vegansaurus!

Happy day! Van Leeuwen has vegan ice cream!   »

Check it out! I haven’t tried it yet but there’s a Van Leeuwen in my neighborhood in BK. I’m so excited! Everybody loves this stuff! According to their fb, the vegan flavors will be available at all locations. HUZZAH!

Coming soon! NYC Vegan Cook-Off: Hors d’Oeuvres Competition!   »

Check it out NYC! A competition for my favorite food category: vegan hors d’oeuvres! Why do we eat anything else? Appetizers are really the only food that matters. Well, that and dessert. Why do we eat anything but appetizers and desserts? BECAUSE WE ARE MASOCHISTS, I THEORIZE!

Details:

The Vegan Cook-Off: Hors d’Oeuvres Competition

Sunday, June 2, 2pm
The Bell House
149 7th Street, Brooklyn (directions)
Tickets $12 advance / $15 day of to eat and vote (includes a free raffle ticket)
Free to compete. Competitor applications close Friday, May 17 at 11:59pm.

Queens elementary school cafeteria goes vegetarian!  »

While students at the Active Learning Elementary School in Queens are free to bring whatever lunch they want from home, the school cafeteria will now be serving exclusively vegetarian meals. Apparently, they had already been serving veggie meals three days a week, and health is a big focus of the educational mission there.

The school of nearly 400 students, from pre-kindergarten to third grade, was founded five years ago on the principle that a healthy lifestyle leads to strong academic achievement.

“We decided on a vision where health and nutrition would be a part of educating the whole child,” school principal Bob Groff said….

“The vegetarian menu fits right in with our mission, and we are thrilled that our students in pre-kindergarten all the way up to grade three understand the importance of healthy and nutritious meals,” Groff said in a statement.

New York schools — which provide meals for 1.1 million students daily—offer principals vegetarian and nonvegetarian lunch options. Groff worked closely with the department so that the menu changes came at no additional cost to the school.

Pretty amazing. Would you have imagined this was a possibility in today’s America? I’m amazed. I also can’t believe the beef industry isn’t breaking down the principal’s door with pitchforks. You go, Mr. Groff!

Fashion Loves Animals Gala is almost here!  »

On May 4th, a.k.a. this Saturday, Farm Sanctuary is honoring the wonderfully talented and dedicatedly vegan Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart of Vaute Couture! I can’t think of a better honoree or a better organization to be honored by. I hope there are goats there! OMG if there are goats there I will die and go to heaven and leave all my worldly riches to goats.

Get your tickets!

NYC: Come to Mooshoes this Sunday!  »

Mooshoes is having a special sale this Sunday in honor of spring! I think spring is great so it should definitely be honored with vegan shoe discounts. Details:

Please join us on Sunday, April 14. from noon to 6 p.m. for our annual Spring Fling.

Spring is finally here and you need some new shoes to get you started. We have so many new styles to choose from that we don’t want you to have to narrow it down to just one..so we are offering a 15 percent discount on all of our new spring arrivals. We are also offering an additional 10 percent off already discounted merchandise. Prices start at $29.99! 

Expect some fun beverages (spiked or non spiked lemonade, anyone?) and tasty treats from Dunwell Doughnuts to make this shopping day a little sweeter.

Dunwell Doughnuts? Sold!

Mooshooes is located at 78 Orchard St. in Manhattan.

NYC: Protest the evil Ringling Brothers and their elephant-beating ways tonight!  »

Lovely protest sign made for tonight by the lovely Jess Davis. Used entirely without her permission. 

It’s billed as New York’s biggest circus protest in history and it’s tonight! I’m going to be there along with a few gagillion of my favorite animal lovers to tell Ringling that they are big d-bags! I hate them so much! How could you not? Eles are only the greatest animals and Ringling is so so evil to them. 

The protest starts tonight at 6pm and goes until April 1st, at the Barclays Center (620 Atlantic Ave.). Please make it out to protest at least one show! Down with Ringling! Down with bullhooks! Up with eles!

Clementine Bakery brings fresh-baked vegan yums to Brooklyn  »

This weekend I finally made it to Brooklyn’s Clementine Bakery! I went with my pals James (a.k.a. DJ Grand Format) and Jess (a.k.a. Cutie McSweetums). J&J have been telling me about this organic vegan bakery in “Clinton Hill-Stuy” for weeks now so I finally had to check it out for some brunch. Above is one of their cinnamon rolls. It was delicious! Not super-cinnamon-y but it had this great sticky honey flavor. Must be agave? I don’t know, but it was good. And just about the size of my face!

Their tagline is “your neighborhood cake dealer,” which is hilarious, and as you can see, the place is thoroughly adorbs. On top of that, the people were so very nice.

You can see there is an abundance of sweets but they also have a variety of “savory biscuits.” If you don’t know, now you know: I LOVE BISCUITS. They come in wacky flavors and on Sundays, you can get them with gravy! If you don’t know, now you know: I LOVE BISCUITS AND GRAVY. So I got the artichoke-kale biscuit with gravy (pictured below). It came with a lot of gravy. I didn’t need that much but it was tasty. I liked the biscuit but I think I would have preferred a plain biscuit. The flavors are fun if you are just eating the biscuit on its own but with the gravy, the flavors get a bit convoluted. Still super yummy though!

Behind the B+G is my almond milk latte. I absolutely love when you have a choice of non-dairy milks. Soy is just not my favorite but you know that’s usually your only option. Here they have soy, rice, and almond (I think they also had cow milk as an option but maybe I’m imagining things?? But it’s not like I don’t frequent a million other establishments that serve cow milk). Oh, and some of you will be pleased to know that they have a good selection of gluten-free stuff and soy-free stuff. Yay for you guys! 

Clementine also has a nice sandwich menu. I didn’t get one (what do you want from me, I had biscuits and gravy AND the giant cinnamon roll, I’m just one rascal!) but James and Jess both got the Schmancy as it is their fave. The Schmancy is composed of seasoned and baked tofu, spinach, tomato, avocado, pesto, and Hollandaise sauce, served on a rosemary roll. Schmancy indeed! James also got this cute heart-shaped cake-sandwich thing to take home.

I should have gotten one too! I was so stuffed, I wasn’t thinking straight. Next time I will be more on my game. I also want to get a danish! They totally had some sort of sweet potato danish that clearly needs to find a home—in my tummy!

So this is definitely a lovely place I can highly recommend. Plus, you never know who you might see! It is apparently where the who’s who of the NYC vegan community meet. We saw none other than Deborah Diamant of SuperVegan and Vegan Drinks fame! And then if Instagram is to be trusted, it looks like Joshua Katcher made it there shortly after I left. And then of course I was there, so that’s obvi a big deal.

In summation: cinnamon rolls as big as my face!

NYC: Spring break Vegan Shop-Up is tomorrow! Get your parents’ permission!  »

JK, no permission slips required. Because we are grown-ass vegans. Details:

It’s definitely not getting warmer. That’s why it’s time for a vacay! SPRING BREAK TWOTHOUSANDTHIRTEEEEEENNNN!! Wild times, drink specials, snacks, babes, and unrated fun are all waiting for you at the fast approaching Vegan Spring Break Shop-Up on Saturday, March 9, from Noon to 5 p.m. at Pine Box Rock Shop! Vegan Shop-Up is NYC’s only all vegan pop-up market featuring the best small businesses around.

You’ll find: raw cookies + gluten-free cakes + peanut butter cups + eco clothing + Ethiopian brunch + kombucha + cinnamon rolls + jewelry + skin care + ice cream + cashew cheese + fresh juice + your favorite food truck, and so much more. WAYYYY better than a sandy bathing suit and 5 day hangover!

Pack your shades, zinc oxide, and finest cut-offs for our rowdiest Shop-Up yet! 

It’s always happy hour during the Vegan Shop-Ups, so come thirsty, COME HUNGRY, and get excited. You know how it works.

I’m totally going to be there! Say “hi” to me!

NYC: Dun-Well Doughnuts and Upton’s Naturals Pop-up shop is today!  »

OMG OMG OMG check it out:

Kick off the NY Veg Food Fest weekend in style! Upton’s Naturals will be teaming up with us for a pop-up vegan sandwich shop benefitting Mercy For Animals. Featuring a small sandwich menu that will include the option to slice open the donut of your choice and add a couple slices of hot Bacon Seitan - it is a thing of beauty! All sandwich shop proceeds will be donated to Mercy For Animals, making this an easy way to support a great organization.

Holy cannoli that sounds awesome! Check FB for whatever details you should need to get to this pop-up and freak the eff out on some bacon donut sandwiches. 

NYC Vegan Drinks is tonight!  »

Above is the menu for Vegan Drinks tonight—looks good to me! Word is there will also be gluten-free injera so I think some will be stoked about that. And yours truly will be spinning records along with my new BFF DJ Grand Format. So come on down!