Ethical Weigh,
Unit 3 Benbow Industrial Estate,
Eglinton,
BT47 3DW,
Co Derry.
028 7181 0022
[ facebook.com/ethicalweighltdOpens in new window ]
ICE gripped the fields, making needle sharp each blade of grass and turning the soil to rock. The Foyle lay like glass, and, across the river, the hills of Donegal blazed white against the azure sky.
Not that it was possible to see any of this from the Benbow Industrial Estate in Eglinton, of course. No poet comes here to write hymns to nature. The single storey units have the look of a prisoner of war camp. You wouldn’t be surprised to find a wooden horse in the car park, or someone surreptitiously shuffling around with soil coming out the bottom of their trousers.
You would also find Ethical Weigh, a brilliant shop that has recently re-opened as a cooperative. It sells all sorts of fantastic produce - nuts, flour, vegetables, fruit, shower gel, toothpaste, washing powder, bread – with an emphasis on organic, fair trade and local produce, as well as zero plastic and zero waste.
You bring your own bags and bottles and fill up from dispensers, whether you’re getting peanut butter or shampoo. It’s high quality and much-to-be-admired, and my brother and I were there hoping some of that might rub off on us.
And Ethical Weigh now has a café. It’s not much to look at – a few tables and chairs at the back – and the only view it has comprises the rest of the shop, but it’s far from an afterthought.
It may well be that it’s there for customers to grab a bite after doing their shopping, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people start going there to eat and picking up some bits and pieces on their way out.
Certainly, my brother and I didn’t go there intending to eat. We had lunch waiting for us at home, or the ingredients for lunch anyway, and laziness was the main driver behind our decision to get lunch there rather than go back and make it.
Good decision. Very good.
Although we could have eaten in, we decided to get the food to go, and slipped down the steps to the car, careful not to drop any of the bags full of goodies.
We had intended to share the soup but, once my daughter had a taste, she commandeered the whole lot. I managed a spoonful before she warned me off with a glare.
It was really lovely – sweet and earthy from the potato and sharp from the leek, and perfectly seasoned. The sourdough bread, made in-house, was terrific too.
My brother chose the special, a monster nut cutlet burger. The crisp breaded coating crunched satisfyingly, and contrasted with the soft, sweet brioche barmcake. The cutlet was full of flavour and texture, all enhanced by the mayonnaise and salad. Very good chips, and a nice corn cob.
I must say, while I’m not vegetarian and in all likelihood never will be, I often find vegetarian dishes more interesting, especially when it comes to lighter, more informal dishes. This was certainly borne out by my burrito, which was jam-packed with pretty much everything except jam.
Beans, chilli, rice, hummus, and so on, all wrapped up in a soft tortilla. So it had everything you’d want in a quick lunch – texture, flavour, heat, variety, not to mention the sense that what you were eating was good and healthy.
Everything here at Ethical Weigh is either vegetarian or vegan, which is fine by me, except when it comes to the sweet stuff. The bakes we took home were vegan. I didn’t like the chocolate cake much. The sponge felt a bit leaden and I didn’t enjoy the flavour. However, the chocolate coating, which was thick and chunky, was surprisingly nice.
And the muffins were very good, which, frankly, I wasn’t expecting. Light, moist sponge, bursts of juicy blueberries, and not too sweet, either.
As unprepossessing as the location might be, something pretty special is happening at Ethical Weigh. It’s a place where they’re trying to do the right thing, and they’re doing it very well indeed. Go for the shopping, stay for the lunch.
THE BILL
Potato and leek soup, sourdough bread - £4.95
Organic mixed bean chilli burrito - £7.95
Panko-breaded nut cutlet burger - £9.95
Vegan chocolate cake x 2 - £7.00
Blueberry muffin x 2 - £5.00
Total: £34.85
