Well Red

Red foods that are meat-free? You can't live on green alone.

Top 5 Red Foods

LaBan knocks the Belgian Cafe, but I solemnly swear by the seitan chicken wings.

The Weekend In Baked Goods

The Punk Rock Flea Market always has a few tables that sell vegan cookies. I had to try the Earl Grey kind. Tasted very much like tea, but I wish they were softer:



Coffee at Higher Grounds unveiled the latest from Lotus Cake Studio, purveyor of the creamiest vegan cheesecake known to man: Gingerbread Spice Cake, with a soft gingerman cookie.

Slutty Cakes & French Toast Sex

Can you pass up a place that serves Slutty Pancakes? Shopsin's General Store in NYC knows childlike indulgence and fantastical experimentation. What else would inspire Pumpkin-Pistachio-PeanutButter-Cinnamon (the Slutty) and the Mac & Cheese/Raspberry pancakes? Narrowing down the imaginative menu with countless options, I settled on the Bread Pudding French Toast, which comes in regular, cowboy (sausage & cheese), nowboy (vegan sausage & cheese), and ohboy (andouille & cheese) varieties. Veg options are all over the place here and lovingly named (Blisters On My Sisters) which could seem gimmicky if this place wasn't so in-your-face real.

In a new location tucked in the corner of an indoor market on Essex, a scant few blocks from an American Apparel where you should try on the sky blue slim slacks before your meal for extra sleaze, Shopsins appears to be a small, charming dive. The many ingredients used for the numerous concoctions are housed in shelves around the counter, and there are but few tables. It's cramped but organized in a way that you know the waitress is aware of every single item. The staff knows their customers, and as such, talk is comfortably exchanged between all. The busboy and waitress even have what I assume is a joke conversation about a Paris Hilton party and how nice Jessica Simpson is in person. They kept shooting me playful looks throughout the exchange, I'm dressed head to toe in black and buried in the New York Post, so it's hard to know for sure.

It felt intimate, like I was in somebody's home and the chef/owner was trying to adopt me by making me the most incredible french toast to exist. I tore into it with no reservations.

Shopsins, Essex Street Market, 120 Essex St., NYC, Shopsins

Excuse Me While I Interrupt This Vegan Program

With a big up to Flying Monkey. I have never seen anything vegan offered at the Reading Terminal patisserie, but I have discovered some deeply moving treats, such as the green tea pound cake. Here, I want to introduce you to the orange brownie.

It's not so much orange as it is a daughter of the blondie, but the orange flavor is dead-on perfect in this buttery citrus-glazed treat. I'm going to attempt a vegan version for the rest of you.

Flying Monkey Patisserie, Reading Terminal Market, 12th & Arch

Veg Out: Meju

After I heard a round of good things about Old City's new Korean BYOB, Meju, I was intrigued: No BBQ? Veg-possible? Grab a sixer of Korean beer and let's go.

I expected the small space to be packed on a weekend, but things didn't heat up until after our meal, when it got a little rowdier. The complimentary dishes of banchan set before us were a nice touch, and we quickly set out to taste and identify each one. There was the standard kimchee along with an assortment of different pickled vegetables. While we were playing around, giant stone bowls of sizzling Dolsot Bibimbap were set before us. Our server hastily removed the tiny plates and all attention turned to the smoking caverns of Meju's most popular offering. (My camera phone pictures were no good, but here is a similar pic)



The Bibimbap appeared to be overwhelming, but was really just a mound of never-ending white rice, and evenly divided sections of julienned vegetables (daikon, sprouts, cucumber, carrots) and a choice of protein. I chose tofu, as you may have guessed. They are meant to be mixed together and come with a small bowl of spicy sauce. The presentation here is paramount to the taste. It took awhile for the steaming dish to be at a comfortable enough temperature to dig into, and after a few bites I wasn't very impressed with the flavor. I found a few cubes of mushy tofu before I was caught in an under-seasoned rainbow of veggies that seemed to go on forever. I wasn't thrilled, but I did want to go purchase a big stone bowl immediately after.

I would have given the green tea or red bean ice creams a whirl, since I live for the prospect of exotic ice cream, but I was with a dessert critic who dissuaded me. We headed over to Doubleshots instead and split a brownie, a simple baked good that always delivers, even if it doesn't come in a sizzling stone bowl.

Meju, 213 Chestnut St., 215-238-9403

The Vegetarian Reaper

We've done a Philebrity post on this Trax Deli phenomenon in the past, but here I never thought I'd know the one night stand that is the trashy soft pretzel sandwich at 3am. Until I opened my mouth and asked if they sold them with cheese. I could have kissed the toothless countergirl, for she took me over to the heat lamp where Reapers live and pointed out the cheese variety. The Veg Reaper was cut in half horizontally and stuffed with deli slices of white American cheese, then melted underneath the heat so that it's warm and gooey waiting for you. Was it sliced with the same machine used to shred lunchmeat? They tell you whatever you want to hear.

Trax Deli, Front & Girard.

In The Kitchen With Kelly: French Scramble

Tofu Scramble is a very inconsistent dish. It can be chalky and flavorless, or it can be a satisfying anytime meal that gives your protein requirements the day off. Most of the time, it's more economical and less of a gamble to make it yourself. It's all about the spices, and if you get it right, the turmeric, garlic and nutritional yeast used in Skinny Bitch In the Kitch's French Scramble are like some kind of gold.

I've warned you about this book and how much I'll be feeding us with it. The veg cookbooks that I own contain recipes that are fine if I'm baking for a party or guests, but it's usually just me. I'd rather not spend hours and precious dollars preparing a fancy feast for my sole enjoyment every night. It's generally cheaper and easier for me to go have dinner at Horizons. That said, Skinny Kitch is more my style. While not quite exotic or particularly inventive, the options are solid.



The French Scramble was no trouble at all. I subbed red potatoes and sweet potatoes for the mushrooms and used goat's milk cheddar that I hand-shredded (getting so much use out of my new grater) instead of vegan cheese (the recipe does call for this). What was French about it? I'm not sure, but it's an alluring name.

Until you pick up the book, this is very similar:

Farm To Philly Tofu Scrambler

In The Kitchen With Kelly: Carrot Raisin Muffins

I've got half a bag of carrots and not enough hummus. One flip through Vegan with a Vengeance and I'm making muffins. The worst part of this is grating the carrots, which is messy and not blogger-wrist-friendly, but it does make you feel more involved in the process than tossing a bunch of ingredients in a bowl. The key is to soak the raisins in hot water for ten minutes to make them plump.

The smell of muffins? Absolutely worth your efforts. They're not too sweet, a bit spicy, and reminiscent of carrot cake. Start shredding now.

Veg Library

I'm building one...

2 Vegetarian Cookbooks Worth A Look

City Paper BQ: Veganomicon

Scroll down and check out my Veganomicon review.

The only real troubles with this book is that I need to go out and buy 14,000 different ingredients to make dinner. Good thing the Italian Market is my backyard.

Do Not Fear The Flax

You either disapprove of flax because it was touted as one of those trendy miracle foods, or you can't get over the unappetizing name and your crippling fear of anything healthy-sounding. A very select few of you are in Flax Club, and we meet every Wednesday on my heated deck and sip flaxseed soyshakes until our insides beg us to stop posing as beacons of health.

I am so ready for tonight, gang, that I picked up a package of Voortman Flaxseed Cookies and booked guest DJ Omega-3. I already tested these suckers out and gave them the thumbs up. They're not mind-crushingly sweet and don't taste like air. These are very hearty and remind me of oatmeal cookies. Promises, promises.

If you're ambitious, try this recipe: Flaxseed Honey Cookies

Not to stray from the subject of pancakes, check out this find at Williams-Sonoma. This is a store that I accidentally fell into. I might be the youngest person who has ever shopped here willingly.



The Ebelskiver

Oh, wait, Amazon has it, too, for a sexier price.

It's an ebelskiver. For tiny pancakes that you fill with any number of things. Take your shit seriously and invest, it's only a matter of time before these pop up on brunch menus city-wide. They're Scandinavian, like my next boyfriend.