drinks you got at the end) because everyone was finishing at the exact same time, so I wish next time you could just pay for service beforehand too, like we did for Plates and others.
Bathrooms: Around the corner so you pass a little window into the kitchen on the way. Fine, clean individual doors marked separately for men and women.
Food: Fantastic! And we’re getting closer and closer to getting sufficient protein at these things! Sun’s out guns out!
Bonus: Amazing desserts! Like seeing a double rainbow.
Three Count ’em THREE Fantastic Dessert Recipes & A Big Hello There!
Look I used a fancy pants flower muffin pan
Man alive, I haven’t posted in a while! And I haven’t posted about food in a longer while! My deepest apologies to all of you who have been sitting at the computer hitting refresh…refresh…refresh for the past month. I hope you took bathroom breaks.
I’ve been so busy because I have been planning a wedding! We have compressed the expected 10-12 month process into about 2 months, so I have been hella distracted. But there’s always time to bake because I read that the appropriate wedding diet is baked goods. So here are three (3!) recipes to make amends for the computer silence lately. From here on out, we should be posting regularly because I hired someone to yell at me every day until I write. (That part is true except for the hiring and paying.)
All three of these recipes were made out of NECESSITY. First, I found a sick sale on Dandies vegan marshmallows at Mom’s Organic Market, so you know I bought the entire shelf. That led to recipe #1. Then, I needed to use up browning bananas. Hence recipe #2. Finally, I found an old can of pumpkin pie mix in the back of my cupboard, and while it wasn’t necessarily going to go bad anytime soon, I sensed how wrong it was to have Thanksgiving food around in the summer. I felt the ghost of Squanto standing in the corner of my kitchen with his hands on his hips, arching his left eyebrow, and mouthing ‘For. Shame’. So that’s recipe #3.
Oh also all three of these recipes have chocolate chips. You can obviously omit or exchange them if you want but then wtf would be wrong with you?
CHOCOLATE CHIP MARSHMALLOW COOKIES
Dudes, before you say anything, I do realize that if I added pecans or almonds or some such, these would be properly called rocky road cookies, but as you well know, sometimes you feel like a nut
BUT SOMETIMES YOU DON’T.
Dudes, before you say anything, I do realize that if I added pecans or almonds or some such, these would be properly called rocky road cookies, but as you well know, sometimes you feel like a nut
BUT SOMETIMES YOU DON’T.
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Ingredients:
**Note: When I used Earth Balance, it produced more of a biscuit-y cookie. The oil made a chewier cookie that I greatly preferred, but some test subjects liked the biscuitness. Your call! Directions:
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The biscuity buttery batch
This is how it looks when it is mixed. Ta daaa
This is what the inside of an oven looks like.
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SOFT BANANA CAKE WITH SPECULOOS AND PEANUT BUTTER RIBBONS
That shit sounds goooood. This was definitely more like cake than regular banana bread. I think because I didn’t use wheat flour or flaxseed, which is usually in my banana bread. Or, it could be because I ate it straight from the oven…
That shit sounds goooood. This was definitely more like cake than regular banana bread. I think because I didn’t use wheat flour or flaxseed, which is usually in my banana bread. Or, it could be because I ate it straight from the oven…
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For the ribbons:
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VEGAN PSA THIS IS WHAT BANANAS LOOK LIKE
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PUMPKIN PIE MUFFINS
What’s better than pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins! So yummy and it shouldn’t just be relegated to November.
What’s better than pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins! So yummy and it shouldn’t just be relegated to November.
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Ingredients:
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Before. Raw food.
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VEGAN PSA THIS IS WHAT PUMPKIN FROM A CAN LOOKS LIKE
This is what milk on top of canned pumpkin looks like.
Seriously this flower muffin pan makes everything special.
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Ta daaaa! Enjoy! I hope you make all of these right now! They all use the same oven temperature and chocolate chips so it’s not that big of a deal. I’ll be back with lots more stuff soon! Yebop!
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