vegansaurus!

Delightful and unexpected vegan finds: 15 Romolo!  »

15 Romolo is near my school, right off Broadway, so it’s very popular with my school homies. I had been there a few times before but recently I’ve been going A LOT because it’s just been delightful! Sorry about the picture below, they have mood lighting so that was the best I could do; that’s the spicy carrot and fennel dip with pita and dude, it’s the hotness! I came upon this appetizer because I was there with some folks and I asked the waiter if the spiced cauliflower was vegan—yes it was! In addition, so was my handsome young waiter! I LOVE when I find a vegan waiter because while I prefer a vegan restaurant (of course), I’m also pretty happy when people for sure know what’s vegan and what’s not. A relaxing confidence runs through me and the food tastes that much better!

So this carrot fennel dip, I was like, “whaa? sounds weird!” but IT’S NOT. I swear to goodness that it kind of tastes like when you dip a grilled cheese in tomato soup. I swear! And it has that good pita—all grilled and whatnot. The handsome young waiter also assured me that the fries are cooked in their own private oil—they don’t share it with any meat or whatevs. And the fries are goood. The menu changes regularly, and there’s not much in the way of a vegan entree, but it’s more of a cocktail and appetizer place. Oh! The waiter said they may be adding a vegan dessert very soon! Keep an eye out! And speaking of cocktails, they have some crazy shit. Crazy GOOD shit. They are pricey but they are delicious. They put like basil in them and all kinds of good shit. Mmmm. See, I prefer to drink my meals anyway, so it works out great for me!

OK so remember this: if you are hanging with some hip but fancyish people and they are trying to make you go to some wack place after work, steer them to 15 Romolo instead! You won’t be disappointed. Also, don’t miss the jukebox! As a jukebox enthusiast I can assure you this one is top-notch. Iggy Pop + Hall and Oates = happy Megan Rascal!

[photo by Megan Rascal]

Gracias Madre opening party TONIGHT! FREE DRINKS!  »

Really, all you should care about there is: TONIGHT and FREE DRINKS. It’s from 5 to 7 p.m. Also, FULL DISCLOSURE, we have no confirmation on this and I’m not calling anyone. It’s near the end of the month and minutes are a valuable commodity that I’m sure as hell not wasting on your asses. Now, anyone in an office care to call and confirm? THANK YOU AHEAD OF TIME!

Here’s our initial observations about Gracias Madre. I’ll also add that you should skip pretty much everything except the cheesy cauliflower thing (it’s AMAZING) and OK, here’s the plan. Get to GM at like 5 p.m. Have a cheesy cauliflower dish and several free drinks. Wander down the street to El Farolito (or ANYWHERE BUT GRACIAS MADRE) and get a big-ass burrito for $5. Head on over to my place and LET’S PARTY (read: I’ll never tell you where I live EVER!!).

Foods you would think are always vegan because that’s what MAKES SENSE. But alas, sense has no place here! GO AMERICA! WOO!  »

I am compiling a list of things that you would think are always vegan but are quite often not. I’m doing this because a couple times in the past weeks, I’ve been somewhere and asked if the following things are vegan and the answer has been No, and also, “You’re the only vegan to ever ask that!” so I thought I should share with you less sophisticated/worse-than-me vegans. Let the gigantic superiority complex begin!

1) Home fries at diners. They are often cooked with or finished with butter. Even places that are extremeley vegan-friendly will have non-vegan home fries! This is SO ANNOYING to me. It’s like, just leave the butter you throw on at the very end off for my order or use delicious Organic Earth Balance and save everyone from fatty cholesterol death without sacrificing taste! GAH PEOPLE! Also, is home fries one word or two? Anyway, make sure to always ask! Also, I apologize for the Home Fries poster because A) what’s up with that hair, that dress and that FONT? B) DREW BARRYMORE UGH and C) TERRIBLE MOVIE. I mean, so bad. And this is coming from a woman who lists Billy Madison and Cabin Boy in her top-five all-time favorites. OKAY? Also, that should mean nothing as those are both excellent films.

2) Hot dog and hamburger buns. Even if the veggie dog or veggie burger itself is touted as vegan, the bun often is not. It can have whey, eggs, or any number of crappy animal products in it. Usually a place can subsitute bread for the bun, although with a veggie dog that is depressing and makes it look even more gross and phallic, just a weiner hanging out of two pieces of bread!

3) Beer, Wine, and Liquor. Vegans are usually pretty good at this and some don’t discriminate when it comes to SWEET ALCOHOL, but with sites like Barnivore, it’s fairly easy to make sure your LIFE-SUSTAINING FLUID is vegan. I fully apologize for that last sentence.

Now that I’ve pointed out all those things, you probably know of a million more. Feel free to post in the comments and get into flame wars and shit. Anything to liven it up around this joint!

Sorry, I’m like the Grim Reaper of Veganism over here. I’ve accidentally eaten non-vegan homefries (sp??!!) and non-vegan buns in my vegan days and guess what, I’m still vegan, bitches! You live, you learn. Plus, there are so many more things you can eat as a vegan than you can’t eat! Erik Marcus actually did a great guest post on Fatfree Vegan about it here. Maybe the comments should be more about all the great things we can eat and worlds of food that opened up to us as vegans—I mean, I never knew I could make a delicious meat analog out of wheat gluten…NUTS! And what about all the coconut milk desserts I never woulda known? And CHIA SEED GRAVY, the thought of you not in my life? I can’t hang.