I flew into Portland on Friday to attend this year's National Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, OR. I visited the "Brooklyn of the West" to make my jeans fit tighter and attend conference sessions on issues relating to the criminal prosecution of animal cruelty, the link between domestic violence and animal abuse, the intersectionality between animal rights and human rights, and so on and so forth.

But, in honor of Vegan MoFo III, you want to hear about the food, right? For the first time in a very long time, I received a vegan meal on the plane. I stopped requesting them long ago, but my Continental Airlines frequent flyer profile still lists me as a scary, radical vegan. Much to my surprise, about an hour into the flight, a box containing a vegan soy patty with cheese on a whole wheat English muffin appeared on my tray table. It was surprisingly good. A partially frozen fruit cocktail, a Sara Lee "bagel", Smart Balance (the vegan kind) and a packet of Mrs. Dash, which I'm still not sure of its intended use, accompanied it. Continental gets thumbs up on the English muffin sandwich and for getting me to Portland on time.

My first stop in Portland was La Bonita for some of the tastiest black beans to pass through my digestive track. For only $6.95, I procured a large plate with two soft tacos, a heaping mound of rice, a liberal portion of beans and chunky guacamole. Good job, NE Portland.

A recent announcement on the Brooklynian message boards that a Franklin Avenue "holistic and organic" coffee shop would soon open sans cow's milk sent folks in a typing frenzy that the shop was destined to fail. Within two weeks, far in advance of the shop's opening, the owners posted on Brooklynian that they would offer organic cow's milk after all.

But, for a few days, I was able to bask in the thought of my corner coffee shop as a truly vegan-friendly establishment. I wasn't surprised to learn that cow's milk would be offered, and I'm still thrilled that such a wide variety of non-dairy milk and vegan pastries will be available. Franklin Avenue is experiencing a bit of a renaissance, so one more reoccupied storefront is a good thing. (I would be remiss not to acknowledge that gentrification is driving up prices in the few local grocery options, but there's not enough room here to do that type of unpacking.)

Before I moved to Crown Heights, I did not expect much in the way of vegan eating beyond the options available in the neighborhood's many fine West Indian restaurants. Since my arrival, I've amassed a diverse handful of go-to options when I need a quick vegan fix near my new home.

New York City is home to a plethora of vegan delicacies, from the exotic and gourmet to ethnic and all-American staples; the city is a one-stop shop for pure vegan goodness. Now, thanks to the Proprietors of Philadelphia's only Vegan Lunch Truck, (Viva Las Vegans) Manhattanites and Lower Eastsiders alike have something new to rejoice.

Lula's Sweet Apothecary is Manhattan's only all-vegan, fully functioning Ice Cream Parlor. Rooted in the old-fashioned pharmacy parlors of yesteryear it operates just like you would expect it to; right down to the Hamilton Beach hand-mixers and soda-shop menu(PDF) on their website.

All of the ice cream is original, store-made and delicious. I had the chance to sample a few of the flavors and was blown away by the full-bodied, creamy sweetness of each of the choices; Chicago Soy Dairy soft-serve is pretty awesome as well.

From sundaes to shakes, sodas to malts and everything from banana splits to flurries they have the tools to keep your sweet tooth tingling. And, just in case that wasn't enough to send your body into giddy-filled gyrations, they also carry Red Mango and Gone Pie baked goods along with fair trade coffee and hot chocolate.

They are located at 516 E. 6th Street between A & B. They've yet to have a grand opening but don't let that deter you from sampling the scrumptiousness.

Big ups to Chloe at Girlie Girl Army for the tip!

A SuperVegan Resturaunt listing will arrive shortly. UPDATE: It's in our restaurant guide now!. Leave reviews!

A host of new coconut milk-based vegan ice cream approximations have hit the shelves lately. On the West Coast, we have an especially wide selection: there's Maggie Mudd in San Francisco and Coconut Bliss in Eugene, Oregon. They're great for anyone looking to trim a little soy from their diet (seriously, who couldn't benefit from that?) -- but until recently, they've been a pricey specialty affair.

But the new flavors from Turtle Mountain's So Delicious Purely Decadent line (based out of Oregon, natch) are the most widely available, the least tummy-achingly decadent and the most affordable in these tight times of ours. A pint of Mudd will set you back about $5, while Coconut Bliss clocks in closer to $6. They're tasty, but S.D.'s is more accessible -- creamy, but not too sweet (made with agave, not sugar!), though perhaps a little coconutty for some. But if you're looking for a seriously decadent dessert that'll knock you out for a good hour and a half after you've inhaled it, you'd best look elsewhere.

Maybe that's why the cookie dough and mint chip versions were kind of disappointing for me. They're tasty, no doubt, but you can really taste the coconut-milk base, and they're overall not as rich as I want those flavors to be. The vanilla bean and coconut ones, on the other hand, far surpassed my expectations. The vanilla has now become my go-to summer snack (I have a lot of those "free pint" coupons saved up, okay?). Great for anyone looking to cut some soy and indulge in some summertime junk food. (Might I suggest some ripe summer peaches?) Mix a serving with some fresh cut fruit to cut down on total snack calories and foodie guilt. And then go out trick your favorite omnis because seriously, this stuff ain't no Tofutti. They'll be shocked. Then sweet-talk them into buying another carton for sharesies.

A pint will set you back less than $3 at the Park Slope Food Co-op, but more like $4 at Whole Paycheck -- though S.D. has some generous coupon offerings on their Web site. It comes in vanilla bean, chocolate, coconut, mint chip and cookie dough varieties. They're up for the VegNews Awards (vote for SV, too!) against Mudd and Bliss. I won't tell you who I voted for, because that would violate my journalistic integrity -- but let's just say I'm kind of a cheapskate.

A new spot called Penny Licks has opened up at 158 Bedford Avenue (on the same block as Vinnie's Pizza) in Williamsburg. They serve Vegan Treats cakes and Temptation Ice Cream (along with some non-vegan yucky food that we don't care about). They make sundaes and stuff. You want to go.

If you visit Penny Licks, don't forget to leave a review here on SuperVegan!

Oh, and if you're in Boston, Wheeler's has opened a retail store-front at 334B Massachusetts Avenue.

Wheeler's Black Label Vegan Ice Cream recently threw a bunch of tastings in the northeast, pairing their ice cream with delicious baked goods (NYC, Boston, and New Jersey, with baked yummies on offer from My Sweet Vegan author Hannah Kaminsky, Concious Kitchen, and Sweet Avenue Bakeshop, respectively). Sadly, we missed the boat on covering the Brooklyn event. The more responsible The Daily Free Press reported on last night's Boston tasting.

Did you go to any of the tastings? Got any comments? If you don't want to miss out on future ones, be sure to subscribe to Wheeler's blog!

I have yet to encounter anyone who's tried Wheeler's Black Label and doesn't think it's the best vegan ice cream ever. ("Anyone" includes at least Isa Chandra PPK, Conscious Kitchen, Kristin Thomas from the Boston Vegan Association, Vegetalion, Urban Housewife Melisser, Bostonist and me.) The good stuff is served in a few Boston restaurants, but it's hard to get your tongue on any elsewhere.

Well, now's your chance, and you don't even have to pay for it! Wheeler's is setting up tasting groups around the US to get feedback and build hype. They send you the ice cream; it's up to you to organize a group in your town and offer constructive feedback.

I'm sure it's worth a little paperwork and people wrangling to be the first on the block to try their new flavors made with Sweet & Sara marshmallows!

My new favorite quirky green lifestyle and uncooking video blog, Freshtopia.net, is doing a three day Christmas special. While their holiday crafts and green stocking stuffer ideas didn't blow me away, I really enjoyed watching wacky host, Tanja Andrews, mix up creative raw holiday desserts.

Day One of the special includes a throw-back episode where Tanja teaches us to make a super simple Analog Nog. Day Two features a new recipe for preparing Vegan White Chocolate Ice Cream with Port-Poached Figs, which seems a bit more complicated, as it requires somewhat exotic ingredients and an ice cream maker (unless you're willing to blend every 30 minutes), though the results appear to be worth it. Yum! I can't wait to see what's in store for Day Three.

Well, potentially. They're talking to a big long list of local restaurants. Hopefully all these places (and more) will decide to carry the stuff. Wheeler's is the best vegan ice cream I've ever tasted.

Wheeler's is now available at Bob's Southern Bistro in Boston, and they're working on distribution elsewhere in Beantown as well as in Providence (yay Julian's!), and Vermont.

If you know anyone responsible for buying at any restaurants, do yourself (and the rest of us) a huge favor and ask them to carry Wheeler's Black Label Ice Cream!

I was near Boston last weekend to visit my niece, but decided to drop by the 12th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival to see some friends and what the fuss was all about. (Sorry that my pictures look like they were taken underwater. A finger-smudged iPhone in the dim light of a basketball gym is not a recipe for photographic excellence.)

The fest drew a reasonably diverse crowd - not too hippy, not too white, not too tattooed, not too old or too young. There were so many free samples that I wasn't even tempted by the food for sale (except the ice cream; details below). Many nationally distributed brands were present, as well as a bunch of Boston-area caterers and seed-and-granola roasters (that's not a glib insult; there were actually a lot of people selling seeds and granola). It was great to see that in almost every case, "vegetarian" meant "vegan." The focus was overwhelmingly food-related, though there was a smattering of other stuff.