Join the Mile High club

My sister lives in East London, and to say she's an evangelist would be an understatement. I'm constantly told how much "cooler" it is over there. How much more "innovative", "creative", about the amazing supperclub she went to the night before. Well, what East can do well I'll wager West will take on and do better, and when it comes to pop-up restaurants, I've a case in point.

A few weeks back, I checked into a glamorous departure lounge in Notting Hill, and one hour, 3 cocktails, and around 10 moose and beetroot canapes later, arrived (in some style) in the heart of Gotenburg. Dine Mile High is the innovative new pop-up restaurant concept dreamed up by 4 cousins from West London. Inspired by the golden age of air travel, each pop-up takes passengers to a different "destination", recreated through fantastic set design, delicious canapés, cocktails and a wonderfully authentic 'local menu'.

The exceptional attention to detail was what made the whole experience so memorable. The staff were local actors and drama students, and right from the check-in desk to the roaming semi-inebriated pilot, who called passengers aboard by name, the act did not slip once. Furnished with boarding passes and passports, we hit the departure lounge bar - earning passport stamps for each drink we sampled - whilst Scandi air hostesses served us with mousse canapes, pickled beetroot and cabbage, and all manner of Swedish delights.

Soon it was time to be called aboard our 'flight', and a few short moments later we were sat in the heart of "Gotenburg". Antlers and elk skins lined the wall, we sat along minimalist wood shared tables, and the cabin crew prepared us for take off. In a very well thought out pastiche of the standard lifejacket-and-exits routine, we were taught the correct way to imbibe and enjoy the meal (always ensure your neighbours glasses are full to the brim, in case you were wondering), and then we began.

Scallops were served with creamy potato puree in sea shells, we shared a smorgasbord of shrimps, salmon and marie rose sauce with our neighbours, and we devoured the elk steak with golden beetroot and chanterelles, rounding off with a scrummy Swedish lingonberry crumble. The menu was delicious - think noma, rather than ikea - and the seating arrangement and amenable hostesses made it a really convivial evening (the half bottle of wine each certainly helped).

The whole concept was fantastically thought out, and great fun to boot. Future departures will take guests to Beirut, Sicily and Mozambique, so make sure to bookmark www.dinemilehigh.com for when the tickets come out. This is certainly one frequent flyers club I'd recommend joining!

Dine Mile High
www.dinemilehigh.com
Next departures: 1-4th and 8-11th May 2013: Beirut.

Veggie Vegan-izing

One of my favourite Saturday morning rituals is to make the walk from the Sands End to the North End Road, and spend a few hours picking up my groceries from the fabulous local market they have there. This is no posh farmers market (although there is a fabulous cheese stall, a place with oils and olives, the odd food cart and an excellent fish stall) - we're talking good, honest and super-cheap bowls of veg, real local traders and no frills. The queues are long but I like this way of shopping because it's an experience, you feel like you're helping the community and the slow pace and social atmosphere beats a trip to Sainsbury's hands down.

But I digress.... the point is, whilst I'm off feeling a bit eco, a bit community-spirited, super-duper healthy (I am, after all, lugging cart loads of vegetables about in resusable canvas bags - indulge me), I always feel a renewed impetus to try and act a bit more healthily in general. Then last week, I made a truly serendipitous discovery. Having ventured a few blocks further down the road, avidly plotting my new Gwyneth Paltrow-like existence, I came across 222 Veggie Vegan. I've never really considered going vegan, but those who know me well will remember various short-lived health fads: an obsession with quinoa, smoothies containing algae, a period through which I drank quite absurd amounts of green tea.

222 is absolutely nothing fancy at all - and I don't mean that in a pejorative sense. The space is small, the decor very plain, the food served from a small and crowded metal buffet bar (although, I understand that in the evening the candles come out and you can go a-la-carte). However, with an all-you-can-eat vegan lunch buffet at £7.50, you can't exactly expect white table cloths and atmospheric plant-life. And my goodness, this food was not the vegetable mush and abundance of tofu you might expect (and fear) of vegan cuisine, this is the sort of food you guzzle more and more of. I filled my boots three times over, and best of all, it was totally guilt free. Vegan food is super healthy, right? Not a hair on an animal's head harmed in the making of this lunchtime feast. We had carrot tart, we had aubergine and faux-mozarella bake, we had an awesome chickpea salad: all the while imagining ourselves taking on increasingly glowing hues and fizzing with vitamins - a bit like Super Mario when he eats his magic mushrooms.

A vegan menu might not be for everyone, but this little place offers cracking value, and the food may just surprise you. You often pay through the nose for health-food, but this joint offers delicious, low-key, wonderfully nutritious and guilt-free grub at incredible prices. Next time you feel like giving your insides a little TLC, I highly recommend you check it out.

222 Veggie Vegan
222 North End Road
London
W14 9NU