Back in 2007 we were worried that Whole Earth Vegan Bakery on St. Marks was facing eviction, but the East Village landmark survived, for almost another six years at least. We were bummed to just read the following on EV Grieve:

Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, which had been at 130 St. Mark's Place since 1991 (34 years in business total), closed for good on Dec. 29, as we first reported.

Aside from rising rents, business had been down... and, of course, Sandy didn't help matters.

Yesterday, a worker at the store told Bill the libertarian anarchist that the space will become an Italian restaurant.

Oh, but speaking of Italian restaurants and East Village vegan establishments, I highly recommend you check out the vegan menu at John's on East 12th Street! (right next door to Angelica Kitchen which is also a great place to go.)

Now vegetarians, sick of the same old Tofurkey, can be food perverts on Thanksgiving too. Watch and learn how to make a Veggieducken below...

Continue reading "Move over Tofurky, welcome the Veggieducken"

Speaking of the Beatles, Paul McCartney appears in the new Peta ad you see above. Peta in turn has published a list of alternative Thanksgiving recipes.

In an interview with Herald Sun (via FACT), Morrissey claims that Coachella offered to go "100% vegetarian" if he would reunite with Johnny Marr and headline the festival as The Smiths:

At Coachella a few years you complained about the waft of burning flesh from a nearby barbeque. Has that been a problem since at outdoor shows?

Not at all, and interestingly the agents for Coachella offered a 100-per-cent vegetarian event for the following year if I would agree to headline with Johnny Marr as the Smiths. Fascinatingly they made it clear that they would 'not require' the Smiths' bass player or drummer ... which I thought certainly said something.

Superfly presents the Great GoogaMooga this weekend (5/19-5/20) in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. As can you can see by the posted schedule, live music will be happening on two stages concurrently with food demonstrations, comedy and other entertainment while food is being served all around. Don't have one of the free tickets, and aren't planning on buying one either? Probably best to not show up then. At least that's what festival co-founder Kerry Black of Superfly told us in the interview that you can read in full below...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Great GoogaMooga co-founder Kerry Black (about this weekend's fest in Prospect Park)"

I told you I didn't make it there very often anymore. Thanks PP for sending in the above, but extremely sad picture which first fully brought to my attention the current state of legendary NYC vegetarian restaurant Kate's Joint which was apparently seized by the marshal about 10 days ago (the exact day I was last asking about it actually), after a multi-month, unsuccessful struggle to make things work. R.I.P. Kate's

(let's not let Cake Shop be next!)

Admittedly I don't go there very often anymore (and partially because the service can be sooooooo slow), but I have eaten there many times in my life, and so I'm sad to hear that East Village vegan institution/diner Kate's Joint is in danger of closing! (though it's not that surprising given that everywhere cool closes eventually in the new East Village).

Luckily there's a campaign running to Save Kate's. They write:

Kate's Joint, vegetarian restaurant and bar, has been a staple in New York City's East Village since 1996. Solely owned and operated by neighborhood native Kate Halpern, who dreamt to create an affordable restaurant to serve the community she grew up in. Kate's Joint has grown to become much more than just a business, it is a home for locals and travelers a like, a place to bring family and friends, and to meet new ones.

Unfortunately, with the changing neighborhood and economic recession Kate's Joint has seen a fall in business and rise in costs. Kate is currently in arrears with the landlord. Eviction notices have been sent, court appearances have been made, and if a substantial amount of money is not raised by April 11th, the next court date, the doors will shut permanently at Kate's Joint. The East Village will lose another neighborhood landmark.

Anyone who has ever met Kate knows how hard she has worked over the past 15 years, and how dedicated she is to this business. She has many plans to increase business, including transforming a section of the restaurant in to a bakery featuring vegan and gluten free baked goods, reaching a new market of morning commuters who would be able to grab a cup of coffee and a vegan muffin on their way to work. That being said, first thing is first, fighting off this eviction!

Please help save Kate's Joint, a little bit of the East Village preserved on the corner of 4th Street and Avenue B.

Every once in a whle I post about food. This is the best thing to happen in the vegan dessert industry since the peanut butter bomb. You can eat it while streaming new albums by Laura Marling, Lykke Li, The Walkmen and Death Vessel (that last sentence was an attempt at bringin' it back to music in the end).

Dance on Saturday. Eat your veggies on Sunday!

info HERE