Eating in Madrid, Spain: All-Vegan Bar Food at B13by Randi / July 29, 2015
*This post is part of a series in which I eat fancy Michelin-starred meals and then brag about it.
When we spent a weekend in Madrid this year, Husband surprised me with a reservation for lunch at Ramon Freixa, a restaurant with two (2!) Michelin stars. This was obviously very exciting, although the place is not well-known for its vegan-friendliness. Husband contacted all the best restaurants in Madrid to see who could accommodate vegans the most, and Ramon’s assurances were the most persuasive and promising. And if they didn’t do a good job, at least I could publicly shame them on my blog. Happily, we are doing zero shaming today! (At least on the blog.) Ramon Freixa presented me with a delightful, seemingly endless vegan ‘lunch’ (it lasted well into the evening).
Before we get to the food, let’s talk about the restaurant itself. We were brought to a heated covered patio sort of thing, like a sun room, to wait for our table. We had one of the first reservations of the day and we were a little early so we sat in the lovely little sun room that would have been so much lovelier if it wasn’t January. a few businessmen-type people were doing business at a nearby table. Soon we were led inside, and the restaurant was so clean and shiny and pretty and I realized, erma p, I am quite underdressed. Although I haven’t written in it in a really long time, I do indeed have a Style section on this website. I like to think that I have at least decent taste (and those of you remembering my law school backpack can shove it). So, I am embarrassed to say that the one and only time I believe I was ever, ever underdressed was for this lunch!! Que c’est embarrassant!
The sunroom? bar? |
Our table so pretty! And big! So big! |
My bag has its own little seat!
My favorite thing right off the bat was that, before I could put my (favorite Matt & Nat!) purse on the floor, a staff member literally swept in and placed a metal stool next to my chair for that purpose. I mean. Come on. A seat for my bag? Where am I? This is awesome! I knew then that my napkin would be folded into a swan or elephant every time I went to the bathroom, and that I did not have to worry about my water refills. It’s that kind of place.
Unfortunately for you, the printed menu they gave us is poorly translated and poorly edited of the non-vegan items. I’ll do the best I can to describe things and remember what the crap they were, but I’ll tell you right now, I don’t remember any details. Spoiler: I’m also sharing two pictures of non-vegan foods (the butter dish and a small cheese) because they were the most adorable and awesome-looking things ever, and you can’t really tell what they are anyway.
The first few dishes were already on our table when we were seated, which I very much enjoyed. According to the menu, we have seaweed crackers, “cold and hot citric”, and “the strawberry that wanted to become tomato”, the latter of which is the name of a book or movie or song I’m going to write; I don’t care what it is I need to use that name. The crackers were self-explanatory, nothing special. But the other two components set the bar extremely high for the rest of the meal, at least creativity-wise. The cold and hot citric was a really citrus sorbet but with hot citrus juice poured on top, so it was frozen yet hot and foaming while you ate it. It was delicious, but more than that, it was awesome. Our poor little strawberry friend was a huge surprise, because it looked like a strawberry, little seed dots and all, but it was indeed a tomato. A perfect raw tomato that had somehow been manipulated to look like a strawberry AND to not taste like the usual (gross) raw tomatoes. So cool!
The first few dishes were already on our table when we were seated, which I very much enjoyed. According to the menu, we have seaweed crackers, “cold and hot citric”, and “the strawberry that wanted to become tomato”, the latter of which is the name of a book or movie or song I’m going to write; I don’t care what it is I need to use that name. The crackers were self-explanatory, nothing special. But the other two components set the bar extremely high for the rest of the meal, at least creativity-wise. The cold and hot citric was a really citrus sorbet but with hot citrus juice poured on top, so it was frozen yet hot and foaming while you ate it. It was delicious, but more than that, it was awesome. Our poor little strawberry friend was a huge surprise, because it looked like a strawberry, little seed dots and all, but it was indeed a tomato. A perfect raw tomato that had somehow been manipulated to look like a strawberry AND to not taste like the usual (gross) raw tomatoes. So cool!
Hot and cold citric |
Strawberries but really tomatoes! |
Next, we were brought small bread rolls that we got to choose from an enormous and varied basket (yay and I wanted all of them). I was given a little dish of some of the greatest olive oil ever, while Husband was given a hockey puck and a rock. I kid you not. A hockey puck and a rock. He called over a waiter and asked, “Um…so…what do I do with these objects?” Judging from past experience, we assumed the rock was very very hot and that it was a cooking stone for an ingredient to be presented (this is actually based on past experience, not joking). But the waiter showed us that the hockey puck was actually a butter dish (the butter was the middle) and the rock was a soft piece of cheese that happened to have a slate grey shell formed around it. I mean, I was cracking up. My favorite things that I never ate and don’t want anyone to eat!
THANKS, BREAD! |
I’m sorry it’s a non-veg item but come on this is hilarious it was a rock |
Tell me this isn’t a hockey puck! |
Tomatoes on a cracker but amazing
After being served basket bread, it turned out that our next real dish was more bread! Yay! Well, it was a crispbread, luckily, because we got basket bread multiple times. (Michelin restaurants in Spain give bread! Who knew!) The cracker was doused in amazing olive oil and salt, and topped with delicious tomatoes and tomato pulp. I don’t usually get excited about raw tomatoes, but this was so so great. Like the cracker version of the best bruschetta ever.
The next two small plates are mysteries. They were both good, one incredible and one fine, but I’m just not sure what they were. I think the fantastic one was a lentil cracker with some kind of cheesy root vegetable and crispy things on top. It was such a lovely little bite I could have had 100 of them. It was also served upon a white ceramic tree stump. Hot damn I love the stuff fancy restaurants use. The fine one I think was chia seeds; the menu says ‘veggy roe’ which is pretty accurate for chia pudding actually. It had chopped carrot or winter squash in there and some seaweed.
The next two small plates are mysteries. They were both good, one incredible and one fine, but I’m just not sure what they were. I think the fantastic one was a lentil cracker with some kind of cheesy root vegetable and crispy things on top. It was such a lovely little bite I could have had 100 of them. It was also served upon a white ceramic tree stump. Hot damn I love the stuff fancy restaurants use. The fine one I think was chia seeds; the menu says ‘veggy roe’ which is pretty accurate for chia pudding actually. It had chopped carrot or winter squash in there and some seaweed.
Uncle cracker |
Chia pudding? |
The following dish was actually a dish (huge news!), on a dish, and was a little miracle. Not kidding, this plate I think was my favorite, one of the best parts of the meal. It included ‘steamed truffle made of truffle’ and ‘vanilla souffle potatoes’. Let’s start with the truffle made of truffle. It was perfect black truffle whipped into a truffle shape. I have never had real truffles before, aside from an odd dash of lower-quality truffle oil at some places, so it was pretty awesome to have my first legit truffle be an enormous glob of the good stuff. And I mean enormous. It was probably too much for the dish, and I’m sure other people would have had trouble finishing the insanely rich delicacy, but I loved it. Erma. I’m such a convert to truffles now. Not that I have ever bought anything truffle or had any since.
Bests
So so cool
That’s a lot of super rich truffle! It was so so good. Anyone who thinks truffles are so over are crazy. And they sound pretentious. Now I’m cracking up hearing Louis CK do his pretentious white girl voice saying “truffles are soo ooover.” Anyway, that wasn’t even the best part of this plate. That lone slice of potato that looks kind of sad, the one wearing the hat? was the most incredible, creative, and surprisingly delicious part of this whole meal. When they told us it was a vanilla potato, we were like…umm…that’s going to be gross. A for creativity and trying to be unique, but what? No, we were very wrong. It was spectacular! Purely vanilla, but still proper to be eating with savory food. So incredible! Here’s a close-up so you can see the vanilla bean goodness.
After such rich food, I was grateful that the next dish was lighter and healthier, although it did taste healthier to if you know what I mean. This was a bean log, made of pureed white beans, rolled in broccoli dust, with shaved raw truffles at the ends. (Raw truffles do not taste like whipped awesome truffles.) This did taste a little like plain beans and raw broccoli, but I am vegan so I really enjoyed it.
After such rich food, I was grateful that the next dish was lighter and healthier, although it did taste healthier to if you know what I mean. This was a bean log, made of pureed white beans, rolled in broccoli dust, with shaved raw truffles at the ends. (Raw truffles do not taste like whipped awesome truffles.) This did taste a little like plain beans and raw broccoli, but I am vegan so I really enjoyed it.
Ah but next up was another rich dish! Well, a rich and crazy soup, really, or tea…or coffee. On the menu, it is called ‘from tea to cappuccino’, and it was another mind-boggling creation. A cup of hot mushroom broth was topped with a thick salted celery foam that I’m pretty sure is responsible for one of the Michelin stars. Celery foam! After you got through the ‘cappuccino’ foam, you got to the mushroom ‘tea’. Incredible little cup of wonder!
Grilled veggies, I just can’t finish you!
As expected with a restaurant that isn’t primarily vegan-focused, one of my ‘main’ dishes was grilled vegetables. But, it was pretty wonderful! There was a small cauliflower steak, perfectly oily mushrooms, asparagus tips, pearl onions, Brussels sprouts, tiny whole carrots, and a wonderful rich sauce underneath it all. This dish was described in the menu as being ‘like an animated forest’. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s awesome.
By now you probably realize, whew, this is a lot of food, we must be getting near dessert, right? And you said this was lunch?! Nope, two more savory courses to go! Luckily, even though I was quite (QUITE) full, the next two plates were some of my favorite things ever. First off, we got tofu! It was sooo goood. And so surprising! They must work with tofu regularly because otherwise I just don’t know how they made this so well. It tasted like it was marinated in soy sauce, and it was really firm and incredibly smooth (not grainy), which I rarely find in tofu regardless of the source. The tofu sat on a bed of fresh peas, and it was all seasoned so lightly but so well. So cool!
Really good tofu!
We ended the savory food section on a high note, with a tiny hot soup of fresh peas and..a grain? topped with grilled radicchio. This was so perfect, I wish I could recreate it to have for dinner on a cold winter’s night. Or a cold summer night; I am in London still wearing longs and longs in July.
After such an impressive array of food, it was only natural that the desserts wouldn’t be able to reach the same high levels. They did a remarkable job with the food, for a restaurant that doesn’t usually serve vegans, but dessert is harder for most places. I got two beautiful if simple fruit dishes, one that came with a poof of Smurf hair cotton candy. Pretty fun!
Another tree stump ! |
Vegan Smurf |
All in all, it was a splendid meal, and definitely recommended if you are looking for a duper fancy restaurant in Madrid. I think I’m still full from it.
RAMON FREIXA, MADRID, SPAIN
Water speed: Total bosses! I think there was a waiter who was solely responsible for watering me.
Service: See above. Pretty great.
Bathrooms: Omg the bathrooms were so funny. The restaurant decor was all golds and whites and silvers, very simple chic, and then the bathroom was like neon yellow and futuristic plastic stuff, so funny. There were incredibly fancy soaps and lotions too; I considered pulling a ‘Broad City’ and filling up a plastic bag with them.
Food: Really wonderful overall. Some dishes were basic but the average was brought up pretty high due to some standouts.
Bonus: Pretty sure we were dining with the richest Japanese businessmen planning coups and stuff. Also people were wearing hilarious dinner jackets. Like hilarious.
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Philly’s New Restaurant V Street: My New Obsession
Philadelphia’s vegan scene keeps getting better and better. Seriously, every week an announcement comes for a new vegan something in the works. The most important announcement of last year was that Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby of Vedge were opening a more casual vegan joint with a menu inspired by global street food. Considering the owners’ track record, we all expected V Street to be top-notch. Well, now having eaten every single item on the dinner menu, I can assure you that it’s more than you could possibly wish for. It’s incredible. Let’s take a look at this ridiculously great dinner (an epic lunch happened as well; we’ll do that later.)
On my recent trip home to Philly, my parents told me to pick a restaurant for a special dinner out. Obviously we went to V Street, the restaurant I’ve been freaking out waiting to go to since it opened. With four non-vegan adults eating with me, I was extra hoping that everything would be incredible, to prove how great vegan food can be. That’s a lot of added pressure that I secretly put on V Street, but they more than came through. My dinner mates were blown away.
On my recent trip home to Philly, my parents told me to pick a restaurant for a special dinner out. Obviously we went to V Street, the restaurant I’ve been freaking out waiting to go to since it opened. With four non-vegan adults eating with me, I was extra hoping that everything would be incredible, to prove how great vegan food can be. That’s a lot of added pressure that I secretly put on V Street, but they more than came through. My dinner mates were blown away.
As my non-vegan parents and two of our non-vegan friends pored over the menu, my dad (I think) said to the waitron (omg p.s. this is my new fave non-gendered word) “Why don’t we just get everything?” I love that that was not my idea. Never knew I could get away with that. Having done it now, I realize it’s really the only wait to eat out. Get the entire menu, every time. I don’t care where you are. It’s the coolest.
Waitron was like, that’s actually a good amount to order for a group of five, so right on. Plates started coming out reasonably soon considering how edge-of-my-seat eager I was. First up were crunchy papadums with whipped dal and aleppo pepper. I freaking adore the idea of whipped dal, or lentil puree if you don’t want to sound as fancy.
Waitron was like, that’s actually a good amount to order for a group of five, so right on. Plates started coming out reasonably soon considering how edge-of-my-seat eager I was. First up were crunchy papadums with whipped dal and aleppo pepper. I freaking adore the idea of whipped dal, or lentil puree if you don’t want to sound as fancy.
In Indian restaurants in my neck of east London, papadums are always already on the table with little saucers of pickley things and sour sauces. Not my favorite. If papadums regularly came with what was effectively hummus made with lentils, I’d eat them nonstop. This was a fantastic start. (Also easy to share, which when you are sharing everything five ways becomes important.)
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One of my favorite dishes came next, and it was something we didn’t order, just a thank you treat from the kitchen. These were soft pretzels – what Philly does best – with a gingery mustard. These pretzels, oh my god. They were so perfectly greasy and somehow melty and doggone delicious. I like to think that they gave this just to us because we were the special table and I’m so famous, but I’m pretty sure everyone got it.
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Soft pretzels. I may have just loved them because they were free. I love free things. Nah they were delicious. |
Shishito! That’s fun to say! |
Another appetizer-type dish was the shishito robatayaki. While we still enjoyed this, it was everyone’s least favorite dish. The slender green peppers were nicely grilled, but they just kind of tasted like grilled peppers. Nothing more, no pomp, no circumstance. If you don’t love plain grilled peppers (none of the saucing really came through because man ‘grill’ is a strong flavor) then you should skip this. It was totally fine, just not special.
Luckily, everything else was! Next up was the market greens, with honshimeji XO sauce and little circles of braised turnip. Now I have no idea what honshimeji XO sauce means, but I know I like saying it and I really love eating it. Okay I think it means mushrooms because there are some in there. This was a fantastic side dish that could make anyone love eating your greens. |
Lighting was much better at lunch, stay tuned.
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Now we’re getting to the unbelievably mind-blowing stuff. One of these fantastic dishes was the harissa grilled cauliflower with spiced avocado and green olive chermoula. This was a party, oh my goodness. I can never eat cauliflower any other way. The mix of complex flavors worked so well and the stems seemed almost deep-fried, they were so perfectly grilled. Oh man, so good. This is a must-get.
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Who knew cauliflower could be so good? Or, good? |
Another must-get are the Peruvian fries. These are really big chunky potato wedge-style fries with aji amarilla, cilantro, olive, and peanut droppings. They tasted like the best loaded cheese fries you may have had in your ignorant youth. Just amazing. I want these again right now.
Carrot asado and jerk trumpet mushrooms. So so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so…good.
Two more dishes under the “Market” section of the menu were equally stellar. The Carrot Asado comprised whole long grilled carrots with smoked black lentils, a bbq glaze, and curtido, which is a Central American fermented cabbage relish. Some cilantro was thrown on top and it was all perfect. Below left is the Jerk Trumpet Mushrooms, mushrooms glazed with dark rum, dotted with cashew pieces, and served with a dollop of sweet potato mash. Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods, and these were some of the best ever.
Next up came the dishes under “Plates”, which are more like entrees. All of these dishes were also just I can’t even continue to think of words they were that good. My absolute favorite, maybe of the whole night, was the Langos, an Eastern European deep-fried flatbread, sort of like an extra greasy focaccia, with smoked beets and sauerkraut remoulade. This, man alive. This was like an extra-puffy savory donut. If you go to V Street get 5 of these. Even if you are by yourself.
WHY ARE YOU SO BEAUTIFUL
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Another flatbread was also beloved by our group and may also inspire epic poems in its memory. The Charred Eggplant Flatbread with zhoug hummus and za’atar pickles was perfection. I’m pretty sure zhoug is a ghost in the upcoming (amazing) Ghostbusters remake and I didn’t know you could za’atarize pickles but whatever’s going on here, it’s RG (real good).
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YOU’RE EQUALLY PRETTY |
Blurry tofu. Blurfu. No that doesn’t work.
The other two ‘mains’ were more main-like, focused around a protein of tofu or tempeh, which along with seitan are cooked by Landau like no one else in the entire world. The Piri Piri Grilled Tofu with coconut chana salad and pickled celery won over our guests who were scared of tofu and I’m pretty sure had never really had it before. I loved it because I finally had great piri piri something! I live next to a Nando’s, where everything is piri piri (well peri peri), but they literally have not one vegan item, so this has been a long time coming. Just delicious.
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Next up is one of the absolute best dishes of the night. It might be my favorite. I mean everything is my favorite but this, man, this is awesome. The Korean Fried Tempeh Tacos with gochujang and radish kimchee was, well, a taco to start, so it couldn’t really go wrong. But this may have been the best taco EVER. The Korean fried tempeh is spectacular (you’ll see it again at lunch) and all the accoutrements made a mix of flavors so good you wanted a thousand of these. Gochujang is a Korean fermented red chili paste, so this was spicy but only like a medium level. The tortillas were the best I’ve had in a long time. Ugh just look at all those toppings. I am so excited to do the taco cleanse in Austin in May and I hope that anything there can come close to this taco. This was hard to share with five people so if you are not alone I would suggest getting at least three.
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Next we have the bowls! The Singapore Noodles with char sui tofu, broccoli, peanuts, and lime sambal were absolutely delicious. Sambal is another type of chili pepper paste, so this was very spicy, but the flavors weren’t overpowered. The angel-hair-like noodles were unexpected and lovely. The Mushroom Dan Dan Noodles with shaved zucchini and spicy sesame also blew me away. The thicker creamier sauce was fantastic. I expected them to be my preferred noodle bowl, because a) mushrooms and b) dan dan noodles are like the greatest thing on earth, but I think I may have preferred the Singapore noodles. Maybe they’re tied. You should get both and see for yourself. I think I just have been spoiled by Han Dynasty’s dan dan noodles, which are unparalleled even in China. I’m assuming.
Singapore noodles. You’re BLURSULA
Mushroom dan dan noodles
Halo Halo. So much better than Beyonce’s.
That’s it for the savory food. Whew!!! I’m exhausted and also super hungry and very sad that I can’t have this food tonight; how about you? We still have dessert though. Getting all the dessert on the menu isn’t as notable a feat because there were only two options. (Their soft-serve machine wasn’t working that night, which is probably the saddest turn of events you could ever imagine, but luckily I had soft-serve at my lunch there, and we still had two excellent desserts.) The Halo Halo parfait contained taro ice cream – holy mother of god – and orange granita with pickled fruit mixed throughout. For a fruity dessert, this was surprisingly excellent. It was like fruit mixed with a sweet white cream but in ice cream parfait form. So lovely. Even better, obviously, because it’s a waffle, was the Waffle. Lolol that’s what it’s called on the menu. So the Waffle of Dreams which I renamed it (you’re welcome Rich) had a base of the most perfect waffle you could ever imagine, topped with chocolate ganache (like there’s ever any other kind of ganache), banana, miso caramel ffs, and sriracha peanuts. And then there was this peanutty chocolate cookie circle stuck on top. Freaking extraordinary. That’s all Kate Jacoby, mastress of the desserts. These people are amazing. Also, Danielle Konya of Vegan Treats was sitting near me, and I really wanted Kate to invite her backstage (into the kitchen) so the two of them, poss the best vegan desserters in the entire world, could work together on something and probably cause a new planet to form in the resulting wonderful flavor explosion.
WAFFLEMEISTER
So that is V Street, at least its current menu. I think I can safely say that this was one of the top five meals of my entire life. And I’ve eaten at all the great restaurants. Oh man. I cannot wait until May, when I am going back to visit home, and I get to eat here again (for my birthday!). I CANNOT WAIT.
V STREET, PHILADELPHIA
Water speed: Great – they give you glass bottles for the table! My favorite!
Service: Fantastic. Helpful and nice and had perfect timing. Of course, coming from the land of terrible service in London, I probably would think anything was good.
Bathrooms: Past the kitchen with the bar seating around it, so every time I went (all the time) I got to see Rich holding court.
Food: Freaking. Amazing.
Bonus: Since you can share everything, it ends up being a great value. They also had a superb drinks menu, according to my companions, especially the tequila-horchata specialty. Also, they don’t take reservations, but they do take your phone number to call you when your table’s ready so you don’t have to wait outside. And if you are like me, you can see Kate, Rich, and Danielle all in one night. If there was a vegan celebrity bingo game, I prob would have won.
Veganz, Berlin: If Heaven Had A Storefront…
Berlin is the home of Europe’s first all-vegan grocery store, Veganz, and it is definitely a must on any vegan’s to-do list. While it is chock full of really fun, and some hard-to-find, products, the stock is not necessarily rare or unique. But, the fact that you don’t have to check labels on anything makes this the fun stop it is. Also, all your favorite junk foods are in the same place!
Look at all of these plane snacks!!
Berliners are fortunate enough to have this vegan mecca, but guess what – there are two of them! There’s one store in Friedrichshain, of course, because that is Germany’s East Village for veganism, and one in Prenzlauer Berg. The stores are roughly the same. We actually went back and forth between the two a few times, especially when one didn’t have the soft-serve delivered yet. (I mean what???) But yes, you read right! Both Veganz stores house a cafe called Goodies, which sells cafe food, including bagel sandwiches, pastries, cookies, and vegan soft-serve ice cream! The soft-serve comes from a powder mix, like all addictive drugs, and sometimes it takes all day for that powder to be delivered, apparently, but it’s definitely worth trying because VEGAN SOFT-SERVE! It wasn’t very delicious by any stretch of the imagination, but come on, you can’t pass up trying vegan soft-serve.
Veganz has the most fantastic array of fun convenience foods, from vegan gummies of all sorts (including coke bottles!) to giant pink bags of Manner (which of course I bought and ate real fast). The store also has the greatest round up of daily essentials in the fridge and freezer, which definitely were hard to pass by as a visitor. If you are considering moving to Berlin, I would say that the opportunity to actually purchase these perishable items should put another check in the pro column. They have the European cheeses! Those are the good kinds, so they say! Look at all of that cruelty-free goodness!
Okay, so here is what I bought. Well, here is what made it home. Not everything I bought made it home. It’s like the perfect stop for all of your plane snacks.
As aforementioned, the giant pink bag of Manner is a must-buy. Manner is the greatest wafer cookie treat in the entire world if you don’t know. They sell it all over America in shitty little convenience stores, but it all contains milk in the USA. Ughhh! It makes no sense when the same product changes formula in different countries. Anyway, this one is obviously vegan, so stock up. Oh my lord Manner is the best.
Continuing from the left: That red/coconut Bonbarr was okay, but those purple/nougat Bonbarrs are REVOLTING. Oh my god, do not buy them. They taste like unsweetened baking chocolate that you left unwrapped in a dusty old pantry for so many years that all the current inhabitants of the house with said pantry don’t remember who you are. Don’t buy it.
That Oskri cashew-coconut-cereal bar was really yummy! I’ve loved all Oskri products that I’ve tried, but watch out when you find them in the wild because I think some have honey.
The Vivani black cherry bar is banging, though nothing can beat those cheap Cella chocolate covered cherries for me. But this was great.
Those biona cool cola bottles are just alright. The flavor is spot-on but the gumminess is lacking. It’s more like a soft candy that you’ll just bite through and be like whaat, where’s the gumminess? They sell them at As Nature Intended in London, FYI.
If you’ve never had Primal Strips, you need to go find them right now because they are a godsend for traveling vegans! My friend beanerschnitzel introduced me to them, and I am so grateful because they are amazing! They are soy, seitan, or mushroom-based (depending on the flavor) protein strips that are softer than traditional jerky and much more delicious (and much less disgusting in theory than dried meat). The Thai Peanut is my absolute favorite flavor; it is one of the seitan ones and has the perfect amount of spice and peanuttiness.
That White Chocolate Dairy-Free bar, whose brand name I can no longer make out, is great for baking and was pretty okay for regular eating, but who eats plain white chocolate anyway?
The Moo-free Caramelized Hazelnut Nibs bar is my favorite thing out of the whole gosh darn stash. This chocolate bar was one of the best I’ve ever had! It was just the perfect chocolate depth and the perfect nibby stuff on top. You can’t beat caramelized hazelnuts, so yeah, get a lot of these.
That Chocolate Donut Pastry near the top? That’s from the selection of refrigerated yummies that Veganz sells and it was REMARKABLE. It was like a hard donut that had a creamy filling and a crunchy cookie-like base inside all of that chocolate coating. I want another one very soon.
Baby food pouches are always welcome buys for me, and this apple banana one was yummy. I do prefer my travel baby food with a mix of veggies and fruit, but Veganz only had fruit.
Okay, the Stroopwaffels. These carmelly syruppy waffle cookies are ridiculously good! Oh my goodness I don’t know how to describe them. They are soft but not crumbly, more like softly glued together or something fantastic. And the sweetness isn’t just sugary, it’s like deep and caramelly and beautiful. These are amazing. Except the picture on the wrapper is misleading, because it looks like there are 10 or so cookies inside but there are only 6, so you are going along eating all these amazing cookies and thinking you have so many more before you will have eaten half the package, but then the whole thing is gone.
Amore Mio’s Chocolate Hazelnut treat thing was okay, a little unsubstantial and airy but good.
Fruit leather – no surprises there.
The Giant Gallon Bag of German Fruit Gummies was another of my favorites! Again, the lack of gelatin makes for a very interesting chewiness, in that your bite goes right through a little too easily. But, these tasted great and they are still vegan gummies so yay buy a gallon, why not!
The Nirwana Noir chocolate bar was very interesting. It’s a semisweet chocolate with a nut truffle filling, and as amazing as that sounds, I was surprised that I wanted it to be a little sweeter. Still, definitely worth trying.
That Naturata Stracciatella Kirsch white chocolate bar has the greatest concept and name, definitely, but like all white chocolate bases it was a little lacking in depth. The chocolate cherry bits were really yummy!
So that is Veganz! I hope this helps you decide what to buy. When it doubt, buy it all.
