vegansaurus!

NYC: Vegan Drinks is tonight! Come party!  »

Hey pals! Tonight is NYC’s Vegan Drinks! Deets:

Thursday, Jan. 26, 7 to 10 p.m.
Benefits: The Civil Liberties Defense Center
At Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th St. (btw A & B) [map]
21+. $1 off draft beers and well drinks

And there’s going to be a DJ playing punk and hip hop! Who isn’t me! So s/he will probably be competent with the sound system! That’s always nice in a DJ. I will be there too, ready to party. Make sure you say hi to me! I don’t know that many NYC vegans and I’m bashful. 

Vegansaurus NYC: Vegan winter shop-up this Sunday!  »

Check it out, NYC friends! We should all go to this and buy shit and drink stuff and have a gay old time!:

WELL. Here we are. It’s practically Christmas! Hope you’re rested up from last month’s Shop-Up, because the Vegan Holiday Shop-Up is just weeks away! On Sunday December 4th, from 12-5pm, shake a leg down to Pine Box Rock Shop, Brooklyn’s only all vegan bar (we love that place!). You’re in for a hot afternoon of NYC’s best vegan goods all in one rad spot. Why not get all your holiday shopping done early, and while munching on some mad tasty treats. PLUS, it’ll be happy hour at the ol’ Pine Box! You can warm up with a triple-spicy Bloody Mary and cozy down with your new friends at the bar.

There you have it! Get to shopping and supporting local, vegan, and most importantly SEXY businesses! Oh, and it looks like Gone Pie is selling all sorts of deliciousness there. Delicious. 

Vegan doughnuts in Brooklyn: Dun-Well Doughnuts is getting a store front!  »

Hello world! I bring you happy news! Williamsburg, Brooklyn is getting its own vegan donut shop (I can’t decide how to spell doughnuts so just bear with me)! Dun-Well Doughnuts has been supplying local coffee shops and stuff but now they will have their own storefront and I couldn’t be more excited!

Dun-Well was started by Christopher Hollowell and Dan Dunbar after watching a donut-laden Simpsons episode. And the vegans of New York have been grateful ever since! We think they’re pretty great. 

The storefront is having a soft opening late November and will be at 222 Montrose Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Hopefully Christopher and Dan will be there like every day because I’ve seen them at Vegan Drinks and they are adorbs. They dress so cool. And how much do you want a French Toast Doughnut? Pro tip: so much!

Make sure you visit their Indie GoGo page and throw down for some donuts. If you give $1000, you get to invent a donut!! I just sprung for a few coupons. But one day there will be a Megan Rascal donut. Or a dino-shaped pink Vegansaurus donut! What? We’ve already got a sandwich. That’s right!

Vegansaurus NYC: You got Vegan Drinks tonight too!  »

Don’t forget NYCers, it’s Vegan Drinks tonight here, too!

Deets:

Thursday, October 27, 2011. 7pm-10pm.
21+. At Angels & Kings.
500 East 11th St (btw A & B) [map]
$1 off draft beers and well drinks

This month, a portion of the bar proceeds will be donated to Community Solidarity, Inc., and we encourage you to bring along additional monetary contributions as well. Community Solidarity helps to collect and share veg*n groceries with groups like Long Island Food Not Bombs. Since becoming a nonprofit in May 2011, they have shared nearly a million pounds of food with tens of thousands of people!

Let’s get our swerve on! In the name of community and solidarity! I know it’s raining but it’s not like you’re going to melt. Or ARE you?! Bwahahahaha! Halloween! Fun times!

Vegansaurus NYC: Veg-O-Ween vegan Halloween party!  »

The people who brought you the Veggie Prom, at which I hear I had a lot of fun, are gearing up for another party: Veg-O-Ween! Proceeds benefit Mercy for Animals!

Veg friendly foodies: put on your Halloween best! Veg-O-Ween, New York’s vegan Halloween dance party, returns for a second year on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Crema, an upscale Mexican restaurant happily taking on the vegan challenge for the event. Adding hand-passed gourmet tapas and a happy hour to the delicious mix, this year’s party promises to be bigger, better, and a bit fancier than the last.

The party will be emceed by vegan comedienne Kate Wolff and DJed by vegan DJ Lil Ray. Guests are encouraged enter both the costume contest and raffle to compete for prizes from local and national vegan vendors.  Happy Hour is from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. (early arrival is a must!). Tasty vegan desserts will be provided by the amazing Vèritè Catering.

Where: Crema, 111 West 17th St. (between 6th and 7th avenues)
When: Saturday, Oct. 29 at 9:30 p.m.
Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 at the door (21 and over). Advance tickets are on sale now.

I don’t have a Halloween costume yet! OMG. Usually I am a super-scary zombie-something—zombie-flapper, zombie-housewife, etc. As it turns out, I’m totally great at zombie makeup! Who knew. Like, I scare chicks at parties because my wounds look so icky. But the makeup gets all over my stuff! So I’m thinking of switching it up and being a mod-vampire. Or a something-vampire. I’ll still look scary but I think there’s less chance I’ll get fake blood and spirit glue on my shit. What is everyone else being?

Vegansaurus NYC: Farm Funding Tuesday! TONIGHT!  »

Party time! Some great people have organized an event to raise money for Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY: Farm Funding Tuesday! I love Farm Sanctuary! They have the best little animal stories of triumph. And I love bars! That’s where they keep all the booze. 

It’s at Halyards in Park Slope/Gowanus, Brooklyn. Check out their donors and sponsors:

Sun in Bloom 
Champs Vegan Family Bakery
MyZoetrope
Vaute Couture
PS9 Pet Supplies
Bergen St Comics
Level 2 Boutique
Skinny Skinny 
Plus art from local artists!

Sweet list, man. There will be lots of vegan food and you get a free drink with admission. You can also win prizes! I love prizes. So everybody come out and party for a good cause!

Vegucated premieres in NYC! Everyone loves it! You must see it!  »

Last week I attended the U.S. premiere of the Toronto Film Festival Best Documentary winner, Vegucated. Hilarious, heartwarming, and with a spot-on message, this film is brilliant. [Ed.: We agree!]

After seven years of work, Marisa Miller Wolfson has triumphed as a filmmaker. Her documentary shows the journey of three volunteers who go from entirely traditional (roughly, Standard American) diet, and zero experience with vegetarianism, to a completely vegan lifestyle for six weeks. 

Vegucated entertainingly captures all the obstacles, thrills, confusion, guilt, joy, passion, and frustration that we experience once our eyes have been opened to the truth of animal exploitation. Our hero’s tales are intercut with artfully placed and deliberately chosen images of slaughterhouses and factory farms. 

These images are incredibly effective. Vegucated is not hard to watch, although there are hard moments, but the selective use and poignant placement of such footage makes it even more powerful. Whenever the images get too intense you are whisked back to the compelling test subjects and their delightful adventures.

When the credits rolled the audience leaped to its feet in a standing ovation for this wonderful movie. A brief Q&A with the cast afterwards revealed that two of the test subjects are currently vegan and the third is vegetarian. Amazing. A show of hands revealed the audience was primarily vegan, with about 20 declared omnivores. Obviously, I was specifically interested in an omnivore’s reaction, so I found one at the after party and pressed him with questions.

I was not supposed to be at the fancy after party, as I did not have a VIP ticket (‘cause I’m poor). However, Brian, one of the stars of the documentary (who is even more charming and adorable in person than in the film, if that’s possible) saw me wistfully gazing at the party filled with vegan food/celebs and offered get me in as his plus-one. As if I weren’t already in love with him. [Ed.: OMG YOU HAVE TO GET MARRIED!]

JACKPOT. I hobnobbed with the vegan elite and noshed on Foodswings’ mac and cheese. There were also veggies, hummus, cookies, So Delicious ice cream treats (So Delicious is sponsoring the film, because they ROCK) and most importantly, Sweet & Sara Rice Krispie treats, which I repeatedly dunked in the chocolate fountain. That’s right, you heard me: THE CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN.

I digress. My omnivore, a good friend of the Vegucated test subject Brian (my future husband), said he had come to support his friend. He currently eats a totally SAD and had never looked into anything regarding veganism or vegetarianism before. He told me the film had shocked him, and that he was unaware of most of the information presented. He said that it had never occurred to him to think what these farms and slaughterhouses must be like. It truly seemed to have affected him in a positive way. As a vegan, I thought it was great and it touched my heart, but to see that a non-vegan audience member thoroughly enjoyed it as well was inspiring. 

This is what I hope it can do for many more non-vegans. It is so funny and stimulating, it will captivate any audience. The humor can be a bridge for people who would never have approached a film like this otherwise. 

Last night’s show was the first in a tour, so check out the website to see if it’s coming near you—if it is, GO SEE IT. It is radical. You can also pre-order copies of the DVD or arrange to host a screening in your town. [Ed.: Oct. 24 in Berkeley and 25 in SF!]

This movie is awesome. Watch it. Send it to all your family members as Christmas presents. (or Hanukkah or birthday or whatever presents). I loved it and extend my congratulations to all involved.

Vegansaurus NYC: Vegan fall shop-up this Sunday!  »

Check it out, NYC friends! We should all go to this and buy shit and drink stuff and have a gay old time!:

Vegan Shop-Up is BACK! The all vegan all local pop-up market brings you tons of rad eats, treats, goods and wares to satisfy all your cool weather cravings.

Come on out Sunday, Oct. 23, from noon to 5 p.m. to the Pine Box Rock Shop (our favorite vegan bar!) for the Vegan Fall Shop-Up! (It’s happy hour too!)

You’ll see new vendors and old with handmade soaps, Brooklyn-made hummus, artisan tempeh, gluten-free truffles, kale chips, botanical tinctures, letterpress stationery, soy wax candles, lip balms, kombucha, granola bars, coffee, farm fresh veggies, and LOADS MORE.

See www.veganshopup.com for more info.

Hope to see you there!