vegansaurus!

THIS SUNDAY: Free Vegan Sandwiches at Pop’s! Again!  »

FREE vegan PHILLY CHEESESTEAKS at Pop’s (2800 24th St. between Bryant and York Streets) from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 10! Homemade seitan and a homemade cashew-based cheese sauce will be entering your gullets this Sunday GRATIS. God is good. Since the first free vegan sandwich day at Pop’s was so popular, they promise even more sandwiches this time! More food = MORE GOOD TIMES! See you there on Sunday so we can open up our mouths and feed it.

[Not actual Pop’s Philly cheesesteak; this one is from Govinda’s in Philly (SO GOOD), but you’ll be eating something just like it and yours will be FREE YOU ARE WELCOME!]

Product review: Tofutti Flowers!  »

As I’ve said before, I’m in this for the attention and the free stuff. Recently we got free stuff: Tofutti sent us a box of the new popsicle/ice cream bars they’re making, called Flowers, because they contain real flower and nectar flavors.

Popsicles in general are genius, and I love them, but this popsicle was not the best one I’ve ever had. The chocolate coating was all right, but it made my teeth feel weird if when I bit it, like they were rubbing together the wrong way. Possibly I am having enamel problems, as my long, long unemployment continues and I continue not to be able to afford to see a dentist. Still, this is the same effect that eating food cooked with vinegar has on my little molars, and why the Flowers’ chocolate coating should do that to them.

The Flowers’ creamy insides taste, um, interesting. I’ve had hot hibiscus tea, which I did not like and agua de Jamaica, which is lovely, but never so many flower-flavors combined. The mixture is odd. The strawberry flavor dominates the others, and underneath there are funny hints—should I call them “notes”?—of flavors I couldn’t identify. The chocolate coating, while mediocre, did make a good combination with the ice cream.

I have certainly eaten better vegan ice cream popsicles; but I haven’t had many—any?—that were fruit-flavored, and none that had flower nectar. The novelty is nice, but if I were buying vegan ice cream popsicles at the store, Tofutti Flowers wouldn’t be my first choice. Maybe second or third, you know? But that’s Tofutti, I think; they make some products that no other companies do, or ones that are much better than any alternatives—their cream cheese and sour cream are the best available, and the Cuties were the first tiny vegan ice cream sandwich on the market. Not everything they make is the greatest, but it’s reliably good. If really novel foodstuffs are where they’re going, then that’s great. This is an interesting experiment, anyway.

[for those interested, here are the ingredients lists, directly from the package:
Bar: water, sugar, corn syrup solids, corn and soy oils, isolated soy protein, tofu powder, maltodextrin, cocoa butter, vanilla with other natural flavors, natural flower and nectar flavors (rose, marigold, calendula, citrus blossoms, hibiscus, jasmine and lavender), strawberry flavor, guar, xanthan and carrageenan gums, soy lecithin, salt, veg. mono- and diglycerides.
Chocolate coating: coconut oil, sugar, organic evaporated sugar cane juice, cocoa processed with alkali, soy lecithin, salt, vanilla with other natural flavors.]

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!!).

Weekend events, miracle stories, bacon-hate, breast injections, a passel of crazies and more in this week’s massive post-holiday link-o-rama!!!  »

Opening tonight at the Roxie: Mine, a documentary about New Orleans residents searching for their lost pets after Hurricane Katrina. Tickets are still available for tonight’s shows at 7 and 9, and it plays through Thursday, Jan. 14. The Roxie is at 3117 16th St., between Valencia and Guerrero Streets.

The long-awaited first-ever East Bay Vegan Bakesale is happening tomorrow, Saturday Jan. 9 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Issues, at 20 Glen Ave. at Piedmont Avenue in Oakland!! This will be super-exciting, don’t be a jerk and miss out!!

After Saturday’s bakesale, head over to the Rocket Dog Rescue and Muttville fundraiser beer bust at Mix Bar, at 4086 18th St. at Castro Street. There’ll be snacks, entertainment, and a raffle; the fun is scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m.

On Sunday, Jan. 10 from 3 to 7 p.m. is the Food Not Bombs Vegan Chili Showdown! It’s at 3030B 16th St. at Mission Street, across from the 16th Street BART station. The entry fee is $7, and FNB will provide music and cornbread. MUSIC AND CORNBREAD ALL RIGHT.

In other weekend happenings, SFist reports that Mission Minis opens today. They have vegan options and it’s but two blocks from Vegansaurus HQ. You do the math.

Have you heard of Green Coriander? It’s a new take-out-only Indian place in San Francisco that’s offering a 20 percent discount to anyone who mentions they read about it on Mission Mission (you could say you were directed to them through MM via Vegansaurus, too, if you wanted). This week’s menu is nearly all vegan, too!

The Kitchn lists its top 25 meatless recipes from 2009, 19 of which are vegan!

A (borrrrrrring) Q & A with Food, Inc. director Robert Kenner, in which he says he is “not setting out to be a vegetarian,” which, duh and shut up, although he does say something about “chang[ing] the argument” of a libertarian, so that’s not so bad.

And then the LA Times comes back with a sound op-ed on food and farming, and not yelling so much about all of it because civility.

YES YES YES times 1 billion: the first page of the first chapter of Nicolette Hahn Niman’s new book, Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms is available online now!!! Hypocrisy has a new handbook, AWESOME!

Even Foster Farms is grossed out by the “water, salt, lemon juice solids, natural lemon flavor, cane juice, corn syrup and other natural flavorings” injected into chickens post-slaughter to make them more appetizing to consumers.

Did you catch the Bob Barker interview about the Sea Shepherd on Rachel Maddow’s show on Tuesday night? It was great, as is nearly everything to do with the great Bob Barker.

Marion Nestle predicts that the meat industry will “push back hard” this year after the beatings it took in 2009. As do we!

Finally, Grub Street proves that we are not the only ones totally grossed out by bacon on goddamn everything.

Vegan feminist hero Jill at I Blame the Patriarchy alerts us to the repulsive practices of the Bravo Meat Packing slaughterhouse in New Jersey.

It’s an epiphany miracle: a frozen kitty comes back to life!

“This guy is really afraid of cats and his friend is trying to help him with his fears! That is so helpful and nice.” We really, really love The Awl.

We really, really do not love crazy people who get their cats tattooed. Also, who the fuck tattooed the cat? All of you are insane assholes.

FREE STUFF: Say the secret word—as of press time, it’s “twitter”—at Gracias Madre and get a free Eel River IPA. Tip via SFoodie.

Francis Lam rebuts that ultra-obnoxious “plants have feelings, so get off your high (figurative) horses, vegetarians” New York Times op-ed; unfortunately, he ends with precious little “just say grace for everything you’re eating” attempt to absolve the eater of culpability for everything on his/her plate, including animal products, and in doing so resolves nothing. Nice going, smarty.

The Huffington Post thinks it’s clever: a fake meat slideshow! Look, without Tofurky deli slices, Soyrizo, or shrimp crafted from root vegetables, it is incomplete to me.

What’s going on with soybean cultivation? Oh, only that growing so much of it to feed all those animals you omnivores eat is the main contributor to the destruction of South American rainforest. No big.

East Bay vegan drinks, Keep’s sample sale, foie gras vs. puppies, ‘anus-grade pork,’ SF vegan bakesale and more in this week’s link-o-rama!  »

Tonight, Friday Dec. 4 at 7 in Palo Alto: A screening of Food, Inc. at World Centric, 2121 Staunton Ct.  Following the film is a speaker, Stanford student and eco-documentary filmmaker Matt Harnack, who will also show his own 20-minute film, Fossil Fuel Free Film. This event is free, though donations are requested to cover the cost of film and speakers. Seating capacity is about 70 people; arrive early to ensure that you will get a seat. Please feel free to bring food/drinks to share and a cushion as there are a few metal chairs.

Tomorrow, Saturday Dec. 5: the SF Vegan Bakesale, take three! Get over to Ike’s (3506 16th St. at Sanchez Street) between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. with a lot of cash, there’ll be tons and tons of baked goods, AND bunnies! BUNNIES.

Hey LA vegans: Keep is having a sample sale this weekend! From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday Dec. 4 and 5 at Keep headquarters, 418a Bamboo Lane in Los Angeles. Up to 60 percent off select styles, I AM SO JEALOUS, Keep makes amazing shoes.

A ramen truck in Hayes Valley? Opening this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., on the corner of Laguna and Hayes Streets? That appears to offer a vegan option (unconfirmed at press time)? Get out of my dreams and into my mouth. That joke is not funny, but I remain entirely serious.

Sunday, Dec. 6 at the Fort Mason Center, Building C: an Animal People Party, consisting of a white elephant sale and vegan potluck, to benefit Animal Switchboard! Not a lot of details here, except that it runs from 1 to 4 p.m. in room 260. Probably contacting Animal Switchboard would be the best way to get further information.

Miss Vegan Drinks? Of course you do! Thank goodness for the East Bay, who’ve been doing their thing on Tuesdays and want to see you at their next meeting! Mix and mingle on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Kona Club, at 4401 Piedmont Ave. at Pleasant Valley Avenue in Oakland! Details here.

Win a pound of Allison’s Gourmet vegan fudge! Enter before midnight on Tuesday, Dec. 8, on VegWeb (run by Vegansaurus’ Laura!)

According to Salon, the Humane Society of the United States has to make a choice: either it works to shut down foie gras farms, or it protects puppies from abuse. Can’t do both!

So tell us, Mr. Henry, “why can’t people live in harmony with animals without resorting to the barbarism of slaughter?” Answer: it takes too long to cook vegetables. No, really.

Adorable video: mad bunny attacks keys!

OMG RAGE: Fast food makes you fat so everyone should eat like Alice Waters, DUH! Lord save us from these simplistic dichotomies. The world is not black and white!

In Indiana and Minnesota, 24 slaughterhouse workers were sickened with “a variety of neurological and physical illnesses” from inhaling a mist of pig brains. Very, seriously sickened. Bacon is so awesome!!

Animal Place has new bunnies, a chance to win a Daisy Wares gift basket, tips on photographing pigs, and an ode to Arturo the chicken. Half the proceeds from the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale, San Francisco chapter went to Animal Place; they’re the greatest!

Not the greatest, at all: Brookestone’s Frog-o-Sphere’s. PETA2 is all over it.

Colleges are expanding their veg options! Humboldt State is currently sampling pumpkin ravioli and taquitos; the University of Houston offers falafel, pizza, and tacos.

King of the Greens Al Gore FINALLY acknowledges the impact factory farming has on the environment.

MORE RAGE: this program proposed by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture called “Meat the Need,” which would give people extra food stamps specifically for purchasing meat and dairy products. Why? Because people are buying less meat and dairy. So obviously THERE IS A HUGE PROBLEM!! And the most logical solution is to FORCE POOR PEOPLE TO BUY MORE ANIMAL PRODUCTS!!!

And speaking of angry fucking vegans, PETA and the Animal Defense League are now “domestic special interest terrorists,” according to the USDA. No, really. Really for really for real.

Hey have you checked out the discussion going on in Laura’s post about Mission Street Food’s dead-pig-ful Food Not Bombs benefit?

SF Food Wars gets a little feature in the New York Times! And friends-of-Vegansaurus Fat Bottom Bakery’s award-winning! vegan mac-n-cheese gets a mention in the very second sentence. World domination is coming, I can taste it.

So Charles Phan “is in talks with San Francisco city officials about turning empty lots into street-food hubs similar to the popular Singapore hawker centers,” is he? Um YES PLEASE, I will never leave. Because I will have eaten all the vegan food available and become TOO FAT TO MOVE.

So that lab-grown pig meat that tastes “soggy”? Jon Stewart reminds us that it’s still five years away from being “anus-grade pork.” Ugh times a million, and also, groooossssssss.