Madrid for Vegetarians
I spent May bank holiday weekend in Madrid and would highly recommend it as a short city break destination. Of course food is never far from my thoughts and I thoroughly enjoy the whole eating adventure! Madrid is a wonderfully busy and filled city. Regardless of where you are in the city you are only a stone’s throw from a tapas bar, cafe or restaurant.

So what’s Madrid like for vegetarians and vegans you may well ask? My first impression is that Madrid cuisine is not very familiar with the concept of vegetarianiasm in general and veganism in particular. Actually you may be considered an alien from some far flung planet in the solar system! Meat and fish dominate, salads are usually sprinkled with ham or fish and so it may seem that you will have to survive on cake for the weekend. The cakes are very good but we cant live on cake alone- can we? The good news is that with a little bit of research and planning you can eat very well in Madrid and soak up the wonderful al fresco eating experience!

Firstly let’s look at a few vegetarian specific restaurants in Madrid
Viva la Vida Calle Las Heurtas 57 & Viva la Vida Costanilla de San Andres 16
both operate as a shop and buffet table- takeaway suitable for vegetarians and vegans- chickpea salad, vegetarian lasagne, seitan, curry. Viva la Vida on Las Heurtes is right smack in one of the main night time party streets – if your feeling peckish at any hour of night Viva la Vida is open for a refill!

Maoz- Hortaleza, 7 Calle Hortaleza & Maoz – Mayor- 4 calle Mayor-
Very simply falafel bars- which are take away only offering simple falafels, served with chips salads and dips- good for lunch or snack. Made me think of doing falafels in Cafe Fresh for the summer, good idea eh?

Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Madrid is Ecocentro, Calle de Esquilache2-12
shop, buffet and basement restaurant. Just check out the website and you’ll get the idea www.ecocentro.es

Just because you’re veggie shouldn’t mean you miss out tapas bar culture in Madrid. Of course tapas bars are the first port of call for a lunch or snack for anyone visiting Madrid. I cannot imagine the actual number of tapas bars in Madrid, there is one on every corner offering a cheap and sometimes not so cheap way of enjoying Spanish food. Again you will be overwhelmed by the meat and fish based dishes on menus not to mention the grouchy waiters! But hey, I dont mind as long as I get great food. If you take your time and carefully read the menu you will find lots of delights in tapas bars around Madrid. You can start with a bowl of olives and chips/crisps. Like Ireland the potato features quite a bit – you can order the classic ‘patatas bravas’ – chunks of fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce This is available on every menu but there are huge variations in the quality of the sauce. Our first experience tasted more like potatoes with a spoon of packet soup on top- not very good. But we had some really good ‘patatas bravas’ the next day. Here are some examples of what was available in a selection of tapas bars for veggies!

Spanish tortilla – classic egg and potato Spanish omelette- very tasty. We do a low fat version of this in Café Fresh.
Patatas bravos – chunks of fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce- Vegan
Alioli potatoes chunks of fried potatoes with creamy garlic mayonnaise – I love this garlicy mayo
Aubergine pate on toast -simple and tasty- again alot of garlic- Vegan
Bruschetta with caramelised onion and goats cheese
Mushrooms, garlic and white wine on toast- Vegan
Asparagus plate- choose from regular green or white asparagus- not available everywhere- Vegan
Sttuffed peppers with piquilo- spicy, Vegan
Stuffed peppers with cream cheese
Quesoa aceite- Mancha cheese in oil and herbs
White beans in vinaigrette served in a bowl with crusty bread or on toast- Vegan
Mozzarella and Tomato salad
Artichoke tempura
I am sure you can add to this list many times over. These are just what I tried and enjoyed so I can recommend them.

Here a few of the best tapas bars in Madrid that cater for everyone- Casa Alberto c/Huertas; El Lacon c/Echegaray; La Venencia c/Echegaray; Cervantes, Plaza de Jesus-go for lunch, really busy so be prepared to wait; Cerveceria Santa Ana, Plaza Santa Ana – go here at night, really buzzy.

Mercado San Miguel-a beautiful wrought iron and glass exterior encasing a gastronomic stylish paradise. It takes centre stage for sheer gourmet sophistication- I revisited it three times over the weekend for the sheer visual and edible pleasures that were on offer! Veggie tapas aplenty, salads, veggie sushi, fresh vegetables, fruit and cakes. All can be washed down with a fine selection of Spanish wines, cavas and a very impressive selection of champagnes, all available by the glass. Do not miss this wonderful place when you visit Madrid. There is a eating area in the centre with some stools. So cool and sophisticated!

What about something other than tapas bars. When I’m away I really look forward to at least one night in a really nice restaurant – put on my favourite dress and off I go- an aperetif, 3 delicious courses, pleasant surroundings, white linen table cloths, attentive waiters, good wine list and relaxed athmosphere. So where to go to? There are some lovely restaurants with excellent reputations in Madrid with vegetarian options and a few that even cater for people with allergies!

Restaurant for Special Night Out. Take you pick from any of the following:Restaurant4 DiverXO www.diverxo.com- book a month before you plan to travel; Alboroque, c/Atocha- Michelin Star; La Rumba c/Serrano www.larumbe.com; Casa Lucio, c/la Cava Baja, www.casalucio.es; El Estargon, Plaza de la Paja- vegetarian and very good indeed.

There are many more places to write about, this is just a taster and you can make your own mind up when you get to Madrid. All I will say is go and visit, its a wonderful city. Did I mention the food?!
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Halloween Cookery Night :  Tuesday Oct 27^th 7pm-9.30pm

Join Mary for a fun evening of Halloween cooking!!

A feast of Halloween delights to enjoy. Relax while Mary demonstrates the simplicity of tasty nutritious seasonal food. At the end of the night you sample the food and give your verdict on the dishes that Mary has prepared. Bring along a couple of friends and a bottle of wine or something stronger to add to the Witches Brew. Have a fun relaxed entertaining evening.

Menu

Guacamole with black beans & corn chips

Pumpkin Sloppy Josephines!

Served with tomatillo salsa verde & sweet potato salad

Dessert: Baked Apples with Dried fruit, nuts and spices!

All washed down with a Fruity Witches Brew!

€30.00 per person; All enquiries to Mary 01 6719669 or email mary@cafe-fresh.com

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Café Fresh – marking World Food Day

and World Day for the Eradication of Poverty

This Friday (16 Oct) marks World Food Day 2009, reminding us that 1 in 6 people in the world are hungry. Saturday 17 October is World Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The two days are closely linked, not only because many of the world’s poor also number among the chronically hungry, but also because Irish efforts to tackle hunger and eradicate poverty are currently being hit by Government cuts to the overseas aid budget.

Ireland has recognised that the scale of global hunger and the suffering it causes is a terrible problem, and an appalling indictment of the modern world. Ireland commissioned a special Hunger Task Force to recommend how Ireland could help and has committed to spending 20% of Ireland’s overseas aid budget to tackling hunger.

But still the Government cut €224 million from the aid budget in 2009 – aid money which is helping to tackle hunger and helping in the struggle to eradicate poverty. The cuts amounted to almost 25% of the aid budget for the year, at a time when the economy shrank by about 8 to 10%, which sends a clear signal that the world’s poor are paying for Ireland’s economic troubles.

When we compare poverty in Ireland with poverty in the developing world we are not comparing like with like. In parts of East Africa, food prices have risen so high that families in the city slums are borrowing three times their weekly income to buy food alone.

Aid cuts hitting the hungry and the poor

So what direct impact will this have on the work of aid agencies trying to support poor and hungry people? Well, to quote just one, Trocaire, here are some examples of the work at risk:

• In Kenya and Ethiopia people are struggling to find enough food to eat. Trócaire’s programme, supported by Irish government money, is feeding over 140,000 malnourished children, pregnant women and the elderly and giving meals to children in schools. Reduced Irish aid supports will threaten the programme.
• In a clinic outside Nairobi, it supports a very successful programme to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies. Last year only one child was born HIV positive in this clinic. 50% of infants infected with HIV from their mothers die before their second birthday. This transmission is entirely preventable, but aid cuts could threaten this programme.
• In Rwanda, Trócaire is helping 24,000 people who survived the genocide 15 years ago. Families who were literally left with nothing after the war now have seeds and tools to grow enough food to feed their families and try to earn an income.
• In India, it works with 190,000 people who need support with shelter and sanitation, and to avoid malnutrition and send their children to school. Children will become malnourished and possibly miss out on an education if aid money dries up.
• In Zimbabwe, over 100,000 children have enough food to eat because of Trócaire-supported work that is funded through the Irish government. Trócaire may have no choice but to withdraw from this programme.
• In Thailand, it provides food and shelter to over 30,000 Burmese children in refugee camps, partly with government funds.

Irish development funding – under its international commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid, or just 70c in every €100 – is slowly beginning to translate into change on the ground in developing countries. That is why it is so deeply worrying that Ireland’s aid has been so severely cut at the first economic hurdle.

We need to think of the long-term. Without Ireland’s help, thousands of children would not be in school and thousands more would not have access to clean water, essential medicines and life-saving vaccines.

The poorest people in the world are under threat from so many sides (economic crisis, global credit shortages, fewer remittances coming from migrants overseas, the devastating effects of climate change, and now failing aid budgets) that now is the time to have the courage of our convictions and keep our promises to the world’s poorest people.

This weekend – when the world focuses, for a short moment, on the plight of those people in the world who are hungry and poor ─ is a real chance for us to send a message to the government that cutbacks to the aid budget are unacceptable.

It’s a chance for us to tell our politicians that, even in difficult economic times, We Don’t Care Less about the world’s poor.

It’s an opportunity for us to tell the Cabinet and the Government at large: “Show you care, and make sure Ireland sticks to its aid commitments: let’s make sure to reach 0.7% by 2012”

What you can do:

1. Read the leaflets outlining why We Don’t Care Less here in Café Fresh
2. Write to Finance Minister Brian Lenihan using the postcards supplied – and leave them in the box
3. Contact your local politicians in their constituency, urging them to stop any more cuts to the aid budget. See details of your local TDs is on the Oireachtas website, www.oireachtas.ie
4. Listen to the Ballymun Gospel Choir singing the Poverty Requiem, written especially to mark World Day Against Poverty, on 17 Oct., 8 pm, St. Anne’s Church, Dublin 2

1. Text your local radio station this weekend, and ask them to play the Bob Marley tune ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ for World Day Against Poverty.
2. Join Irish NGOs on South King Street for music and poetry about the impact of the aid cuts this Saturday the 17th of Oct., 2-3.30pm, St. King’s Street (off Grafton St), Dublin 2.
3. Join the anti-poverty Commemoration at Dublin’s Famine Memorial – 17 Oct., 11h30, Famine Memorial, Custom House Quay

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Dear Customers,

Autumn has arrived and while some may say we can look forward to a winter of discontent – Café Fresh says very much otherwise!

We are focused on offering you the highest quality, healthiest, tastiest food at a great price during the autumn and winter months. We have lots of special offers: a Café Fresh Loyalty Card and Café Fresh Value Combinations so we can cater to you – or your customer base – in an efficient and cost effective manner. Look for flyers on our tables highlighting our special offers and value menus. We have also changed our price structure on the main course menu so that you can avail of a different price options for a healthy lunch.

New Delights Café Fresh

Raw Food Menu! We have introduced a raw food menu for all you raw foodies and for anyone interested in trying something new. We offer a raw lasagne and rice paper wraps daily. Our lasagne consists of layers of shredded vegetables, sprouted bean pesto and cashew nut cream sauce. The rice paper wraps are filled with grated cabbage, arame seaweed, rice noodles and a lemongrass and ginger sauce, delicious with a drizzle of tamari. Both dishes are served on their own or with salads. We have a minimum of 6 raw salads each day. Raw food is a great option if you are on a detox programme. Equally it is ideal to once a week give the body rest from lots of cooked and processed foods.

More about raw foods to follow on the Café Fresh Facebook Page!

Spelt Flour

Café Fresh has replaced all organic white flours with organic spelt flour. Guess what, most of our desserts are now wheat free. We have a deliciously light spelt sponge cake with lemon icing and fresh fruit – it is fantastic! Our apple pie with cashew nut topping, flapjacks, brownies are added to our wheat free sweet treats. Treat yourself after lunch – or just treat yourself with with desert and one of our organic coffees or teas.

Wheatgrass Juice

Yes it’s here, wheatgrass shots at Café Fresh – deliciously sweet & smooth and delivered to us by Moyra in west Wicklow. Because wheatgrass if so full of nutrients that are beneficial to a healthy lifestyle, we want to offer it to our health-conscious customers and friends. Check out our website www.cafe-fresh.com for a full detailed analysis of the benefits of wheatgrass. (I suggest taking your shot before your lunch for the full benefits!)

Cookery Courses

The Autumn Café fresh Cookery Course is now in full swing. If you want to join us any night email me mary@cafe-fresh.com for availability. Full details of all courses and classes are available on the website www.cafe-fresh.com. Christmas classes are already scheduled. Get in early they are filling up quickly. This is a fun night so it’s a great idea for a few friends to get together and have an enjoyable evening while learning some new Christmas veggie ideas. You can bring some wine for a chill out night! Group booking also accepted. Drop me a line!

Facebook/Twitter

Calling all Facebook and Twitter fans – follow us each day as we post our specials together with any interesting titbits that I think might interest you. There are also lots of interesting links on our website. If you know of any organisations or website that you think would marry well with our ethos please feel free to contact me at mary@cafe-fresh.com and I will check them out.

We are excited about the menu changes and updates at Café Fresh – you benefit from our inspiration by tasting new dishes, and our expanded menu while getting value for money.

What winter doom and gloom? Not with Café Fresh – we continue to offer healthy delicious food at great value – the best vegetarian food in Dublin!

Mary Farrell

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Welcome to Café Fresh Online!

Café Fresh is Dublin’s multi award winning vegetarian restaurant. Located on the top floor of the beautiful historical building of The Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Cafe Fresh  is a hidden gem for all foodies.

Mary Farrell and her team bring together all their culinary experiences to create an exciting,healthy and tasty vegetarian menu for you to enjoy. Mary as the owner has brought her travel experiences to bear on the menu in Cafe Fresh. She has gained wonderful experience through the years in France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Australia and in Dublin itself. From the early days of working in The Well Fed Café on Crowe street to her successful business venture that is Cafe Fresh she has successfully shown that vegetarian food can cater to everyones tastes.

Find out more about us…

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