Milgi

Eating out seems to be a big issue for me at the moment – it must be the weather! So, I have to mention a fantastic meal I had at Milgi (www.milgilounge.com) on City Road last week. Even if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, Milgi is just a cool, eclectic place to hang out and have a drink. It’s so popular as well. Me and a friend went in there late one night, and the only place we could find to sit was in the bath tub in the beer garden (as I said, it’s eclectic).

The kitchen at Milgi is now totally vegetarian, voted for by the customers, and the food is really tasty and very reasonably priced considering the huge portions they give you. Even Milgi couldn’t provide a menu to fit my weird dietary needs, though. However, have no fear, the staff are extremely helpful and offered to make me a vegan breakfast with polenta cake (gluten-free) instead of sour dough toast. Unlike some of the restaurants in the area, they don’t charge you for the switch either. They just want to make sure that everyone can get a meal. Along with the great atmosphere and good food, Milgi also has an impressive drinks list and vegan and gluten-free options amongst the desserts.

Making a Meal Out of Sides

   Today I found myself eating in a chain restaurant with friends where the food is generally reheated rather than served fresh. My first glance at the menu led me to believe there was quite a selection for vegetarians. On closer inspection, however, it turned out that three of the vegetarian meals were the same cauliflower cheese dish that had been included under different course options. The only main I could find that included no animal protein was a jacket potato with baked beans. Tinned beans aren't ideal, I know, but sometimes you have to cheat a bit. With all the will in the world, a jacket potato with beans is never going to be an exciting meal. So, I decided to add a side of flat mushrooms to make it a bit more interesting.
   Making a meal out of starters and sides is a skill that I picked up whilst living in Greece. Whereas Greek main meals generally revolve around meat, the starters (or mese dishes) are usually vegetarian, and a lot are plant-based.
   If you are finding it hard to make a plant-based choice when eating out, why not order a combination of starters and sides instead? It gives you much more variety and your dining companions will no doubt be jealous of your personal buffet!

No-Cheese Pizza

One of the hardest things I’ve found about following a plant-based diet is eating out in restaurants. By the time you’re searched through the menu to find something you can eat, it feels like everyone is looking at you and you still aren’t any closer to getting some food. A neat trick that I have picked up is to order a vegetable pizza with no cheese. Pizza is fairly common in restaurants, most of them are cooked fresh, and it’s not such a big deal for the kitchen to prepare them with no cheese. Plus, they’re really tasty.