TAFA Times

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria, + VN Distribution Manager Katie Donaldson
What: Taking Action for Animals
Where: Arlington, Va.
When: July 19–21, 2008
Why: Because animals need us to take action!

The Scoop: While most tourists tend to avoid the Washington, DC, area during the throes of July's humidity, attending TAFA was reason enough for our troupe to brave the thick, wet air. Luckily, the hotel in which the convention was held was well equipped to deal with our wilting and kept the AC flowing freely. After getting settled, we all enjoyed the welcome reception and met up with multitudes of enthusiastic advocates. TAFA is put on by The Humane Society of the United States, and who do you think was the very first person to welcome us to the conference? That would be president Wayne Pacelle, of course. After mingling to our hearts content and getting to know our fellow attendees, Katie and I decided to strike out on our own in search of some substantial eats. It took us more time to read over the extensive menu at The Vegetable Garden than it had to get there on the Metro. The crispy eggplant, orange beef with pineapple, and organic vegetable delight revived us from our day of traveling.

The next morning we hustled downstairs to the exhibition hall to make sure we were ready for the VN-hungry crowds. Well, okay, they may have had one other reason to stop by our booth: the Sticky Fingers Cupcake Party! That's Sticky Finger's own Ben Adams and Doron Petersan you see holding a hefty box of cupcakes below. It took only 20 minutes for all 200 incredibly yummy treats to get distributed to the eager masses. There are likely better methods of taking action for animals than gorging on vegan cupcakes, but none as sweet!

We spent the rest of the conference enjoying the oratory skills of Gene Baur, VN columnist Rory Freedman, web-media guru Joe Trippi, and anti-puppy-mill crusader Jana Kohl, and munching on the exquisite fare provided by Veg Advantage's Chef Lex Townes. Let me just say that I could have easily eaten 10 of the incredible faux-chicken panini with melty, dairy-free cheese and fresh tomatoes that we noshed for lunch on Saturday. Though, it would have been a shame to be too full to eat at the banquet Saturday night, which featured some of the best freaking mashed potatoes I've ever had, and a scrumptuous faux-chicken breast in an outrageously good herbed mushroom sauce. Another highlight of the banquet was Carol Leifer's fall-down funny presentation. We were lucky enough to have the highly comedic comedian at our banquet table, and she was kind enough to snap a photo with Katie and me (above). Despite the heat and humidity, a great time was had by all!

Windy City Green

Who: VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria, VN Distribution Manager Katie Donaldson, and former VN Editorial Assistant Extraordinaire Christine Petrozzo
What: Chicago Green Festival + related revelry
Where: Navy Pier, Chicago, Ill.
When: May 17–18, 2008
Why: Because we're greenies who like to eat

The Scoop: Next to the calm waters of Lake Michigan, the Windy City was recently taken by a green storm. After an opening ceremony hosted by Mayor Richard Daley, hundreds of exhibitors, dozens of A-list speakers, and thousands of attendees swarmed the festive premises of Navy Pier to celebrate the best and brightest of the green industry. From eco-friendly footwear to fair-trade chocolate there were plenty of opportunities to get swept up in the green tide. Is that enough eco/weather references for one post? Okay, we'll move on. The show hours were spent meeting new subscribers, checking out oodles of edibles, and getting the scoop on new organizations, products, and potential story leads. Suffice it to say that at the end of the day, there was nothing we wanted more than to kick back and relax over a leisurely dinner.

After successfully navigating the tourist-friendly El system, we arrived, ravenous, at The Chicago Diner. Immediately taken in by the diner-themed decor, we eagerly poured over their extensive menu, and nearly died from the excitement of vegan shakes and their famous Radical Reuben. Finally, the three of us settled on the Reuben, the Southwestern Chikin Burger, one order of Crab Cakes, a strawberry shake, a peanut butter shake, and a slice of Cookies and Cream cake. Does that all sound outrageously fantastic? Because it totally was. Phe-freakin'-nominal would also be an appropriate description. The dinner was so good, in fact, that even though we were slightly tempted to explore other eateries during our two-day stay, we unanimously decided to go back the next night for more Chicago-Diner goodness. If you're in the area, allow us to strongly recommend the potato skins, Super Gyros, and a side of the mac 'n' cheese. Oh yeah, the leftovers also made excellent in-flight snacks the next day.

If there's anything better than great food and a good cause, it's getting to share the weekend with friends. Below, see some of our favorite ice-cream makers, the men of Chicago Soy Dairy, who evidently didn't do too shabbily at their booth:

Living the VegNews Dream

Who: The whole VN team + la vegan-entrepreneur crème de la soy crème
What: Birthdays and bubbly by the pool
When: March 15, 2008
Where: Candy Cane Inn, Anaheim, Calif.
Why: Because we’ll take any excuse to celebrate two of our favorite VN ladies!

The Scoop: It’s a tough life we have, we VegNews peons: traveling extreme distances only to be taken to a poolside suite; then, after a night of being force-fed at Native Foods, getting dragged out of bed to sample hundreds of vegan treats and personal products—at one point, we were even commanded to bring some samples home with us. Talk about a hostile work environment!

Okay, so maybe it was a little more like the ultimate vegan fantasy, and a little less like arduous labor, but, after nine hours of boothing and sleuthing, our feet were seriously sore. And, because it was Jenny and Katie’s birthdays, we were not ready to call it a night. Enter our hero, VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, who brought us delicious Vietnamese take-out from the nearby and newly opened Thuyen Vien, a specially made, giant Native Foods chocolate birthday cake with vanilla frosting, and several pints of Maggie Mudd Tarmac and Memphis Mudd Pie vegan ice-cream. Joining in the festivities were longtime friends of VegNews, and standout entrepreneurs, Vegan Essentials husband and wife team Courtney Ernster and Ryan Wilson, as well as the always entertaining Chicago Soy Dairy gents—producers of the first "ice-cream" made in an all-vegan facility. Later on, after heartfelt card-giving and candle-blowing, we dipped our tired, happy bodies into the glowing hot tub, and popped some Champagne. It’s tough work, but hey, somebody’s gotta do it.

Expo(sé) West

Who: The whole VN team
What: Natural Products Expo West/Supply Expo 2008
Where: Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif.
When: March 14–16, 2008
Why: Big-time business

The Scoop: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have a private showing of the newest natural products held exclusively for you and 52,000 of your closest friends? That is precisely what the VN team found behind the double doors at the Anaheim Convention Center during Expo West. All the major producers of organic-type goodies (like soymilk/faux meat/organic fair-trade chocolate/organic home and body products) were there exhibiting their new product lines, new flavors, and new formulations. It was our solemn duty to test all the exciting new products and meet as many industry insiders as we possibly could during the three-day show. Suffice to say, we came, we met, we tested. We were lucky enough to have a booth adjoining that of Redwood Foods, the makers of Cheezly. All weekend long, they kept us supplied with hot, fresh pizza,  while the good people from Tofurky kept us sated with sandwiches for lunch every day. These may well have been what kept us sane with the intense over-stimulation of literally checking out thousands of booths. We also awarded 12 outstanding new products with highly coveted VegNews Magazine Best of Show awards. For a full list of the winners, be sure to check out the July+August 2008 issue of VN. If that wait is too long to bear, here’s a little inspiration: vegan frosting, vegan-owned companies, and stellar vegan skin care. It was a whirlwind trip, an almost-overwhelming show, and, all in all, a ton of fun.

Native Foods Night Out

Who: VN Staff
What: Kick-off dinner at Natural Products Expo West
Where: Native Foods in Costa Mesa
When: March 13, 2008
Why: Pass up an opportunity to hit Native Foods? We think not.

The Scoop: Every March, the VN clan hits Anaheim in full force for the world’s largest natural products show—three jam-packed days of schmoozing, product testing, and giving out copies of the magazine. To kick-off the weekend, we always hit one of our favorite vegan restaurants: Native Foods. With four locations (and a fifth coming soon), there's nothing quite like a meal at Native. It was a balmy March evening in Orange County, and our party dined al fresco around a large table complete with a fire pit in the middle. We started with Native’s signature appetizers: “Save the Chicken” Wings (housemade seitan deep-fried in a coconut batter with a side of Ranch dressing), Native Seasoned Fries, and Native Nachos (tortilla chips smothered with black beans, soy taco meat, salsa, guacamole, corn, and soy cheese). For the record, we could eat Native’s (un)chicken wings all day, every day. Having spent all afternoon traveling, we were absolutely famished and inhaled the appetizers. We then ordered individual entrées; everything from Katie’s Philly Peppersteak Sandwich (seasoned seitan with sautéed onions and peppers on an organic French roll) to Jenny’s Gandhi Bowl (Jasmine and brown rice loaded with steamed veggies, blackened tempeh, and a curry sauce) to Colleen’s Mad Cowboy (baked potato topped with barbecue tempeh, grilled vegetables, and Native’s famous Ranch dressing—affectionately named after former cattle-rancher-turned-vegan-activist Howard Lyman). We were all in veggie heaven eating this flavorful, innovative, delicious food. We couldn’t leave without dabbling in a few desserts: the Elephant Chocolate Cake (with cinnamon peanut butter icing), the Key Lime Parfait, and the Native Cheesecake. We were especially fortunate that Ms. Tanya Petrovna, founder of Native Foods, joined us for a while. She even had us taste-test her new coconut-battered oyster mushrooms (which were amazing). And VN has some exclusive scoop! One of our favorite veg boutiques, Humanitaire (located in a very stylish space next to Native Foods in Costa Mesa), is opening up location #2 in the rear of Native Food’s Westwood location. Nothing makes us happier than when veg businesses expand and multiply. Yeah!