I live in Watford; a town thatâs North West of London in the beautiful county of Hertfordshire. Being at the end of the tube line means that itâs classed as âGreater London,â which I like because often I feel like it is in fact, greater than London. I have the Grand Union canal on my doorstep, stunning fields and countryside, woods that go on for miles and cafes a short walk away that serve fantastic coffee. Whatâs not to love? And better yet, I made a discovery today that just made my neighbourhood a whole lot cooler. đ
Turns out that Watford has itâs very own vegan cafĂ©! Yep. Mood CafĂ© has been at 98 Queens Road since May 2019 but because I never find myself meandering down Queens Road, I have never discovered it. Until now. Well, since it was a lovely sunny day we got the bicycles out, put Missy May in the dog basket and went for a lovely cycle along the canal, through the park and into town to check out this plant-based cafĂ©. Would it be worth the ride? Or would it be overpriced and under-flavoured?
Well, it turns out it was everything I hoped it would be and more. Itâs not exactly situated in the nicest part of town but this hasnât deterred the staff from making it look like a place you would find in Londonâs Brick Lane or vegan-friendly Brighton. Trendy outside seating with Astro-turf makes it feel welcoming; like a veggie oasis beckoning you to partake in the various sweet treats, it has on display in the window. The ladies who run the cafe are ridiculously friendly and best of all? The food and style may be London but the prices are definitely Watford. đ
Nick and I shared the best âchickenâ burger we had ever put in our mouths followed by Inari tacos (equally tasty) and promptly ordered an apricot crumble cake and an apple pie along with two flat whites. Everything was utterly delicious and upon finishing the meal I realised I wanted to eat it all over again! If thatâs not a sign of a good cafĂ©, I donât know what is. At first, I was concerned they may not have much business. Partly because of where it was situated and also because we were the only ones eating there on a Saturday lunchtime. But I neednât have worried. Soon there was a steady stream of locals picking up ordered food (yes, very dangerous that you can pre-order and takeaway!) and it was clear that many of these customers were regulars. And why wouldnât they be? The food was delicious, the staff friendly and the coffee spot on.
Better yet, they are dog friendly so once COVID is a thing of the past and they can open up their indoor seating, we have somewhere to treat ourselves (and our pooch) when the weather is cooler and we require a comforting sweet treat to get us through the rainy days of winter. It was just such strange timing, as last weekend we ended up in leafy Clifton in the fabulous city of Bristol, eating incredible food at the family-run plant-based cafĂ© âEdenâ and I was expounding to Nick how I wished there was a vegan cafĂ© in dear old Watford. Little did I know that Mood Cafe had been there for the last year and a half! It was thanks to my friend Sarah who told me (and this was only because Facebook advertising had told her! Thank you technology). đ
So, the lesson is, do some googling and see if there is a plant-based cafĂ© near you! They seem to be popping up all over the place now, which is making veganism even more accessible especially when the food is so tasty! In my opinion, the key is to spread the word to the omnivores of the world. If they can take the plunge and visit a plant-based establishment for some seriously tasty grub, it might make them think of making more vegan choices in their day to day life. We need to bury the concept that food made from plants is inferior to food made from animals. You donât need cheese on a burger for it to be tasty. You donât need butter in a cake for it to be incredibly moist and moreish and you certainly donât need chicken in your chicken burger. Once itâs crumbed and cooked and covered with sauce and pickles there is no way you would suspect that you were eating tofu. I guarantee that when youâre served kick-ass vegan food you WILL come back for more. Not only because it tastes so damn fine, but because you feel so good knowing that no animal had to suffer or die for your belly to be satisfied. It makes it all that little bit sweeter.
And on that note, I need to share a story about my dear Papa Bear. My dad is nearly 62 years old and has loved meat his entire life. Since December he has been eating a predominantly vegetarian/pescatarian diet (with the occasional steak!) The other night he went out to a restaurant with my mum, ordered a rack of ribs, ate two of them, put his fork down and could not eat anymore. Yep. According to him, his body just didnât want them. It seems that after months of not eating red meat, he had lost the taste completely. To say that I was dumbfounded by this would be an understatement. My dad NEVER wastes food especially when he has paid for it!
So it proves my point. Eating is often habitual and if we change our habits our bodies change too. We no longer crave the food we used to crave because we have broken the addiction. I know that my husband Nick has reported the same feeling when it comes to meat. We treated ourselves to a meal a couple of weeks ago and he couldnât resist ordering the steak. When it came out he enjoyed the first few mouthfuls but that was all he wanted. Eating an entire steak proved too much for him. Again, this is something I never believed would happen as Nick has always loved his meat a lot more than he has loved his veg!
The moral of the story? Try eating vegan for a day, a week, a month, whatever you can handle. You will find that it is so much easier than you ever thought it would be, especially if you can track down a plant-based cafĂ© serving a fantastic range of food. Then you really can have your cake and eat it too. đ
Mood Cafe is located at 98 Queens Road, Watford, WD17 2NX. For more info click here to check out their website!
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Woohoo, I finally made the blog. Yes it was very strange for me to leave two thirds of a perfectly good Carnivorous meal on my plate. My personal rule has always been, if itâs on my plate, I eat it. As Tracy does the bulk of the cooking it seems that I may have surreptitiously evolved into a vegetarian. Just shows that us old dogs can learn new tricks.
You’re an inspiration! So good to know that we can make changes at any age. đ