Since we are forced to hold Vegan Drinks one week early because of the Thanksgiving holiday, we hope that you will join us this Thursday, November 19, at Angels & Kings bar for some drinking and turkey adopting. David from Farm Sanctuary will begin accepting your Adopt-A-Turkey sponsorships ($25 cash or check only) at 7:30pm.

DJ Lil Ray will be there to help us get rid of our tired iPod playlist.

As always, the drinks are cheap ($3 domestics, $4 imports and $1 off well drinks) and the crowd is rad. Plus, we will give away some items of nominal value. Just in time for the winter holiday season!



We'll turn down the music around 8pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

Check out our map of restaurants near Angels & Kings where you can grab a bite after the event. And if you haven't already, link up with Vegan Drinks on Facebook and MySpace.

Vegan Drinks is held from 7pm-9pm at Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th Street (btw Ave A & Ave B), New York, NY 10009.

The last Vegan Drinks for 2009 will be on Thursday, December 17. (Please note: This is not the last Thursday of the month; some major holiday got in the way).

The Long Island Food Not Bombs (L.I. F.N.B.) chapter gets sh*t done. They coordinate three food shares (Hempstead, Huntington and Farmingville) each week; redistribute clothes, toys and books; and many L.I. F.N.B. activists also carve out time in their busy schedules to volunteer with the Food Not Bombs chapters (Bed-Stuy, Bushwick and Manhattan) in New York City.

Naturally, L.I. F.N.B. did not balk at the prospect of redistributing a 2,000 pound donation from Soyatoo. So, if you want to see what 2,000 pounds of vegan whipped cream looks like, get thee to Long Island this weekend for the start of "Long Island Food Not Bombs Thanksgiving Bonanza"!

The third installment of Veggie Conquest took place this past weekend and it was another smashing success.

In case you missed the introductory blog post, Veggie Conquest is an amateur cooking competition similar to Top Chef... except that it's not televised. Oh yeah, and it's ENTIRELY VEGAN! The event is held monthly, and you can buy a chef ticket in order to be part of the competition or a taster ticket for an excuse to stuff your face. There are generally about six chefs participating and sixty-five tasters in attendance. One week prior all ticket holders are notified of the "secret ingredient" and course to be prepared so that menus and taste buds can be primed.

This time around it was cranberry dessert and the submissions were incredible. Though not normally a big fan of cranberries, I was surprised to find how sweet and delicious they were incorporated into such delights as "Double Cranberry Cinnamon Oatmeal Nut Bar," "Almond Crusted Chocolate Cranberry Mousse," "Cran Velvet Cake," and the inventive (and winning) "Rice Crepe with Cran-Ginger Sauce." I was not as much of a fan of the raw submission, "Cranbanapple Parfait"; the texture was too much like a runny pudding for my taste. Neither was I impressed by the "Swedish-Style Charoset," submitted more as comedic performance art than recipe contender.

This weekend was the 14th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. I was so there dude - here are my top 10 observations.

10. Investment Firms will always seem out of place at events like this. I rarely go to food based events with financial planning on the brain.

9. Some people in the crowd have no idea that they're at a vegetarian food festival as exhibited by comments like "Wait. This is ALL vegetarian. UGH!"

8. Renewing your subscription to VegNews is best done at the BVFF because not only is the timing perfect but they give you free stuff too.

7. Sooner or later the organizers are going to have to move this event to a bigger space. Seriously, sometimes you have to swim through people like some kind of vegan Michael Phelps.

6. The BVFF is better when Isa Chandra Moskowitz is in attendance, because, y'know she's the bomb and I was hoping to get a signed cookie book.

5. The sheer sight of the Vegan Treats table may make you weep bulbous tears of joy.

4. Just because something is vegan does not mean it will taste good.

3. It's best to starve yourself before the event because there is a good chance that if you don't your stomach might explode.

2. Samples are really the life blood of this event. Without samples, the squished feet, the random nefarious odor combination and line-cutters might supersede the event's worth.

1. Old ladies with Farm Sanctuary shirts will sucker punch you in the ribs to get the last Cedar's Hummus snack pack. Seriously.

You like candy? We like candy. So, join us on Thursday, October 29, for some candy and Vegan Drinks at Angels & Kings bar in the East Village. As always, the drinks are cheap ($3 domestics, $4 imports and $1 off well drinks) and the crowd is cooler than that family who passed out apples on Halloween when you were a kid.



We'll turn down the music around 8pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

Check out our map of restaurants near Angels & Kings where you can grab a bite after the event. And if you haven't already, link up with Vegan Drinks on Facebook and MySpace.

Vegan Drinks is held from 7pm-9pm at Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th Street (btw Ave A & Ave B), New York, NY 10009.

The last two Vegan Drinks for 2009 will be on Thursday, November 19, and Thursday, December 17. (Please note: These are not the last Thursdays of the month; some holidays got in the way).

Big tent. Friendly critters. Funny emcee. Yummy food. Cool music. No, it wasn't the circus, it was the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary's annual ThanksLiving.

Over 250 people came for this sold out event Sunday to visit with rescued farm animals and enjoy a fabulous sit-down all-vegan meal. ThanksLiving rather than Thanksgiving is a celebration of turkeys and other farmed animals during a season traditionally centered on meals of dead animals. This is the third year I have volunteered for this event, and here's my "take" on it:

The weather report promised a 100 percent chance of precipitation, but we were lucky. The cold schvitz of the morning gave way to light banks of clouds by the afternoon. The sanctuary is nestled between two Catskill mountains, which were resplendent in fall foliage. A giant heated tent was set up in the goat pasture, with elegant light fixtures, dozens of white-clothed tables, and a stage.

Saturday, I was thrilled to see actress Alicia Silverstone give culinary demonstrations followed by a discussion as part of the Food Network's New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure magazines, Whole Foods Market and hosted by and benefiting the Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength.

The veg star tied her hair back and walked us through how to prepare recipes from her new book, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet, set for release this Tuesday, October 13.

In her book, Alicia discusses the powerful life-altering choice to become cruelty-free and the breakthroughs she experienced. She also addresses common nutritional concerns faced by those new to a plant-based. The book covers every nutritional base, from the standard protein and calcium issues and beyond.

Lantern Books is turning ten! Celebrate a decade of fantastic vegetarian and animal advocacy books (and the new release, An Offering of Leaves) at Lantern's tenth anniversary party, this Thursday at Jivamukti Yoga Center.

The essential info: it's 1) free and 2) catered with delicious vegan food from Jivamukti's cafe. What more could you ask?

When: Thursday, October 8, 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Where: Jivamukti Yoga
841 Broadway, 2nd Floor
(at Union Square, just below 14th St.)

Lantern was instrumental in getting SuperVegan off the ground (and is still my day job). We're grateful for the support and wish them a happy anniversary.

Find this and other awesome vegan events on SuperVegan's NYC Events Calendar.

NYC vegans flocked to Angels & Kings Bar this past Thursday night like it was their birthright. New faces mixed well with the more seasoned ones. An enterprising gent even brought his own soy milk to the bar so he could down vegan White Russians like a pro all night long.

The usual suspects and then some got up to spread their messages during "Shout Outs." Robyn reminded everyone to register for Farm Sanctuary's Walk for Farm Animals* (Sunday, October 4th). Susan announced NYC Vegan EatUp events, including the Daiya Cheese Crawl on October 2nd. Jessica updated the crowd on the availability of spectator tickets and chef spots at September's Veggie Conquest (secret ingredient: squash). David of Farm Sanctuary listed a litany of events sponsored by his organization in coming weeks, including October 14th's "Farm Animals and the Law" at NYU. And, last but not least, Jeff, founder of Veg Social NJ, announced that he recently moved to NYC and started a Veg Social NYC chapter. The next two potlucks will be held October 17th on the Lower East Side and November 5th in Brooklyn Heights. Follow both chapters on Facebook and email VegSocialNYC@gmail.com to get on its mailing list!

If you would like to get in touch with any of the folks mentioned above, please email info@vegandrinks.org.

The next Vegan Drinks NYC is Thursday, October 29th at Angels & Kings Bar from 7pm to 9pm. We can't wait to see you! Get on our mailing list!

*If you cannot walk this year but would like to make a donation to Farm Sanctuary, feel free to sponsor me here!

Join us Thursday, September 24, for Vegan Drinks at Angels & Kings bar in the East Village. As always, the drinks are cheap ($3 domestics, $4 imports and $1 off well drinks) and the crowd is the best of ALL TIME.



We'll turn down the music around 8pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

Check out our map of restaurants near Angels & Kings where you can grab a bite after the event. And if you haven't already, link up with Vegan Drinks on Facebook and MySpace.

Vegan Drinks is held from 7pm-9pm at Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th Street (btw Ave A & Ave B), New York, NY 10009.