A quick day trip to Brighton for heavenly ice cream and arancini

Oh Brighton, how do I love thee, let me count the ways.

One, you have a great beach.

Two, you have lovely places to eat.

Three, you have a vegan co-op.

There are many more reasons to love Brighton, but somewhere that is so self-consciously pro alternativeness and veganism in all forms is always going to be high on my love list.

I went a few weeks ago, and this is what greeted me - how could I not be impressed? It wasn't a warm day by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a beautiful one.

After a walk to Hove and back, as is traditional when me and Mr Flicking the Vs head to Brighton, we're always hungry, and more often than not, we head to Iydea. (There are two in Brighton but we always end up at the same one on Western Road, because it's quieter and bigger!)  

The thing I love about Iydea is you get to pick each bit of the meal - your main, the sides, and the toppings. 

I picked arancini (the first time I've seen vegan arancini apart from on Dandelion Vegan's blog!), potato salad, coronation coleslaw, and salsa.  

I love potato salad and coleslaw together. They were the staples of salad plates for me when I was a kid, and I still love them even now! Arancini - or rice balls if you'd rather - are more of a new thing for me, but they were just as tasty as I hoped, and left me in the warm carb-overload fuzz that good meals will do. According to the menu, there was vegan cheese in there - I couldn't taste it myself, but I'm not a fan of anything readymade that's not nut-based, so no bad thing I didn't spot its presence.

When we came out of Iydea, the sky was looking a little less inviting...

But that didn't stop me going and fetching an ice cream from Boho Gelato. My only gripe with the wonderful ice cream parlour is that they don't label up their vegan options (they're always in the same position, but still, why not advertise the fact that you're down with the plant based folk?) 

As well as chocolate ice cream (never a bad thing), there was also coffee hazelnut among the vegan choices. I had both, and you're right, I was wise to do so. They were both fab.

So, in amongst all these days of long, sad revision, I think about Brighton and how soon I can get back there. Once my exams are over, I'll be walking down that beach quicker than you can say 'what percentage constitutes a pass mark?'