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Saturday, July 30, 2011

Vegan Bakesale

From now on you will be updated about any vegan bake sale under my radar. But for now I can only tease you with photos from previous bake sales. Pictured here are delicious chocolate cupcakes, chocolate peanut butter cookies and a vegan macaroon.  And the whole bake sale was done for charity to benefit Animal Freedom Day



Vegan Hamilton Networking, These People Love Potlucks!

Hamilton has a fairly present vegan community. For example there are (mostly) monthly community potlucks. I'll keep you filled in, as they are open to anyone who is capable of making, or bringing a vegan dish. Usually hosted at the Jamesville community they are on hold for awhile while the organizers are moving.  There is a Facebook Group to keep everyone in touch but it is a closed group. Leave me a comment or send me off a message on facebook or at nickivarkevisser@yahoo.com if you want in and come eat some grub with us. The attendees very pretty widely in age, diet, and level of activism and it's a very welcoming mix of people. We usually eat then have some tea and sometimes watch a movie. The organizers (I'm not stating their names as I don't know if they want it on the internet) are very dedicated animal rights activists and run tons of demos if you're into that scene. Either way potlucks are an awesome way to get some great vegan cooking ideas and to enjoy a plate filled with a variety of different dishes and treats made by a variety of different people. It truly demonstrates that veganism is what you make it, you can go raw and be a health nut, or you can delve into the world of wondrously fatty and sweet vegan treats, or both. Variety is the spice of life. Here is a sample photo of my fully loaded plate from a vegan potluck.
CLICK to enlarge the photo

Vegan Find #1 : Affinity Vegetarian Resturaunt

Affinity is pretty much Hamilton's vegan mecca. 

Website 
Facebook
87 John Street South in Hamilton
905-529-2598

Summary
Atmosphere: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Vegan Literacy: 10/10  They have all the dishes coded with a little vegan symbol so you it feels like your on a treasure map for vegan booty, (and there is a lot of it).
Selection: 9.5/10 The majority of their dishes are vegan, just a few vegetarian exceptions.
Food: 10/10*
Pricing: 7/10 The entrees are well priced, but the appetizers are a bit pricy for their portions. Or at least pricy for a cheap student.
Overall: 8.5333333/10  This is an exact calculation folks. But honestly, when the food is a 10, does anything really matter?
Perks: No MSG, large menu, vegan ice cream, tons of tea!
*10 for everything I've tried in my 4 dining experiences at least

Their menu is large and has mostly Chinese style dishes. They have a great selection of appetizers, 5 different Asian soups, lots of noodle dishes and faux meats including soy ham, steak, beef and chicken. A big attraction seems to be their buffet which is available for lunch and dinner. At lunch the buffet is a bit smaller and costs $10.50. At dinner time it costs $15.99, or $17.99 on Fridays and weekends. They have kids and senior prices as well. Another plus is their amazing tea selection. They have over 40 different types of teas to enjoy in the restaurant or to buy in packets to take home. They even offer faux meat to bring home which is awesome because some of their faux meats are really incomparable to most of the supermarket stuff. Admittedly I haven't bought any yet so I can't attest to how easy to prepare it is.
Vegan Nuggets
I hope to get some more photos to add to this review because these are just from an iPhone, and because it gives me an excuse to come back for more! These are the vegan nuggets which are succulent on the inside and crispy on the outside. So, so delicious and so so tiny...if I recall correctly they cost $3.99.

They have a great selection of entrees. I had the Pan-Fried Sun-kissed Veggie Chicken a long time ago and it was memorably tasty. This venture I shared the Sweet and Sour Soy Chicken and it is a new favorite. It comes like a stir fry, with cooked veggies (peppers, baby corn,celery,snow peas), saucy tofu and  faux chicken that are both covered in perfectly tangy sweet and sour sauce. The soy chicken really makes it. My omnivorous dining partner agrees. It was surprisingly filling, we split the entree and nuggets and nothing else yet my food baby was busting out. It actually unbuttoned my rompers. I thought that only happened in cartoons. So satisfying. It was especially nice because even though I was full I didn't feel icky-full like I do if food is too heavy or oily.

Sweet and Sour Soy Chicken
They also offer soy ice cream, bubble tea and smoothies if you have room for it. The ice cream is pricy, but the best soy ice cream I have ever tasted. And vegan ice cream is always expensive. I had it years before I was vegan and remember my surprise at how ice-creamy it is. They have a lot of flavors: chocolate, mango, pistachio, and coconut are the ones I remember.

Overall this is a vegan haven. Especially, but not exclusively for Asian food lovers.