VEGAN LONDON: Amico Bio (Vegan MoFo 2013)

Hey there MoFo'ers, I visited London back in March and have been blogging (intermittently) about it ever since.  Catch up if you like! 

After a long, cold, snowy day at the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, we were once again looking forward to sitting down to a delicious, vegan meal.

 

On this night, we chose Amico Bio, a vegetarian Italian restaurant with two locations in London (I think we were in Holborn).

Fair enough:

While there was a predominance of dairy cheese and even yogurt on the menu, there were many dishes available with a vegan option.

The restaurant was quaint with a European feel.  As it was a Monday evening, it was not particularly busy.

My friend and I make good sharers; we started with the Bruschetta al pomodoro: tomatoes bruschetta.  Don't let the simplicity fool you; it was flavorful, fresh, and hardy.

Also, Tagliere con focaccia, olive di Gaeta e oiio extra vergine organico: "Homemade focaccia bread, breadsticks, gatea olives and organic extra vergine olive oil."  Upon consumption, it became abundantly clear that the reason I don't like focaccia is because mine doesn't taste like this.  Each element was as beautifully presented as it was delicious.

I should note that the menu does not showcase your typical spaghetti and meatballs Italian food.  Although they had a few choices that erred on the traditional side, we found them to be without a vegan option available.  So, for an entree I chose Arancini di potate, peperoncini: "Potato croquette with braised onions, sweet peppers, and Romaine."  A potato croquette!!  Who doesn't love a potato croquette?  Again: simple, but extremely well-prepared.  It looks oily in this photograph, but it wasn't. 

For my friend: Polenta arrosto con pomodoro: "Pan fried polenta with roasted tomato."  Another fresh, tasty dish where not a bite went to waste.

Everything about our experience at Amico Bio was understated yet flavorful.  It was a nice change of pace- especially in the throes of winter (yes, winter; it's taking me a long time to blog the trip!) and our marathon vegan tour of London.

Frog Commissary Curried Red Lentil Salad (Vegan MoFo 2013)

I wanted to share this recipe because it's a terrific, chilled dish...for summer.  Let's face it, the weather hasn't exactly turned crisp yet, so there's still time.  The recipe is curried red lentil salad from The Frog Commissary Cookbook (not vegan).

Don't mind 89; she's just stalking my arugula.

After trying one of hers, foodfeud asked me what my favorite lentil salad is; it's definitely this one.  I decided to revisit it so I could finally post it, and was surprised to find that it's actually awfully similar to the "The Best Lentil Salad, Ever."  No wonder I liked that one too.

Here's the backstory: Veggie Conquest was a New York-based, "amateur vegan cooking competition" event where all attendees present, as well as a few professionals (judges), got to try an assortment of culinary submissions prepared specifically for the evening by competing, amateur chefs.  In addition, a group of talented and selfless event volunteers would prepare dishes for all attendees to enjoy as a generous second course.   At the very first Veggie Conquest we attended, one of the volunteers prepared this outstanding lentil dish and we've been hooked ever since.

She likes the lentils too (sans dressing).

Thanks to GS; I'm still making it!