Crazy-Busy Weekend

Who: VN Editorial Director Aurelia d'Andrea

What: A very social San Francisco weekend

When: January 15, 16, + 17

Where: All over SF

Why: For fun, of course!

The Scoop: Is it just me, or does your social calendar have an ebb and flow whereby some weekends are completely devoid of activity, and others are booked solid from dawn 'til dusk (and often much, much later)? Well, I experienced one of those those jam-packed spells last weekend, beginning on Thursday night at the Paul Mahder Gallery.

This sweet little art space over in the semi chi-chi section of Presidio Heights hosts regular openings for local artists, and Mr. Mahder and his guests are always as friendly as can be, the wine is forever flowing, and the art is predictably stellar. And did I mention there are nearly always veg nibbles? This evening's reception was for Russian artist Elena Zolotnitsky, whose paintings are colorful, beautiful, and just a tad too expensive for my budget. So what's a frugal art-loving girl to do? Browse and admire while munching fresh veggies and hummus and sipping sparkling wine. My favorite painting was titled "Renaissance Boy," and even if I can't afford to take him home with me, I know I can at least visit him until the end of February.

 

The veg couscous at Café Zitouna. Ahhh, memories ....

Friday night's outing was slightly more festive, beginning with dinner at Café Zitouna, on the corner of Sutter and Polk in the lovely TenderNob 'hood. I first tried this place back in May, and loved it immediately. It might have been because it was here that I broke a weeklong fast with a giant bowl of heavenly harira—a thick, chickpea-and-lentil soup served with a lemon wedge and chewy baguette—or it might have been that it reminded me of Paris, what with fellow diners chattering away in French and Arabic. Whatever it was, it's lured me back several times now, and on this night, in addition to a bowl of harira, I ordered the couscous off their veg-friendly menu. Yum! Perfectly steamed semolina was served with lightly spiced vegetables including carrot, turnip, and zucchini. When you add a dollop of the house-made harissa sauce, it's yum squared. The service is friendly, too. 

Next stop: The Bigfoot Lodge, also on Polk Street. Sound scary? Actually, it sort of was. The idea was to meet up with friends for a fun evening of socializing in a new environment—none of us had been here before—and I was stoked when I arrived and discovered that our contingent, which included VN Editor-at-Large Jennifer Pickens, had snared a cozy booth in the back, over by the faux fireplace and conveniently positioned within hopping distance to the toilettes. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the place was packed to the gills with frat boys and sorority girls getting their Friday night drink on, and what's the fun in hanging out if you can't even hear your friends speak?

Saturday's festivities proved much mellower, but still plenty funtastic. VN Associate Publisher Colleen Holland and I had been invited to a magazine party at Ferry Plaza, and while normally we wouldn't be interested in a soirée centered around cheese—we are vegan, after all—we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see how another magazine throws its party, and we were curious to see if they might have any dairy-free cheeses on offer. They didn't. But there was plenty of wine, bread, and crackers to be had, and the view over the Bay almost made it worth enduring the stinky cheese smell for an hour or two.

Colleen Holland, Aurelia d'Andrea, and Marsha Rose say "vegan cheese" for the camera

Next stop: A spot of comedy and a new dining adventure in the heart of the Tenderloin ...

Holiday for Hanging

Who: VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria
What: An auspicious art opening
Where: M. Coffee, Half Moon Bay, Calif.
When: January 8, 2009
Why: Art for heart's sake

The Scoop: Sometimes, you just happen to be related to someone who has what people like to call "talent." When this person happens to be your sister, and she happens to have an art opening at your hometown coffee shop where you happen to have spent innumerable weekends together—her working, you taking advantage of her incredible soymilk-frothing abilities—it's pretty imperative that you attend. Oh, and you know that since the artist of the evening shares the same mother you do, there will be no shortage of delicious vegan food.

The evening got going around 6pm, after-hours at M. Coffee, where Sheila—aka the artist—used to work. As predicted, the first thing I saw when I walked in the door was a huge table of food, and then my super-effing-cute sister, flocked with admirers. Since one of Sheila's all-time favorite foods is olive spread, my mom whipped up about eight gallons of it, which I eagerly tucked into with sliced bell peppers and La Panzanella Rosemary crackers. Also on the menu were a couple ginormous trays of roasted vegetables, my mom's signature carrot cake—a traditionally vegan cake recipe, and with a little non-dairy cream cheese, voilá, cream-cheese-frosted carrot cake—and a few bottles of wine.

Sheila's art was mostly compiled from class assignments, and there was a distinct heart theme going on. In addition to red being her favorite color—hence the crimson mounting—she herself has a finnicky ticker that likes to act up on her every once in a while. One day, it started racing a bit and put her out of commission for the afternoon, so the next day she did what any reasonable artist would do: create something awesome. See above for the results.

A few of the pieces sold, all of the wine was drunk, and about an eighth of the food was eaten. It was a well-deserved evening of fun for one super-fantastic sister. Oh, and did I mention that she's just about the cutest thing on the entire planet? Yeah, she is. See below for proof. As art openings go, I think it's safe to say in the words of Rilo Kiley (the band that reigned as Sheila's go-to music on hectic Saturday mornings of latte-making), it's a hit.

Portrait of the artist (left) and her sister

East Bay Sunday

Who: VN Managing Editor Aurelia d'Andrea + her partner in crime, Jeff Rogers
What: An East Bay food-and-art excursion
When: Sunday, May 18
Where: Berkeley
Why: Because we're always hungry for food and anything art-related

The Scoop: After listening to countless friends and colleagues rave about the food at downtown Oakland's newest veg chowhouse, Souley Vegan, I couldn't wait for a free weekend to head east and into new restaurant territory. That empty Sunday finally arrived, and all week leading up to the day, visions of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and barbecue tofu danced in my head. Man, was this going to be good. So, Sunday morning, Jeff and I skip breakfast to ensure there's plenty of room for all the stick-to-your-ribs fare we'd soon be indulging in. Before heading out the door, I gave a quick call over to Souley Vegan to make sure they were, in fact, open on Sundays. Guess what? They're not. After a brief episode of complete devastation, we moved on to Plan B.

Rather than allowing ourselves to get sucked into the heavenly Indian-food vortex at Berkeley insititution Viks like we always do, we stuck with the new-dining-experience theme and decided to give Ital Kalabash a try. This cute little veg restaurant (pictured above) in Berkeley serves Jamaican sandwiches, salads, and smoothies, plus sides like fried sweet plaintains and tostones. Yum-ola.

We each ordered a jerk sandwich with the works; Jeff got the "fish," and I the "chicken," and we devoured those in exactly two bites, washing it down with a shared glass of Ital Kalabash's icy, homemade ginger beer. We were dying to try the tostones (savory fried plaintains), but another sad note to the day was that they were fresh out of those. We were steered toward the fried plaintains instead, and again, those took all of three seconds to consume. We decided we liked the vibe of this place, but wouldn't have complained one bit if the portions were just a wee bit larger.

We'd have stayed and ordered seconds, but the clock was ticking and we needed to get to the Berkeley Art Museum to catch artist Sunaura Taylor speak as part of the MFA graduate student exhibition. Sunaura, who just completed her MFA at UC Berkeley, is a profound painter whose latest works feature sad subject matter: factory-farmed animals. The chickens, veal calves, pigs, and other beings made real on her canvasses were created with a gentle touch and sensitivity that is palpable; I got especially teary-eyed over the calves, and other museum-goers were clearly moved by Sunaura's work as well. After the artists gave their individual presentations, I had a chance to speak with Sunaura (that's her below, next to one of her larger paintings), and learned she's recently gone vegan after growing up veg. Hurray! We'll be featuring more on her in an upcoming issue of VegNews. Keep your eyes peeled.

After our art fix, we had to dash back to San Francisco since we had another veg-related engagement to attend. That one involved a bio-diesel bus, lots of wine, sweets, and interesting people. More on that later!