While I was in Philadelphia, I couldn’t help but take a trip to Sweet Freedom Bakery. I came here the last time I was in Philly and fell in love. It’s the only bakery I’ve ever been to where I could order absolutely everything there and not have to ask about the ingredients(which they proudly display), and their baked goods taste just as good as any others.

I intended to a couple of their cinnamon buns(which are incredible) but sadly they had none this time around. There menu had changed a lot since the last time I was there and a lot of the pastries were seasonal. The “cupcake tops” caught my eye.

I’m a huge frosting fan. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve had layer cakes where I just ate the frosting and filling and left the cake part. Cake just isn’t as delicious. Naturally, anything with a frosting to cake ratio of 2:1 is right up my alley. I tried the chocolate flavor; while the frosting was great, the cake was a little disappointing, which made me glad I didn’t get the whole cupcake. It tasted a little starchy from the gluten-free flours used; I’m guessing the recipe has a bit too much potato or tapioca starch and it overpowers the cocoa.

The other dessert I tried was their “magic bars”. It looked small and unassuming, but ended up being my favorite of the two. The bottom tasted like a homemade graham cracker-peanut butter crust. On top was a chocolate ganache and flaked coconut. I don’t think I could get tired of chocolate and peanut butter desserts, and this just attested to that. It’s something that also looks easy to make at home so I’ll be trying to replicate their recipe soon.

Obviously I’m a fan of Sweet Freedom Bakery, but I could have told you that before I went. I’d definitely recommend visiting if you’re in the neighborhood.

Time has really flown by lately. Yesterday I went to spend the day in Providence with a friend leaving soon and realized it’s been about a month since I was on campus.

A month since I walked across the main green.

A month since I last drank a GTS Kombucha from the bookstore café.

And a month since I last made a trip to Wildflour Bakery.

I really can’t resist this place. There’s no where like it in New England. They have the greatest selection of raw and vegan food with a bakery selection equally as fantastic. My friend suggested we go there(probably because I went through a phase when that’s all I would suggest we do) and I was no one to say no.

I’ve heard a lot about Wildflour’s raw lasagna and even though it was mid afternoon a filling, savory meal sounded great to me.

This reminded me how much I love raw food when it’s well prepared. Their lasagna is made up with layers of zucchini, tomato paste, and a herbed nut cheese. Even though none of it’s cooked, the flavors are complex and developed and the whole dish was rather filling.

To wash it down I grabbed one of their seasonal juices.

This was refreshing, but had a little too much lime juice for me. I would have liked a softer lime flavor and a touch of salt. I could never get enough of watermelon and salt.

Of course no trip to Wildflour is complete without grabbing something from their bakery. They have a huge selection of vegan baked goods. They have a good selection of gluten-free things, too, though I can’t say I’m not jealous of the chocolate peanut butter cup cupcakes and peanut butter brownies.

Since I’m probably not going to be back for at least another month, I got a trio of desserts: Chocolate coconut rum ball, raw coconut macaroon, and raw chocolate ganache(aka the best dessert money can buy). So far I’ve only had half of the raw chocolate ganache; it’s as good as I remember and blows the pants off of my version. But I think I’m one step closer to figuring out the recipe.

So when in Rome, do as the Romans do, minus the public urination and slave-driven gladiatorial games because they don’t like those so much anymore. And when in Providence, go to Wildflour Bakery. They won’t do you wrong.

For the last 5 days I’ve been on vacation in London. I’ve wanted to go to London for years now and it was everything I hoped it would be; the sights were incredible. The food, however, was very hit or miss. To be fair, I wasn’t going to London for the food, and most of the meals my group ate were in between famous landmarks. Food just wasn’t our priority.

Some of the meals were impressively bad; those ones I didn’t bother taking a picture of. English food doesn’t have the best reputation and when you’re limited to gluten-free, vegetarian(ish) options it’s even harder to find something edible and delicious. Salt was missing from practically every meal; and if I never see a plate of french fries again in my life I’ll be OK with that. So instead I’ll just point out the highlight meals.

My favorite restaurant experience was at Manna on Primrose Hill. This was actually the only restaurant that I knew I wanted to eat at before going to it. It’s a small vegan restaurant with lots of gluten-free options. I immediately went for the enchiladas, made with corn tortillas, beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin seed puree and baked in a tomato sauce. It wasn’t outstanding, but I liked it and would definitely order it again.

I just had to order their onion rings as a side, because how often do you see vegan, gluten-free onion rings? I’m guessing the batter is rice flour and soy milk. It was impressively crispy and not oily at all. The only problem I had was that it lacked season; a little more salt would have gone a long way.

Another night we had Indian food near Swiss Cottage. Indian food is all over London; it’s practically the cuisine London is known for. Since so much of English food is only lightly seasoned, it’s easy to understand why the spicy punch of Indian food is so popular.

I ordered the house’s chana masala and a dish called veggie veggie 5 with 5 different vegetables sautéed in spices. The masala was good but again not outstanding. The vegetable dish had a great heat to it and was refreshing. I could have eaten Indian every day in London since this is the sort of food I’m naturally drawn to.

I have to give honorable mention to the food court at London Tower, which surprisingly had a great menu. Their sesame carrot salad had just the right amount of dressing and was one of the few times a restaurant made a meal out of vegetables. The bean salad was also very delicious. The restaurant even had a gluten-free brownie which looked dense and gooey but I was so excited to have a plate full of vegetables that dessert wasn’t even on my mind at that meal—weird, I know.

I would recommend London for the culture, the friendly people, the historical sites and terrific museums. I would not recommend it for a foodie vacation. Tomorrow I’ll post about London’s redeeming quality: Their desserts.

I’m actually really hard to please when it comes to store-bought desserts. I often think “I could make that” or “I’ve had better” whenever I get a pastry from a bakery—or worse—a prepackaged dessert(Trust me, I know I’m impossible to shop for). But this dessert I would buy and buy again. It’s just that good.

The first time I saw the raw chocolate ganache at Wildflour, I wasn’t even that interested in it; the raw cheesecake was what I was actually there for. But after talking to the friendly staff, one woman said this was “heavenly” and another her “vice”. I was intrigued so I went for it.

I’ve never looked back.

Simply put, this is the greatest. It’s soft and smooth yet firm at the same time. It just melts in your mouth and has just the right balance of sweetness and bitterness for a chocolate dessert. It’s not really a “ganache” but there’s no other words to describe this except for amazing.

As for the recipe… I have no clue. I assume I would have to kill somebody who works there to get it(and even that’s barely stopping me from trying). My guess is that the ingredients and preparation are very similar to my raw vegan truffles except with a slightly different proportion and poured into a torte mold. There’s also a slight crunch to the bottom of this which makes me think coconut palm sugar is used as a sweetener. The top is finished off with a dusting of cocoa powder.

If you live near Providence I would recommend coming to try this. Also, if you live near Manhattan or Kennebunkport I would recommend coming to try this. It’s the best dessert money can buy and probably will be until I can figure out that damn recipe.

Oh, and don’t think that you’ll have the willpower to just eat half. You won’t.

Today is April 2nd and there is snow on the ground.

But on Wednesday it was bright and sunny at the temperature almost hit 50! That’s about as close to any dog day we’ve gotten. I spent the day in Boston with one of my best friends from high school. After about 3 hours of walking, we stopped at The Asgard in Cambridge for lunch.

I scoped out the one thing on the menu that was vegan/gluten-free and ordered that(I’m not vegan, I just pretend to be 90% of the time). When I asked for a salad without meat the waitress was shocked. Apparently pubs don’t get a lot of vegetarians(again, I’m not, I just pretend).

The salad was really good. It came with chickpeas and grilled vegetables. The reduced balsamic vinegar made it all come together.

Of course after 3 hours of walking there was no way I wasn’t ordering pub fries.

These were definitely the best part of the meal, especially smothered in salt and ketchup. They should just add a french fries salad to the menu and I’d be all over that.

I promise I was much more happy than I look.

And then there were actual dogs!

We borrowed these dogs from their owner and walked them around Cambridge and Boston. They had much more energy than we did. I was tempted to steal one but something about running down Comm. Ave holding a dog with people chasing me would have been a little obvious. We gave them back and the dog day was over, and everyone sang Florence and the Machine happily ever after.