hey you guys, i just wanted to share this fun, perfect-for-procrastinating website with everyone:

http://wordle.net

you can paste in text or a url or use del.icio.us and it will make something like this:



(i know, i made a nerdy wordle)

fun!
-ash

wow you guys, i'm so excited to have si's work in the upstairs gallery! everyone here at the store not-so-secretly wants his art as tattoos... it's all really beautiful, check it out:

http://www.siscottstudio.com/

and COME MEET HIM TONIGHT (friday, aug 1st from 7-9pm)!!! he traveled all the way from the u.k. to be here, so this is your chance.

if you have some huge life-threatening emergency and can't make it tonight, i would definitely recommend coming out to the store before sept. 2nd to see si's art anyway. i promise it's worth the trip.

xoxo,
ash

this shirt made joe my hero. it's perfect. i love it. i have it in two sizes for the day when my love for food finally catches up with me. if only we could keep it in the store forever! how can anyone resist the combo of kittens, sci-fi, and glasses?

PERFECT!

an engineer's guide to cats!!!

hi! since people shopping at the retail store sometimes ask us about places to eat nearby, i thought i'd compile a little list in case anyone is planning a trip to visit us (come and visit!!!). there are a ton of restaurants north of the store on broadway, but here are a few mini-reviews of the places i've tried so far:

pastoral
www.pastoralartisan.com
an amazing, though tiny, italian/french market. they have the most delicious sandwiches EVER (my favorite is the santorini w/o feta and with olive and sun-dried tomato tapenade), and a truly tempting cheese case (even for a die hard vegan, though so far i haven't given in to temptation). whoever buys their olives really knows his stuff, too. oooh, and if you like pic-nic style nosh, definitely get a sampling of their balsamic-roasted cipollini onions, marinated artichokes, etc. one block south of the store.

flub a dub chub's hot dog emporium
this little burger/dog joint is downstairs from the tarot card readers three doors north of the store on broadway. they just opened and it's a family-run place (a dad and his sons). they've got a pretty big selection of toppings (all free)- dogs and burgers (they have veggie versions of both) come with delicious fries sprinkled with the chef's secret seasoning blend (SO yummy). on the menu it says something like, "our goal is to make you the best sandwich you've ever eaten" and at first i read that and thought, "good luck!" but after eating my amazingly-delicious boca burger with the works (they even have avocado and giadinera) i really believe that these guys LOVE burgers and also loved making me mine.
these are the dogs i ate there the other day- mmmmm!



crisp
http://www.crisponline.com/crisp.aspx
delicious & veg-friendly korean fusion! crisp doesn't look like much from the outside, but this place is a real find! so far i've only tried the korean burrito (delicious and very filling) and i saw the buddha bowl, which looked heavenly in every way. everything is really fresh and yummy. the brown rice is PERFECT. their sauces are AMAZING. i wish i had more stomaches so i could keep eating this stuff forever. half block south of the store.

yummy yummy
omnivore and yet extremely vegan-friendly chinese. donella and i basically live on their smoothies with tapioca pearls- yes, even when it's 25 degrees out. you can choose from a huge selection of fresh fruit (even avocado!) and have them with or without tapioca, and they only come in one size- HUGE! some highlights (from the "healthy menu" a.k.a. vegan menu) are: vegetarian szechuan dumplings (not the wontons), bbq seitan, veggie soy gluten soup (trust me on this one), kung pao soy gluten, soy gluten in garlic sauce, and melody on river (i haven't had anything like this dish anywhere else- it's a taro paste wrapped in yuba and then deep fried and it comes with the most amazing dipping sauce). skip the noodle dishes and the tom yum soup. oh, and you can also get fresh young coconut here! three blocks south of the store.

the bagel
www.bagelrestaurant.com
jewish diner/deli. not a lot of vegan options here, but all soups of the day are vegan and they serve a vegan boca burger. apparently all their non-vegan food is delicious. also they have bialies (but no tofu cream cheese). two blocks north of the store.

new tokyo
japanese. resonably priced and pretty good food. they have A LOT of veggie options and they also have kampyo, though it's not on the menu. delicious cucumber salad, yummy veggie gyoza, but the goma-ae is pretty average. i haven't tried the tofu tempura maki, but i'm going to soon. also, they have oshinko moriawase- so yummy! two and a half blocks north of the store.

soup box
www.thesoupbox.com
i definitely wouldn't recommend this place for vegans, they only ever have an average tasting and overpriced roasted vegetable soup. in fact i think all the soups here are overpriced, but if you're an omnivore in the mood for a bread bowl of hearty soup for $10, then this is the place for you. i have a feeling their non-vegan options are a lot better than the boring roasted vegetable soup. and from what i hear, in the summertime they have the best fresh fruit italian ice in the city. i will definitely be partaking in that as soon as they have it again.

stella's diner
apparently this place is really yummy, but i haven't been yet. go there and let me know what you think!

also, there's an intelligentsia coffee (SO yummy) and and argo tea (SUPER tasty) both about two blocks north, either makes a mean beverage, but i recommend staying away from argo's tapioca, which aren't pearls they're super-sweet cubes. if you want a bubble tea definitely go to yummy yummy.

i'll update this list if i can ever resist the call of pastoral or yummy yummy and venture out to try something else.

I thought it would be fun to compile a list of my favorite place to eat vegan food in most of the cities I've been to. I would love to hear about any rivals to these amazing, yummy places...

Here goes:

ALABAMA
Birmingham- It's probably a good idea to just get a sandwich from Golden Temple Natural Grocery. Vegan food down south seems to be drenched in oil.

ARIZONA
Phoenix- The Farm at South Mountain, eating in a pecan grove? Love it!
Sedona- I just picked up delicious take-out from New Fronteirs health food store and got climbing.
Tucson- Cup Cafe for breakfast/brunch and Yoshimatsu for all else!

CALIFORNIA
SF/Berkeley- This is a hard one... I'm going to have to name a few: Herbavore is my go-to spot for brunch, Cafe Graitude for any meal any time of day, The Greens for an early dinner (sunset on the marina!), New Shojin MedicineEat Station for excllent buddhist food. But my favorite place by far is Minako. If you haven't been you HAVE to go, it's a mom & daughter Japanese place in the Mission and it's the best Japanese "home cooking" you've EVER had. It not only looks beautiful and tastes amazing, but it plays on textures and feels great in your mouth- a treat for all your senses!!! GO! Oh, plus Maggie Mudd (in Bernal Heights) is a must for the best vegan sundae and I always make at least a few trips to Rainbow Grocery because there is NO PLACE like this anywhere else.

COLORADO
Aspen- Explore Bookstore and Cafe, can you argue with eating in a victorian diningroom on the top floor of a great bookstore? No.
Boulder- Dushanbe Tea House for lunch and Sunflower for yummy dinner and delicious wine (the waiters were also really nice and really cute here!).
Denver- WaterCourse Foods Restaurant for brunch/lunch (biscuits & gravy plus hemp ice cream sandwiches!) and Beau Jo's for pizza.

CONNECTICUT
Wherever you are, it's worth the trip to Bridgeport to eat at Bloodroot Collective. I've taken the train from NYC to eat here. DO IT.

D.C.
I only eat dessert in D.C.!!! Go to Sticky Fingers and get the Sticky Buns. And the Pecan Cookie. And the soft serve.

FLORIDA
It's hard to even eat vegetarian in Florida. Just go to the grocery store and make your own food.

GEORGIA
Atlanta- One word: Sunflower. Seriously, eat there, order anything and save room for dessert. You can't go wrong.

ILLINOIS
Chicago- If I had to pick a favorite, other than Green Zebra (fancy), it might actually be Sultan's. Best falafel, best lentil soup, best spinach pie if you can get it right out of the oven. I know, Chicago Diner is a close second, but I've got to go with what I crave most often. Also, I've got a long list of places to try now that I live here.

MAINE
Portland- Bagel Works has tofu-scallion cream cheese, Flatbread Co. has such yummy pizza and salad.

MARYLAND
VEGETABLE GARDEN in Rockville. Just do it.

MASSACHUSETTS
Allston- Grasshopper
Cambridge- Asmara for Ethiopian, Helmand for Afghan
Northampton- Haymarket Cafe

MISSOURI
Kansas City- Blue Bird Bistro
St. Louis- Eternity Vegetarian Juice Bar and Deli

NEW HAMPSHIRE
NH has pretty good food overall, but no stand-out vegan winners.

NEW JERSEY
Hoboken- Karma Kafe for Indian
Also, it's worth the trip to Cliffside Park (I know it sounds crazy) to eat at Piccolo's. Even just to look in the deli case. BTW it's also a grocery store and it's DELICIOUS!

NEW YORK
Woodstock- New World Cafe (the bet seitan steak ANYWHERE).
NYC- it's a 8-way tie: Counter for New American, Hangawi for Buddhist Korean, Lan Cafe (trust me) for Vietnamese, Gobo for eclectic yumminess, Pure for extravagant raw food, Blossom for French fusion, Candle Cafe if you're on the upper east side, Atlas Cafe for vegan soft serve and Vegan Treats cakes.

NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville- Laughing Seed Cafe

OHIO
Cincinnati- Manna Vegetarian Deli
Cleveland- Web of Life Vegetarian Foods
Columbus- Dragonfly, Benevolence

PENNSYLVANIA
Bethlehem- Vegan Treats, this place is out of control. Thinking about it is blowing my mind right now.
Philly-Gianna's Grille, can you say vegan cheese steak?

RHODE ISLAND
Providence- woah, I just did some research on Providence and I feel like it makes sense to list some places that I haven't been to, but want to know about:
Melanie's Vegan Eden and Nice Slice- has anyone eaten vegan stuff here? Looks yummy!

SOUTH CAROLINA
Charleston- Soul Vegetarian or Mellow Mushroom Pizza

VERMONT
Brattleboro- Hello! The Food Co-op is DELICIOUS!
Burlington- Healthy Living

Also, there are a ton of places I can picture but can't remember where they are or what they're called. Anybody want to add to my list???