Three more cities have joined the Vegan Drinks cavalcade!

The first Philadelphia Vegan Drinks will be on Thursday, February 19 (hey, that's today!) from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, in the downstairs lounge at Horizons, 611 South 7th Street in Center City.

The first San Francisco Vegan Drinks will be on Thursday, February 26th, from 6-8 pm, at Martuni's, 4 Valencia Street, at Market. They will be held the last Thursday of each month.

The first Twin Cities Vegan Drinks will be on Saturday, March 7 at 7pm, at Fast & Furless and ARC's shared space, 2615 East Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, 55406. Each month will feature a theme drink - March is cosmopolitans!

The next New York Vegan Drinks will be on Thursday, February 26, 2009 (same day as SF!) at Angels & Kings as usual.

• The Philadelphia City Paper published a nice rundown of Vegan Takes on Classic Sandwiches in their city. A nice companion to Your Daughter's Tied Up In a Brooklyn Basement, a comprehensive guide to (what else?) vegetarian cheesesteaks in Philly.
• Remember when alpha-asshole superchef Anthony Bourdain described vegans as a "Hezbollah-like splinter faction" of vegetarianism? Well, Hezbollah Tofu has taken him at his word and is on a mission to veganize Bourdain recipes. The public is encouraged to contribute recipes and ideas.
• There's a neat piece in the New York Times today about the Humane Society and PETA's use of hidden cameras to document horrific --and, on a more practically relevant level, illegal-- goings-ons at slaughterhouses, and how the videos are able to reach a wide audience in the age of YouTube.
• In interspecies cooperation news, Moko the dolphin rescued a couple of stranded whales in New Zealand after humans proved powerless to help.

When my friends Kevin and Beth told me that I had to try Horizons, a gourmet vegan restaurant in Philadelphia, I yawned. The thing with non-New Yorker vegans is that they always think their veggie restaurants are absolutely incredible when they really are quite crappy when you compare them to what we have here in NYC.

Time and time again I've been disappointed by the veggie restaurants in other cities, so my expectations for Horizons were quite low. But wow, it's been quite a while since I've been wowed by any restaurant in or out of NYC, and Horizons completely wowed me with their original and inventive dishes.

Once I got over their new age hippie meets IKEA decor and burnt coffee, I realized that my meal there was really the best meal I've had in a really long time. It indeed was worth dropping $20 (and risking my life) on a Chinatown bus to get down to Philly to try it. The yummy deviled oyster mushroom fritters served over a purée of creamed spinach and English pea bursted with savory, buttery, and earthy flavors. Their grilled seitan was unforgettable - juicy, smoky, and perfectly charred and easily rivals (if not better than) the seitan at Candle 79. And I embarrassingly licked clean the dish that their heavenly saffron crème brûlée was served in.

I can't wait for NYC to open a restaurant with food like that of Horizons. But better yet, I wonder if they have considered moving to NYC or at least open a branch here. In the mean time, I'm sure I'll be visiting Kevin and Beth a lot more now and I would just have to make do with their cookbook. Horizons, I heart you. xoxo!

Jordana Rothman at Time Out New York has a fun story tracing the "clone rangers" and spin-offs of various popular NYC institutions. For example, alums of the tourist deathspot Magnolia Bakery spawned Buttercup Bake Shop, Billy's Bakery, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and Little Cupcake Bakeshop. (None are vegan-friendly, so check out Babycakes for your sugar fix instead.) Surely we have something just like this in the veggie world.

Vegetarian's Paradise 2 went through the trouble (and expense) of trademarking their "World Famous Crispy Soul Chicken" after a former chef left to open Vegetarian Palate in Park Slope, Brooklyn and ripped-off the West Village mainstay's signature dishes such as Peking Spareribs and Mango Chicken.

A former chef at Gobo ripped-off not only the fancy restaurant's recipes and menu, but also a part of its decor - the collages of dried ingredients - when he opened Wild Ginger on the border of Chinatown and Wild Ginger Brooklyn in Williamsburg.

In Philly, Gianna's Grille rips off Danielle Konya's VeganTreats and tries to peddle their knock-offs with an air of authenticity with words such as "original," "signature," and get this: "Gianna's vegan treats are available exclusively at Gianna's! Accept no substitute!" (The lovely Danielle used to supply her cakes to Gianna's.) Even more scandalous though: after telling their customers for years that they used a secret formula for their unbelievably meltable and stretchable soy cheese, Gianna's Grille was exposed to have maliciously lied about their soy cheese being vegan. Though they now claim that everything labeled vegan on their menu is really indeed vegan, many vegans in the know still avoid and boycott the restaurant like the plague.

• The New York Times reports from the trenches on cock fighting in Louisiana, and how the legislature is (supposedly) taking steps to curb it.
• The Chicago Tribune and their hefty magazine piece on animal advocacy.
• The Philadelphia Daily News supports councilman Jack Kelley's bill to ban foie gras in the city.
• And speaking of media (whores), Heather Mills is spreading the good word at London's Incredible Veggie Show later this month.

New to animal rights? A veteran with years of experience? The 6th annual Farm Animal Forum will be held by Farm Sanctuary on Sunday, April 29, 2007, at the National Constitution Center at 525 Arch Street in Philadelphia, PA. Activists from all walks of life are sure to take away heaps of information and inspiration from this one–day conference. Activities will include speakers, merchandise and literature exhibits and hands-on activism. Up–to–date information on farm animal issues, campaigns, and developments will be provided.

Reservations are required by April 20, and the cost is $45 and $50 after April 6. Students pay $35, and the fee includes lunch. To register call (607) 583-2225 ext. 221 or visit FarmSanctuary.org. Volunteers to help with the conference are still needed.

This isn’t news: People who are informed and compassionate tend to be concerned about more than one issue. Just witness the tagline for Satya magazine: Vegetarianism, Environmentalism, Animal Advocacy, Social Justice. There was widespread evidence of this dovetailing of advocacy as a month of Gay Pride events wrapped up last weekend.

In San Francisco, Bay Area Vegetarians did vegetarian and factory farming outreach at San Francisco Pride. CARE, Compassion for Animals and Respect for the Environment, sold vegan food and educated onlookers about animal rights at the Philadelphia Gay Pride Festival. And in New York, Farm Sanctuary did outreach, petitioned to ban the use of veal crates, and “adopted out” cows at PrideFest. (And let’s not forget the festivities of the day before, when Liza Minelli hosted the Rubyfruit Pet Pride Pageant!)

So let’s continue to stand up for what we believe in and educate those around us until cruelty and discrimination of any kind no longer exists. And maybe next year, we’ll have a little celebration of our own: Veggie Pride, anyone? The French have been at it for several years now, and I think it’s about time we caught up.

Vive le végéta*isme!

Tucson Citizen just ran a positive, though somewhat short, article titled "No Meat!: Sweet-toothed vegans bake their cakes and eat them, too." The article features Vedika Webb, the baker behind Philly's Lotus Cake Studio, which is a hotspot for betrothed East Coast vegans looking for a custom wedding cake.

Also featured is Allison Rivers Samson, the West Coast chocolatier and baker behind the SuperYummy goodies at Allison's Gourmet. Allison's Gourmet has a brownie and cookie of the month club. Since we're on the topic of weddings, wouldn't a membership be the perfect wedding present?

Philadelphia City Paper recently profiled Copper Desserts, a baker of pies and cakes that are friendly to both vegans and folks with wheat allergies. All products are homemade by Keirra Strayhorn Winter, a 27-year-old former New Yorker, using healthy products like unrefined organic sugar, flaxseed, and unsweetened soymilk.

Copper Desserts are now available at Jamaican Jerk Hut in Philly. Individuals can place orders via email to copperdesserts@yahoo.com. The website is scheduled to launch in August.

DawnWatch directed us to a recent article in USA Today, "Foes see foie gras as fat target." It seems Philly may join Chicago and California in banning foie gras as soon as this Fall. On May 25, Philadelphia city councilman Jack Kelly introduced legislation to ban the cruel cuisine.