Sydney Vegan Tour Part 2: Dr Earth and Deepgroove Newtown

I recently went on a Sydney Vegan tour in Newtown. Have you seen part 1 of my tour? Part two takes us to the next two stops at Dr Earth and also Deepgroove Newtown. Our tour leader Anna continues the walking tour in Newtown and I am getting my steps up.

It's been some time since I've been in Newtown so I'm enjoying the walk along King St. There's a lot of individualism in Newtown that I've always appreciated.

The Sydney Vegan Tour is a great way to experience all the vegan options in Newtown and also meet vegans/meat eaters who want to try something different. Our next stop is Deepgroove Newtown. I've spent about an hour with the group so far but now we are getting to really know each other. 

The venue is quite dim and dark inside so hard to take food photos so bare with me! We sit down at Deepgroove Newtown and continue chatting away while enjoying vegan food.

I am a sucker for chips and am immediately drawn to the Hazelnut Dukkah Baked Crunchy Tortilla Chips $9. It's served with a coconut smoked chipotle sauce. The crunchy chips have a really earthy nutty flavour and a mild sweetness from the hazelnut dukkah. The group all agree that this is one of their favourite dishes due to it's unique flavour combination.

Next is the MFC (Mediterranean Fried Cauliflower) with whipped tahini ($10). There's a slight crispiness to the cauliflower which is balanced out with the creamy texture with sesame flavoured tones.  This dish is a good way to make vegetables more tasty.

We all talk about whether we have ever tried making a cauliflower pizza base. It sounds like a lot of work but would be a nice alternative to the usual flour bases. For the record, I prefer cauliflower over broccoli any day!

I also have a bit of the Smoked Pumpkin ($16) which has smoked pumpkin, beetroot, feta, walnut, spinach, pickled onion and a beetroot balsamic glaze. There's lots of textures in this dish with the crunchy walnuts contrasting with the sweetness of the pickled onion and fleshy beetroot. I love beetroot.

It's the wheelbarrow of Nachos called Rainbow Nachos ($17) that takes everyone's attention. There's cornchips, chilli black beans, pico de gallo, guac, coconut smoked jalapeno sauce and a huge artichoke flower. I like the coconut flavoured sauce that goes over the nachos and I enjoy scooping up the blackbeans with the chips. This dish is hard to stop eating once you start.

 I feel quite full after indulging on all this food on the Sydney Vegan Tour. Next up is a visit to Dr Earth which is a Vegan friendly store on King St.

I notice many different vegan/vegetarian options from vegetarian sausages to deli slices. 

 I think you would have rather limited options at most super markets so it's nice seeing a lot of variety at Dr Earth. I think it's also a good place to get inspiration on how to create taste, variety and nutrition for vegans or for those who want to eat meat free Mondays!

I also look at the alpaca plants which are adorable! Our Tour Leader Anna gives us all some space so we can explore the store and look at things we're interested in. 

So that's Part 2 of the tour. Check it out!

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own.