Sorry I’ve been away from my blog for almost a week.   It was a week full of food thanks to my birthday, which kept on giving.    Honestly I want to thank all my friends (and family) this year for what turned out to be one of the best birthdays ever.   I spent this birthday with soooo many great, fun friends and got some great gifts.    People know what to get me too.  One of my best friends got me a giftcard to Williams Sonoma, another got me a couple subscriptions to

BDay at Virgils

 magazines which will help me plot my way to opening a restaurant and another got me a couple great books about restaurants and cooking.   Anyway while I loved all those perfect gifts, the biggest gift of all was just having the company.   Hanging with those

BDay Smores Shake at 5 Napkin

 you care about truly is the best.  So where’d we hang?  Well I’ll take you on the food tour:  It started off at Virgil’s here in NYC.  People ask why I like eating at BBQ joints and the answer is because of the great side dishes.   I feasted on biscuits, mac and cheese and veggies.   The next night I ate at one of my favorite restaurants, which I’ve written about before, 5 Napkin Burger.    5 Napkin continues to make the best veggie burger and smores shake in town.   Saturday it was lunch at La Bonne Soupe where I had fondue (cheese and chocolate).    That night I had veggie burgers while watching fireworks from the Intrepid.   Sunday I had calzone at Mystic Pizza (yes that one from the movie in CT).   Sunday night it was fried rice and an avocado roll from Shrine at the MGM Foxwoods.  The next day lunch was an egg salad sandwich and split pea soup from Juniors (outdoor table at MGM Foxwoods).  That night I ate at the other place vegetarians normally don’t go, a STEAKHOUSE!!!   I had a roasted beet salad at Craftsteak and lots of side dishes like potatoes gratin, carrots, etc.   That meal was topped off with a great banana split.   My non-stop birthday eating spree ended Tuesday after eating California Pizza kitchen (a tostado pizza) for lunch. 

Craftsteak's banana split

Anyway to make a  long story short that’s why my blog was put on hold.  It’s hard to write a blog when you are soooo full.   Ha ha really it’s hard when you are out of town and a computer is nowhere around.   

 Now I’m back and here are some of the stories that caught my eye! 

I love stories about animals escaping from slaughter houses.   It shuts all naysayers down because it shows that animals know they are being mistreated where they are and have this sense that they have to get away because things will be better on the other side.   As you should know by now slaugterhouses are horrible places filled with torture and disease.   In this story about an escape one of the things you may also find interesting is that the animal who escapes was sick and had parasites.   Because of the horrible way slaughterhouse jerks treat animals they are not healthy.  Know that if you eat meat from animals that come from slaughterhouses you are eating their disease and their pain.  Hopefully this story will show you that there is a face to each animal on a meat-eaters plate.  Scary right?  Anyway here’s the story from the great Farm Sanctuary: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/rescue/rescues/2009/doughty.html

A popular cartoon character is a vegetarian thanks to the famous man who lends his voice to the beloved guy.   I like how he stuck to his principles too.  Check it out here: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/07/08/casey-kasem-made-shaggy-from-scooby-doo-go-vegetarian/

This story from the Examiner brings up a good point about the arguments between some vegans and vegetarians.   It talks about how sometimes the two groups are further apart on issues than one would think.  As for me I am 98% vegan at home and when dining out a strict vegetarian not vegan.   I am sure some vegans will look down on me for this, but I think it’s the little steps that are going to make a difference in the world.   Restaurants need to get more vegetarian items on their menus before they go vegan.  This is just reality.   The whole concept of being a vegan is hard for a lot of Chefs to grasp.   When I open my own restaurant I will lead by example, until then I am trying to make steps by letting restaurants know that they should serve more vegetarian items in general.   Anyway here’s what got this thought process moving: http://www.examiner.com/x-9806-Tampa-Vegan-Examiner~y2009m7d8-Vegans-vs-Vegetarians

I have read so many stories about meat-free folks living longer than those who consume meat, so I love when studies like this come out to back up the data.   This one spotlights a British study that says if you are meat-free you may stay cancer-free as well.   Woo hoo you can’t ask for better news: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/vegetarian-diet-protects-against-some-cancers/article1209709/

The Sour Move of the Day goes to circuses who continue to abuse animals.  If kids only knew how those poor animals were treated I don’t think they’d find it entertaining.   Right now it seems like it’s the season of circuses so luckily I stumbled on this website which pretty much spells out why the circus is far from the happiest place on Earth: http://www.circuses.com/