Episode 9 of the Vegan-Carne Alliance podcast is live.
For our ninth episode, C. W. Moss is joined by Jesse Mullenix and Alex Irit. Jesse talks about his gripping experience with the documentary Game Changers and how it effected him and his family. Next, they talk about their favorite stories (18:40) and meals (55:02) from 2019.
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Lots of great tips here in this Grub Street piece. I like Garrison Price’s:
“If I’m hungry and pressed for time after a workout, my go-to is usually Sweetgreen. My own salad concoctions revolve around arugula (spicy), romaine (crunchy), raw beets (high in folate), broccoli (anti-inflammatory), sunflower seeds (vitamin E), almonds (biotin), avocado (B5), and spicy cashew dressing (healthy fat). I’m obsessed with seeds and nuts because they are good for you and filling, but also add great texture to the salad.”
Texture is king in a salad, and I feel like most places leave the croutons to bear the burden. I think seeds and nuts are crucial, and second only to the dressing. I usually add hummus to thicken mine up and give it a bit more body too.
Dan Kois for Slate:
On Monday the New York Public Library, celebrating its 125th anniversary, released a list of the 10 most-checked-out books in the library’s history. The list is headed by a children’s book—Ezra Jack Keats’ masterpiece The Snowy Day—and includes five other kids’ books. The list also includes a surprising addendum: One of the most beloved children’s books of all time didn’t make the list because for 25 years it was essentially banned from the New York Public Library. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, would have made the Top 10 list and might have topped it, the library notes, but for the fact that “influential New York Public Library children’s librarian Anne Carroll Moore disliked the story so much when it was published in 1947 that the Library didn’t carry it … until 1972.” Who was Anne Carroll Moore, and what was her problem with the great Goodnight Moon?
When I read stories like this, I think of the (often silent) gatekeepers in the food world that have helped shaped our culinary universe. Where would Impossible be if David Chang wasn’t the first to put it in his It-Spot, NYC restaurant Momofuku? Where would vegetables be if Pollan or Bitten weren’t politely advocating for them to fill our plates in the NYTimes? Would France or even Europe be exploring veggies if Alain Passard hadn’t made his 3-Michelin-starred L’Arpege go all vegetables in the early 2000s?
It’s hard to say, but it’s fun to think about.
Eater has put up a beautiful (and long) list that culls what many major food publications predict for 2020 with food. Many are vegan or vegan-adjacent, and I’m not going to list them all but these are some of the things I’m excited about too:
Zero waste really needs to pop-off. As food delivery pushes into a larger and larger portion of how most Americans are consuming their meals, this deserves more focus and energy.
I’m a sucker for lists like this, and I love seeing such strong representation for places that love vegetables. And two especially stood out on Food & Wine’s list:
Vedge, Philadelphia, 2011
The expressions “plant-based” and “vegetable-focused” feel borderline cliché at this point, but that wasn’t always true, especially not in the elevated dining space, where patrons historically expect steep checks to include showy meats, or at the very least caviar. At Vedge, husband-wife chef team Kate Jacoby and Rich Landau made it dangerously easy to justify spending lots of money on vegetables—with surprising dishes like a giant wood-roasted carrot that easily rivals any steak, broccolini “carbonara” made with Israeli couscous, and a luxurious rutabaga fondue. Jacoby and Landau, who helped pioneer this new mode of plant-based dining back in the ‘90s with Horizons, cracked a new level of visibility with the critical success of Vedge. —Maria Yagoda, Digital Restaurant Editor
Vedge is the restaurant I want to eat at most. It’s a bright star in the vegan sky, and it may be *the* North Star for people looking to think about vegetables in a different way.
Superiority Burger, New York City, 2015
Brooks Headley had a laser-focused mission, succeeded wildly at it, and made the restaurant world a better place. Six years ago, he was an award-winning pastry chef who would make veggie burgers just for kicks. Then he did a veggie-burger pop-up, which eventually became a six-seat East Village institution with groups of people always eating outside. It’s not like Headley invented plant-based fast food, but he’s the best at it, and he’s influenced so many other concepts in the past few years. The Superiority staff never stops churning out experimental vegan hits, like their Italian hoagie, cold pizza salad, and tahini ranch romaine salad. Last year, Headley thought it’d be cool to get intensely into focaccia and sell it only on Fridays. May this place stay open for a thousand years. —R.G.
And Superiority is just special in every single way. I adore so many parts. Weekly-repeated specials, daily specials, small menu, and a constant focus on seasonal things. All those combine to make for a unique experience every time I’ve visited, and I’m grateful for it.
It makes sense that Sqirl and LocoL are on the list too. All are ambitious and interesting in their own ways.
I hope in the next few weeks we see more lists that help contextualize America’s invigorated interest in vegetables and fresh eating more.
A good place to start when you’re thinking about Thanksgiving in America.
From sprawling metropolises to small towns, businesses are updating their menus with exciting animal-free options—which isn’t surprising, considering that the number of vegan Americans has increased by 600% in just three years, according to research firm GlobalData. In fact, The Economist dubbed 2019 “the year of the vegan.”
PETA’s annual top 10 list of vegan-friendly cities is always a fun list for me. I wish they were a little more clear about how they’re making their decisions and rankings. Is it based on the amount of all-vegan spots in that city? The quality of the food? The average Yelp score? The percentage of how many places offer vegan options? Whether anyone still pronounces “vee-gunn” as “vay-gun”? How many people inform the decisions on this list? I have lots of questions.
It’s been a few years since I was really eating in San Francisco much, but I’m really surprised that it’s number one. Shizen is great. Same with Berkeley’s Butcher’s Son — but that’s not really in SF. They must have made tremendous leaps, because when I was there it was sometimes difficult. Of the things they list, I have only had about half — so honestly I should probably bite my tongue. I’m excited to get up there and try everything they mention.
For the record, I also have lots of problems with their LA list too, but that’s a whole nother post.
I couldn’t believe Austin isn’t on the list. Just because of how people talk about its hippie culture, I assumed it’d be somewhere on the top 10. Or Philadelphia. I assumed Vedge and V Street would have some pull there. Lots of people think Vedge is in the running for best vegan restaurant in America. I really want to go to Detroit, and this list makes it seem even more appealing. And Orlando using the pull of The Mouse is a glorious move.
Does anyone else do lists like this? I’m looking forward to HappyCow’s too.
I haven’t tried enough of these, but I want to try every one that I can. Sour-sweet achaars, pistachios, and chili crisps. Yes please.