„Trash-Chic, that’s the pub behind the retirement home, isn’t it?“ – „Behind Käthe’s retirement home? But there is nothing! Only the suburb of Vingst, maybe …,“ our relatives speculate. But the Trash-Chic is right there in Cologne-Kalk in a quiet residential neighbourhood where you wouldn’t necessarily expect a specialised restaurant. In fact, it looks like a traditional corner pub, and also has the atmosphere of a traditional corner pub: Wooden benches and robust tables, a bar and a popular table football set. Most tables are already taken when we arrive, but there are no reservations and we manage to get a nice seat.
We order vegan gyros with chips and “home-made veganaise” and a vegan classic burger; the draft beer served is Sünner Kölsch which is brewed right around the corner.
The service is quick and efficient and the portions are huge: Especially the Soja Gyros is a plate full of quite good chips, and very crunchy and rather small particles (probably made from soya and gluten?) resembling gyros. We find it a bit too crisp but very well-seasoned. The “tzatziki” coming with it is very tasty (although it appears more like mayonnaise than tzatziki), and the “veganaise” is surprisingly good and strikingly similar to mayonnaise.
The Classic Cheese Burger (vegan version) is also quite convincing with a thick gluten patty, the right amount of ketchup and veganaise as well as some gherkins and tomato slices. But as all burgers quite difficult to eat: After a few dripping bites the bottom bun threatens to crumble away and we have to go for the fork, quite unsure if this is an appropriate way of eating a burger (not enough burgers until now in our lives). A quick glance around confirms that most guests use cutlery for their vegan burgers.
As the Trash-Chic is a vegan pub, it does not surprise that the menu features the usual alternative choice of soft drinks such as Fritz-Cola, Club Mate and Sinalco. We really enjoyed our vegan outing in Cologne-Kalk and will come back for the vegan goulash soup.
Practicalities:
Trash-Chic
Wiersbergstraße 31
51103 Köln
Tel: 0221/4928855
http://www.trash-chic.com/
Snacks from 3,50 €, mains 5,50 – 8 €
