I work in the healthcare field, one of the fringe benefits is drug luncheons where I get a nice free meal, and get to spend some quality time with coworkers.  I always of course ignore the lecture.  Most of these luncheons are small buffets that are brought to the workplace, usually these are not inclusive of my veganess.  However, the one I went to this week was at a restaurant and we could order whatever we wanted.  It was still risky that I would find something to eat, but I was in the mood for adventure and went anyways.

It was a quaint little Inn, and I was in luck a grilled vegetable sandwich, on bread that was likely to NOT contain honey was on the menu.  I ordered it with no cheese, and I made sure the waitress repeated it after me.  BUT when the meal came out, alas, there was melted cheese in it.  The waitress did what she should have done and took it back without a fuss, and was very apologetic.

My coworkers were also awesome about it.  I could have been treated like a complete freak, and instead they treated it like a standard affair.  Eating out still makes me paranoid though, and I spent most of the afternoon questioning the possible ingredients in my food.   When I eat food out it is rarely satisfying, and always has the potential to not actually be vegan.  I know that this is an aspect of my “newness” eventually I will be braver when placing orders, and have more confidence in picking out the elements that are not vegan.

Today we decided to head over to my parents’ house. Along the way I knew I would be hungry so we stopped by David’s Natural Market to pick up some bulgar and some lunch. It was kind of a sad homecoming, I used to work there, and when I did the cafe was nearly completely vegan. I had a rough time finding something I could eat there and had to order my food without bread because the only options were whole wheat, which usually contain honey. However, their soups were vegan, and were very delicious. David’s continues to have a very large selection of foodstuffs, though the staff these days don’t seem to be as knowledgeable, though the management is largely the same.

I got a new winter coat today, picture to come, it isn’t anything special, and comes from JC Penney’s. So the labor practices are somewhat questionable. The coat is mostly synthetic (though I prefer cotton), and is very nice looking but practical. It also has a removable lining, and is of course, vegan. It was on sale for $80, which is pretty good for a new versatile, completely machine washable winter coat. Since I lack photos, here is one. I know I could do better, but this was what was feasible this time around. I’ve been searching the union and fair trade companies on the internet and haven’t found anything comparable to this.

Then we went and got new glasses, that actually match our plates, and also I got some bar mops for the kitchen, several different kinds. I am hoping to phase out paper towels completely, but I know that will take awhile. I will soon also be making my own laundry detergent using Dr Bronner’s, Borax, and washing soda (equal parts). I’ve already switched to using citrus cleaner in the kitchen, and it has been working really well. Not only are these products vegan, and not tested on animals, they are also better for the environment which I think is important as well. I say it in nearly every post so I will stop the spiel there.

When we got home I hit the kitchen and started making Seitan and Portabello Stroganoff, from a recipe I got from Vegan with a Vengeance. It came out 110% delicious. Today was also the day we decided to do Thanksgiving at my parent’s house and I will be making a ton of vegan dishes to contribute to the meal. Over the past few weeks I have become so confident in my cooking abilities. I am now tackling more complex recipes, and feeling comfortable making some adjustments. Considering that I started this process barely able to cook at all, I think I am living proof that cooking is a learned skill just like everything else. I don’t think I will ever be a cooking genius, but in a short period of time I feel like I’ve become confident.

Wednesday night was disappointing, I went to a vegan meetup at Baltimore’s only vegan restaurant. There are over a 150 people enrolled in the meetup, though only 9 had said yes. Still, it would be an evening with some vegans right? Wrong.

There were 3 vegans (including myself), and the rest were vegetarians and vegetarians (who eat fish). Last time I checked fish had a face. It was a huge disappointment because I wanted to talk about good vegan finds, and all about being vegan, and vegetarians when vegans do this get all guilty looking or outright offended.

So much for the vegan meetup, but there was a screw-up with my order the Yabba Pot was very apologetic though. However, this gave me the time to talk one on one with the meetup organizer, who also head’s up Baltimore’s chapter of Earth Save.  We sparred a bit on welfarist versus abolitionist viewpoints.  It was nice to have a face to face chat about veganism, even if we didn’t agree.

The Happy Cow paints a grim picture for restaurant dining in Baltimore, MD. It is quite close to accurate, I only know of three vegan friendly venues in Baltimore, and they list two of them. There are in fact three: The Yabba Pot of Charles Village, Red Emma’s Bookstore/Coffeehouse of Mount Vernon, and Liquid Earth of Fell’s Point.

The Yabba Pot is located 2433 St Paul St and is a vegan restaurant. I’ve retyped this section of this entry trying to find a way to describe them and their food, but keep failing. The best I can say is that the food is very savory and delicious. Most of the items are out on heating trays, though they make some in the back. They have things like curried spinach, and jerk califlower, and other vegan treats. They also have a wide array of fresh juices.

Moving south, Red Emma’s Bookstore/Coffeehouse If the name Red Emma’s didn’t tip you off it’s a radical bunch. But the food! Vegan items are vegan, and vegetarian items are vegetarian. There is no need to ask for substitutes or for things to be removed from sandwiches or wraps. There are two cheese sandwiches, cream cheese, and milk. However, there is also tofutti, soy milk and a lot of menu options that are already vegan. There is also no extra charge for soy products, which I have termed the vegan tax.

All the way down in Fell’s Point Liquid Earth is vegetarian, however for vegans it gets a little tricky. If I remember nearly all their menu items need to be modified, there is a vegan tax for vegan cheese, and there is honey in a lot of the juices. Everything can be ordered vegan, and I trust that the delivered product is vegan, but getting to that point can be a little tedious. I do like them anyways though, they only except cash, and ingredients are fresh. Liquid Earth doesn’t appear to have a website of their own but they are located at 1626 Aliceanna St. Baltimore, MD.