Piraro-n-Pizza

Who: VN Editorial Director Aurelia d'Andrea + VN Editor at Large Jennifer Pickens

What: An evening of humor, enlivened by pizza and drinks

When: Thursday, September 11

Why: To support one of our favorite VN columnists

Where: The legendary Purple Onion nightclub in San Francisco's North Beach

The Scoop: It's no secret Jen and I have a thing for Dan Piraro, and see him every chance we get. And by "see," I mean semi-stalk, what with "random" rendezvous everywhere from Brooklyn to LA and back again in San Francisco. And by "semi-stalk," I mean in a totally harmless way. Really. Seriously, though, what's not to like about the guy? He's funny as all heck, smart as any ol' Mensa member, and just happens to be an animal-loving vegan, so we really had no choice but to head to the Purple Onion for a little dose of Dan's Bizarro Baloney Show.

Since our tickets were for the 10:00 show, we had to wait in line outside the club for the earlier show to end. While we braced ourselves against the usual wind and fog, we chatted with Kevin Connelly, the associate director of Earth Island Institute, who just happened to be in line next to us and whom we hadn't seen since this year's Genesis Awards. Before we knew it, it was time to head down into the warm, non-windy subterranean fun-hole for some much-needed ha-has.

Unbelievably, the show was not sold out. In fact, we practically had the place to ourselves, which was a bummer, since it was a benefit for Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, but it did make for a rather intimate comedy experience. The show opened with the very funny Brian Malow dishing up humor of the scientific variety. No, I don't remember any of his jokes, but I remember we all laughed a lot, and there's nothing like laughter for working up an appetite. Lucky for us, the kitchen was still open and the pizza oven was still on, so we ordered ourselves a very vegan Margherita pie and devoured it in no time flat, which was exactly how long it took for before Dan took the stage. Talk about comedic timing!

As usual, Dan made us laugh with his unique brand of humor that veers from themes as divergent as contemporary politics and teenage transvestitism (the latter subject a direct reference to Dan himself—go see his next show if you want to know what I'm talking about). And, as usual, we cajoled Dan into having his photo taken with us. Thanks, Dan!

Jen, Ashley, Dan, Jeff, and Aurelia

On our way out, we stopped by the very European-looking Cafe Zoetrope across the street from the Purple Onion and discovered they, too, have a vegan pizza pie on the menu. More on that in another post.

Hyperdrive Big Apple Weekend

Who: VN Editorial Director Aurelia d'Andrea + VN Senior Editor Jennifer Pickens

What: A whirlwind weekend in sunny NYC

Where: The Right Coast, baby!

When: July 11–14

Why: Because someone *aurelia*cough* had never visited the vegan epicenter of the universe that is NYC, and really needed to

The Scoop: New York City in the middle of summer? When it’s like, 98 degrees and 100-percent humidity? You bet! According to Aurelia and Jen’s logic, this is the magic time to visit the Big Apple, since half the city is in the Hamptons or at lake houses upstate or maybe just cooling down in their air-conditioned apartments. In other words, the city would be all ours. Well, sort of. But never mind that. Between social engagements, sightseeing jaunts, and stuffing our faces with amazing food, crowds were the least of our concerns.

After checking into our hotel on Day 1, the two of us meandered about the East Village, serendipitously stumbling upon veg restaurant after veg restaurant, including Kate’s Joint, Viva Herbal Pizzeria, and Lan Café. Wanting to hold out for the special meal we were to eat later that night, we skipped those guys in favor of a light snack at Whole Earth Bakery & Kitchen, where, in spite of all the vegan cheesecakes, cheeseless calzones, and egg-free quiches staring at us from behind the glass counter, Aurelia decided on a simple shot of wheatgrass juice and Jen opted for a cooling cup of gazpacho.

Later that night, we cabbed it up to 79th and Lexington for a memorable meal at elegant veg institution Candle 79. Benay Vyenerib, a friend of a good friend, works at Candle and went the extra mile to hook us up with the best table in the house. Hurray! After a glass of wine and shared appetizers that included the to-die-for stuffed squash blossoms, we moved on to our main courses: Seitan Piccata (Aurelia), and Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Cake (Jen). Let’s just say that it was so delicious and so filling that these two chocolate-and-peanut-butter-loving girls couldn’t even look at the words “Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss” on the menu. Ouch. But in a good way. During our meal, we had three surprise visitors to our table:  HSUS’s man about town Patrick Kwan, vegan marshmallow diva Sara Sohn of Sweet and Sara, and VN’s very own contributing photographer Danielle Ricciardi. Talk about a small world! The chance encounters gave us an excuse to make plans with Patrick for the following day. Our rendezvous destination? Chinatown.


from left: Benay Vyenerib, Aurelia d'Andrea, Danielle Ricciardi, and Jennifer Pickens

On Day 2, we woke early and grabbed our respective morning pick-me-up elixirs and made our way in a leisurely fashion to the southern tip of Chinatown for some dim sum with Patrick at his favorite local spot, Buddha Bodai. After slurping cups of green tea and feasting on turnip cakes, tofu-skin rolls, steamed buns and other assorted goodies, we wiggled around the neighborhood, making stops at Animal Haven and May Wah Vegetarian Food before hopping on the L train toward Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And oh what fun we were about to have! Just so happens that Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary was throwing a tag sale that day, and if there’s one thing we love, it’s a tag sale to benefit animals. There we bumped into Mr. and Mrs. Hotstuff, Dan Piraro and Ashley Lou Smith—definitely two of the nicest folks we've ever met. We also ran into new friend Cat Clyne, formerly of Satya magazine, and the lovely Jenny Brown, who heads up the Woodstock Sanctuary. Oh, wait! We also met former VN Vegan Wedding couple Tom O’Hagan and Sara Kubersky of Mooshoes, along with their super-cute baby boy. Phew!

Lest your eyeballs begin to shrivel like two organic raisins, phase two of our Brooklyn/Manhattan sojourn to follow in another post.

Sun-drenched Venice Beach Brunch

Who: The VN gang, superstar chef/writer Moira Nordholt, and SoCal friends of VegNews
What: Our annual post-Genesis Awards brunch
Where: Moira and Ron's Venice Beach bungalow
When: March 30, 2008
Why: To socialize and make merry over a lovingly prepared vegan feast

The Scoop: There's nothing quite as fabulous as a gathering of friends on a lazy Sunday, taking in the sunshine on a verdant backyard patio while chatting away over coffee and mimosas, fresh-baked scones, warm spanakopita, and cool salads. What could be better? Throw in some homemade chocolate truffles and a gentle sea breeze, and you've got a pretty good idea of the cozy camaraderie we all experienced at the annual Sunday brunch at Ron and Moira's seaside abode.

Between bites of pancakes topped with warm cherry compote and forkfulls of spicy tofu stirfry, the VN staff learned about raw food chef/entrepreneur Ani Phyo's recent trip to Baja, listened in awe as Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's pioneering leader Paul Watson shared his tale of bullet dodging on the high seas, talked farmed animal rescue with Animal Acres founder Lorri Bauston, and swapped travel tales with the beautiful-inside-and-out Ashley Lou Smith and her funnier-than-heck hubby Dan Piraro (who we were all amazed to see up and walking after his death-defying dance-floor moves the night before). And then we helped ourselves to thirds and fourths.

It's a tough job being a VN editor, but somebody's got to do it.

Fun(ny) Times

Who: VN Senior Editor Jen Pickens + Managing Editor Aurelia d’Andrea
What: A night of comedy with one of our favorite columnists
Where: The Purple Onion, San Francisco, Calif.
When: February 22, 2008
Why: For fun. Lots of it!

The Scoop: When we heard that VN columnist and world-renowned cartoonist Dan Piraro would be performing stand-up comedy right here in VN’s hometown, and that proceeds from the show would benefit animals at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, Jen and Aurelia didn’t hesitate to procure tickets to the first of two sold-out performances. After scoring rock-star parking right in front of the legendary Purple Onion nightclub’s door, we stopped to chat with the signature gatherers working for humanecalifornia.org, then moseyed downstairs to get our giggles on. Inside the club, we spied Sun Flour Baking Company’s founder, Rey Ortega, who bought us thirsty girls a drink, then settled in for a night of fake-guitar playin’, high-school-photo showin’, hate-mail readin’ hilarity courtesy of a very dapper Dan. Opening act Johnny Steele wasn’t bad, either.

New York, New York!

Who: VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria
What: Dinner on the town
Where: Candle 79, New York City
When: February 8, 2008
Why: Fun!

The Scoop: Probably the most amazing dinner I've ever eaten. Correction: probably the most amazing dinner anyone has ever eaten. This evening was an absolutely perfect storm of setting, company, and cuisine. Candle 79's classy, dimly lit interior made an elegant space for our group. VN columnist and professional funny guy Dan Piraro and Ashley Lou Smith, Ben Adams and his awesome wife Anne-Taylor, yours truly, my permanent date T.J. Kirkpatrick, and the amazing playwright Bekah Brunstetter shared a meal that should be noted in the history of great meals. It started with grilled seitan chimichurris and quickly became an all-out smorgasbord of young coconut pad thai, pumpkin seed and sage crusted tempeh, the chef's special pasta of gorgeous gnocchi in a tomato and cashew cream sauce, and, of course, the seitan piccata. Everything that went into our mouths was incredible, and if there weren't photos to prove it, I might not be able to believe that such a lovely evening took place.