London ON Jan-Feb 2009

OK - sometimes good things happen for vegeterians and vegans and sometimes not-so-good things happen, right? This is a bit of both.

Our favourite omnivore veg-friendly restaurant


http://www.jambalayarestaurant.com/

has closed temporarily because of moving to different quarters - and we're suffering serious withdrawal. I'm talking about JAMBALAYA which is a haven for all peeps, veg or otherwise. Being vegan, my husband and I have been thrilled at Master Chef Kevin Greaves's attitude towards cuisine. He has a vegetarian and vegan friendly section of his menu, and he takes veg/vegan needs and tastes very seriously indeed.

Is the food serious though? Hah! This is a cuisine that is in the process of changing, moving, evolving, while at the same time keeping in touch with its roots. It is an exciting cuisine which includes (and sometimes melds, for special guests) Thai, Cajun and Caribbean cuisine. The ingredients are fresh and delightful, and if you are lucky (like most of the time!) you will get a chance to talk about the offerings with Kevin's lovely wife Denise too - she is so involved with this space! Kevin religiously, so to speak, walks out from the kitchen to see how his dishes are being received and to chat with customers, and the at-home atmosphere guarantees we all return again and again.

The thing is, however, that Jambalaya is now in the process of moving from its old location on Richmond Street, London, to a new and better space at 119 Dundas Street, London, Ontario, to reopen this next month (March 2009). We can't wait!!!





Good luck to Kevin and Denyse and to their staff - we look forward to seeing you AS SOON AS you have your doors open on your new space!




NOTE: Photos above were taken the last night of Jambalaya at its original London location - we had, understandably, a bit of a party and not a few weepy moments. Great place. Gotta GO there!!!!

Now, you see in a couple of photos my husband's smiling face in with the proprietors - and no, he's not a part of this restaurant (and neither am I) but is a happy customer!!!!

And now for the other side of the news? Well, Kevin moves from Jambalaya on Richmond Row and moves to Jambalaya, probably this next month, at 119 Dundas, with better space and an interesting new menus (including, of course, the old favourites). And what happens to the Richmond Row premises????

Veg Out Restaurant, from Stratford ON, is moving into Jambalaya's old quarters on Richmond with an upmarket version of their Stratford restaurant and more! This is great news for vegans too!

So London Ontario is looking up, guys! We are suddenly so blessed!

New York, November 2007

Strangely, we didn't take many photos on this trip, and those we did take could only be of interest to ourselves. Nevertheless . . . .



The FIRST thing you have to know about us and New York is that we go there to attend the opera and to visit friends. Appropriately, therefore, the first photo here (above) is of my dh on our first evening in NYC (and you really really don't want to hear about how long it took us to get there, what with computer breakdowns at the airports!) He is carrying a gift bottle of wine ('coals to Newcastle') to our dear friends, with whom we spent the evening.

A little early for our meeting with our friends, we went first to Bemelmans for a glass of wine AND to see the wonderful decor And to hear Chris Gillespie's performance! Fantastic!! (Expensive bar? Oh yes, but still a great experience one shouldn't miss - and there are people who travel a long way to go to New York just to hear Gillespie play!) We walked from there to our friends' apartment and then on to Candle 79 for arguably the best vegan cuisine in New York. Below we have a strange, almost 'candle-lit' snap of my dh with friend towards the end of dinner.



They look like a pretty shady pair!

Before I forget, I should add in the names of a couple of other restaurants we enjoyed and that might interest you:

Dawat, which is Madhur Jaffrey's restaurant, was a delight. It's not vegan or even vegetarian, but it has a good selection of vegetarian dishes and the staff were happy to help us with the ones which were vegan. We love Indian food and were especially pleased to visit the restaurant of one of our 'kitchen saints' - we've been cooking Madhur Jaffrey's recipes from her various cookbooks for something like 35 years now.

Another is Franchia (which is a sister restaurant to HanGawi we ate at on one of our previous visits). Both are Korean and completely vegan. We went to Franchia for a perfect lunch which lasted and lasted and lasted. We have made sure we will go again on our next visit.

And now, nods to our tummies and eating style properly dealt with, on with the rest of New York.

But where was I? Oh yes, we had just dined at Candle 79 - a superb meal. We were staying at a delightful Chelsea B & B called The Inn on 23rd and, the following morning headed for The Cloisters way up at the other end of Mamhattan. I do have a photo or two of that excursion:

Here we are at Fort Tryon Park, on the way to see the various medieval wonders.



The photo above was taken by a lovely honeymoon couple who had asked us to take their photo and then, somehow thinking that they should reciprocate, signalled that they would then take our photo on our camera. I think they did a very nice job!

It was a gorgeous day, as you can see from the snap I took (below), with the leaves showing their autumn colours just enough.



Next you will see The Cloisters as we saw it from our walk. Approaching this area by car just doesn't do it justice, I think. The walk from the metro is indescribably lovely and is an event in itself.



All this stone and the incredible things within tugged across the Atlantic!



Here is my dh, looking a little dour, inside a medieval chapel. These places don't inspire hilarity, do they.



But get the dh into the sunshine and, well, here he is around some old fruit trees and herbs, looking distinctly pleased to be in the light and warmth.



OK, that's me above, looking a little more sedate in the semi-confines of I-don't-remember-which cloister - no doubt I was imagining Heloise and Abelard.

And now outside in the clean fresh air again.



That night we attended the Metropolitan Opera's The Marriage of Figaro and the following night a performance by the Pennsylvania Ballet at the City Centre.

We also, of course (being indefatigable museum hounds), visited the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and three or four others of which I also have no photos (no photos mean it didn't happen, right? Right!). But wait, here's one of yours truly at MOMA - with 'friend'.



And that was mostly it for the three days. Nice trip - lousy travelogue! Hugs to all!!!