Break Bread at Bunna Ethiopian Cafe (+ Pine Box Rock Shop!)

I meant tear bread but it doesn’t have the same ring, does it?

Bunna Cafe is about a tradition of sharing. They say that “Meals are shared, coffee is shared, homes are shared. It is a source of pride and honor to be able to give what you have to those that do not. Bunna Cafe supports people and organizations that engage in the art of sharing for the betterment of those in need — be it in Ethiopia or elsewhere.”

Bunna specializes in the vegan food, coffee, tea and alcohol of Ethiopia. Their food is delicious. The rolled bread – injera – that you see in the photo – fantastic! The wats (stews) are composed of different lentils, beans and vegetables all seasoned with heady aromatics. A recent dinner I had there included a summertime kale/avocado salad with a unique Ethiopian twist.

If we’re thus inclined we can then head over to Pine Box Rock Shop, NYC’s only vegan bar which is just a few blocks from Bunna. It’s seriously fun! As the name implies, Pine Box used to be a casket making facility. The Rock Shop is because events are planned in the back room space, usually bands.

All things Bunna can be found here: http://bunnaethiopia.net/bunna/index.php

All things Ethiopia can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia

All things Pine Box Rock Shop are here: http://www.pineboxrockshop.com

Take the L train to Morgan Avenue. It’s about a 10 minute walk from there through the TriBeCa of Brooklyn.

Thanksgiving in Yonkers!

We aren’t eating birds on Thanksgiving. Once again, we’re gathering at Abdullah’s fabulous apartment in Yonkers for fantastic holiday vegan fare. We can truly be thankful that no one was harmed for our meal.

What am I thankful for? I am thankful for ever evolving consciousness. I am thankful for the many friendships that I’ve made and that you have all made through VegOut. Most of all I’m thankful for turkeys and grateful for how they enrich our world. Their absence during this holiday season is my wish for them and you.

The Details:

Please bring a vegan dish (no meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or honey) or drink to share.

Please take your rsvp seriously. This is Thanksgiving. We can accommodate 12 people. You will be reminded a few days ahead to update your rsvp if you can’t make it so that someone else can.

Viva Vegan Mexicana at Black Flamingo!

Let’s get together the day before Halloween for some seriously good food at Black Flamingo in Williamsburg. I recently stopped in with VegOut’s Aaron and enjoyed their flautas (upper left corner) and immediately fell in love with food, staff, music and ambience. Aaron ordered the burrito and it was well-received by him. Black Flamingo gets it right on all counts.
New York Magazine says: “Here’s a new one: “midlife millennial.” That’s who Bryce David and his partners had in mind when they opened this bar and dance club, a spot for grown-ups who still want to rage but feel too old for the hangarsize dance bars like Output and Verboten. Upstairs, revelers can chitchat at the Miami-inspired bar: Palm leaves brush up against redbrick walls, and a vegetarian bar menu offers miso-tofu tacos alongside simple cocktails like a $12 ginger caipirinha. Once the drinks take hold, folks can head downstairs to the 70-capacity dance cave, where DJs keep everyone moving with discoinflected house music inspired by the days of the Loft and Paradise Garage.”
Yup, it’s a nightclub, too! There isn’t anything planned for the evening we’re there so the atmosphere will be mellow.
Who’s in for healthy vegan Mexican food at Black Flamingo?

Greedi Vegan!

Spicy Bowl! Small but beautiful counter eating in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Delightful staff and decor!

Those are vegan crab cakes (Gardein), spicy chickpeas, summer squash and fermented cabbage carrot slaw over brown rice. Just your basic good for you yumminess with just a teensy bit of fried to the side.

Abyssinia Restaurant – Terrific Ethiopian cuisine!

Abyssinia Restaurant is the Ethiopian restaurant in Manhattan.

This is communal dining at it’s best. We won’t be breaking bread – we’ll be tearing it and using the bread for scooping up the delectable stews and salads. This food is delicious, light and extraordinary.

What about the lack of utensils? YOU have utensils – the best possible – your fingers. The injera is made from teff flour, the smallest grain out there. It’s super nutritious and protein packed. Let’s let Wikipedia do what they do best: “In making injera, teff flour is mixed with water and allowed to ferment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation_(food)) for several days, as with sourdough (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough) starter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_starter). As a result of this process, injera has a mildly sour taste. The injera is then ready to be baked (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking) into large, flat pancakes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake). This is done either on a specialized electric stove or, more commonly, on a clay plate (Amharic mittad, Tigrinya mogogo) placed over a fire. Unusual for a yeast or sourdough bread, the dough has sufficient liquidity to be poured onto the baking surface, rather than rolled out. In terms of shape, injera compares to the French crêpe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%AApe) and the Indian dosa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosa) as a flatbread (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatbread) cooked in a circle and used as a base for other foods. The taste and texture, however, are unlike the crêpe and dosa, and more similar to the South Indian appam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appam). The bottom surface of the injera, which touches the heating surface, will have a relatively smooth texture, while the top will become porous. This porous structure allows the injera to be a good bread to scoop up sauces and dishes.”

Ok, enough! Let’s eat.

https://abyssinianyc.com

Our Plan:

Meet at Abyssinia Restaurant at 6pm.

Accessibility:

The restaurant is accessible.

Consult mta.info TripPlanner for accessible options to the restaurant. Closest elevator station is at 125th Street.

Subway: 2, 3, C, B, to 135th St

Bus: M2, M3, M10, BX33

Labor Day Walk Through Four Parks You’ve Never Heard Of!

We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a mild holiday Monday as we visit the most interesting parks in the South Bronx. We’re going to see/explore:
Soundview Park (205 acres)
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/soundview-park
Concrete Plant Park (7 acres)
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/concrete-plant-park
Starlight Park (13 acres)
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/starlight-park
Barretto Point Park (11 acres)
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/barretto-point-park
The parks will be great for people watching! (and bird watching)
Some highlights will be:
1. a large boulder transported to the South Bronx by a glacier about 10,000 years ago. Repeat: 10,000 years ago!
2. the only river in NYC that changes from saltwater to fresh water.
3. fingers crossed – Ospreys (those wingspans)! And many more birds.
4. a salt marsh in NYC
5. salt marsh cordgrass – a true life saver. We’ll learn why.
6. a former concrete mixing plant turned into a landscaped artwork
7. one of several billion oyster project restoration sites
8. greenest building in the South Bronx – Bronx River House
9. site of the greatest maritime disaster in NYC history
10. an amphitheater with views to Manhattan and the nearby islands.
11. the largest food distribution center in the country. It won’t be open on a Federal holiday but the sheer enormity is staggering.
12. Yes, we’re dialing it up to 12 – the views!
We’ll learn about what the Bronx River Alliance is doing to ensure the health and sustainability of the aquatic environment and adjacent land as well.
Our Plan:
Bring a bag lunch.
Be prepared to walk. There will be one short subway ride on our itinerary.
10:30am – We meet at the East 34th Street ferry terminal which is technically between East 35th and East 36th Streets just off the FDR drive. I can not find out right now whether the ferry is operating on a M-F schedule or weekend schedule for this day. I will update this page accordingly. We’ll either be on a 10:48am or 10:57am boat depending. It’s a nice half hour ride to Soundview.
https://www.ferry.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SV_Web-Schedule.pdf
We will enter Soundview Park through the salt marsh and explore everything this amazing acreage has to offer.
Approx. 20 minute walk to Concrete Plant Park.
Approx. 10 minute walk to Starlight Park.
Approx. 10 minute walk to Whitlock Avenue 6 train stop.
Approx. 25 minute walk to Barretto Point from Longwood Avenue stop.
Plus the walking in the parks – so wear comfortable shoes!
I hope you’re concluding that the Bronx is the most park friendly borough.
All parks but Concrete Plant have bathrooms.
More about three of our four parks can be found here:
https://vegoutnycorg.wordpress.com/2016/11/03/three-nyc-parks-youve-never-heard-of/

Let’s Talk About Vystopia!

Vystopia – the anguish of being vegan in a non-vegan world.
Vystopia is a noun defined as:
1. Existential crisis experienced by vegans, arising out of an awareness of the trance-like collusion with a dystopian world.
2. Awareness of the greed, ubiquitous animal exploitation, and speciesism in a modern dystopia.
I recently had the good fortune to meet Clare Mann, a vegan psychologist, who coined this term Vystopia. Demetrius Bagley – Vegan Extraordinaire! – introduced us over breakfast. Clare was stopping over in NYC after giving three presentations at the Animal Rights Conference. Clare is onto something big time and has formulated her thesis into a remarkable and compassionate book. She has empathy for the vegan as well as the non-vegan. Most of us have been the non-vegan, right?
We’re getting together to have a conversation about our experiences with Vystopia. We’re going to be giving this one more overlay – the lens with which we experience veganism as LGBTQIAs. Yeah. You’re already marginalized and now you’re even further pushed to the margins by being vegan. Good times.
But let’s not despair! There’s hope!
We’re going to take an in-depth look at this topic through our eyes as LGBTQIAers.
It is not necessary to buy the book to attend but supporting Clare’s work would be a wonderful token of gratitude for her effort to define Vystopia and put it out into the world. Hopefully you will be inspired to purchase this useful guide after our MeetUp.
More about Clare Mann and ordering the book can be found here:
https://www.veganpsychologist.com/do-you-suffer-from-vystopia/
Watch her video to get further insight into Vystopia.
Accessibility: WeWork is entirely accessible.