Vegans have an easy time finding delicious food with some incredible options in South Australia's capital city.

I am such a buffoon. When Hayley showed me the itinerary she'd planned out, which also happened to be the one I'd totally forgotten about, I was struck by how many days we have in Adelaide city. And that isn't a bad thing!

For most of my life, I've relegated places like Adelaide, Darwin and Perth as cities not really worth bothering with for a while.

I'm happy to admit my mistake at least as far as Adelaide goes, as I've not yet actually bothered visiting the other two.

We Googled the shit out of Adelaide's vegan restaurants.

Everyone has their comfort foods and favourite type of restaurant. I understand if you think Mc Donald's is fine dining if you've never been anywhere else. I also get why you'd eat steak and sausages if you haven't experienced plant food done right.

The way I rank my food experiences has increasingly been through my judgemental vegan eyes. Well, at least that's what every non-vegan will tell you.

"Vegans are preachy and judgemental. I just don't need that negativity in my life."

I'm trying my best not to judge you. It's fucking hard because I judge my own actions so critically. I am very practiced at judging.

The sign may as well have said, "Fuck Off".

Being a Sunday, we didn't choose the best day to go trampsing the streets looking for vegan eats. While wandering about, we found "Vego And Loven It".

The closed yellow-framed glass door leading up to the cafe was bearing a light orange sign. Among the usual trading hours, it slapped me in the face with,

"Kitchen closes when I say so."

It very well could have said, "I'll fuckin' let youse know when I'm open but to be honest, I had a blue with me missus and I downed a few goon bags and I'm feeling shithouse. So, yeah..nah I'm gunna kneel before the porcelain throne for a few hours."

I want to meet the owner. I can't wait to try the food and immerse myself in all of it's confident appeal. Anyone game enough to slap a hand written sign on their door bossing their customers about must make some top shit grub.

The Zenhouse Tea Corner

The Tea Corner is actually next door to another vegan-friendly place called "Ayla's Cafe" (closed today) which we may have preferred due to the differences in apparent ambience. However, we were greeted by our chirpy Asian host who somehow managed to fit her eyes and nose in the spaces around a beaming smile that occupied the best part of her face. If you were having a bad day, that's the smile that will drag you out of your melancholia.

We eat at an Asian yum cha restaurant and I order the tempeh snitzel burger.

Our Airbnb host supplied bikes! A very convenient mode of transport around a flat city.

When we arrived last night, we were wanting and hoping for a comfortable bed. We got so much more!

From bikes, to soymilk in the fridge, the aforementioned bed-shaped cloud and a shower that feels like a tropical downpour of 45 degree water, I'm a pig in mud.

We've been scooting around all day on our bicycles.

It's hilarious. Neither of us own bikes ourselves so it's a novelty when we're on them. Our host, Cathy recommended we take the back gate out directly onto the cycleway to the city.

Within a minute our path was blocked by two construction fences she assured we could bypass. I almost slipped, had to hoist Hayley's bike up the muddy slope after my own and pump up my deflated tyres with the tiny pump Cathy provided.

Our pedalling led us along the rapidly flowing Torrens River whose rushing and splashing against rocks below kept us sleeping well last night. The cycleway around Gilberton and North adelaide that leads into the city is one of the prettiest I've seen. The lawn adjacent to the river is well maintained and the overhanging gums, galahs and corellas give any overseas tourist a very Australiana feel. Even for us, we were lost in a Banjo Patterson poem.

Within minutes, we had found the Adelaide Oval.

We also found a decent Crows banner to photograph while Hayley pulled a sour face and a thumbs down to flick off via text to her Crows-supporting work colleague. You think vegans are easy to provoke? We are nothing compared to AFL supporters.

While we stuffed our faces with some deliciously unhealthy vegan delights at the Bakery on O'Connell in North Adelaide who have had a dedicated specifically vegan menu for over twelve months, I won't forget a person I met today.

I won't presume to know all about him aside from what he told me.

Jonathan, a self-proclaimed couch surfer shook as he quietly asked if we could spare some change for food. I exchanged looks with Hayley as she felt for coins while I pulled out a ten dollar note. The look of gratitude on his face and the new timbre of his voice was enough to know we had made a difference. All three of us chatted for five minutes. I asked him a few questions about his day and if he is doing ok. Interestingly, he told us he lived in Sydney with a view of the harbour bridge for two years and had worked in London for the same period of time.

Consideration and acknowledgment is really all anyone needs. I wanted to know I had given Jonathan a little more hope in society, if only to get him through another day.

All the best,

Nick.

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