vegansaurus!

NYC Vegetarian Food Festival is this weekend!  »

Hey pals! The NYC Vegetarian Food Festival is this weekend. Huzzah! I missed it last year, I heard it was hella packed. I’m not one for crowds but people were saying it was awesome. The vendors look dope! I may have to grin and bear it this year. Crowds be damned!

NYC: Sea Shepherd’s Whalentine’s Day Bakesale!  »

Hey guys! The cool people from Sea Shepherd, NYC are having a cool bakesale this Sunday! I’ve been meaning to go to Mooshoes anyway, I’m past due for some new shoes. Well, not really. I just want some. Don’t judge me!

Bakesale details:

What: Whalentine’s Day Bake Sale to benefit Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Where: MooShoes, 78 Orchard Street, NYC

When: Sunday, Feb. 17th, 12:30-5:30 PM (volunteers and bakers welcome starting at noon)

Join Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, NYC chapter for our annual winter bake sale to support our vital ocean conservation work. From the Cove Guardians in Taiji, Japan monitoring the dolphin capture and slaughter to the partnership with the park rangers in the Galapagos to campaigns in the Mediterranean to stop poaching of Bluefin tuna and exposing the slaughter of seals in Namibia, Sea Shepherd is on the front line of protecting the world’s oceans and marine wildlife. Come eat some savory or sweet vegan treats, purchase official Sea Shepherd merchandise, and learn how you can get involved in Sea Shepherd’s work.

If baked goods aren’t your thing, come by anyway! MooShoes is donating 10% of the day’s sales to Sea Shepherd so you can support marine conservation without even having to chew.

Please bring a container if you plan to take home any of your treats. 

Vegansaurus Giveaway: Win tickets to the Vaute fashion show!  »

Obvi the Vaute fashion show next Wednesday is the talk of the town. Will you be in NYC Feb. 6th and want to come to the show? We’re giving away 10 pairs of tickets! So that’s two tickets for ten winners. I’M going to be there so YOU KNOW it’s going to be the funnest!

VAUTE
by Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart

Showing of Women’s and Men’s Outerwear and Ready-to-Wear Autumn/Winter 2013

Wednesday, February 6, 2013
11:30am - 12:30pm

TO WIN: just leave a comment on here about why Vaute is awesome BEFORE SUNDAY AT NOON (EST). I will pick ten winners and notify them by Sunday night. That’s when I’ll tell you where the show is and all that jazz. Yay! Go!

Alchemy Creamery: Brooklyn-based vegan ice cream with wacky flavors!  »

Look what I found in the Carroll Gardens Union Market last night! A new (to me) vegan ice cream, Alchemy Creamery. It’s all vegan and also gluten-free, though I don’t know if gluten is a concern with vegan ice cream.

There was some sort of pumpkin spice flavor, an apple cinnamon flavor, and then the chocolate chai-flavored “Fixation,” which I bought and you see above. It’s nice and creamy. In a word: delicious. The flavor is more chai than chocolate I think. The chocolate is bitter enough to balance out the chai though, which I usually find too sweet. Right? Chai is always so sweet. So yeah, this flavor isn’t that chocolatey but it is bittersweet enough to balance out the chai sweetness.

I want to try the apple cinnamon one next! Actually, if you look on their site, there’s hella crazy flavors I need to try. I will let you know what progress I make. Of course being Megan Rascal, I had to suggest a flavor I want to the makers, that flavor being coffee. Not mocha—strait-up coffee! A nice person named Giuseppe (right?!) answered my email saying he’s working on an espresso and donut flavor that will be out in the summer. I say hells yeah to that. 

Apparently you can now buy the ice cream at all the Union Markets in city! And they will also deliver to the NYC area. How will we get it to our west coast friends?! I will work on this. But you will have to trade me those vegan cinnamon rolls they have at the SOMA Whole Foods. 

Bliss Grand: New vegan restaurant in Brooklyn!  »

About two weeks ago, I got to attend the opening celebration of the new Bliss Grand restaurant in Williamsburg, BK! Finally I can tell you all about it. The Bliss Grand owners have another venue in the area, a more casual place, but they wanted to open a more upscale restaurant. Mission accomplished! The place is very nice. Here’s the back bar area:

I love the exposed brick! The party was hosted by none other than Joshua Katcher. Here’s our handsome host:

To his right is the main dining area.

I totally drilled Joshua on vegan fashion. He told me he has some more items coming out from Brave GentleMan now that he’s launched the suits. He’s going to have some more affordable accessories and home items to complement his suit line. We also discussed the diligence it takes to create ethically sourced, sweatshop-free fashion. He is thorough! 

They had a number of dishes out for us to try. My favorite thing we had were these little empanadas!:

Well actually, the empanadas were great, but it was the sauce that blew my mind! It’s a cashew margarita cream sauce and it is out of control delicious. It had a rich parmesan cheese flavor. And it totes has tequila in it because they are hardcore. 

Other super popular items were these truffle oil fries (we eat truffle oil, no? They don’t still use pigs to find truffles, do they?) and this kale salad. Someone said the fries were possibly the best fries they ever had. And they were definitely delicious:

Other than the amazing food, I must also say the owners were incredibly nice. And not JUST because they kept me rich in delicious vegan wine. 

The Bliss Grand is located at 167 Grand street at Bedford. Definitely worth the trip!

Hipster Dust is a real thing and you’re supposed to eat it.  »

I spotted this on Gothamist and I’m not really sure what to think. It’s a spice mixture from Williamsburg called Hipster Dust and it says it’s vegan. From their site:

Hipster Dust is a vegan spice mixture that took flight in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It is used in the kitchen to flavor vegetables, soups, noodles and everything else. Hipster Dust’s cult following has expanded far beyond its birthplace. Hipster Dust lovers have carried their enthusiasm for this invigorating seasoning from Brooklyn across the country, making fans of its distinct flavor along the way.

I would proudly eat something called Hipster Dust because that’s hilarious, and I mostly eat for the laughs, but I’m a little confused. Are there are lot of spice mixes that aren’t vegan? And one of the four recipes on their site is for ahi tuna.* So I’m not getting the impression they have any sort of vegan allegiance. I’m thinking it’s a marketing thing, eh? Because, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but all the cool kids are vegan.**

I’m not saying I need a product to be dedicated to veganism (Oreos, amirite?), but, like, you don’t need to bullshit us. All the same, I’d try this. I’ll let you know how it goes.

*I’m not an expert but my friend Google tells me ahi tuna is not very sustainable. Kind of a weird recipe choice for a biz that says it’s an “eco-aware company.”

** You got me, Joaquin Phoenix, Alan Cumming…checkmate, omnis. 

Laika magazine: New super-dope Vegan quarterly!  »

Have you been wanting to burst out of your comfortable vegan shell and upgrade to an ultra-genius-hottie vegan? Laika magazine is here to help you out!

I went to the launch of Laika a few nights ago and what a party. With eco-friendly mojitos and delicious food from Cinnamon Snail, you know I was happy. And my favorite NYC vegan fashion plate, Leanne of Vaute Couture, was there, as was the ever-talented Joshua Katcher. Both made contributions to this inaugural issue. And of course, Laika creator Julie Gueraseva was there too. I spoke to her briefly, she’s plain lovely. Basically: I’m drinking the Laika Kool-Aid. 

The spread at the launch. Hubba hubba!

The only thing I regret about the party—and I know you’re going to kill me for this—there was an elaborate cheese spread from new vegan cheese company Treeline Cheese and I didn’t try any. I know! I’m sorry! But people were buzzing around the cheese plates like cray and I actually had to run back to work because I’m hella important so I didn’t have time to muscle my way in. But I swear to the Vegansaur gods, I will try the cheese and tell you how it is.

So Laika covers vegan fashion but also food and travel. Plus this issue profiles several young vegan activists. There’s something for everyone. If you’ve been wondering where the title comes from, that’s my favorite part:

LAIKA Magazine is named after the stray dog who died within hours of being launched into outer space inside Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. About sending Laika into space, scientist Oleg Gozanko, part of the original mission, said “We shouldn’t have done it … We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog.”

Aw, sad. But that dog does deserve a namesake. R.I.P. little pal. Get your subscription to Laika here!

NYC: Celebrate/mourn the election with your fellow vegans!  »

Check it, yo: Our friends at SuperVegan are having a wild election night party! But wait, there’s more! Food will be provided by Chickpea & Olive and Dun-Well Doughnuts! If that doesn’t get you to this party, guess who’s DJing? THIS GUY! That’s right, DJ Megan Rascal, aka. DJ My Lil’ Pony, aka. The Dancing DJ, will be in full effect with your favorite ’60s and ’70s soul and rock and roll!

Besides, imagine how sad you’ll be sitting all alone when you hear the results. Or worse, what if you’re sitting with your omni friends while they celebrate/mourn! That would be the worst. Don’t be the worst.

Oh and my omni friend Kevin Karp is coming and if Obama loses, he says he’s making a new dish called the Meat Romney: “a veal chop, flip flopped over and over again until even the tender flavor born from cruelty is dried out into an awful leathery bland piece of waste.” OMG omnis are so cray. That’s super gross. But “Meat Romney” is hilar. Let’s just call him Meat from now on. What up, Meat?!

Deets:
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 8 p.m.
Fontana’s Bar, 105 Eldridge St. (between Grand and Broome)

Be there or be, etc.

Vegan MoFo: Moroccan Sandcastle cookies!   »

Here’s my entry for International Mofo: Moroccan sand cookies from Black and Blanco! These are actually made in NYC but they are totes a Moroccan thing. Though I don’t know if they are traditionally made with chocolate. But survey says: these rule! They aren’t that sweet at all and they are a bit salty but still chocolately so…they are perfect!