Road Trip Number 2 - Preston, Morecambe and Ramsbottom

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a little road trip Matt and I took to Oswestry and Chester. A week after we did a second one for Matt's birthday. Our overnight destination was Morecambe with a stop off in Preston for lunch.


We've visited the Whaletail Cafe a few times before and always enjoyed the food and this time was no exception. Matt went for the salad platter about that came with a serving of home made hummus and some lovely olives. It was a cold wintery day and I felt that I needed something hot to eat so I picked this mushroom and grilled tofu roll. This really hit the spot and is something I need to recreate at home. It would be a perfect Sunday morning breakfast roll.


Underneath the Whaletail is a lovely old school wholefoods co-operative called Single Step. I was excited to find some turmeric root there as I've been wanting to try making turmeric spiced milk for a while as a bedtime drink. Once in Morecambe we headed to a Toby Carvery for Matt's birthday tea. Unusually for a chain carvery this one has three vegan options. We tried the butternut squash crumble and the lentil cottage pie and piled on the veggies and gravy. We were impressed and it was great value for £6.29. We were so full we had no room for pudding even though they have a vegan dessert too. I'm afraid I forgot to take any pictures but would definitely eat a one again. I wish our carvery in Glossop did some vegan options but it's a Crown Carvery and they don't at the moment.



Matt came up with the great idea of driving back home via Ramsbottom. I've been hearing amazing things about Lolo's Vegan and Raw Restaurant and Store on social media ever since it opened at the end of last year. Guys, it did not disappoint and it is so worth making the trip out here. For starters I loved the decor. It's done in an Art Deco style and done really well. We were there at mid-day so chose from the lunch menu (there is a separate menu for evenings).


After years of hearing about this sandwich on Amercian blogs I was very excited to try this yummy Philly Cheese Steak Sub with mixed peppers. It's a rubbish  photo but it was a brilliant sandwich and it was so nice to be offered some different vegan sandwich ideas other than the usual ones. Matt opted for a Lolo's Club Sandwich which was loaded with bacon, turkey, cheese, avocado and salad on a whole wheat sub.


There were also lots of delicious sounding salad options and we split a portion of this Creole Potato Salad made up of creole mayo, spring onion, brazil nuts and sweet, purple and red potatoes. This was something else! I'd never have thought of putting brazil nuts in a potato salad but they were a fabulous addition.


Another thing that Lolo's do really well is cake. They had an amazing selections of cakes, cookies and scones including lots of raw options. And not only do they do cakes so well, they also have a home made icecream bar! We opted for a scoop of each flavour made into a sundae to share.


Ramsbottom has a bit of reputation as a foodie town. Just last weekend was their annual Chocolate Festival. After finishing our lunch we picked up a few things from the Lolo's store and they we nipped across the road to The Chocolate Cafe. The downstairs of the cafe is actually a chocolate shop and the space where they make the chocolate. All their vegan options are clearly marked and their chocolate reminded me of the kind of things Hotel Chocolat offer. I picked up a bar of dark chocolate studded with orange pieces for my mum for mother's day. Before heading home we popped into the newly opened The House of Beer which is owned by Clint, an old pal of Matt's They have an amazing selection of interesting beers and we treated ourselves to several bottles each. There's lots of craft beers and it's easy to check if they're vegan using the Barnivore App. It was my first visit to Ramsbottom and I can't wait to go back and visit Lolo's again. The evening menu sounds amazing and they also have a brunch menu at the weekends that serves such delights as American Pancakes and a Three Potato Hash. How good does that sound!

Comments

  1. I love plates like the first one, with salad and olives and such. Everything looks out of this world! The mushrooms look perfectly cooked in your sandwich! I need to make a vegan Philly style sandwich. That potato salad sounds really interesting, I would never think to put any type of nut in potato salad. All the flavors sound great mixed together. Very hunger inducing post!

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    Replies
    1. Nuts work surprisingly well. I make a sweet potato salad with a home made tofu mayo, celery, spring onions and hazelnuts that is one of my favourite potato salad recipes.

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  2. I always think you manage to find the best vegan food in smaller towns where you really wouldn't expect it. That sundae looks brilliant, though I really couldn't share! How did the turmeric milk go? I'm a bit of a convert!

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    Replies
    1. I've still not tried it. It got lost in the bottom of a shopping bag for a few weeks and when I came across it I thought it was a huge maggot! I'm going to give it a go tomorrow.

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  3. The food looks like so much fun! That sundae is beautiful.

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  4. I love reading about your road trips. You always go to super fun places that I hadn't ever considered visiting!

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  5. I wonder how the vegan cheesesteak was? It technically isn't right. Traditionally it is just "meat" and cheese. BUT in their defense, I think only people from Philadelphia does that. Go anywhere in the USA and they will have peppers. So many yummy looking foods!

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  6. Ahh, that's interesting! I enjoyed it. I think they used Fry's steak strips and it was supposed to be a pepper jack cheese but I asked them to sub for a milder one. The peppers were a good addition and I would definitely order it again.

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