My ideal Tuesday lunch

It’s 80 degrees in Brooklyn today and I just happened to be right around the corner from Van Leeuwen’s Boerum Hill location during my lunch break, which meant that I was obligated to taste-test the new ice cream. I brought a friend, because I just had to try both flavors for any curious parties out there (you’re welcome). I know, ice cream for lunch. Us vegans have it rough.

The chocolate was extremely chocolate-y and not too sweet, with no hint of coconut flavor. The vanilla had a hint of coconut-y taste, but was good. Overall, I’ve had better, but I’ve also had worse. And yes, Van Leeuwen serves vegan ice cream cones, according to the nice lady who served my scoop.

Walking down the street and grabbing a cone when the craving hits has just become a little bit easier for vegans in New York City, but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to try this ice cream. It’s no Lula’s (which is temporarily closed, unfortunately), and costs about as much of a pint of vegan ice cream from Whole Foods. Still, kudos to Van Leeuwen for taking the leap and reaching out to the vegan community. We can only hope other business will follow suit.

Why yes, I WILL stop, thanks.

• Every time I need a taxi, it started raining five minutes ago.
• All the ATMs become Gaps again.
• Every day is trash day.
• Every street is like Broadway in Soho during the holidays.
• Every other street is like Canal Street.
• The 2nd Avenue subway line takes another 100 years to build.
• For every one cockroach or mouse or rat I see, I see the other hundred I don’t.
• I have to talk to every single person who approaches me with a branded windbreaker and a clipboard  (the British call them”Chuggers”– charity muggers) asking me if I “have a minute” or “like comedy.”
• Every time I try to walk through Union Square there’s a farmer’s market AND a holiday mart AND a protest of something AND a drum circle.
• Sleep below tap dancers and above a food-serving establishment whose smell permeates everything.
• Every street I try to cross has a giant lake of still water surrounding it that is too big to jump across.
• Get caught in the middle of a West Side Story like gang war between the hipsters of Williamsburg and the hipsters of Park Slope set to math rock beats.
• Be forced to shop at Whole Foods during peak hours only. Ditto Trader Joe’s.
• Every time I reach the subway platform I realize I have JUST missed the train.
• Your turn! What would you rather have happen than have a Lula-less city? Leave a comment.

So please go support Lula’s for me, while you still can!

Adorable children eating vegan softserve at Lula’s. Photo by edenpictures on flickr.

Do you remember your first visit to Lula’s? We do.

According to this New York Post he-said-she-said, the beloved spot is on shaky ground. Lula’s was founded by a married couple, Blythe Boyd and Derek Hackett. They both still own it, but they’re not married anymore. And they’re not at all agreeing about how to run the business, with Hackett filing court in Manhattan Supreme Court demanding the business be dissolved. Eek!

He says:

Boyd controls the operations and has looted, wasted or diverted for non-corporate purposes all assets. Boyd has substantially cut the hours of the retail location during the busiest season, the late spring and summer months, and as such continues to operate to the detriment of the shareholders.

She says:

This was my idea. Lula is the name of my niece. The whole vision was mine. Having been a vegan for 15 years I wanted to do something related to that cause. He expenses things through the company — sometimes his rent. He’s taking profits and not working here. If you’re not putting in any hours you’re not justified in taking 5 dollars. I shortened the winter hours this winter for the first time because I have to handle all the production at this point because he’s not around and I did the math it makes more sense to keep this hours for winter.

This comes not long after the demise of the nearby Stogo’s, also a victim squabbling owners.

Divorce can suck. But we really, really hope that parents and the court can ensure the best possible outcome for the kids, that being all of us who love love love love Lula’s awesome ice cream, and the wonderful shop they serve it in!

Possibly the dumbest vegan recipe ever, this one. (Apologies to OP Chocolate Covered Katie, who certainly has better recipes, though they might use more ingredients.)

Peggy Wang over at Buzzfeed has posted the most ridiculous recipe round-up I’ve ever seen, 34 Insanely Simple Two-Ingredient Recipes. Now, some of these would still require real work, appliance-use, and/or kitchen mess. But still: two ingredients. My first snobby thought was that these had to be awful but then I came around to thinking they could actually be pretty darn tasty.

Amongst the already vegan or trivial-to-veganize, I spotted:

• Pitted Dates + Coconut Butter = No Bake Coconut Cookie Dough Balls
• Chocolate Chips + Coconut Oil = Magic Shell
• Peanut Butter + Ripe Bananas = Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
• Soy Yogurt + Sweetener = Vegan Pinkberry (pictured)
• Yellow Cake Mix + Lemon Lime Soda = Soda Can Cupcakes
• Self-Rising Flour + Eggnog = Eggnog Muffins
• Granulated Sugar + Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets = Palmiers
• Ripe Banana + Flax Seeds = Banana Flax Seed Crackers
• Broccoli Florets + Garlic Hummus = Creamy Garlic Broccoli
• Melting Chocolate + Cream Cheese = Chocolate Truffles
• Nutella + Milk = Hot Chocolate
• Ripe Bananas + Rolled Oats = Oatmeal Cookies
• Spice Cake Mix + Can of Pumpkin = Pumpkin Muffins (Or Cookies)
• Onion Soup Mix + Raw Almonds = Onion Dip
• Medjool Dates + Oats = No Bake Energy Bars
• Sliced American Cheese + Package of Crescent Rolls = Grilled Cheese Bites
• Pineapple Chunks + Fresh Mint = Pineapple Ice

(Don’t complain you don’t know where to find vegan white chocolate chips or vegan nutellalikes. This is the internet; it has everything.)

I’m also totally game to try the marinades (whisky and balsamic vinegar, ginger ale and mustard), but those seem like cheats; you still need at least one more ingredient to marinate. Either of those would go real nice on some May-Wah meats, I bet.

Top Row: Bistro Po’ Boy with German Potato Salad, Close up of the Po’ Boy, Close up of the Potato Salad. Middle Row: Root Vegetable Tacos, Mac and Cheese Ball, Quinoa Corn Cake. Bottom Row: Pesto Croissant Club Sandwich, Close up of the sandwich, Mashed Potatoes.

I am still recovering. Not sure what to eat from now on, as this place has raised the bar on face-stuffing ever so high! My favorite thing was the club croissandwich. I.V.’s favorite was the Po’ Boy. Everything else was a close second. I mean, who would think that root vegetables, kale and Hollandaise would make for a good taco? And now that’s all I can think about.

There’s also a Kind Kreme inside, which I found out is owned by the daughter of the Cafe Gratitude proprietors! I guess that soybean didn’t fall far from the stalk. As you can guess, there was not even space enough in our tums for a taste.

Make a Vegan pilgrimage to this place at once!

If you like upscale vegetarian and Vegan meals and are anywhere in the Greater Los Angeles Area, or anywhere near an airport that will get you to the Greater Los Angeles Area, go (or go back) to Fatty’s & Co!

Ate & Rate:

Far East Rolls
spicy ginger seitan, cabbage and carrots served with mango dipping sauce

These might have been my favorite part of the meal. If you like spring rolls, you must get these, they’re the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of spring rolls. The seitan and the general texture and flavors of the filling inside the rolls was not fair to any food I’ll ever eat again. And the sauce!

Blackened Tempeh
organic cutlets pan fried w/4 spices, sweet red bell pepper sauce and lime zest on a bed of arugula

I don’t even like tempeh and these might have been my favorite part of the meal. Spicy!

Corn Tortilla Soup
soup of the day!

This soup might have been my favorite part of the meal. So much flavor and texture, I wanted to lick the bowl clean. Crunchy soup?! Gimme!

Corn Risoles
fresh organic corn ravioli with basil pesto, fresh tomato and multi-colored pepper salpicon

Have you even ever heard of a risole? Or salpicon? I’m pretty sure they’re French for scrumptious. Even though I was not expecting them to be fried, the ravioli (which were more like little dumplings) and accompanying sauce and garnish were sweet & sour & savory AND, dare I say, Umami? I’ve had pesto and hummus combined in a dish and it was delicious. Now pesto and corn! Is there anything that pesto isn’t good with? This might have been my favorite part of the meal.

Mousacca
a mildly spicy gratin of chickpeas, red lentils, mushrooms and onions layered with eggplant, garlic mash potatoes and tomato sauce Provencal

This was the most beautiful part of the meal. Tasty, too! Wasn’t my favorite part of the meal, but I was dang full by this point already, so it isn’t really fair to say that Mousacca wasn’t my favorite part of the meal. It was spicy in a middle eastern sort of way, and kind of like a shepherd’s pie, with a really nice and basil-ey pasta sauce.

Top Crust Apple Pie A La Mode
made with organic Fuji apples

This was one ginormo piece of pie, but sadly it was too dark and too delicious to be photographed. It was also so big it might not fit into one frame. It was Dollywood-sized. If you’ve ever been to Dollywood, youknowwhatImean. The soy ice cream was amazing, definitely worth adding. The desserts in general seemed really large. Every table around us got the amazing looking cotton candy that is spun to order from pure Vermont maple sugar and those folks went up a mountain and came down a hill.

These pics are from our Instagram account– wearesupervegan — follow us, won’t you?

It’s good to be a Super Vegan in L.A., and it’s about to get better. There’s like a bajillion places to get your Vegan Pizza Day on. And now, or within a matter of minutes from now, not one, not six, but FIVE new Vegan restaurants are opening. They all sound pretty amazing, too. Here’s the rundown:

Maddy’s
This is the second shop, previously known as The Shoppe, from Madeleine Bistro brain–>stomach whizzes, the Andersons. Some of you might remember them from their fundraising efforts for an all Vegan ice cream shoppe slash sandwich spot on Pico and Westwood Boulevard (i.e. near the Westside Pavillion) that was to open in November. Well, howsabout June, or July maybe? Still waiting on word of the official opening but I think I might want to live in there, so landlord, consider yourself noticed.

Shift
Now, you might be judging this place based on the fact that their only web presence thus far is on The Facebook, but before ye cast thine Vegan stones, go look at the pictures of the food this Vegan bar is going to serve. Then wipe the drool off your keyboard and count down the days until it opens. LA’s first all Vegan restaurant, bar and music venue! I hope shoes are not optional.

Cafe Gratitude Venice
They close one, they open two! Due to the star-studded success of the first LA branch, Cafe Gratitude is opening a second in Venice, land of all 2nd branches of things. It was supposed to open today, but didn’t. Maybe Wednesday? Or whenever the tarot/astrologist/numerologist/Psychic Friends Network/Miss Cleo tells them is an auspicious day.

Green Peas
This place is a local favorite for anyone who is in or around Culver City, and has been sorely missed during their, what feels like, 18 year renovation. Jose, the nicest owner in the world, said that they were tentatively going to re-open today, but he also told me they were going to re-open in early June, so I dunno… but don’t give up just yet.
UPDATE! Green Peas to re-open June 28th!

The Village
Now, this is an educated guess, but I believe that the long-hyped, well-anticipated Vegan restaurant from the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Chrissie Hynde and Steve Bing with a menu written by none other than Tal Ronnen is called The Village and might open on June 30th. Now any google search will lead you, Super Vegan, to think I’m crazy, as there is no trace whatsoever of this news elsewhere. But! Staywithme: there have been reports for some time that this resty will be housed in the former Bokado space in Studio City. Being the SuperVegan Sleuther that I am, I called the phone number listed for Bokado, and was treated to a voicemail explaining that I had reached the place formerly known as Bokado, and as of June 30th, will be The Village. So, you do the maths. I might be wrong, but let’s hope I’m right, for our guts sake!

UPDATE:
Dangit, looks like my detective cap and I were mistaken.
According to EaterLA, Bokado WILL reopen as The Village, but not with Ellen or any other Vegan star power. And while there will be a few Vegan menu items, it will not be the Tal Ronnen Haven of our dreams.

2nd UPDATE:
It’s now SIX! Another Native Foods will open in Santa Monica on July 3rd! Hurrah!

My friend Insufferable Vegan, the only person I have ever been responsible for helping, in any part, grow Vegan, who has only been Vegan for a wee 20 months, and is already more Super of a Vegan than I am, took me on a Vegan Field Trip.

At 10:30 am my anonymous friend collected me. He even showed me a sweet shortcut in my own neighborhood I never even knew which was good because there were several detours along the way: We had some french fries with little plastic red forks at a K-mart in Covina that has a Nathan’s in it and hung out with the other people that frequent the Kmart Nathan’s at 11 am on a Thursday. Surprisingly, they didn’t seem to be on a Vegan Adventure.

I bought an actual record album at Rhino Records in Claremont where I also photographed these orange flavored chicken suckers that are not orange chicken flavored.

We randomly spotted Covina Tasty, which claims to be the very first all vegetarian fast food in America, (there might have to be a showdown with Orean’s for the title). Though it was a compelling argument for a lunch break, we kept on keepin’ on.

We did need to eat (again) though, so we sought out The Press Restaurant in hopes that their veggie burger would be a contender in the VegLympics. It was a pretty good full-size specimen of the Garden Patch variety, but not deserving of it’s own full-length post.

Obviously we needed to have dessert so we got ices at Handel’s in Upland. Check out this mountain of Sour Green Apple and Watermelon-ness!

Then we actually finally really made it to our destination: Viva La Vegan Grocery, the Earth’s largest most amazing all-vegan store. This place is so amazing it’s uh-mazing. It has just doubled in size, too, so it’s about to be twice as uh-mazing, making it uhh-maazing!

VLV has everything from fresh produce to frozen fish hams (what is a vegan fish ham?!) and I bought a hundred dollars worth of it.

I got a cupcake that was eaten before the night was over, half a chicken, three kinds of Dillos, farro, a Halo S’more bar, candy bars x3, two different kinds of TVP, Justin’s peanut butter cups, drumsticks, butterscotch chips, butterscotch pudding, three different Dr. Cow’s cheeses, a Dr. McDougall’s Asian entree , two wedges of Daiya, three different Stonewall’s Jerquee’s, English Toffee, an Upton’s Tamale, some Healthy Top, and Bacon. Y’know, all the important stuff.

We shopped so hard for so long, that not only did we not make it out in time to make it to our last stop on the tour, but we got all sorts of insider scoop and samples from the lovely staffers there. I can’t wait till they open one or two more stores closer to me (lookin’ at you Loz Feliz!) so I can get fat and bankrupt! In the meantime, 3,000 more products are about to hit their new shelves, so you might want to clear out your cupboards and go, or ask Mr. Insufferable, who is quite tolerable, to take you.

Healthy eaters look away! This one’s for the Vegan with one to seventeen sweet teeth. Check out these amazing (and in some cases, new) snack foods!

#1. Birthday Oreos
Oreo is celebrating their 100th birthday with a specialty cookie that is their most delicious by 100x. These are insane bonkers delicious. Get them whilst available and feel free to thank me later or hate me when you’ve eaten so many your pants cut off circulation to your legs.

UPDATE: It has been brought to my near-sighted attention that these contain Confectioner’s Glaze, which some deem UnSuperVegan. Here’s some handy dandy reading material on the subject so that you can decide for your own Vegan Self.

#1. Vegan Thin Mints
Feeling left out of the whole Girl Scout Cookie Game? I mean, they’re not even made with real Girl Scouts. Check out these faux Thin Mints and satisfy the craving. TIP: freeze these for extra levels of yum.

Get a whole case, put on a cute uniform and resell them to all your vegan pals at Amazon.

Or just get them by the box here.

OR-or roll-up to your local Kosher market– they often carry them.

#1. Vegan Creme Eggs

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Hear that? That’s the Easter Bunny making his approach! Best order some Vegan Cadbury-style Creme Eggs courtesy Queenbalch on Etsy.

Or, if you’re LA based, Tweet at greatbrittania of Fakery Bakery fame, and beg her to make them again this year.

#1. Steve’s Ice Cream

This one’s for the New Yorkers. For now…
Have you tried Steve’s Ice Cream? Small batch, craft ice cream with unique combinations of ingredients that are locally sourced when possible, Steve’s has a whole line of coconut based Cremes that are some of the best I’ve ever had (I’ve been lucky enough to taste three!). They are not coconut-ey at all and are super extra highly delicious. Flavors include: Chocolate Almond Butter, Cinnamon Coffee, Coconut Cilantro Lime, Maple Porter Pecan, Mint Cacao Chip, Sugar Cookie Dough, and Tea Time. There’s also sorbet, for those who like that sort of thing. With a Brooklyn brick + mortar opening soon, check out the extensive list of shops where you can find a pint today!

I’ve been reading about Cafe Gratitude for awhile now. I was a victim of second-hand excitement when the second outpost of this San Francisco eatery opened on Los Angeles’ Larchmont Boulevard and people’s enthusiasm reached a fever pitch. I listened to people rave about the food. I read about the famous people that can often be seen dining there. But I’d go to their website, look at the menu and lose all interest. Every single item on the menu is named I AM _______. Like, I AM GORGEOUS. I AM MYSTICAL. I AM TRANSCENDING. I AM ABOUT TO SHOVE THIS FORK IN MY RIGHT EYE. I couldn’t do it. I can’t stand that dirty fucking hippy shit, no matter how delicious their shit may be.

Yesterday, I had to pick a spot to have lunch with a friend coming from the other side of the LAiverse, who is gluten, dairy and sugar free, and it seemed like this just might be the time to give Gratitude a try. Everything is organic, everything is vegan, and almost everything is gluten-free, or can be made so.

If you can overlook the inspirational messages placed on everything (successories for restaurants), down to the water carafes, the place is nice. It’s modern, airy design is welcoming and pleasant. If you can overlook the scene going on in there, then you might need to get your eyes checked. I had lunch with Aaron Paul from TeeVee’s Breaking Bad, Carey Mulligan from half the movies out right now, the first vegan chef to win a Food Network challenge Chloe Coscarelli, and a woman who looked too much like Snooki to not be Snooki. As my friend so astutely pointed out, it’s not that often that you feel like you live in “L.A.” — this was definitely one of those times.

After a lot of “Seriously?!”s, head shaking, and sighs of disapproval over the menu, here’s what we ate:

I had the I AM EXTRAORDINARY, or, as I ordered it, the BLT, mainly because I was super curious about their coconut bacon. My friend got LIBERATED aka raw pesto pasta with kelp noodles.

The food is way better than the gimmicky names make it sound. My sandwich was delicious; the toasted panini was big and crunchy and the spicy cashew aioli, crispy chipotle-maple coconut, romaine lettuce, tomato and avocado were a perfect blend of flavors. The spicy and the chipotle really came through more than anything, and the coconut bacon was crunchy, a trait most vegan BLTs are missing, with the coconut flavor only coming through as an afterthought. The side salad was reminiscent of the one at Urth Caffe, though missing the tomatoes and nuts, which really makes it.

The pesto was also really great. The kelp noodles, which sounded gross, were not kelpy at all. There were fresh roma tomatoes, Kalmata olives, spinach and Brazil nut parmesan sprinkled on top. It was creamy and flavorful, and didn’t taste uncooked, just cold, like sesame noodles at an asian restaurant.

We were both tempted by the dessert menu, and again, my friend was braver than me,

ordering the Key Lime Torte (I Am Awakening), a “creamy avocado-lime custard topped with whipped cream on a pecan butter crust,” and I had a scoop of vanilla coconut and cashew milk ice cream with caramel sauce, called I AM PRAISING VANILLA ICE CREAM, but isn’t. The Key lime torte was way better than I expected, though bitter, as I find most avocado based desserts to be. The ice cream was OK, though not a convincing Ice Cream replica. It was gritty and tasted like it was made from coconut milk, cashew milk and ice, with a drop of vanilla. The caramel sauce was a nice treat for a vegan person to be able to order, and I’m glad I did, it was the highlight of the bowl.

Not to sound ungrateful, but it’s a shame the food was so good, cause now I want to eat there regularly, despite the atrocious name game, affirmation based art work, and celeb-studded clientele. If you are in the middle of L.A. and want all the hippy-dom of Venice Beach multiplied by Berkeley plus the star power of Hollywood while you eat vegan food, put this place on your list.

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2011.

Welcome to the second installment of the VegLympics in Los Angeles, Veggie Burger Competition!

Recap of the game thus far:
First up was Hole In The Wall Burger Joint (HITW), which received a score of 53 (out of a possible 60). We’ve adopted the ISU Judging System, that’s the International Skating Union scoring system, minus the 8 other judges and a comprehensive understanding of how it works. Apparently, a score on a scale of .25 to 10 is given in each of the following categories:

-Skating Skills (SS)
-Transitions/linking footwork and movement (TR)
-Performance/execution (PE)
-Choreography/composition (CH)
-Interpretation (IN)
-Timing (T)

Today’s contestant is O! Burger. Also located on Santa Monica Blvd., O! Burger is in the city of West Hollywood, which is located in the middle of, but is its own entirely separate city from, Los Angeles. Get your head out of the gutter, the ‘O’ stands for Organic. They claim to be the first burger joint in L.A. (county, I guess?) serving only 100% certified organic food. Okay, shhhhhhhh, they’re about to start, here comes the food.

SS = 8.0
I got the classic O!veggie burger. That comes with cucumber slices, Napa cabbage, sweet pickles, tomato, grilled onions and 1000 island (made with Veganaise). I then made it a combo for three bucks more and got fries and an iced tea. Dang it, now that I’m looking at the menu on-line, I could’ve gotten chipotle sauce instead of 1000 Island and a vegan shake?! Whaaaaat? That sucks, I totally would’ve gotten that had I seen it. The menu is on two flat panel screens above the registers. They are up high and they flash between pages and it’s hard to make heads or tails of it when you’re stomach is eating your brain from hunger and only half literate to begin with. The quality of the ingredients is great and it’s regular burger sized.

TR = 8.0
There are some other, more expensive burger options, but I want to keep the playing field as equal as I can. Not sure why they use cabbage instead of lettuce. As a general rule, I like cabbage, but in this context I wasn’t a huge fan. It’s certainly crunchier than regular lettuce, but not in a good way, and the flavor just isn’t the same. Having pickles on the bottom and cucumbers on the top is kind of odd, and again, they went with sweet ones. The fries were crinkle cut, really good (but not as good as HITW), and a reasonable portion size, which at first seemed small, but at second, when my belly was full of burger, seemed just right.

PE = 8.5
This is another “Garden Patch” style patty (as opposed to Meatless Technologies), homemade with spinach, corn, carrots and peas. I saw the spinach, but again, the most prominently seen ingredient is corn. I’m not sure I get it, chefs. Someone explain it to me. Who wants sweet when they’re thinking burger? And add to this the new trend in sweet pickle topping (or bottoming in this case) and you’ve basically given me dessert with my burger. This is my bone to pick (pardon the expression) with veggie burgers now. Rant over. The burger was really handsome and tasted the kind of good where I ate every bite (“Is that really saying much these days?” Says my waistband).

CH = 8.75
One interesting twist was a layer of dressing on the top AND bottom buns, and three different choices of self-serve iced tea (I had the Rooibos and it was delicious) but other than that, it’s totally Anywhere USA Nice Burger Joint + the word ‘Organic’ which equals pricey. This lunch set me back $13.

IN = 8.25
Points taken off here for sweetness, cabbage use, and clearly I fell during the triple something Salchow that was my ordering, like Michelle Kwan at the 2002 Olympics.

T = 9
Everything was made to order and it took around ten minutes. Maybe fifteen. The food came hot, though we had to endure some techno beat soundtrack while we waited, it’s still a better than average burger bar.

Total Score = 50.50

Good job! They’re currently in second place.

Next up I wanna see a “meaty burger.” Any requests? I’m thinking either Doomie’s, Chili Addiction (Match Meats!), Native Foods or Veggie Grill (aka the Gardein flagship).

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2011.

I spent the past weekend in Woodstock, gearing up for ThanksLiving. But the farm isn’t the only game in town when it comes to good vegan eats; my husband and I stuffed ourselves plenty before even setting foot on WFAS property.

That said, there aren’t that many places for a vegan to eat in Woodstock, which is why we spent so much time at the Garden Cafe. (Note: GC donated 68 pounds of cornbread to be used in WFAS’s ThanksLiving stuffing, and boy, was it good!) It was too cold to sit outside, so we sat inside at one of the mismatched tables with ceramic salt and pepper shaker figurines. Local art covers the walls (as it does most everywhere in town), and the staff, too (though I can’t say for sure that the staff’s ink is local), giving the place a small-town but very progressive vibe.

On to the food: As a rule, I never order tofu scramble when I’m out. Somewhere along the line I got a really disappointing dish of it, and since then it’s been all pancakes, French toast and biscuits and gravy. But I was in the mood for protein, so I threw caution to the wind and ordered the Basic Tofu Scramble with spinach and avocado. And I cannot express how happy I am that I listened to that instinct! The scramble was, simply put, divine. The menu doesn’t say much more than “with onions,” and aside from spinach and avocado you can add mushrooms or bell peppers. But the flavor was so oniony (in a green way), the scramble so delicately and satisfyingy seasoned, that I couldn’t wait to order it for breakfast the next day. It comes with a slice of toast, cut into wedges, and some Earth Balance. Between that, some coffee and a small glass of OJ, I didn’t need anything else.

I can’t say enough about Garden Cafe’s Basic Tofu Scramble. I’m a changed woman.

Well, almost anything else. Sated as I was, I decided to go for a little palate cleanser, and the winner was the Apple Crisp, listed on the menu as Wheat-Free Cinnamon-Baked Seasonal Fruit with Crunchy Oat Topping. It was scrumptious, not too heavy, and with just the right amount of sweetness, the crunch of the topping balancing the softness of the apples. It was the perfect after-breakfast dessert.

The Apple Crisp is the perfect after-breakfast dessert.

For lunch we decided to go somewhere else, mostly because e were coming back to the Garden Cafe for dinner. So we headed over to Joshua’s, where there wasn’t a whole lot on the menu for us, but what was there was clearly marked. Of course, there were the usual sides and salads, plus a Mediterranean sampler (hummus, baba ghanoush and tabbouleh), and thankfully a few vegan soups, too, because it was getting nippy out. We got a Lentil Barley Soup and an Apple Butternut Squash Soup, then we split an order of hummus with pita and got some homemade sweet potato chips to go. The Lentil Barley was good and hearty, though flavor-wise I didn’t love it. There wasn’t anything wrong with it; it just didn’t suit my palate after my Butternut Squash. And boy, was mine delicious! Thick and sweet, with a generous helping of cinnamon, it really hit the spot. We would have ordered more (and found out whether the Veggie Burger and Falafel could be made vegan), but we were saving room for dinner. And I already knew what I was having…

Well, I didn’t know which appetizer we’d end up having. I had my heart set on the Garden Cafe’s Spicy Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce special, but instead we got the Quesadillas with caramelized onions, roasted peppers and “cheddar,” plus black beans with corn and spinach (the other option is black olives). I don’t use sour cream or salsa, so I can’t say how good they were, but the guac was great, so the small scoop was definitely not enough, especially for two of us. But the overall flavor was smoky, and the tortilla was nice and crispy, so I would definitely order this again.

For dinner my husband got the Homemade Southwest Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Burger with guac, salsa and vegan cheddar, while I finally got my special: Baked Seitan with Red Wine Fig Sauce, which came with roasted cauliflower with olives, mushroom flan and sautéed greens. I’m a mushroom-phobe, and the flan was really mushroomy, so I took one bite and never looked back. But I devoured my greens (as always), the cauliflower-broccoli-olive mix, and every single morsel of the seitan. The seitan’s texture was perfect, and its flavor was complex and stew-like, exactly what I was hoping for. Between dinner and the lovely dry red wine I’d ordered, I didn’t have room for much else, though I did manage to scarf down a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of chocolate ice cream—but only to clear my palate, of course.

The Baked Seitan with Red Wine Fig Sauce was the perfect meal for a cold night out.

Garden Cafe’s seitan dish was amazing, and it made me wonder: Is it because they use the locally made seitan we get at Sunflower Market on the way home every year? I was too busy eating to remember to ask, but I’ll make a point to inquire next time.

No trip to Woodstock is complete without a stop at Sunflower Market for some locally made seitan.

Speaking of next time, our innkeeper told us they make a great vegan hash at Oriole 9, just a few doors down from Joshua’s. I can’t imagine it could even come close to the Scramble at Garden Cafe, but I’m interested to try it. But maybe for lunch: Now that I’ve found such a good thing in GC’s scramble, I’m in no hurry to replace it with anything else.

This is Part 2 of my Woodstock Weekend posts. Click here for Part 1 and find out what the good folks over at Woodsroack Farm Animal Sanctuary served up for ThanksLiving 6.0.

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2011.

Everything’s comin’ up Westside today! Chef David Anderson, of Madeleine Bistro fame, and one of The World’s Finest Vegan Chefs According To Moi will be opening a new sandwich, pasty and ice cream cafe in November. The location is currently undisclosed save for that it is “near the Westside Pavillion!” Whose boyfriend lives within walking distance of the Westside Pavillion? THIS GUY! This is the most amazing news my stomach has ever heard.

Doing a little fundraising to “make it to the finish line” anyone can donate any amount of monies via wepay.com until this Tuesday, October 18th. Donate 25 American Buckaroos and you’ll get a free dessert and a collectible button (Button? Really? I’ll pin it to my Manhattan Portage bag circa 1997). Donate $15K (if only!) and get a free dessert every month for a year, 2 invites to the private opening party, props in the shop and on the web, plus a cocktail party for 100 of your nearest and dearest (and me, pretty please) with Chef David as your caterer at your home or spot of choice. No mention of their fundraising goals, but my new goal is to get to November as quickly as possible. If you’ve never experienced the food at Madeleine Bistro (mainly because it’s a trek and currently has severely limited hours), put it at the top of your Vegan Gut List (aka as a food bucket list. Mine’s got Chicago Diner, everything in Portland, and fresh goods at the Vegan Treats Bakery). Yay, L.A!

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2011.

The numbers may have been a little off (it opened way late), but I can now vouch for the rest of my Milky’s post. I stopped by a couple Saturday’s ago to taste their frozen vegan treats. Here’s what I found:

-It is, indeed, self-serve. This is good because you can START and END at the toppings bar and build a foundation layer of rainbow sprinkles, the proper way to do it. This is bad because it is near impossible to not self-serve yourself way too much, and of course, you pay by weight.

-There were four vegan spigots, but one was out of service. The flavors available were original vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. A Neapolitan waiting to happen.

-There was not a separate vegan toppings bar. There was a dried goods bar (i.e., the aforementioned rainbow sprinkles and another fav, graham cracker crumbs) and a fresh items bar (i.e., fresh fruit). There was also a giant jug of Ghirardelli chocolate syrup which looked vegan to me.

-This stuff is sour! I have been vegan so long, I have never experienced this, but apparently it’s all the rage with Pinkberry et al. The lady at the register said it’s “Greek Style” yogurt. It was quite a shock. Even with the flavor masked by all those sprinkles, it was still mighty sour.

-If you “check-in” you get 20% off your order. That’s a lotta sprinkles.

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2011.

L.A. is getting another vegan frozen treat shop, just in time for the dog days of summer. Set to open August 14th, (that’s Sunday, people!) Milky’s on Robertson and Pico promises self-serve vegan ice cream, alongside dairy options. “It will feature 9 double machines with more than 18 flavors that will rotate weekly. Four flavors will be 100% Vegan Kosher Parve, with its own separate topping bar.”

I’ll definitely be there to try it out, and suss something super posi to say, though I must admit I’m already not a fan of their name.

For coupons and updates, they say to follow their facebook page , (which isn’t working for me at the moment).

Greetings from Anaheim, California where I have just been rolled out the door of the Natural Products Expo West after 4.5 hours of eating my way through the 5 rooms and a gajillion booths of convention. It was kinda the best day ever: not only did I get to meet the people who make the products that change my life, but I got to snack on said products and taste brand new ones! There was even a special surprise at the end. So here for you, is the highlight reel in photo blogeristic style (my apologies for the sub-par pics due to iPhone 3GS).

Part I: Cheeese Wars

Follow Your Heart
One of my first stops on the Expo Express was at Follow Your Heart, inconveniently out of snacks until my 4th visit. I finally got to taste their cheesecake, which was really yummy, their new line of vegan dressings (caesar!), and toasted cheezy bread. Yum.

Daiya
I was excited to find the Daiya booth and try their new Pepperjack flavor in the form of a quesadilla slice. It’s definitely got a li’l kick! No softballs from this SuperVegan, I asked the Daiya representative why o why are their bags not re-sealable? He told me that 8 oz bags don’t need to be, cause it’s not enough product to warrant it. I disagreed. I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually use a $5 bag of Daiya all at once. Then he gave me a story about a zipper being cost prohibitive. That the price of a seal that does the re is so exorbitant it’d make the resale price (even more) impossibly expensive. Hmm… I asked about slices or blocks in addition to shreds. If I want a grilled cheese, shreds are a messy, wasteful, pain, I explained. He said they aren’t working on that, but they are working on a version of their cheeses that are meant to eat cold. Weird. I also got to eat some pizza and a spoonful of mac ‘n’ cheese.

Teese
I was even more excited to come upon the Teese (Chicago SoyDairy) booth. I had heard tell they were offering samples of their mozzarella sticks and I heard right. Oh my holy wow. Not only were they delicious, but the CSD people are super cool. I chatted with Dan Reed, their marketing whiz, and told him about my tete a tete with Mr. Daiya. Their response: Hunh. OUR bags have a zipper! And lookee– they do! Hurrah! They said the zipper didn’t break their budget either, so something’s rotten in Canada, or wherever Daiya is made these days. Score one for Teese in the Vegan Cheese Wars. I also got to taste a marshmallow dandie, a slice of pizza, and a Dandie Tweet. How cute are these Peep alternatives? I promise you, they are so good they will blow your Eastery vegan minds.

Vegan Queso
Crystal Tate and her Vegan Queso is my favorite story of the day. Everyone was talking about her vegan nacho cheese sauce, and with good reason. It is insanely delicious, and I’m not just saying that because she gave me a whole jar to take home. Available in Spicy and Original (which still has kick), this creamy sauce is fat, soy, nut, dairy and cholesterol free. All mouth love aside, the rags to riches **she’s probably not rich yet** tale is adorable. Crystal, a young Texan lady with a Mexican heritage, started dating Chris, a vegan. She was not even vegetarian! They were young, they were in love, and they were broke. They pooled their money for food– $20/week. Crystal became a vegan and loved it, but missed some of her Mexican food stuffs. So, what does she do? She straps on an apron and invents it, of course! Voila, Vegan Queso is born. Chris and Crystal get married and their slogan? Food for lovers. Love it!

Part II: I Scream

So Delicious
When I finally made my through the crowd that had formed around the So Delicious booth (elbows out!) to the ice cream samples, I just assumed that the masses were of like-minded people, screaming for ice cream. I grabbed some samples (chocolate ice cream bar and butter pecan) when I noticed 6 or 7 policemen. Ok, what’s goin on? “It’s for a big loser.” Um, what? “One of the trainers from The Biggest Loser is here.” Ah, ok. I grabbed some coconut based blueberry greek yogurt and fled.

Coconut Bliss
Coconut Bliss had a whole station set up where you could choose from about 8 flavors. It was a decision making moment I’m calling Andrea’s Choice. Brutal! I went with Ginger Cookie Caramel. How could that not be good?

Soylato
I stumbled upon a booth called Soylato. They had two flavors– chocolate and berry. I went for chocolate (duh), was not expecting it to be good, and was happy to be totally wrong. This stuff was creamy, smooth and rich. Not gritty at all and a true chocolate taste. It’s brand new so I hope this stuff takes off!

Double Rainbow
Not the viral video. I gotta say, this one was my favorite. It was so good, and they gave out such generous portions. I had the mint chip and it was a check plus plus.

Part III: Meet Your Meats

The world of Meatless Technologies continues to advance. I tasted science. I also made sure to give the Morningstar Farms booth a giant FU for putting egg whites in … everything.

Lightlife
These guys had some serious real estate. They set up a whole hot dog cart in their city block sized booth! I happened upon them at the beginning of my pilgrimage and wisely decided to skip it in favor of saving stomach space for new products. I never would’ve made it as far as I did if I had partaken, but my stomach’s heart shed a tear not to!

Hodo Soy
Technology from the past, meet the future. Hodo makes some insane soy. I’m not sure I’ve ever had Yuba before but I hope to have it again. And again.

Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Seafood
I appreciate Vegan Seafood on a conceptual level– I was never a fan of real seafood, so I’m not so into the convincing replicas either, but boy they’re convincing, aren’t they?

May Wah by any other name
For those of us in NYC, May Wah is a prized retailer possession. If you’ve left NYC, it’s loss is poignant. Finally, an American company, VegeUSA, is importing those same Taiwanese meats, repackaging them in English boxes and selling them to Whole Foods shoppers! Citrus Spare Ribs for all!

Turtle Island
Tofurky makes some of my favorite meat-like products. Have you tried their new Pepperoni? I wanted to grab a fistful of toothpicks, but I controlled myself and took one. I also tasted their frozen pizzas, but compared to the 4 others I tried, I gotta say, they have room for improvement. Check minus.

Gardein
Gardein’s next product to hit shelves is their Ultimate Beefless Burger. By the time I tasted it my mouth was numb and my tum tum was angry, but it went down easy! There are a lot of veggie burgers out there, I’m not sure what makes this one the Ultimate but it definitely wasn’t bad. I’ve written about Gardein products before– their sauces kill their meats, but this one doesn’t succumb to that problem as it’s sauce free.The problem instead was the sample sliders were loaded with mustard so I couldn’t really tell you how the actual patty tasted. I think it was good, but I’ll have to give it a 2nd try to be sure. I also tasted their Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers (minus the finger), my fav product in the Gardein line (also sauce free).

Amy’s
I’m glad to be able to tell you about a couple new Amy’s products that were quite good. Glad because that means I successfully waded through the mob of people in their booth and managed to secure myself some samples– quite an accomplishment, really. First, they too have a new burger– the Sonoma. I’m not gonna fib, I can’t recall how it tasted at all, except to say I remember liking it. Sorry, but in case you can’t tell from this mega-post, I got in a bit over my veg-head! I also tried their vegan burrito, which was just okay (to be fair, I grew up in Los Angeles; I’m a Mexican food snob) and their new vegan pizza! Thumbs up. Better than Tofurky, but also made with Daiya. It went fast. I also hunted down their marketing rep and made plans for some exciting SuperVegan contests– keep one eye out!

Asherahs
By the time I got to Asherah’s I was so full I hurt. (where is the vegan Tums booth?!) I was afraid one more sample would be the straw to break my stomach’s back. I couldn’t do it. But these looked good. Another new burger to try. Be forewarned, their website has bad music. Also, the trend seems to be that every new vegan product is also gluten free. Are all special needs eaters being lumped into the same category? I heart gluten.

El Burrito
I have been a vegetarian since 1991 and a vegan since 1999. Even though I’m old, I can still remember what it was like back in those days– the only meat substitutes that existed in my local market were Gardenburger (the original flavor only, with cheese in the patty) and SoyRizo. We have come a long way, people. That said, SoyRizo is still delicious, and El Burrito now has a line of great tasting products. Three of them are vegan (Soyrizo, SoyTaco and Soy Sausage) and I got to taste them in the form of a lovely plate of food prepared for me by this nice lady.

ecoVegan
The show was almost over when I finally came across ecoVegan. They had run out of or packed up their samples. Has anyone tried it? They look like they might be good maybe.

Food For Life
In the utmost of irony, Food For Life’s booth was abandoned when I got there. No food for me & my life, apparently. And for full non-linear confusion, this happened at the beginning of my day (around 2pm)– it wasn’t even closing time. But I hear they have two new vegan products.: a burger (SHOCKER!) and chicken nuggets, called Moophrey and Cluckphrey, respectively. Here’s what the packaging looks like.

Part IV: Count Chocdrea

There must’ve been 100 (approx.) booths sampling organic chocolates, and if you can believe it, I abstained from almost all of them. I was on a mission– there was no time or inside space for them all! Here are the two stand-outs.

Justin’s
Justin’s claims to make the only vegan chocolate peanut butter cups. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but what is true is that these were ridiculous. I want them in my life on a semi-regular basis. They also have a line of nut butters that reach illegal levels of goodness. Warning: another music heavy web site.

Xan
I can’t remember where, but I’ve tried these before. They are the most beautiful chocolates with the most interesting flavors. I tried each of the four vegan ones they had there (raspberry, strawberry, coconut and ancho chili caramel). The ancho chili caramel (with purple metallic dust) was my fav. If you’re looking to win the heart of a vegan, I recommend these. Each one is like a piece of edible cocoa art.

Part V: Special Mentions

WARNING: Super Hummus contains soy
I got a good laugh at the Nasoya booth, who felt obligated to post this warning sign at the sample table for their new Super Hummus, that is actually made from soy beans instead of chickpeas. I’d like to think they took inspirado from us for the name.

Appropriately named, this stuff was super. Thicker than regular hummus, and creamier, the spinach garlic flavor I tried was exceptional. One of my favorite things of the day. Who’da thought?

They also brought in the lovely ladies from Spork Foods to make some tofu scrambles!

Tia’s
Have you heard the rumor going around that Kettle Brand has made vegan Doritos? Well it’s true! The Salsa Picante flavor of Kettle Chips new Tia’s line taste remarkably like some old school Doritos. They gave me a whole big bag! Sorry, no sharing.

Ethical Bean Coffee
There were a bunch of coffee companies at the show, and I am an unabashed addict, but by far the best was from Vancouver, Canada and Ethical Bean. This was the fanciest, techiest, and yummiest jolt of caffeine ever. Even Oprah said so, apparently. O, Oprah. Each bag is fair-trade, organic, roasted in a carbon neutral facility and comes with a unique QR code. If you have an iPhone, you can download the Ethical Bean App and scan your bag. It will take you to a site created for your specific bag of beans. It’ll tell you all kinds of stuff like where your beans were grown, a snapshot of the person who roasted them, tips for brewing. I have no idea how much this coffee costs, but I do know you need to be caffeinated in order to comprehend all the data available about it.

Montage: Earth Balance has a new line of coconut based products coming out, including a margarine, a spread, and a mayo. There was some line of vegan dairy replacements I’d never heard of before called WayFare to be on the lookout for; none were available for the tastin’. (If Andrea actually read SuperVegan, she’d have heard of Wayfare when Rudy reviewed their spreads–Ed.). I tried a really delicious bavarian pretzel from Kim & Scott’s. There are a lot of new vegan Indian food products coming (curries, samosas, etc). And someone has made chips out of falafel.

I called it quits and made my way back to my friends at the VegNews booth only to discover (from the founder of Veggie Grill and his friend) that Fabio was downstairs in a booth, right by the Chicago SoyDairy. Whaaaaaaaaaat? My belly and I ran downstairs, with 5 minutes remaining, past the Teesers. “How could you not tell me Fabio was here?!” “You don’t want to take your picture with him, take one with me!”

I found the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter but it’s still dairy salesman, got an autographed 8×10 glossy and my shoulder dislocated (not really, but almost). He was there hawking his line of non-vegan protein powder– Healthy Planet Nutrition.

Then I doubled back to Mr. Teese March, who I got to pose the same way, for comparison and my upcoming Natural Mens Calendar 2012.

My evening ended at the Irvine Veggie Grill with the fine fine folks of VegNews Magazine, Allison from Allison’s Gourmet (I learned I must try her vegan mac & cheese recipe) and Chicago SoyDairy. Sadly, even thinking about more eating hurt at this point, so I had some strawberry lemonade and watched, knowing I was missing out on the deliciousness. The company was excellent though.

So there you have it, my Natural Products Expo West Triathalon of Snacking, Chatting, and Drinking. I didn’t have time for beverages (Acai, acai, acai! And 40 tons of coconut water), supplements, or personal products like cosmetics. Next year I will fast beforehand, wear a muumuu, bring an assistant and go twice. Any volunteers?

Watercolor by Jason Das.

New York City is a mecca for vegan food, a place where you can find abundant ways to fill any craving. Today, let’s zero in on the many ways to fulfill your desire for ice cream!

Lula’s Sweet Apothecary (100% Vegan)
They’re a good spot for the soy-averse as most of their ice cream is nut-based. All Lula’s ice cream is house-made and they have an array of daily rotating flavors that would make Ben and Jerry jealous. Soft-serve, egg creams, malts, shakes, and sundaes are also available, along with a slew of classic ice cream toppings.
Also available at: Cafe Blossom, Foodswings, and John’s of 12th St.
Must try: Cake Batter Soft-Serve

Stogo (100% Vegan)
A nice choice for those averse to nuts or refined sugar as most flavors are soy- or coconut-based and sweetened with agave. All the ice cream is house-made and they have a wide assortment of flavors laid out like a gelato stand. They also carry Babycakes‘ cupcakes. This is a good place for something light or something rich, with choices ranging from fruit sorbet to rich hemp-based flavors.
Also available at: Caravan of Dreams
Must try: Salted Caramel Pecan

We New Yorkers are lucky to have these two 100% vegan ice parlors, but there are dozens of other places in town serving vegan ice cream or ice-cream-like stuff. Read on for a comprehensive list.

Klein’s Ice Cream House
Klein’s has two storefront locations, one in Borough Park and the other in Midwood. Klein’s has their own lines of both Kosher dairy and certified-vegan soy-based ice creams, reminiscent of Baskin-Robbins—think bright green mint chip ice cream. The shops also have a parve/dairy-free toppings bar, homemade waffle cones, pre-made and custom-order vegan sorbet or ice cream cakes and ice cream confections, such as chocolate eclair bars, magic shell ice cream bars, sundae cups, and Viennese cake.
Also available at: Vegetarian’s Paradise 2, Red Bamboo, Healthy Nibbles, Vegetarian Palate, Natural Blend, Scoops, Soy and Sake, and Zen Vegetarian House.
Cakes and confections also available at: the Kosher Marketplace, Pomegranate Grocery.
Must try: Get a vegan waffle cone coated with dark chocolate and nuts with the ice cream of your choice, topped with parve peanut-butter fudge and sprinkles.

Little Lad’s Basket
Vegan ice cream in the Financial District, say what? Step into the New York outpost of this Maine-based eatery to try their original Nice Cream. You can choose from classic flavors or try their vanilla with homemade pie blended in. Nice cream is available by the cup, as a sundae, or in pints from the freezer in the front.
Must try: Cherry or Blueberry Pie Nice Cream

Maze’s Creamery
House-made vegan ice cream in Staten Island! They offer ice creams based on soy, hemp, and coconut milk, as well as unique sorbet flavors served on a rotating basis. Alas, this shop also serves dairy. All products are available in take-home gallon or four-liter pans and can be ordered in cups, cones, and sundaes.
Must try: Hemp Maple Walnut

Simply Peeled
They serve house-made Fruizo, a soft-serve creamy fruit in seasonal varieties unlike anything else in NYC. All flavors are vegan, free of gluten or corn syrup, and less than 100 calories. Fruizo is available by the cup, shake, or in a take-away pint.
Must try: Fruit Salad Sundae—3 flavors of Fruizo topped with fresh fruit

NYC ICY
NYC ICY has a storefront in Brooklyn and a stall in the East Village with a rotating roster of around 200 flavors, 20 available at a time, of which half are labeled as vegan sorbets.
Must try: Cotton Candy

Ciao Bella
Ciao Bella has ice cream stands at Grand Central Station, on the UES, Nolita, and at the World Financial Center that serve dairy ice cream, but more importantly, offer a rotating menu of 22 unique flavors of vegan sorbet, all sweetened with evaporated cane juice. You can buy it by the scoop or by the pint.
Must try: a scoop of Blackberry Cabernet with a scoop of Dark Chocolate

Like it raw? House-made raw ice cream is available from Bonobos, One Lucky Duck, One Lucky Duck (Chelsea Market) (available by the pint), Pure Food and Wine, and Quintessence.

Looking for a milkshake? Give Foodswings, Café Blossom, ‘sNice, Terri, or Franchia (seasonal tea milkshakes topped with whipped cream) a whirl. You can even grab a frappucino at Starbucks—it’s vegan as long as you get it made with soy milk and no whipped cream.

Want a sundae after dinner? If you’re looking for a place where you can eat dinner and get a scoop of ice cream, try Blossom, V-Note, Wild Ginger, Vegetarian Ginger, Buddha Bodai, Sacred Chow, Josie’s, Organic Grill, Candle Café, Dao Palate, or V-Spot.
If you want it made in-house with your meal try Kyotofu’s soy milk soft ice cream, Pure Food and Wine’s raw sundae, or Candle 79’s divine cinnamon ice cream!

If you’re looking for something cold and tasty off the beaten path, try Tease’s Baltimore Snowball-shaved ice (available with tapioca pearls), Popbar’s organic house-made sorbet popsicles, or Atlas’s Tofutti “Blizzards” with tons of mix in options.

Check out the ice cream category of our NYC restaurant directory for a map and more info on the places mentioned.

What’s your favorite ice cream stop? Tell us about it below!

This is one of SuperVegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2010.

Gene Stone is an accomplished editor (Esquire magazine and Simon and Schuster are among his conquests) and writer (he’s authored books under his own name as well as ghostwriting for people like the medical directors of the Canyon Ranch health spa). One of Gene’s more recent projects was The Engine 2 Diet, which he penned with firefighter Rip Esselstyn (click here to read my interview with Rip.) Gene also had a hand in founding Stogo, one of NYC’s vegan ice cream shops.

SuperVegan: Hey, Gene, thanks for speaking with SuperVegan. When did you start transitioning to vegetarianism? And what 
prompted that change?

Gene Stone: I think it was about 20 years now—I just didn’t feel good about eating animals. Also, I was reading more and more about the negative effects of animal protein on the body. But I wasn’t ready to make the full vegan shift yet.



SV: So it was more of a health issue than an ethical one for you?

GS: It was both. I found it hard to look my cats in the eyes when I was eating their mammalian relatives, even if they would have been delighted to do the same.

SV: In winter 2001, you coauthored The Engine 2 Diet with firefighter Rip Esselstyn. How did you end up working together?

GS: My agent, Richard Pine, had signed up Rip, then tried him out with a different ghostwriter. That relationship didn’t work at all. Then he asked me if I’d be interested. When Richard first told me about Rip, I thought, What in the world would I have in common with some rabble-rousing, Texas firefighter/triathlete? It turns out, more than I ever could have imagined.

SV: Like what?

GS: I didn’t expect he would be liberal (politically). I also didn’t expect we would have similar senses of humor and really enjoy hanging out with each other as much as we do. I’ve become very good friends with several other members of his family as well. In the summer, I go up to the Esselstyn family farm near Hudson and spend a weekend in vegan paradise, where two dozen or so Esselstyns gather and there’s nothing but incredible plant-based food everywhere, all the time.

SV: Rip is very energetic, while you seem more subdued. What was it like to work with him? What was the writing process like?

GS: Rip is one of the most energetic people I have ever met. But I have some energy of my own, so it was something of a roller coaster. We fought at times, we argued, and we really liked each other enormously. Once, when I felt Rip was behaving poorly, I overreacted a bit, perhaps, and told him to go fuck himself. The next day he sent me flowers.

SV: Nicely played! So what was the most surprising thing you learned while writing the book?

GS: The most surprising information came from all the studies, etc., that back up The China Study: Animal protein really isn’t good for anyone outside of babies. Like most people, I believed the meat, dairy and egg industries’ promotion of the need for protein, protein, protein. Turns out most Americans eat way too much protein, and it’s not good for us.

SV: Does The China Study actually say that animal protein is good for babies? I haven’t read it, but from what I know of the findings, that would surprise me.

GS: No. I was just thinking of Jill, Rip’s wife, and how she breast-feeds her daughter. But when the baby is two, she’ll become vegan, as did Kole, their son.

SV: You went vegan while writing The Engine 2 Diet. How did that come about?

GS: When I agreed to do the book, it was evident I’d have to go vegan—I knew it would make Rip trust me more and make the writing process easier.

SV: So you were willing to go vegan in order to write the book? Did you think you would go back to being vegetarian once the project was finished?

GS: Yes, I became vegan to write the book—you can’t expect to spend that much time with Rip and not be vegan. But I was more than happy to try. However, I did think that when the book was done I would revert to vegetarianism. It didn’t happen. I can’t imagine eating cheese or dairy or eggs anymore.

SV: Was going vegan difficult for you? What was the toughest part? The greatest reward?

GS: The most difficult part was giving up fish, eggs and cheese. The cheese part, though, became easy. Now it just looks like solidified fat. The eggs were a little harder; I’d been eating eggs for breakfast my whole life. But now I prefer tofu scrambles. Fish was the hardest. Every now and then, when I can’t avoid it, such as if I’m at a dinner party and I’m really hungry, I’ll eat fish. I’ve seen Rip do it as well. As he says, you don’t have to be plant-perfect, just plant-strong.

The greatest reward was seeing my cholesterol drop from 240 to 160 and my LDL go from 140 to 98. Also, I can look any living creature in the eye without guilt.

SV: So when you stray, why with fish? Fish have been shown to feel pain just like other animals. Do you make that choice from a low-fat perspective? I’d say from a health perspective, if not for the mercury and other contaminants.

GS: Because I really like it, and it can be the only alternative between something to eat and nothing to eat. And I sometimes think it has health benefits, although I’m not sure because, having written so many books on health, I suspect that modern Western medicine knows little about the subject. But yes, I know that fish feel pain, and I don’t like eating them, so I’m eating less and less. Fish-free since early April…

SV: What would you say to people who tell you you’re not really vegan or at least not vegan enough if you eat fish occasionally? How do you feel about vegan “purity”?

GS: Very good question. For one, at this point, my fish eating is so limited that people are only aware of it if I tell them. But what I say is something I mentioned before, something Rip taught me: I don’t expect people to be plant-perfect. It’s hard in this society to be vegan 100 percent of the time, particularly if you travel. For instance, a friend of mine goes to rural Argentina often, and he’s served steak three meals a day. He’s going to have to make an exception when he travels. I have other friends who are close to being vegan, but every now and then they stray. I don’t want them to feel guilty or bad about themselves because every now and then they have a piece of fish or cheese. If so, they might just say screw it and go back to their ugly meat-eating ways. Instead Rip and I—and many of my other vegan friends—feel that if you can get someone to go 80 percent vegan or 90 percent vegan, that’s better than their not being vegan at all. It’s what we call plant-strong. Even Rip’s father, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., one of the nation’s leading experts on the plant-strong diet, has, now and then, had a nonvegan piece of food—not on purpose, but because life throws curveballs. Again, if you make people feel bad about that one occasional break, you may lose them for good. Better to be forgiving than strict, better to be tolerant than cruel, better to be plant-strong than plant-stupid.

SV: Did you contribute to the recipes in the book? Do you have any favorites?

GS: I’m not a cook. So no, no recipes from me.

SV: Do you live off takeout? What are your favorite restaurants in NYC? Where do you order from most?

GS: I don’t cook, but I don’t order out all the time because, since I work at home, I tend to graze all day: an apple, a vegan burger, some veggies, a banana, a handful of nuts, a salad, etc. When I do order out, I like ‘Snice, Viva Herbal Pizza and Souen. I also get food from Spunto, the thin-crust pizzeria on Carmine that isn’t vegan but will make an amazing thin-crust, marinara sauce, no-cheese pizza with lots of vegetables, etc. Right now it’s my favorite. I also like Gobo, Pure Food and Wine and, most of all, Blossom. I love their tofu scramble for brunch.

SV: Blossom is my favorite! Although Souen and Gobo and make my short list too.

I was going to attempt the workout regimen Rip outlines in the book, but it seems like a lot of work and time, and I’m not very disciplined when it comes to exercise. Do you do all the exercises?

GS: I don’t. I’m a gym-going kind of guy, so I do everything there. But if there are days when I can’t get to the gym, I do some of his exercises.

SV: In early 2008, you cofounded the vegan and gluten-free ice cream shop Stogo in New York City with Steve Horn and Rob Sedgwick. How did you get involved? Would you have done it if you hadn’t already gone vegan?

GS: I met Robbie at a party, and when we went to the dessert table, I told him I couldn’t eat anything because I was vegan. He said, “Oh, I’m opening up a vegan ice cream store!” And that was that. I doubt I would have done it if I weren’t vegan—I missed ice cream and wanted a place where I could eat it again.

SV: What was your role at Stogo? Did you come up with flavors or get to taste-test them? (That would be my favorite part.) What are your favorites?

GS: All of us did many different things; my role was mostly helping out with communications and websites, etc. I did get to test all the flavors, though. My favorite is the mint chocolate chip. And the pomegranate chip—I love chocolate. But the fruit flavors are great too. And sometimes if I’m in the mood for chocolate ice cream instead of chips, I get the hemp chocolate.

SV: The hemp chocolate is most excellent, to that I can attest. I love the salted caramel pecan too… We need more vegan restaurants and ice cream shops in South Florida!

What was the most challenging part of opening a vegan ice cream shop in New York City in the winter? Has it been easy to keep it going?

GS: It was tough—it’s hard to sell ice cream when it’s 10 degrees outside. You have to make the most of your money during the warmer months. Still, we sell hot chocolate and coffee, and there are always people who crave ice cream no matter what the temperature is.

SV: Your new book is due out in October. What’s it about?

GS: It’s called The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick, and it’s being put out by Workman. It’s about exactly what it sounds like: 25 people who don’t get sick and their reasons, which range from vitamin C to cold showers. Just got a great blurb from Andy Weil:

“Offbeat, informative and fun, this original book reveals the health secrets of people who never get sick—some right on, some you’d never expect. I’ve used a few of them myself and am definitely going to experiment with others. A great read.”—Andrew Weil, M.D., author of Spontaneous Healing

SV: How prominently, if at all, does veganism figure into your new book?


GS: Not surprisingly, one of the chapters is called “A Plant-Based Diet” and features Rip—who never gets sick and credits his plant diet. (He’s not totally vegan, because he does eat honey.)

SV: Does he mention a favorite recipe?

GS: He has so many! The man loves food more than just about anyone I know—which is not what most people think about vegans, right? But maybe his sweet potato lasagna—he and Jill served it at their wedding. It was all gone within minutes, too. You’d think those people were there for the food, not the ceremony. (The wedding was all vegan, all three days of it.)

SV: Does your being vegan have any bearing on the projects you take on now?

GS: I wouldn’t be able to write a book that suggested people eat meat, etc. Not anymore.

SV: So how did you feel about including the chicken soup chapter?

GS: Well, it’s a popular secret, and one that many will try. But I also include information about how it might not be the chicken at all but the combination of the hot fluid, the vegetables and the spices. So in a way, I’m recommending chicken soup without the chicken.

SV: What would you tell someone who’s considering going vegetarian or vegan?

GS: It’s much easier than you think. And as mentioned, the foods you think you’ll miss—you don’t. The body is smarter than most people realize. If you really listen to it, it will tell you what’s good and bad about your diet. But almost no one listens to his or her body. I didn’t for nearly all my life.

SV: What are you working on now?

GS: I’m doing another ghostwriting project, this one for Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes, the company that gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair that it sells. Blake is much like Rip: very energetic, very caring and a lot of fun. And after several months of discussion, it looks as though he’s going to give veganism a try! (TOMS, by the way, has a vegan line of shoes.)

SV: Awesome news! Did you persuade him to go vegan? How did you manage that?

GS: He was already interested; he has several friends who are vegan, and he likes the idea. Plus, I keep pushing it—gently, of course.

SV: Way to go, Gene! I hope Blake talks about his transition to veganism in the book. Best of luck with your new books, and thanks again for chatting with us.

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 few of my friends then piled into a car and we headed off to Seattle for the night. Inappropriate dinner conversation was shared at Teapot in the East Capital Hill neighborhood. I am pretty much a pro at consuming vegan Pan-Asian food, but Teapot introduced me to the Mandarin Crispy Tofu, a thickly battered soy fillet fried to golden brown perfection. Where can I find this in NYC, East Coasters?

The food at the National Animal Law Conference never disappoints. Coffee flows freely. As do the pastries, breads, Tofutti and Earth Balance. (Mom, yes, they serve fruit, too.) During the conference sessions, the snack room provisions are replenished by a mighty team of caterers. Saturday’s lunch included a choice of sandwiches (gluten free option available!). I opted for the butternut squash and caramelized fennel on a baguette, a fitting combination of flavors as we move further into the best season ever.

Equally as important as my attendance at the conference was spending time with my family of Portland friends. On Saturday night, we filed into Portobello, which is currently my favorite Portland restaurant. Chef Aaron makes the kind of Italian food that reminds you that pasta need not be relegated to a lazy weeknight dinner. Take one bite of his lightly pan fried gnocchi or pumpkin cappellacci smothered in cashew cream sauce and hazelnuts and you will become a believer, too.

Saturday nights in Portland should include a trip to Whiffies and Potato Champion. After standing in the carts’ lot at SE 12th Avenue and SE Hawthorne for about an hour whining about how full we were from our Portobello feast, someone who will remain nameless said to herself, “screw it,” and ordered a cone of always-perfect fries with satay sauce and Vegenaise from Potato Champion. Quickly, all of her friends became “a little hungry” and helped her finish the fries. Then her friends carried her home and put her to bed.

After grazing on more pastries and a faux bánh mì mushroom sandwich during Sunday’s animal law conference sessions, I rode a bus to the vegan minimall and filled my bag with such revered vegan staples as Tartex, Dandies marshmallows, Go Max Go’s Jokerz candy bars and Leahy’s Mac and Cheese sauce at Food Fight Vegan Grocery. I snuck into the all-vegan Scapegoat Tattoo and chatted with the über talented Brian Wilson while he made permanent markings on some guy’s back. (You are a strong dude, Scapegoat customer.)

Following a pit stop at Voodoo Doughnut to procure a small selection of vegan yeast donuts for the trip back to Brooklyn, we worked our way through gigantic, thin crust slices topped with seasoned tempeh at Bella Faccia Pizzeria. We then arrived at the counter in Back to Eden, the Alberta Arts District’s newest vegan bakery boutique. I ordered a cup of Temptation soft serve with white chocolate chips and homemade caramel sauce. One of my nicer friends permitted me to try a bite of her cheesecake, which was delicately flavored with Chai tea and thoroughly refreshing.

With less than half a day of non-conference time to spend in Portland, I think I made a valiant effort to visit the best new eating experiences, as well as the perennial hits the city has to offer.

And so, the 17th National Animal Law Conference has come to a close. I’m a little wiser, a little heavier, and a whole lotta motivated to run the loop in Prospect Park this week.

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2009.

A bike outside of Natural Blend on Washington Avenue does double-duty as an ice cream cone holder.

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.

Bombay Masala on Franklin Avenue near Prospect Place makes, arguably, the best North Indian food I’ve consumed since moving to Brooklyn more than seven years ago. Get the chana saag and sit outside on the large back patio before it gets too cold!

When I’m too lazy to ride to Lula’s Sweet Apothecary, I walk around the corner to Natural Blend on Washington Avenue near St. John’s Place. Natural Blend serves $2 cones of Klein’s Kosher Non-Dairy Ice Cream, flaky vegan soy patties, fresh juices and smoothies, and a slew of prepared vegan stir fries, sandwiches and baked goods.

Chavella’s on Classon Avenue near Park Place proudly waves its “vegan options available” flag. Chavella’s has become a destination spot, so it’s often packed with both locals and those traveling by Metrocard (or bike!). They don’t stock vegan cheese or vegan sour cream, so the many vegetarian options are veganized by leaving the dairy ingredients off the plate. They serve a mean (always vegan) Tacos Verduras for only $3.

Bristen’s Eatery on Franklin Avenue at Sterling Place serves brunch, which includes a tofu scramble with vegan sausage platter, until 4pm! Bristen’s is BYOB, Wi-Fi free, and an all-around good neighborhood business that hosts a variety of special events. I hope it expands its vegan offerings soon!

Imhotep’s on Nostrand Avenue at Park Place is Brooklyn’s oldest vegetarian restaurant. In fact, it’s been 100% vegan since 1985. They serve the best vegan Caribbean food in the neighborhood. Do not leave without trying the fried “chicken,” which consists of the basic May Wah drumstick you can find throughout NYC but breaded and fried to perfection.

Franklin Avenue’s Nam’s Green Market (at St. John’s Place) keeps me in vegan product heaven in between trips to the Park Slope Food Coop. Nam’s was once a run-of-the-mill corner vegetable and fruit market. It now carries vegan specialty items like Sweet and Sara’s vegan marshmallows, Soy Whip, and Gardein. There’s even a small, but growing, gluten-free section.

Other restaurants of note: Rawstar on Washington Avenue at Prospect Place, The Islands on Washington Avenue at Eastern Parkway, and Ital Shak on Nostrand Avenue at Lincoln Place.

Breukelen Coffee House, Franklin Avenue’s “holistic and organic” coffee shop, is expected to open during October 2009.

This is one of Supervegan’s posts for Vegan MoFo 2009.

Blurry Iphone Pic of an Awesome New Place

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!

Snag a coupon and this little guy could be all yours, you cheap bastard!

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.

The Discerning Brute and friends at Penny Licks

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.

Coconut & Lime blog’s ice cream s’wich with Wheeler’s

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!