Do it: Vegan at Bumbershoot 2012 Seattle

Hello art and music loving friends. As you know, this weekend is not only the last big hurrah of the summer and the national holiday recognizing the economic and social contributions of workers. Oh no. That is not all. It is time for Seattle’s own three-day, music and art extravaganza known as Bumbershoot. This festival has changed for the better and for the worse over the past 40 some odd years and these past few years it has been super mega awesome (remember Vegan Black Metal Chef last year?)  Smaller with more interesting acts, tons of comedy, great speakers, and the better food than the Bite of Seattle (by far), Bumbershoot is a steal of deal for 3 days of pure festival fun. Yes, pure festival fun. And you don’t have to leave your values at the gates.

READ ME: this is very important. Most of the information below was provided by the food vendors to the Bumbershoot crew (Thanks One Reel!). I didn’t personally speak with the food vendors, review their ingredient lists, or investigate the accuracy of their list of vegan options. So you know the drill: Please ask, and ask again.* Your safest bet will be to eat at Plumb, which just opened today (in the newly revamped Seattle Center Armory), since it is 100% vegan and verifiably delicious. Here are some other ideas: (Download .PDF version).

Vegan Options at Food Stands Around the Bumbershoot Grounds:

99 Potatoes (American) - Mural Roadway E
Veggie burger, Ginger maté limeade made with organic vegan fair-trade sugar, Freshly-cut curly fries, Freshly-cut sweet potato fries. Follow on twitter at @99_Potatoes.

Athena’s (Greek) - Fisher Rooftop
Field roast vegan gyro. YUM. (Hold the feta and yogurt garlic sauce). Follow on twitter at @Eatwiththegods.

Bahn Thai (Thai) - Mural Roadway E
They did not specify which items were vegan, just that they would have some. Last year they had great Vegan Pad Thai and knew what vegan was when I asked if it had egg or fish sauce. Yay!

Bambuza Vietnam Bistro (Vietnamese) - Mural Roadway
Soba Noodles with garden vegetables.

Ben & Jerry's (Dessert) - Key Roadway
Blueberry/raspberry swirl sorbet and mango sorbet. Follow on twitter at @benandjerrys.

Big City Burritos (Mexican) - Fisher Rooftop
Veggie burritos (hold the cheese and sour cream).

Corn Roasters (American) -Mural Roadway E
Roasted corn. Hold the butter.

Kaleenka (Russian) Mural Roadway E
Green Cossack, potatoes with dill sauce. (Really, really check on this one, I don't even know what is in dill sauce generally, but it sounds like it could be dairy-ish to me. Check. Check.)

La Jitana (Mediterranean) Bagley Roadway and Harrison St
Falafel, Tabouli, Hummus, and Stuffed Grape leaves (dolmas).

Mighty-O Donuts (Dessert) - Fisher Rooftop
Organic mini cinnamon sugar donuts. Follow on twitter @mightyodonuts.

Pho Cyclo Café (Asian) - Harrison St
Tofu spring rolls with peanut sauce, tofu Vietnamese sandwich (Banh Mi),  fried banana with coconut milk.

Thai Heaven (Thai) - Key Roadway
Veggie Pad Thai. I’d make sure there is no egg.

Vegan Options at The Armory (Center House totally re-done!):

Big Food (American) - The Armory
Side Salad (pineapple, cucumber, jicama, red pepper and mango with mixed greens, tossed in a tamarind vinaigrette).

Kabab (Mediterranean) - The Armory
Vegetarian Falafel Plate; Vegetarian Special Plate; Falafel Sandwich; Lentil Soup, Tabouli, Baba Ganouj and Dolmas.

MOD Pizza (Italian American) - The Armory
Standard salad. Ask about their pizza crust. Follow or ask on twitter @modpizza.

Bean Sprouts (Kid food) - The Armory
Pasta with marinara, Mediterranean veggie and hummus wrap, soup, snacks.

Plumb Market (Caribbean American Latin) – The Armory
EVERYTHING IS VEGAN – They just opened today (Friday) so give ‘em a bit of a break too.
 

POP Gourmet Popcorn (Snack) - The Armory
Obvious flavors like Salt and Vinegar, Dill Pickle, and Mumbai Delight. Ask at the counter to make sure there is no butter or honey.



Other Vegan Related Stuff:
Along with tons of t-shirts, jewelry, and art, the Indie Market has Big Skinny Wallets. If Bliss of Blissful Wonders brings his vegan line again, there will be the WORLDS BEST vegan truffles there too. Last year they were on the bottom shelf. And last year I got these rad socks that say TOFU from the Sock Monster booth. Hopefully they still have them.

OK, that is a ton. Trust me. Seattle rules at this type of stuff. And with more people putting their $ where their values are and opting out of animal exploitation on a daily basis, my guess is that vegan options will continue to grow and grow and grow (wee hoo!). I am headed to Bumbershoot again for sure this year, so if I learn anything new, I'll update this post and share on twitter. Please add anything you learn below too!

(Download .PDF version).


*I honestly fully intended to do a more official list, with some background and conversation with the food vendors, but alas, the list wasn’t available until I was on vacation. I just returned this very morning (yes, at 6:30 am!). Next year I promise not to go on vacation right before Bumbershoot and provide a more accurate and thorough list. Promises, promises.

Open Your Vegan Pie Hole Seattle

This is only the second post on vegan pies that I have ever written - and I think this is a sweets travesty. Everyone knows that the dessert trend turned toward pies in early 2011. I would think vegan pies would be falling out of the sky by now.

Thankfully I ignored the menu on High 5 Pie's website that didn't list a single vegan morsel and instead followed the guidance of Seattle's in-the-know vegan tweeters. Turns out High 5 Pie has not just one, but two mini vegan pie options: apple and cherry! And for you pie haters out there, they also have vegan banana bread.

Should the mood strike, get some some pie for breakfast. Or on Saturday night, let the sweet atmosphere of High 5 draw you in since they are open until 10 pm. I got my mini apple pie to go, but I didn't want to leave the light bright cafe.

The #2 and #12 buses drop you off right at the intersection.

High 5 Pie
www.high5pie.com
1400 12th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98102
Tel: 206-695-2284
Twitter: @high5pie
Hours: Mon-Thur 7am-7pm, Fri 7am-10pm, Sat 8am-10pm, Sun 8am-7pm

Gettin' Real: Keep Circus Cruelty Out of the NW

Here is the thing, sometimes I talk about vegan food, sometimes I talk about vegan parties, often I profile vegan people in our town, and occasionally I talk about doing a little more for animals. Today I am going to make a case for doing something really specific this month. Don't run away! Stay with me for just a few paragraphs.

Humans have a great capacity for compassion and for cruelty - but most people, when given all of the information, opt for compassion. Circuses that use living animals as entertainment are some of cruelest behind the scenes while wooing families with the prospect of happy dancing elephants and tigers jumping through hoops. Most people who attend the circus never imagine the horrors that go on for the sake of breaking these wild creatures. They don't know that there are real individuals that suffer in these horrific, surreal traveling prisons - beaten to conform, forced to perform, chained and caged for most of their lives.

Many nations (Ireland, India, Sweden, Singapore, Austria, Finland, Costa Rica, and more) around the world have already banned animal circuses - as have many major cities, including our very own Redmond, WA. (WOO HOO!) But alas, Ringling Bros. Circus is coming to Everett, Tacoma, and Kent this month. And thousands of unassuming patrons will be dolling out dollars to one of the worst animal abusers.

Don't like that idea? Does it make your stomach hurt to think that just a few miles from where we live, eat, and enjoy life that elephants will be beaten with bull-hooks and shocked with electric prods, tigers and lions will be hit with sticks, bears will be poked and prodded with long poles all for entertainment?  Does it make your heart ache like it does mine?

Then now is a perfect time to be brave and make a stand for what you think is right. It is a great time to speak out and share what you know about circus cruelty with those who might not know. But you don't have to think of what to do all on your own! I've made a handy dandy list of things in order of easiest to most difficult. But of course, you don't have to pick just one:

1. LINKY: Post a link to information about why circuses are cruel (see below for a list) on Facebook or Twitter or via email and beg your friends and family not to support them.
2. VISUAL: Post a photo or video (like the one above) that shows the reality behind the scenes. This is a little harder, but people aren't cruel and if they see what happens to baby elephants as their will is broken to be performers, trust me, they will avoid the circus.
3. LAWLIKE: If you live in Kent, Tacoma, and Everett write some letters to your city council. If you live anywhere in the NW, write a letter to your state legislative rep asking them to propose a state-wide ban. (Find your WA State legislator). 
4. MEDIA: Write a letter to the editor of any and all papers in Kent, Tacoma, and Everett about why people should stay away from the circus. (Here is an example letter).
5. VOICE: This is the best thing: share what you know with others, and come out and protest Ringling's cruelty, stand up for the animals that will be in our back yard. Don't stay home. When you are with others who care, and when you see what a difference just speaking out can do, you'll be proud. For each city that bans circuses, for every family that ops not to buy a ticket, these animals and their future offspring get closer to sanctuaries. The money for the exotic animal trade dries up. This process of saying "no" to circuses and telling potential circus goers about the reality behind the myth is the only way to make it stop. {Kent Protest Info} {Tacoma Protest Info} {Everett Protest Info}

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” ― Elie Wiesel

These animals suffer silently. I hope that soon we'll be adding Washington to the list of places that reject the cruelty of animal circuses. Until then, please use your voice to speak out for compassion. Yeah? OK. Cool. 

List of sites to read and share:
http://www.paws.org/circus-cruelty.html
http://www.animalcircuses.com/
http://www.circuses.com
http://www.ringlingbeatsanimals.com
http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/circus-cruelty/
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/a1a_circus.php

Blazing Bagels: A Friend to Us Vegans

The Seattle area is very bagel-friendly. Our town is also vegan-friendly. Turns out that local Blazing Bagels is making sure they have some cruelty-free fare for us folks trying to eat while not hurting animals. Seattle and on the Eastside.  Friendly indeed!

Lots of places* have vegan schmear, so no surprise that Blazing has a vegan option. I think they used to use Tofutti, but have recently switched to something else that tastes much more healthy - if you know what I mean. It may be even house-made. I'll ask next time I am in there. (I'm addicted to their dark rye bagel and have been partaking every Wednesday morning, so it won't be long).

[thanks to Institute for Justice Washington Chapter for this photo of  owner Dennis]

Blazing Bagels also has vegan margarine for those of you crazy enough to prefer that over a vegan cream cheese analog (nuts!).  And of course they have the (ever pervasive) hummus for sandwiches.

But that's not all: they now offer VEGAN HOT DOGS for their famous bagel dogs. They recently also added an all-vegan sandwich called the Jenny Jampolsky that has a vegan burger patty, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, oil, vinegar, and their tofu vegan cream cheese.

Did I mention that they have really good pickles too. Go get some: 

• Redmond: 6975 176th Ave. NE Suite 365
• Bellevue: 555 108th Ave NE Suite C
• Seattle: SAFECO Field: 1250 1st Ave S F04A (go before a M's game)

If you work in either Seattle or downtown Bellevue they are a very solid option for catering lunch or breakfast for meetings. Seriously. Everyone will be happy. Thanks Blazing Bagels for making a boring breakfast food more interesting, more delicious, and more vegan friendly than ever.

* OK, maybe "lots" is an over statement. You can get vegan schmear at Madison Market (where they serve my favorite kettle-boiled Seattle Bagel Bakery), Porchlight Cafe and Records (best cafe in Seattle), Noah's Bagels (yes, there are still a few in Seattle), and I am sure a few other places.