HARRY LEACH Tasty dishes offer food for thought
Confirmed meat eater tries a new ‘Veganuary’ menu at Isaac’s restaurant
IS it possible to root for vegans and believe in their cause without incorporating a plant-based diet yourself?
I’d argue it shouldn’t be. That is counter-productive, hypocritical and helping no one in the fight against our harmful multi-billion pound meat industry.
But that’s where I sit in the debate, where my hedonism likely fails me. I cheer veganism on from the sidelines, thumb raised, while eating a beef burger.
I’m a meat eater, always have been, and likely always will be.
Acutely aware I eat far too much chicken, beef and fish, perhaps in years to come my meat consumption will be reduced, I tell myself. It’s a comforting thought, despite not being at all helpful.
But what is helpful is when vegan food is cooked in a way that makes you think: ‘‘I could eat this.’’
That’s a small win for those hoping to convert more meat eaters to veganism, and that’s exactly what Isaac’s at Birmingham’s Grand Hotel had me thinking.
The New York-themed restaurant has launched a range of special dishes for Veganuary, and possibly beyond, if they are wellreceived.
Visitors can choose one of four mains alongside a dessert and a drink (prosecco, vegan wine, beer or a soft drink) for £14.50.
Having greedily ordered all of the items from the set menu, there was one clear winner for me – ‘Isaac’s Dirty Dog’.
This incredibly messy meal consists of meat-free sausage (made from vegetables) and slow-braised chilli con carne, topped with sour cream. It was delicious.
I’ve always found that sausage substitutes, while never tasting like its meat equivalent, deserve their own place at the table, and this was no different.
Washing the dog down with lovely vegan red wine (Tem- pranillo Merlot, 2017), I moved on to Isaac’s’ ‘Roasted Butternut Mac & Cheese’.
A knowledgeable and attentive waitress, Malwina, tells me this might be her favourite, and I could see why.
After breaking its crusty base my taste buds were treated to a mouth-watering mix of roasted butternut squash and cheesy macaroni sauce.
I began dipping fries from the restaurant’s Canadian-inspired meal, ‘Sweet Potato Poutine’, into the creamy dish.
The poutine, made up of an avalanche of fries smothered in BBQ gravy, was very indulgent. But for me, more of a snack than a main.
My least favourite of the four meals on offer is the ‘Korean Spicy Fried ‘Chicken’’, a plant-based dish coated in the eatery’s own hot and spicy sauce, topped with sesame.
It was okay, and certainly edible, but nothing to write home about.
Feeling very full at this point (I wouldn’t recommend ordering more than two dishes unless sharing), dessert stared me in the face.
The ‘Chocolate Doughnuts
with Vanilla Cream & Pretzel’ were rich and soft in taste. Delectable, but still not quite up to the standards of its dairy equivalent.
But that’s to be expected, after all. How can it be as flavoursome? However, would I order it again? Absolutely.
Worth a mention, too, is Isaac’s’ vegan fried ‘calamari’ – an understated showstopper which was seriously moreish and if it weren’t for the dirty dog, would be my top pick.
Isaac’s can be found on the ground floor of the Grand Hotel, open 5pm to 11pm, Tuesdays to Thursdays and from 12pm on Fridays and Saturdays.