September 24, 2017
Anyone who hacks my Instagram would see that I love to look at vegan macarons. They are the epitome of pretty. Having experimented myself, I know they are labor-intensive. Vegan macarons are one of my favorite veganized treats and a testament to how far the vegan world has come in Read more…
September 22, 2017
The burger chain/casual eatery Red Robin has opened its doors close to home. As I saw its construction progress on Merrick Road in Bellmore, I became slightly excited. After a couple of weeks of it opening its doors, we hit it prime time on a Friday. Luckily we were able Read more…
September 8, 2017
I have been blogging about 3 Brothers for many years now… since the unstyled and less fabulous Jay Astafa first created the vegan menu for their original Rockville Centre location in 2009. And since then, I’ve tried most of his casual food endeavors… his dinner and brunch menus at the Read more…
August 30, 2017
I was so excited to see the long-abandoned saltwater pool of old money millionaire William Vanderbilt, located on the grounds of The Vanderbilt Museum, Mansion & Planetarium in Centerport, Long Island. The 70,000 gallon pool used the water from the Long Island Sound and was the location for Gatsby-style cocktail soirees. Read more…
August 3, 2017
This picture was taken in June as a teacher pal and me rebelliously snuck out of a PTA-sponsored lunch for sundaes at Van Leeuwen. In some ways June seems like years ago. In other ways it remains piercingly vivid. I think I was in denial that the school year was Read more…
July 26, 2017
Vegan options are popping up all over the place on Long Island. So I try to squeeze them into my daily routines and errands right away. After a recent hot tip, I checked out Radio Radio in Huntington Village for lunch. They have some promising-reading vegan options on their Southern/BBQ Read more…
July 20, 2017
I can spend many hours in V & T Supermarket in Hempstead, Long Island. Well actually, I can spend many hours in the sauce aisle alone. I stopped in during some errands recently and felt inspired enough to cook a labor-intensive lunch along with a bunch of fresh summer rolls Read more…
June 29, 2017
There are things that go very differently in my head. The first day of my Summer break… In my head I rouse from a peaceful slumber as a stray ray of sunlight gently taps my shoulder. Hovering Blue Jays hold up an impractical, sheer house coat as I saunter out Read more…
May 30, 2017
Twenty years ago, after our closing shifts at Tower Records in Carle Place, my coworkers and I used to drive to the tip of Long Island, arriving at Montauk Point between 1 or 2 in the morning. We did this repeatedly, ceremoniously, as we inducted new recruits. Together, we’d clutch each other while walking the Read more…
May 4, 2017
Ok, I don’t make a big deal out of fast food… but White Castle now has two, yes two, vegan slider options. Vegan buns, separate grill–no worries. So I visited the White Castle in Lynbrook for lunch. Stepping into a White Castle is sociologically interesting. It is like stepping into a Read more…
April 2, 2017
The Refuge in Melville recently created an all-vegan menu… so that I can be fully satisfied. Well, not really me but, let’s say, more people in general. Such exciting twists are born of the changing tides in the food world. Plant-based is being embraced is a huge way… and beyond salad or Read more…
March 24, 2017
I am pretty sick of the land being a scratchy shade of dry beige. The animals are marching out of their dens, ready for spring. Myself included. But far more exciting, this fox. Who sees beautiful foxes in their path randomly? Luckily me today. The fox, a Red Fox, was walking about Robert Moses State Park. Near Read more…
January 28, 2017
The Tofu Scramble. It is becoming ubiquitous. Always a welcome sight on an omni-menu, I’ve had the dish all over the place–as many vegans have. From Anchorage, Alaska to Yellowstone National Park, I’ve appreciated the dish. (My favorite? Probably Wayward Cafe in Seattle, Washington?) But even with lackluster execution, I’m endeared and Read more…
September 24, 2016
Tofu is only going to be as good as you make it. It’s ready to suck in flavor and build its texture–but that takes you. After creating a powerful marinade and letting these Lincoln logs bathe in it all day, I build texture, roasting each side 25-ish minutes. Good tofu is worth Read more…
September 10, 2016
The start of a new school year is a taxing time. From freedom to strenuous furniture moving, room design and set-up, to planning units of study.. then the delivery, and all teaching entails. No one day alike, ever-changing variables and constant stimulation. And with the schedule change, I finally was Read more…
August 25, 2016
Patchogue’s main strip. Like many in-touch eateries, they get that a vegan option is easy enough to throw together. The dish on the rise at omni establishments all about the country seems to be the Tofu Scramble. I have a growing list of eateries on my radar that offer it. And Read more…
June 26, 2016
My favorite way to find vegan food is by chance. ‘By chance’ as in we were by chance driving from weekend errands discussing lunch when we drove past a big window sign that read “VEGAN OPTIONS.” After a couple of U-turns, we pulled into the small strip mall in Oceanside, Long Read more…
March 27, 2016
Though this storefront is innocuous, I peer through its ground level glass and see the back of my head, 19 years ago. A fork in my mouth and a look of–well–contentment on my face. But with confusion. Tofu. Not a cold, wet yet strangely dry slab of white sponge under a tremendous piece Read more…
March 5, 2016
Today I reserved a table at a new vegetarian restaurant by a Michelin-starred chef in Manhattan… then ran out to a bunch of burrito counter spots in the suburban sprawl of Long Island. I capture both sides of the spectrum, all for you dear blog. Though Long Island is not super vegan-friendly, there has been Read more…
February 12, 2016
Have you ever told an eatery that you had an allergy that you didn’t have? I think in my two decades of being vegan I have, though probably not in the last 10 years. Although silly, it was easier than fighting or starting an irritating ethics debate while hungry… or Read more…
February 8, 2016
What a wonderful discovery that Spot Dessert Bar has an all-vegan dessert option. And it’s Monkey Bread! This dreamy option is well-worth facing the awkward state of St. Marks Place, right across from where Mondo Kim’s used to be, right next to where Coney Island High used to be. ::sigh:: Read more…
January 4, 2016
Guittard‘s Cocoa Rouge is a wonderful red Dutch processed cocoa powder, the first in my quest of finding a go-to cocoa powder. The reddish brown is Earthy and clay-like. The deep brown chocolate cake boasts the cocoa’s richness. Those light chocolate smears are melted chocolate chunks. Once the cake is Read more…
December 30, 2015
Match #1 of the V.V. Burger Showdown Semi-Finals: I Must Break You(r Brand Marketing). Pickle Shack vs. Bareburger We are now in the Semi-Finals of the V.V. New York City Burger Showdown! Sixteen burgers in, I have tasted some amazing burgers. But with new burger options already in waiting for another match-up, this field is ever-evolving. Read more…
November 27, 2015
Toast & Co. is a bustling breakfast spot right off Huntington Village’s main drag, New York Avenue. Once you visit, it is easy to see why it brings in such crowds. It’s got that old fashioned diner ambiance, great service, and… a separate vegan menu that is spectacular on its Read more…
November 17, 2015
Sunrise on the train station. Vegetable Mofongo and yucca fries from Mi Casa Restaurant, unlikely vegan options are my favorite. Stripes and dots. Pumpkin Dandies really taste like pumpkin. Kitchen color. Quickly go the days.
November 14, 2015
Match #7 of the V.V. Burger Showdown: The Battle of (vegan) Growing Pains. Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop vs. Bareburger Along with the large scale collective growth in vegan food products and eateries, omni embrace of “vegan” is also evolving in its own way. Vegan pantry staples are showing up in traditional supermarkets and Read more…