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Posts tagged "berkeley"
08/24/2010
Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals NEEDS YOU!
The Berkeley chapter of Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals needs walkers to raise money and awareness by busting out their walking/running/dancing (hey! why not!) shoes! It’s a great way to meet other (crazy? non-crazy? it’s a crap shoot!) vegans, get some exercise (WHAT’S THAT! WHO’S HE!?), and raise money for an awesome cause.
I know, you wish it was a bakesale/walk to a/nother/bakesale but we can only fatten you so much. Wait, hold the phone, how amazing would that be? One Faturday we need bakesales stationed along the city, and you run between then, replenishing with cupcakes instead of water. OMG GENIUS. First person to not die, wins! Kinda like the vegan Hunger Games.* Kinda. Until then, make it happen at the Walk for Farm Animals. C’mon, do it for Kim Gordon (CLICK THAT FOR A SURPRISE!).
*I wanted to link to Meave’s review of The Hunger Games on goodreads here because it’s so delightful but I couldn’t figure it out. STUPID INTERNET! STUPIDER LAURA! However, if you know what’s good for you (or just want to find your next favorite book, or learn about Agatha Christie’s entire [Ed.: mystery] canon—from fully sane racist to fully demented racist, or just read the best book reviews ever), check her out.
Posted at 10:38 by mrpenguino 
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08/16/2010
That’s the vegan charcuterie plate from Gather in Berkeley. First off, it’s pronounced, “shar-cooter-ee”. (Tee hee). Unlike in my piggy dreams, it’s not a giant plate of vegan sausages topped with more vegan sausages (never-ending vegan sausages!) but rather, a refined spread of the freshest market vegetables. Healthy? Boo! Actually, no, I can roll with the snobbiest eco-foodies around. Bring on your fancy vegetables, Gather. Bring me your roulades and your chiffonades and your other bougie food words I don’t fully understand. The charcuterie (tee) is a delightful dish of different vegetables sliced, diced, julienned, and combined to create a taste sensation heretofore unknown. Mushroom pâté, eggplant “brandade,” and carpaccio of watermelon radish and turnip. Don’t understand a word I just typed but damn, was it tasty.
They also have amaaaaazing cocktails that include infused vodkas and fresh muddled fruit and unique liquors. They are also a million dollars each but you only live (your drunken life) once! I also recommend the vegan soup, it is fantastic. All in all, lots of good vegan options in a very Berkeley environment WHICH I LOVE BECAUSE I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT ALL CITIES. I don’t know, I’m tired and I think you should all check out the vegan charcuterie (teehee) plate when you get a few extra dimes in your pocket. Plus, if you’re still hungry, you can head next door to Saturn and get your french fry on. That’s right I said GET YOUR FRENCH FRY ON. Learn it, live it, love it. OH AND I FORGOT TO MENTION (thanks, MD!), the vegan pizza with lipstick peppers and cashew cheese was the bomb GET IT.
A good chunk of this review was straight gaffled from my SFist column, which is all about the best of the best of vegan eats in and around San Francisco. If you go “like” it and perhaps leave a complimentary comment and then shoot me an email, I’ll send you a complimentary comment over email that I tailor to your specific awesomeness. I can also send you an insult if you’re into that, you big weirdo.
Photo posted at 09:41 by mrpenguino
07/23/2010
Saturn Cafe!
Berkeley is no longer just a blight on the urban map of the Bay Area. For so long it was just a place for terrible students and terrible rich hippies (the worst kind of hippie!) and was only to be suffered if you really had to have delicious vegan brunch at Fellini. Well, it’s still all those things! But now it has taquitos! And cinnamon rolls! And Saturn Cafe!
Saturn Cafe is an import from Santa Cruz and it’s an important one. First of all, in a city that goes to bed at 6 p.m., it stays open to the unbelievably late hour of midnight. Kudos to them for making that happen because I can’t imagine the amount of city bullshit that they’d have to deal with to make that happen. Bureaucracy win! Secondly, it’s all vegetarian and that’s fucking awesome. It’s always nice to know that your tofu scramble won’t get cross-contaminated with bacon surprise (surprise! your breakfast had a mother!). And then there’s the decor? Saturn bills itself as a “Space-Age Diner” to which I say, “Space-Age?! More like GAY-AGE!” This place makes Pink Saturday look like a klan rally. Seriously, I brushed against a glitter-covered column and I swear, I’m still finding silver sparkles in my crap. All in all, LOVE. More glitter! Glitter for ALL! Life is a rave, pass the glow-in-the-dark Mickey Mouse gloves and let’s do the damn thing!
So already, Saturn Cafe has my heart. BUT THEN, my mind kicks in! That pesky thing that keeps me from being happy. Seriously, stupid people have it the best. And my mind tells me WAIT A MINUTE WTF IS THIS??? For a vegetarian restaurant, it’s sure slim pickings for the vegans. There are several areas in which they fail. I will now detail them because that’s how I do CONTROVERSY WHAT!
- No vegan cheese options. If you order something that regularly has cheese on it, the vegan version comes with this insane tofu spread that’s basically mashed up tofu with some chives mixed in. This grainy mixture is their stand-in for both cheese and sour cream. It’s very odd…not altogether bad, just odd. And when you consider the leaps and bounds vegan cheese products have taken in even the past few years, maybe the folks at Saturn just need to get on testing vegan cheeses. Might we suggest Daiya, Teese and Cheezly? We might!
- The veg chicken patties they use aren’t vegan. Dude, there’s GARDEIN. No excuse!
- Stuff like pancakes aren’t vegan. I don’t get it; pancakes are like the easiest thing to veganize. Let’s do this! Also, while you’re at it, please veganize the biscuits and gravy! There isn’t ONE place in the entire San Francisco Bay Area that serves this and I’m telling you, that alone will make Saturn famous. With my pants. And what is underneath my pants. That’s right, my vagina. I could go further but children read this blog! Also, if you are a child PLEASE STOP READING AND CALL CPS, your parents should be held responsible!
- Two options for vegan ice cream! You’re in the land of Maggie Mudd now, broker a deal with those fools! Let’s see some PB&J! And Apple Pie! I will pay for it, in both money and hella points for gluttony! This is kind of a throw-on request because I like to shoot for the moon. It’s really nice that they offer vegan milkshakes and I don’t want to push my luck.
All in all, Saturn Cafe, I love you. But please come through for the vegans! We count on our brothers in arms (or, in arms-ish. oh and that’s you, vegetarians! hi!) to have our backs in this big bad world of restaurant dining. If you could pull through for us on the front of vegan options, we will repay you in a never ending supply of our cold, hard vegan cash. And we’re by and large very rich*—how else would we shop at Rainbow all the time!? Shit.
OH ALSO: Maybe if they receive lots of very polite email from vegans letting them know there’s a desire for more vegan options, we’ll see some action! Maybe not! But, as always, it’s worth a try! Go forth, mighty (and polite!) vegans! Go forth, and spread our mighty (and polite!) message!
*lies.
Posted at 11:16 by mrpenguino
07/15/2010
CINNAHOLIC IS OPENING SATURDAY, JULY 17! Yes, that’s two days from now. We cannot contain our giant erections and we don’t want to.
Oh also, I wrote them up in SFist for my Three Vegan Dishes Worth Creaming Your Culinary Pants For article! CHECK IT OUT, I’m getting international, folks! And by international, I mean another San Francisco-based website. Whatevs!
Photo posted at 13:35 by mrpenguino
![Exciting news! Saturn Cafe, the world’s best vegetarian space-age diner (and uh, only space-age diner?) is coming to Berkeley so, so soon! If you’ve never been, Saturn is a fantastic vegetarian diner (vegan-friendly, obvs) located in Santa Cruz. No longer will you have to take a mini-break to get your veg diner fix! And, right around the corner is the future home of our friends Cinnaholic (OPENING THIS SATURDAY!!!). This block is an herbivore super block. I walked by today and noticed that the restaurant is almost completely finished on the inside and is looking sexy with pink and white booths. The restaurant is supposedly staying open till 12 a.m., which fills us with joy. Saturn has yet to announce their official opening day, but we’ll be on the look out and let you know. Also, if you’d like to open your own Saturn cafe, they are franchising! You need about $477,00 to $994,000. Who wants to be our restaurant sugar daddy!?
[photo by mariamargarita]](http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5l3apn32Y1qzq14lo1_400.jpg)
Exciting news! Saturn Cafe, the world’s best vegetarian space-age diner (and uh, only space-age diner?) is coming to Berkeley so, so soon! If you’ve never been, Saturn is a fantastic vegetarian diner (vegan-friendly, obvs) located in Santa Cruz. No longer will you have to take a mini-break to get your veg diner fix! And, right around the corner is the future home of our friends Cinnaholic (OPENING THIS SATURDAY!!!). This block is an herbivore super block. I walked by today and noticed that the restaurant is almost completely finished on the inside and is looking sexy with pink and white booths. The restaurant is supposedly staying open till 12 a.m., which fills us with joy. Saturn has yet to announce their official opening day, but we’ll be on the look out and let you know. Also, if you’d like to open your own Saturn cafe, they are franchising! You need about $477,00 to $994,000. Who wants to be our restaurant sugar daddy!?
[photo by mariamargarita]
Photo posted at 08:00 by mariadiaz 
07/13/2010
East Bay Vegan Drinks is TONIGHT!
If you live in the East Bay and never come to San Francisco because you’re lame (that’s me now too!), you might want to head to Berkeley for Vegan Drinks TONIGHT! It’s at the Beta Lounge in Berkeley and starts at 6:30 p.m. I’ve never been to the Beta Lounge so I can’t tell you if it’s the best or the worst but LIVE A LITTLE WHY DON’T YOU.
Oh also, join their Facebook group for updates because sometimes we’re lax about promoting this event and it needs to blow up and get huge like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man LADIES AM I RIGHT!?
Posted at 11:53 by mrpenguino
06/24/2010
» Need a job? Cinnaholic is hiring!
That’s right! Our pals in Berkeley need to staff their soon-to-be-open storefront! So have you applied yet? Why not? You can’t do better than a vegan cinnamon roll bakery in Berkeley—especially not in this economy. So get a-clicking and a-pplying, already!
Link posted at 08:15 by meaverly 
06/14/2010
![YOU GUYS. This is so awesome, it’s a peek inside the new Cinnaholic location in Berkeley, right next to where the new Saturn Cafe will be. I am seriously creaming my shorts. LAURA GROSS SHORTS ARE SO UNFLATTERING. I know.
[via Cinnaholic’s twitter feed! Follow them!]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l40hcpyXoK1qzq14lo1_400.png)
YOU GUYS. This is so awesome, it’s a peek inside the new Cinnaholic location in Berkeley, right next to where the new Saturn Cafe will be. I am seriously creaming my shorts. LAURA GROSS SHORTS ARE SO UNFLATTERING. I know.
[via Cinnaholic’s twitter feed! Follow them!]
Photo posted at 08:50 by mrpenguino
06/11/2010
Everything’s happening this weekend and we have proof in your link-o-rama!
It’s summer, let’s go camping! HA HA HA KIDDING. What I meant was, It’s summer, let’s spend time outside, and let’s bring our portable, pop-up bunny tents so our best pals can hang out with us! [photo via VagaValley]
Activities for vegans!
Vegan Happy Hour is tonight, Friday, June 11 from 6 to 9 at the Hemlock Tavern. It’s run by Vegansaur Jordan’s husband Mike (some of us are grownups, did you know?) and promises to be a good time. Remember, it’s also a potluck, so bring some tasty vegan food (maybe a recipe from Vegan Happy Hour blog?)!
This weekend—Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13—is Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon at 41 animal shelters in the Bay Area! Megan Rascal already gave you a preview, but there are so many more animals than MARSHMALLOW and his GIANT CHEEKS waiting for you to adopt them FOR FREE! That’s right, for the Adoptathon, the adoption fees will be waived at participating shelters! So go on, find your new best friend.
How about that East Bay? On Saturday, check out 23 HAM’s artist reception—from 6 to 11 p.m. at 903 Camelia St. in Berkeley—celebrating East Bay Open Studios! Black Orchid will sell vegan baked goods, there’ll be live performances, and it’s free. Come on, you love art.
Love dogs? Have $20? You’re going to Bikers for Barkers tomorrow, then, right? There’ll be prizes and snacks and drinks—everything vegan!!!—so you have no excuse for skipping it. Be at Dainese D-Store at 131 S. Van Ness Ave. at 12th Street from 6:30 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. They say no one will be turned away for lack of funds!
On Sunday from 9 to 11 a.m. the LGBT Army of Compassion will protest animal cruelty at the Heart of the City Farmers Market at U.N. Plaza in San Francisco. They’ll be in the northeast corner near the live-chicken vendors. Click here for more information.
Pajama-action items!
PETA asks you to (please) demand the end of mulesing in the Australian wool industry. The Humane Society would like you to tell President Obama that the U.S. does not support any nation slaughtering whales, at all, ever.
Photographs of some of the ingredients in your standard Twinkie, by Dwight Eschliman, from his book 37 or so Ingredients. Guess what this one is! Hint: it’s not naturally powdered. [photo via Good]
Multimedia for your persual!
Who’s saying the dumbest-ever shit about the Gulf oil spill? Presently, it’s Slow Food USA, which recommends helping “your food friends of the Gulf” by eating seafood from the Gulf. Alternatively, you could listen to Vegansaur Steve, whose response posts on euthanizing oiled birds this week provoked some debate on Treehugger.
In further bird-related news, last year’s Mercy For Animals investigation into a Maine egg farm resulted in a settlement requiring the violators to pay over $130,000, the “largest penalty in a farm animals abuse case in this country.” Farm Sanctuary reports that the birds rescued from the Cal-Cruz Hatchery in California last year are happy and healthy, so at least there’s that.
OK let’s get the depressing stuff out of the way in one go. First, Bullfighting: A Troubled History by Elisabeth Hardouin-Fougier was just released in English. Second, Spain, land of bullfighting, is also home to a meat vending machine. Third, pet stores are alive and well in San Francisco, but the city’s Animal Commission will hold a hearing on a ban-type proposal on Thursday, July 8. You should attend, if you have an opinion on institutions like puppy mills. You could also get this lovely “support low-cost spaying and neutering” license plate, if you lived in California and owned a vehicle.. Fourth, this article on “The Animal-Cruelty Syndrome” in the New York Times: have you cried from rage yet today?
Video: Greenpeace vs. French tuna fishermen. Greenpeace mean serious business on the open sea, you guys, way more than those Deadliest Catch jerks.
Adorable photos of kid helping with the White House garden harvest. More adorable photos of rescued kids at Farm Sanctuary.
Whole Foods markets in San Francisco are interested in selling foods from local street vendors. Have you got vegan edibles you’d like to see at WF? Email Harvinder Singh with your ideas. Though of course mind the story of Pepples Donuts.
People are wetting their pants over this new tastes-just-like-chicken vegan foodstuff, in joy and terror; what do you think about it?
Vegan victory: no more pig-roasting at Beehive Market!
Remember how we lifted your spirits with the post about the brand new Beehive Market, opening this Saturday, June 12? And then remember how we crushed your dreams by telling you that there was going to be a whole pig roasted at the event? Well, let your spirit eagle soar, because there will be no whole pig roast at the Beehive Market!
Yes, vegans, you have made your voices heard! The (awesome) organizers of the (we expect it to be awesome) event have said that they aren’t interested in alienating any vegans who want to attend, so they asked the whole pig people to give the pig a break. YES! SUCCESS! IN YOUR FACE, PIG-ROASTERS! WOOO!
OK, whew! Kidding! Rubbing things in people’s faces isn’t vegan, but still: it’s awesome to see an organization taking vegans’ concerns seriously and not writing us off like we’re a bunch of kooks/spoiled children for not wanting to spend our formative weekend hours, the highly important hours that determine how awesome a weekend is going to be, breathing in pig carcass and being sad.
Thanks, Beehive Market! See you on Saturday!
Posted at 07:39 by jordanpattern 
