As most vegans know, the biggest thing to hit our culinary universe this year is Daiya. It's a totally yummy vegan cheese that melts and shreds just like dairy cheese. (Check out SuperVegan's love-letter, er, review.)

We thought we'd take a look behind the curtain and find out more about the wizards behind this new Canada-based cheesy phenomenon. Here they are, the Daiya Dudes. Andre Kroecher is the mad-scientist inventor of Daiya, and co-founder of the company with business-savvy Greg Blake.

SuperVegan: Why did you set out to create vegan cheese and what were your main criteria?

Andre Kroecher: I have always really loved dishes such as pizza, lasagna, quesadillas, burritos, which typically have cheese in them. Being a vegan though, I found that simply removing the cheese from these left me terribly disappointed. I tried replacing the cheese with extra salt and olive oil, but to me the taste and texture is just not nearly as satisfying.

Having a background of more than 10 years experience as a product developer, I had a real passion for trying to invent a vegan cheese that might actually have the properties of real cheese. I also love imported exotic cheeses and other European cheeses like havarti, so I decided to just start experimenting to see if I could make something that would satisfy me more than the other [products] out there. I tend to naturally approach things in an unconventional way and this yielded some unexpected results. Eventually, I developed a block of something quite like a soft havarti style cheese.

Greg Blake: When I tried the havarti style cheese Andre made I was convinced that it had commercial potential, but what would be even better would be to create a cheddar and mozzarella style vegan cheese that actually tasted, shredded, sliced and melted like dairy-based cheese.

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.

When I was a vegetarian, I was fat and unhealthy. There was one reason and one reason only: CHEESE. No, seriously. My cholesterol count rivaled the one belonging to my carnivorous dad, and he eats the really gross stuff like liver and tongue.

I was always a picky eater; I eschewed most of the animal products offered me growing up in a S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) household--even as a baby. But cheese was a different story altogether. We were friends.

I officially went vegetarian in my early teens and basked in the excuse to eat cheese all the livelong day. Then, when I went vegan in my mid-twenties, the sudden omission of cheese was pure culture shock: it seemed you could get a substitute for just about everything--even caviar and haggis--but not simple cheese. While many vegan items on the market surpassed their non-vegan counterparts, the cheese options were just place fillers.

Chicago Soydairy, of the superdelicious Temptation Vegan Ice Cream fame, now makes cheese and, get this, it actually melts! I mean it really melts-- check out this side by side test of it against Follow Your Heart cheese. Teese Vegan Cheese is currently available in mozzarella flavor and they're working on more varieties. Chi-town locals can enjoy it at The Chicago Diner and at the Halstead Street Whole Foods pizza counter. Sadly regular folks can't buy Teese at supermarkets, but they can harass their local restaurants to stock up on the stuff.

The Park Slope Food Coop is now carrying Williamsburg based Dr. Cow brand raw, organic cashew cheeses in cream cheese style and aged style. Has anyone tried this yet?

L.A. based vegan squeeze cheeze company Play Food finally has its goods back on the market following a nasty custody battle between its founders, former child star Taran Noah Smith (a.k.a. Mark from Home Improvement), and his ex-wife, raw chef/cougar Heidi Van Pelt.

Speaking of celebrities, Natalie Portman bakes her own vegan cupcakes (unlike Joaquin Phoenix who had Isa make his prop "egg" rolls) on the set of Brothers whilst (allegedly) wearing cashmere!? This has got to be a mistake! NaPo wouldn't dare go there, especially when she is set to star in the unfortunately titled Bollywood romance, Kosher Vegetarian and is hawking her own line of upscale, handmade vegan shoes, which are now available though the Soho-based Te Casan, NYC's largest women's luxury shoe boutique.

Vegetarian rocker Chrissie Hynde is combing Columbus, OH to find a second location for her restaurant, VegiTerranean, which opened in Akron last year.

Here's some great restaurant news to start off the week!

• SuperVegan reader Tomato tips us about Mighty Diamond a new vegetarian Caribbean restaurant that opened last month in Williamsburg near the Graham stop on the L train. Kudos to another veg restaurant in Brooklyn!
• Zen Burger is currently interviewing employees and will open by the end of the month at 465 Lexington Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets near Grand Central.
• Vinnie's Pizza has started carrying Danielle's VeganTreats donuts. Get ready for the fresh shipment tomorrow on Tuesday!
• Feeling the heat from Chipotle, the Midtown locations of Burritoville have introduced a combo lunch deal valid on weekdays from 11am to 4pm that includes your choice of any burrito, medium soda and chips & salsa for just $7.49 plus tax. Eat in (unlimited soda refills and chips & salsa) or take out.

Today is the 13th annual World Vegan Day, which celebrates the foundation of the Vegan Society in 1944 and the coining of the word "vegan."

Activists in Britain are campaigning for legal definitions of the words "vegan" and "vegetarian" and for more vegan pizza (they're totally jealous of us New Yorkers).

Plenty of celebrations are happening around the world; check out ActiVeg or the Vegan Society for event listings. (New Yorkers: the American Vegan Society will be celebrating on Saturday, November 17, from 1pm – 4pm at Candle 79.)

Today's a good day to get your non-veg friends a Vegetarian Starter Kit or a Why Vegan. Just remember to soften them up with some good food first.

Oh yeah, and happy All Saints Day, Day of the Dead, and Halloween-hangover-recovery day! (Maybe we should've chosen a less crowded date for our holiday...?)

Pizza is one of the top search queries on SuperVegan (right after brunch and ice cream; we vegans want our comfort food).

Right now we've got 18 restaurants in the pizza category. My latest discovery is Palà Pizza on the Lower East Side, which offers vegan versions of four of its pizzas, plus has late hours and a nice large delivery range. The menu conveniently tells you what's vegan, and they offer a gluten-free crust with 24 hours notice.

If you're in it for soy cheese and a fancy crust, this place might be heaven, but if you're into lots of toppings, you'll be disappointed; they haven't got much for the vegans.

Pizza Plus, meanwhile, is going all out with the toppings; they've recently added vegan sausage and pepperoni to their extensive menu (call first to make sure they have it in stock). If only they delivered to me in Manhattan; heck, I'd even be happy if Viva would offer soy cheese....

So what's your favorite place to go when the pizza craving hits? Tell us where and why in the comments.

Back in May, we reported that a fire had destroyed Park Slope's Pizza Plus. Well, I guess they had good insurance, cause they're back open, and the new space looks great.

More importantly, they know how to make a damn proper vegan pizza pie. I went there with a few Post Punk Kitcheners, and we all agreed that they take Follow Your Heart mozzarella to exactly the right melting point.

Note that this is a totally legit old fashioned New York crusty, cheesey, pizza--not nouveau (like at Slice, Pie, or Two Boots) or health-food (like Viva or Benny's) or the upscale naturally cheeseless kind (like you'll find at Una Pizza Napoletana or Franny's). Not to mention the hundreds of pizzerias who will make you a perfectly decent veggie pie, hold-the-cheese.

I think the only other contender for "real" vegan pizza is Vinnie's in Williamsburg. Pizza Plus is nicer looking, but Vinnie's has the advantage of offering single slices and rolls. Either way, I love Brooklyn!

Update, September 20, 2007: Uh, you might want to call ahead and confirm they have the vegan cheese in stock before you go. Seems to be an issue sometimes.

Update, October 11, 2007: They now have vegan sausage and will soon have vegan pepperoni. And they say they have a more reliable supplier for the cheese now.

We just added a whole freakin' lot of restaurants to the sweet-ass New York City vegan restaurant guide. All these entries need to be complete are your witty, informative reviews, so check 'em out!

• Mama's Food Shop and Old Devil Moon serve up soul food brunch in the East Village.
• If you're in the mood to play fancy, there's Franny's in Prospect Heights and Abistro in Fort Greene.
• For veg sushi there's Brooklyn's Bozu and Miyako on the Upper West Side.
• Tillie's is the usual Brooklyn coffeehouse scene, plus vegan cookies and Tofutti grilled cheese.
• Try the weekend jazz brunch at Dodo.
• Pizza Plus in Park Slope has soy cheese for your pizzas.
• 71 Irving Coffee has vegan muffins.
• And No Malice Palace has vegan White Russians!
• Park Slope's Second Helpings is worth battling the strollers.
• Live Lucky's Café makes the poetry at Bowery a little tastier.
• And don't fret if you find yourself hungry and stranded in W'burg on an L-less weekend. For classic brunch fare, there's hole-in-the-wall Phoebe's Café. For lunch, try a soy dog at Sparky's with lots of fixins. And for dinner, head to Taco Chulo for tacos and burritos with tofu sour cream, plus a full bar.

Stay tuned for more additions in the next couple weeks.

Tofutti hard cheese is the most widely-available vegan cheese in the country. If you look at the label, you won't see any trans-fat count -- just that the second top ingredient is partially hydrogenated soybean oil, the most popular source of man-made trans-fats the NYC law seeks to ban.

"If you create a proper vegan recipe, it won't include trans-fats," says Cliff Preefer, the chef at Sacred Chow. Not only proper according to Cliff, but lawful according to the City of New York: as of July 2008, restaurants are banned from using trans-fats in any of their foods. And unlike with their cream cheese, Tofutti doesn't offer a non-hydrogenated version. But out of the six restaurants I contacted, Foodswings is the only one using Tofutti -- and the only one without a plan for change.

This is part two of SuperVegan's "No more trans-fats? But how will I go on?" series on the ban as it affects vegans in New York City. You can read part one here. After the jump, a brief run-down of some of the top vegan-cheesy restauranteurs in the city. (P.S. Get your act together, Kate's.)