Coup de SEITAN Tacos!

I have waited and waited to post this because I've wanted to try the tacos for myself first so that, instead of the screenshot of Coup de Taco's website, I could post a ridiculous picture of me devouring a BBQ seitan taco! But then I realized I shouldn't be so selfish and deny the rest of Philly a chance to try a taco first, so....

If you're in University City and craving cheap vegan eats swing by Philly's only vegan taco truck on 40th between Locust and Spruce. Grab a Tikka Masala seitan taco for your bus ride back to Center City, or take a BBQ seitan rice bowl to class.

While there is chicken on the menu, I'm convinced it is only to lure the non-vegans to a source of cheap, tasty veg fare. Once they see a BBQ seitan rib taco, how could they ever order meat again?!

I'm sure Jeff (my grad school classmate!), Peter and Richie totally persuade everyone to go with the veg....in fact, Jeff was originally interested in starting a vegetarian fast food restaurant, but somehow his idea morphed into a food truck. Go figure, but lucky for us!

Follow the Coup crew's food truck start-up adventures here.

Stella's Summer 2010, Way Hot, Way

Stella's Faux Suede Platform Scalloped Ryden Sandal is fabulously, fashionably, faux, but also fabulously, fashionably out of most of our price ranges!

While it may not be realistic for all of us to support our veg fashion desires by committing to wearing only Stella McCartney clothes and shoes, at least we have a successful, recognized, vegan fashion representative in the ranks of high fashion. She stands for animal-friendly values, and, through her, more and more people in the industry will learn, understand and hopefully incorporate our beliefs into their design and into their lifestyles.

NeuAura Shoes: Just a Preview, Profile to Come

I'm definitely feeling this shoe by Neuaura. I've come across the brand several times while shoe site-ing for Olsen Haus and Cri de Coeur.

Overall not quite as stylish as the other brands I like, but there are a few gems in the line like "Kettle Gray" pictured here. I love the detail that makes this more than just a plain old gray pump. The shape of the heel and the extra material that encloses the foot almost like a little bootie makes them unique and interesting to wear.

Full designer profile TBD, but here's a preview. Launched by yet another fashion-forward vegetarian (there are so many of us!), Arti Upadhyay had been in the shoe industry for the past decade and had launched several successful national brands. Lamenting the lack of fashionable animal-friendly footwear, and finding many other women with the same complaint, she decided to create her line. More style-inspired info to come.

Cri de Coeur: Designer Profile

Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed just how poor the vegan shoe selection is. Why does it have to be difficult to find mindfully made, stylish shoes? While most of us are not in a position to solve the problem except through how we spend, fortunately there are fashion designers out there who have the creative energy and design experience to do something about it and help out the rest of us!

Gina Ferraraccio is one of these designers. This Nolita designer launched Cri de Coeur, a vegan fashion shoe brand, in 2007. She has been a vegetarian for 12 years, and, after attending Parsons School of Design and working in various parts of the fashion industry, her concept of a trendy, vegan shoe line was born. Rather than trade off style for her personal philosophies, and to finally put to rest conflicted feelings associated with wearing leather, she created and launched her brand.

Given recent consumer interest in eco-friendly fashion and her long-time commitment to the environment, Gina focuses on using only eco-friendly vegan materials in her shoes. Suede microfiber, canvas, chambray and rubber composite are just some of the materials she uses. Cri de Coeur also purchases to carbon credits to offset its carbon footprint and sponsors reforestation, planting a tree with the purchase of every shoe.

Not only has Fagiolina been posting about Gina and Cri de Coeur for the past couple of months, but Elle, Lucky, InStyle, Marie Claire and Daily Candy have all given props for the designer's hot styles and vegan ethic.

However, Gina's clear that her shoes are not just for vegans--they're for anyone who wants to wear a fashionable shoe. Listen to Gina talk about her shoes here and read an interview with Gina here.

Now, come on, I know that really all you want to do is buy the shoes!

www.shopflick.com

www.endless.com

www.nimli.com

To sign up for the newsletter, find a listing of local stores that sell the line and stay up on the latest collections: www.cri-de-coeur.com

And the Best Veg in Reykjavik Is...

I just spent a long weekend in Reykjavik, Iceland. Surprisingly, not only was it not as cold as I thought it would be, but there was less snow on the ground than in Phillly!

Also, surprisingly, there were two excellent, casual vegetarian restaurants right downtown. Neither were purely vegan, but all the staff at both restaurants knew exactly which menu items to point out when I asked for meat-, dairy- and egg-free options.

The first restaurant was Á Næstu Grösum. I ordered at the counter from a buffet, mall-Chinese-food-style, of vegetarian dishes. Diners could order from the buffet and then sit down and eat in the spacious cafe, or to do takeaway. I ordered a combination of a mint-flavored, green-colored cous cous and a ratatouille to go. I really wanted a dessert, but unfortunately none of the options were vegan.

Not bad, but the second veg restaurant I found, Græn Kostur, was better, although the selection was much more limited.

I think it had to do with the trendy, thoughtful design of the restaurant (pitchers of water flavored with mint, fresh lemon and orange wedges lined a shelf under the chalkboard menu on the wall). Overall the experience was just much more appealing. The style of service was similar, but it felt much more honest in it's "counter style." The first restaurant almost seemed to be trying to be a "real" restaurant, while the second happily provided tasty, reasonably priced vegan options in a casual, upscale fast-food atmosphere.

Maybe it was the peanut sauce that got me? Maybe the vegan banana pie and chocolate-pecan dessert made me like it? Regardless, I ordered a rice, noodle and tofu with peanut sauce meal that was exactly what I was looking for. Chunks of eggplant rested in the peanut sauce and were tasty with a bite of brown rice.

Dinner:

Dessert (two of course!):

The inspirations were American, Asian, Indian and more...overall it just worked.

Both cafes offered fresh, flavorful veg options for the Reykjavik traveler seeking the same pleasure in food that traveling companions find in Icelandic meat delicacies. There is something for everyone in Iceland, and being a vegetarian won't spoil your dining pleasure. So eat, travel and enjoy!

Alicia Silverstone: A Weekend of Eating in NYC

I will be following Alicia's footsteps next time I'm in New York. Check out her latest blog update here.

She hit up Counter, one of my favorites, but also Souen, a macrobiotic restaurant, and Hangawi, plus also ate some desserts from Candle 79. My next trip to New York will definitely be gluttonous. Start eating!

Thoreau Restaurant Was--

So good! I absolutely loved it! I dragged my poor friends out in the snow last nigh to try this new spot, and I am so happy that I did.

We started with the Green Curry Mango Summer Rolls, which were rice paper wrappers filled with carrots and parsnips, flavored just enough but not overpowered by a dipping sauce drizzled on the plate.

For dinner, I ordered the Blue Plate, which was overall very good, although the edamame and corn succotash that lined the bottom of the plate under the blue mashed potato and glazed mushrooms looked surprisingly like the frozen variety I buy at Trader Joe's. Regardless, the mushrooms were sweet, and the potatoes were slightly salty, which encouraged me to mix a bit of both every time I took a bite.

My friend ordered the Shepherd's Pie, which was actually more of a soup topped with white mashed potatoes. Beneath the potato was couscous, a mix of large chunks of vegetables, and a green sauce. The Tamarind Peanut Noodles rounded out our collection of entrees, and they were excellent, too. A lot of flavors, a lot of vegetables, and all very nicely put together.

I loved the use of vegetables in a variety of different ways: pureed, cut into large chunks (my favorite!), roasted and mashed, grilled and seasoned. Almost everything on the menu could be made vegan if it wasn't already. Even the ancho chile butter served with the bread at the beginning of dinner came in a vegan variety!

It was so delicious that I ate so much I had no room for dessert. There was one vegan dessert on the menu that I remember looked good, but, in my food coma, I just couldn't bring myself to order it nor, apparently, remember what it was.

Five stars for this new addition to the Philly gourmet veg scene. It is of the quality of Horizons but a bit different in terms of flavors, ingredients and approach to vegan food. I'm happy to have two great restaurants to choose from when I want to go out to a good dinner, and I will definitely be going back!

One place for all your eco-vegan-fashion needs

I began this blog because I wanted to make it easier for you...and for me, actually...to commit to a fully vegan lifestyle. On principle, I wanted this lifestyle to be fun and fashionable and lightyears beyond the hippie, crunchy vibe once associated with an animal-free way of life.

Nimli.com has made my search for vegan shoes and bags ridiculously easy.

Nimli is all about providing us with "natural, organic and green" lifestyle products, ranging from clothes, to housewares, to jewelry and skincare products. I love how you can choose a product based on certain attributes, and, of course, "vegan" is one of the attributes. Could there possibly be a better way to shop?

Nimli sells one of my favorite brand of vegan shoes, Cri de Coeur, which I blogged about in an earlier post. It is so easy to be vegan when a great designer makes fashionable shoes that, put simply, just look good. No clogs, no gross-looking clumpy shoes...just high-quality, high-fashion, super trendy. My latest obsession...

Find deals and promo codes in Nimli's blog, too.

Su Tao, Su Tao, Oh Don't the Burbs Have Anything Better to Offer Than Su Tao?

Out in the Philly 'burbs there just aren't many vegan options. I thought the best I would ever find would be the Whole Foods (where I could mix and match at the salad bar all day!), but, a few months into my new job, wasn't I happy to learn that right off of Rt. 30 near Paoli a vegan restuarant existed?!

Su Tao is an Asian vegan restaurant. In true suburban style, it has a full menu but also offers a buffet at both lunch and dinner. I went last week with a friend and was a bit disappointed. Perhaps all the great veg dining options in Philly have spoiled me! Don't get me wrong, I was happy to find any vegan eats out in the middle-of-nowhere Main Line suburbs, but Su Tao was greasier, heavier and just not as tasty as I had hoped.

I decided to live it up and try the buffet, and the salad bar portion of it was unexpectedly good. Fresh greens, cold noodles and various pickles (including kimchee) were all on display and tasty. The miso soup at the end of the bar was also very good. The hot bar, however, left much to be desired and didn't quite convert my non-vegan dining companion! The spicy eggplant was coated in a thick sauce, the veg fried rice was overly greasy, the mock meat dishes were coated in a brown sauce, the tofu was fried. I did enjoy the steamed vegetable dumplings (can't mess them up!) as well as some steamed bok choy, but other than that, I could have skipped the hot food and stuck with the salad bar.

The biggest disappointment, though, was dessert. When I asked where the dessert bar was--having gotten excited after reading about the vegan ice cream on the menu--the waitress pointed to a bowl full of Whole Foods private label Oreo cookies. Really?

Props to Su Tao for even existing, but please try to give vegan food a good name.

What to do with all that leather...?

Becoming totally fashionable vegan isn't the easiest thing to do after living a life full of leather jackets, bags, shoes and belts. Realistically, it just seems too expensive to just get rid of all the leather I own and replace them with vegan things instead.

If you have been similarly perplexed, how about upcycling your old leather into new things? Check out reMade USA, which will either sell you an upcycled leather purse made from other people's (or your own) jackets. Or send in your own leather jacket and get $20 off a ready-to-order.

Some of us may be opposed to any leather at all, but some of us may be open to just not supporting the production of new leather fashions by avoiding the purchase of anything new. It may not be perfectly vegan, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

Want more ideas? Go to EcoStiletto for a list of a ton of cute sustainable fashions.