LD's Kitchen: The Black Hearts Vegan Kitchen
In the heat of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, Turbowolf’s bassist Lianna Lee Davis created LD’s Kitchen in her home kitchen and laid the groundwork for all vegan goodness that’s been served up in The Black Heart. After texting her tech manager about looking for a space in London this led Lianna to The Black Heart in Camden, and the two are a match made in heaven. I’m completely convinced this is the best roast in London and maybe even the best roast dinner I've ever had. I was blown away by both the food and the presentation and for me, food-wise, it was the highlight of the journey.
With a main menu, a bunch menu and the roasts LD has been serving up dirty mac n’ cheeze, infamous southern fried mock chicken wings, “chicken” and waffles and, the subject of today’s post, pork belly & beef steak roast dinners. I didn’t get a chance to sample any of the main or brunch menu but looking at them the food sounds just as good as what I ate. The main menu features a series of southern fried chicken wings served in five different flavours with homemade pickles! As well as smoked or dirty mac n’ cheeze and popcorn tofu tots. LD’s brunch has an American flair to it with options such as LD’s take on an American grand slam which consists of southern friend mocken, facon, tofu scramble, BBQ beans, tots pancakes and Maple syrup. Mocken pancakes or waffles and either the pancakes facon’n’tofu scramble or the pancake maple facon sausage stack. While you’re there you might as well try the Bloody Mary “chicken” wings too. However, this time around I came for LD’s Sunday roasts!
One gluten-free roast ‘pork belly tofu’ marinated in a maple syrup sauce with garlic & thyme butter and vegan pork crackin’. And one beef-style steak made from seitan and mushrooms marinated in red wine and chargrilled with sage & garlic butter. Both are served with garlic & rosemary roast potatoes, collard garlic greens, roasted sweet potato, swede & basil puree, creamy mustard spinach & leeks, mapel & fennel glazed carrots and a crispy plantside Yorkshire pudding and served with a southern-style Guinness gravy. That’s it. There is nothing more I can say that can convince you to try it. Seeing the pictures and reading that menu alone is all I can do just try it… The meal was absolutely incredible as you can expect, from the plating to the cooking of all the food and the quality of the produce. I haven’t had a better roast dinner before or since and I am counting down the days till I can have another. None of the flavours get lost, despite so much going on you never lose the sage & garlic butter, the swede & basil puree or even the southern-style Guinness gravy. It’s all there and it all works in perfect unison. If you’re in London and you get the chance to go anywhere, make it here wether that be on a Sunday or not.
