Gopal's Curry Shack at Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf

After my first run in with chaat at Sholay I was interested in trying other examples of this dish. Gopal’s crowdfunded their permanent home at Wapping Wharf and after reaching their goal, thanks to many loyal fans they opened up about 6 months ago.  Sporting an all Vegetarian and Vegan menu that will warm you through the Wintery months. A menu of Indian street food with dishes such as a selection of dhals, the Mumbai toastie as well as seasonal curries.  With chaat on my mind I went in to order the samosa chaat dish.  Whilst a good deal of the cargo containers are designed for takeaway, and Gopal’s is no exception, there are a couple of stools to perch on. 

 

Gopal’s samosa chaat consists of crushed up samosas topped with spicy chickpea curry topped with various chutneys, yoghurt and pomegranate seeds. At £7.50 it might seem a little pricey for lunch but the portion is enormous, if you can finish it in one sitting you are a hero to me. This was just what the doctor ordered on such a grey day, and we had braved sitting outside. The chickpea curry was a tad hot but I popped back in and they gladly gave me a pot with extra minty yoghurt to cool it down. This dish is wholesome, warm and comforting. The samosas are still slightly crunchy and add a nice texture, and the fig and tamarind chutney adds a wonderful sweetness. Because the flavours change with each mouthful it was a delight to eat, and even when I was full I still wanted to go back for another mouthful. 

 

 I find it really heartening when street food stalls build up enough of a following to open their own permanent premises and Bristol is lucky enough to have converted the dreams of many a street food favourite. It was something I wrote about last year for Wriggle, our love affair with street food doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of a cooling off period. Check out the article here.

 

Gopal’s shows how imaginative Vegetarian and Vegan dishes can get. The vibrancy and flavours certainly don’t make you miss meat at all. I am looking forward to exploring more of their menu over the next few months whilst we endure more freezing temperatures. To find out more about their food visit their website. Gopal's will also cater for events and parties if you are looking for something a little out of the norm.

 

New Menu from The Burger Joint

Last week Rich and I were invited to the launch of the new Burger Joint menu. The Burger Joint is a bit of a Bristol institution.  Born in 2009 on Cotham Hill in a tiny restaurant with about 20 covers, owner Dan Bekhradnia and his team serve up create your own burgers with a choice of about 30 toppings. This proved hugely popular and soon Dan was looking for a larger venue, so when Planet Pizza vacated their Whiteladies premises it proved to be kismet. Fast forward  to 2017 and you can find branches in Bedminster and Fishponds. 

To keep up with the increasing trend of people moving over to vegetarian and vegan diets and choices the Burger Joint has refreshed their menu with some new vegetarian and vegan picks. You can also find some new hardshakes, alcoholic milkshakes, I first came across these at The Diner in London several years ago. There are some suggested combinations, but Dan encourages people to make up their own from their selection of ice cream and spirits. I chose vanilla, salted caramel and dark rum and very tasty it was too, not too thick so it doesn’t fill you up too much before your burger.

As well as the pre-existing veggie joint and the, much celebrated, mushroom with garlic and herb burgers, veggies and vegans can now order the vegan joint or the gluten free beetroot and feta burger. There is also the addition of vegan cheese to top your burgers with as well as over 10 meat free toppings. We got to sample the new beetroot and feta burger patties and I have to say they were excellent. Full of flavour the chopped basil really added something special. I think it would surprise meat eaters everywhere. I think adding these as a falafel optional side dish would be a winner because having to choose between the patty options is just too difficult.

beetroot and feta burgers

Another key item added to the menu is the truffle and Parmesan fries. I had my eyes on these from the off and Dan brought out dishes of these to share between pairs. I am not normally much of a fry person, more a chunky chip girl. Fries can be limp and flavourless, this was not the case here. Crisp golden fries with a good grating of Parmesan and a dash of truffle flavour coming through. Rich and I were fans and these disappeared in the blink of an eye. 

Once sampling of some of the new items had finished we were encouraged to tick our orders on one of the Burger Joint tick box forms.  I tend to have a standard order which is the beef burger topped with brie, blue cheese and chilli con carne, it’s tried and tested and remains to be creamy, spicy and messy all in one bite. However I thought I should try some different toppings, so I went all veggie with my toppings but sticking with the beef. So guacamole, roasted peppers and the newly added smoked Applewood cheddar crowned my Ruby and White sourced patty.

I am never disappointed when I go to the Burger Joint and this night was no exception. Dan knows his burgers and you will always leave feeling full. Unlike many burger places one side is included in the price so you can choose between a saintly salad, fairly sensible sweet potato chips or go full out with onion rings, as well as the normal fries you’d expect from a burger place. Like Dan and his staff who have welcomed so many Bristolians already, the new menu makes room for veggies and vegans alike to feel more at home. So if you’ve not paid a visit to one of the Burger Joints in a while, go check it out, and take your veggie friends with you. To check out the new options head to their website.

Vegetarian Dining at 1847

Last week the weather was horrendous, gales, driving rain and cold, basically everything you associate with Winter. After all the fairly mild offerings leading up to December it seemed to catch everyone off guard. It was on such a night of biblical weather proportions that Katherine and I headed to 1847 a new vegetarian restaurant that has opened up on St Stephen's street. I had been invited to sample the menu and for full testing purposes taking a vegetarian friend with me seemed only right. Vegetarian definitely seems to be de rigueur in the Bristol food scene at the moment with Flow opening up a few months back and the Black Sheep on Gloucester road joining suit. Hell even Meatliquor has adapted their menu to offer more veggie options for their new Bristol branch.

The gusts of wind blew us through the door of 1847, named after the date the vegetarian society was formed, and we were greeted very warmly by the waiter. The restaurant is smartly decorated mainly keeping to black and white with a few different lighting features to attract the eye. Katherine and I decided upon a glass of wine each and we were brought some olives and sunblushed tomatoes to snack upon whilst we decided what to eat. We browsed the selection and there were lots of things to tempt the eye. The menus are seasonal so there were lots of warm and hearty dishes to comfort the soul.

We decided to have a starter and main each, I decided upon the crispy egg, which topped pearl barley, celeriac and radicchio and Katherine opted for mushroom and walnut paté which came with pickled quince and smoked butter toast. For our mains I went for the much celebrated 'Fish' and chips, ginger ale battered halloumi, triple cooked chips with savoury lemon curd and pea and basil. Katherine went for Beet Bourguignon, beetroot stew with sautéed potatoes and crumbled goat's cheese. Our waiter also recommended a side of caramelised cauliflower with harissa yoghurt

crispy egg with pearl barley

mushroom paté

The egg for my starter was soft boiled with a lovely crunchy crispy crumb on it. The pearl barley was cooked well but generally under seasoned for me, it could have done with a little twist of lemon too. Katherine enjoyed her paté, and there was plenty of it.

On to the mains. Two sizable plates were brought to us. I was greeted by 3 golden globes of battered halloumi sat on a pea green sauce with dots of lemon curd and a mini friar filled with thick cut chips. Katherine's main was a colourful affair with plenty of textures and the cauliflower looked and smelled wonderful, we were looking forward to tucking in.

halloumi 'fish' & chips

beet bourguignon

caramelised cauliflower with harissa yoghurt

The crunch on the batter on the halloumi was super crisp. I wasn't quite sure how this dish would work but the halloumi was such a great fish substitute, the lemon curd really lifted it up and added to the illusion of fish. I didn't miss having fish at all it was really delicious. The chips were pretty good but we decided that they could have done with a little tartar sauce on the side to further add to the dish. Katherine's beet bourguignon was rich and full of flavour although she said she would have liked a touch more cheese. The cauliflower was great, the harissa yoghurt had a good level of spice and it went really well.

We were too full to attempt dessert but the options were enticing. 1847 does a lunch deal where you can have any main and a glass of wine for £10 which is pretty good considering how generous the portions are. In the evening the options appear to be 2 courses for £19 and 3 for £25 I was a little confused why you can't seem to order just one course as there were no individual plate prices. I was impressed overall by 1847, the food is interesting enough to keep meat eaters interested and veggies will be spoiled for choice by the variety. A little attention needs to be made to some of the starter dishes as I didn't find the selection as interesting as the mains and my starter was a bit bland. But the mains really impressed me so treat the veggies in your life to a meal at 1847 they won't be disappointed. To find out more about 1847 visit their website.

This meal was complimentary but we paid for our drinks, it did not impact my opinion of the food when writing this review.