So, I've been slacking...

But, to be fair, there's not much to report. Well, other than every other (formerly) veg-friendly restaurant in the Midtown area swapping their menu around and becoming more and more meat-heavy. I'm looking at you, Bear Tooth (Grill side), and you, too, Taproot (once the home of the BEST vegan portlbello mushroom cap burger in town!).

Does the world really need one more 'bacon-wrapped'-anything? Do we need any more cheese-steeped-in-cream-and-more-cheese sauce? I mean, come on, Anchorage. You're one of two major college towns in Alaska, and you're cutting back on veg-friendly items? Le sigh...

In other news, I am also trying to hammer out (pun intended) a bunch of house projects before snow flies, and getting ready for another semester of prerequisites, and working too much, and, and, and....

There are other things. Like the fact that I'm becoming discouraged with people that I've known for over fifteen years. People that I'd believed in, and trusted. Who told me that they believed in an evidence-based approach to EVERYTHING...except, apparently, the effects their diet has on the impoverished (I am speaking of the countries that produce cereals/grains for animals that are butchered), the environment, their bodies, the ever-dwindling water supply on this one inhabitable planet of ours. 

When asked for citations and proof of their proudly-touted "scientific fact" that humans are meant to be omnivorous, they get irrationally angry, and call me antagonistic. When I mention there is at least as much data supporting a vegan diet as more healthy than an omnivorous one (after being asked for my proof), they tell me that I'm shoving my "personal beliefs" down their throat. Is there no way out of this impasse? I don't believe in 'unfriending' people for a difference in opinion, but I do not believe in not calling someone on what, to me, is blatant hypocrisy. 

Suggestions? Comments? Constructive criticism? I'm all ears.

Middle Way (again) and Snow City, all in one week!

First off, Happy Pride, everybody! It was awesome. Got to go support my partner at her organization's booth, see the parade, catch up with some friends, and check out local organizations. And then we went to lunch :)

So, Snow City Cafe has improved their menu...they're now using a house-made lemon tofu, instead of the baked teriyaki tofu, for their vegan brunch items.

I ordered the Nuevo Huevos, vegan-style. It appears they've either made the switch from using refried beans on this, or they incorporate dairy into the refritos somehow, and used straight-up whole black beans, sauteed with some onion, cumin and seasonings, instead. It was served up on a bed of brown rice and their house ranchero sauce (REALLY good, btw), and a fresh fried flour tostada, topped with the bean mix, and then the tofu. A good start, but it definitely needed the chili sauce I added to it. Their soy latte, though, is one of the best I've had in weeks. No-sugar-added soy milk, so it actually tasted like a latte, and not burnt sugar. 

Middle Way's Lotus Bowl this week, was gorgeous. Steamed quinoa and kale, with chickpeas in a coconut red curry sauce, steamed bean sprouts, zucchini, red cabbage, and onions, topped with crisp caramelized onions and fresh basil leaves. Beautiful...and tasty. Mild enough for those that don't like a heavy amount of heat; light enough that you're sated, but not over-full, when done. 

That's it, for this week. Wish I could write more, but honestly, house projects beckon! Hope that this finds all you vegans well.

The Bear Tooth - an unlikely ally

The hipster's hangout; home to all types of people and food philosophies, not to mention some insanely good brew. Mmmm...beer.


Anyway, best vegan items on the menu, to date, are:


Spicy Bear burrito, vegan style; get it without the sour-cream-cucumber-dill sauce. I like this one best, because, as its name implies, it has a bit of a kick to it. Refried black beans, brown rice, blackened tofu, a fetching mixture of spicy and bell pepper ribbons, spinach... It's a beautiful thing. Served with salsa salad or beans and rice. I like to pair this with their Pipeline Stout, or, when they have it on Revolving Tap, their Thai Coconut Stout.

Mushu Wrap...it's already vegan. Served up on your choice of tortilla, it has tofu, a blend of mushrooms, carrot shreds, cabbage, tofu, cashews, and a Thai peanut sauce. Served with chips or salsa salad.

Turnagain Burrito - served dairy free, you actually have to pay more to add three-cheese blend and sour cream or crema de arbol to this one. Has blackened tofu, black bean salsa, pepitas, sauteed peppers and onions, and salsa fresca. Served with salsa salad or beans and rice. Pairs best with amber beer.

Black Bear Burrito - an "almost natural vegan" item on the menu, if one leaves off the crema de arbol and cheese blend. Has refried black beans, rice, lettuce, salsa fresca, and guacamole. Just a little side note on the guac - it's house made, fresh each day, dairy free (and no mayo in it). As I recall, it's pretty good, but then, that was consumed by mistake, and I paid dearly for that. My partner says it's pretty good, but not as good as the stuff I make. Figures the thing I make that she likes best, is the one thing I can't have... :-P Served with salsa salad or beans and rice. Best with darker or amber beers.

BLACKENED TOFU TACOS! No dairy, and their blackened tofu seasoning really shines through, in these. Blackened tofu, refried black beans, lettuce, salsa fresca, and tomato-jalapeno salsa on soft corn tortillas. I love these with some Chugach Session Ale or their house Hefeweizen. If you're an IPA fan, then check out their Fairweather IPA. If you're a taco fan of any variety, this is where it's at, hands-down. 

The Blackened AK Cod Tacos can be made vegan with the simple substitution of tofu for the fish. Blackened tofu, habanero-kiwi-mango salsa, and cabbage on flour tortillas. The habanero-kiwi-mango salsa pairs incredibly well with the tofu. Served with salsa salad or beans and rice. Best with amber or light beers. 

Thai Chicken Wrap can also be made vegan, with the substitution of tofu for chicken. Has cabbage, noodles, cucumbers and cashews tossed in Thai peanut sauce, served on your choice of tortilla with a side of their Thai peanut sauce. Served with chips and fresh salsa bar. Pairs best with lighter, malted beers.


And that's just the Theatrepub side! I should mention that, every single time we've been there, D and I have been pleasantly surprised by their enthusiasm to meet our dietary restrictions/needs. If you want to try and veganize something, they are more than happy to try, with you! There have been practically zero incidents where we got sarcasm, lip or nastiness from any staff, regarding what we did and did not eat. These guys and gals don't bat an eyelash, just accept that you don't eat animal products, and move forward, from there. Good times!

I should also mention that they have a revolving non-alcoholic brew and beverage selection, as well as serving Kaladi Brothers Coffee. Among their N.A. selection, are their hand-crafted draft sodas. Check it out!

Until next week. :)

Vegan rant warning

I'm sick of walking contradictions. I am tired of hearing people scream, "save the planet!", in one breath, and "guns for the zombie apocalypse!", in the next. I understand that a rural/subsistence lifestyle means that you have less/more expensive/much more limited access to foods that are better for you, the animals, and the planet, but goddamnit, if you live in a major city, GUESS WHAT? You do not qualify as rural, and you don't exactly have any excuse other than your own selfish whims, for your cries of "but, bacon!"

I'm tired of it. I am tired of hearing, "Well, your diet isn't sustainable, being all organic and stuff, and produce has to travel miles to get here..."  Yeah, I know. I also know that food and water has to travel MILES to get to where your meat is raised, 'humanely' or not, and that travel has to be fueled by something other than magical, non-CO2-producing, pixie dust. That food and water being a day-to-day thing, not counting transfer of those animals to and from various operations/sites, including the slaughterhouse, I am pretty damn sure that my diet, even factoring in for water and fertilizer transport, consumes a tad less in the way of raw petroleum power, than does yours.

And humane meat? Please. If all meat was raised so that it could live out its infancy (because cows, goats and pigs all have a life expectancy ranging from 10 to 25+ years, if not in "the system", but they are killed within the first 2-4 years of life, when they are in "the system") in a beautiful pasture, where they could graze...it would require thousands of times more arable land than the meat industry CURRENTLY consumes. And guess what? At the end of the day, the animal is still killed, regardless of how humanely it was raised. Put into terms a pet-lover could understand, that would be like saying it's okay to kill Fido when you're done having him around, as long as he lived a good life, and you were able to slit his throat without his noticing. You are still responsible for that animal's death. I am sorry, but it still ends in violence. WTF is humane about that? But it's okay, because we're humans, and they're animals. Sick of that, too.

I am tired of hearing justification for milk and eggs, when calves in the milk industry are pulled from their mothers and crated up and fed an anemia-inducing died for the next few months, so their meat stays soft and they can become veal. I am tired of hearing about "cage-free" eggs, "free-range" egg-laying chickens, etc., because still, those hens are "spent" within the first two years of life, and then discarded, like so much trash.

If you want to use the term 'humane', or are tired of vegans periodically getting pissed off about your food choices, as well as our tendency to shove your own hypocrisy back into your face, here are a few things to try:

1) Remember that meat, eggs and dairy are not, in any way, produced in a way that could be considered 'humane', if you were to apply the same terms to a family pet, or another human.

2) Vegans don't make the insane and very arbitrary distinction between 'pets' and 'food' - we hold value for all life, on all levels. Even yours.

3) Most people that have gone vegan, and returned to an omnivorous diet for 'medical reasons'....were doing it wrong. Yep, I said it. They did not research their dietary choice thoroughly enough, to be informed enough, to thrive on a plant-based diet. Funny thing is, it doesn't take that much, but people want it fast, cheap and easy, because this is the age of convenience. Green smoothie, anyone?

4) If you're not willing to *seriously* research your own food choices, their effect on you, the animals, and the planet, do not presume that I will take you seriously about any 'scientific evidence' you present to me, about my food choices, their effect on me, animals, plants (of all things), and the planet. If you think I should take you seriously, and say as much, I'll laugh, long and hard, while showing you where to find the metaphorical or actual, physical door.

5) Yes, in fact, I am a medical professional, and yes, in fact, I do think that I know a tad more about nutrition, than you do, having had to learn, through trial and error over several years, what works for me. I accept that all bodies are different, and that there is a (VERY slim) possibility that there are people that do better on an omnivorous diet, but I also strongly suggest doing well-rounded research into plant-based options, before using that as an 'easy out'...because that's what it is.

Middle Way Cafe - food review, and a 'favorite', revisited

Hit up Middle Way (MWC or Mid-Way) next to REI on Northern Lights, this past weekend. It had been a while, and they usually have some awesome vegan food. Actually, they tend to have a little something for every possible dietary need or restriction, making it a good place to go to brunch/lunch, with just about anybody. Just don't expect mimosas. That's Snow City territory. Anyway...

They've been branching out, trying new things in culinary experimentation/gastronomy, particularly in the vegan, gluten-free, and/or vegan AND gluten-free realms. Some raving successes:

• Their Unicorn Bowls, in any permutation. Usually includes steamed greens, some kind of steamed whole grain, edamame or beans, a balsamic or Liquid Bragg's reduction of some kind, fresh veggies and some fruit. No two are really the same, from week to week, and it's nice change of pace. Very much a whole-foods, plant-based approach, with very little oil, if any.
• The Mushroom Poke dish. Again, a melange of greens (kale is a favorite), grains, garlic, served up with a variety of mushrooms - some of which are specialty or could be classed as 'wild' - in a slow-simmered sauce with caramelized onions and fresh veggies - carrots, beet matchsticks...you name it.
• The Avo Melt, with Daiya mozza shreds. I can't have avocado - allergic; a tragedy, I know - but my partner tells me it's one of the better sandwiches of its type, that she's had. Being that she's an avocado fanatic, I will take her word on that. 

This weekend, it was their stuffed portobellos, with a side of  grilled radicchio salad. 

First, the side salad: it was positively everything I could have wanted out of a bitter greens salad of its type. The leaves were just wilted, still slightly warm, with enough of a crunch left in them to be satisfying. It was melded with ribbons of roasted red pepper and sauteed yellow onion, topped off with some alfalfa sprouts, and brought together by a balsamic reduction vinaigrette, that had a hint of citrus. Excellent. 

The portobellos: First off, the caps were...ah...small. More like middle-to-large cremini mushrooms, in terms of size. There were two, so it's not as though numbers made up for the lack. But, they were well-braised in the basil/balsamic/tomato sauce. The filling was more bits of mushroom cap, aforementioned sauce, and some garlic. 

They were topped off with some sprigs of fresh basil, and mandoline-thin slices of parmesan, which was not anywhere in the description - and MWC is pretty sensitive about their ingredients listing, so I was very surprised. Got about one-third of the way through one of the caps, and found...bits of meat, in the sauce. Again, it was nowhere on the ingredients list, and Middle Way is very conscientious about making sure its ingredients are fully listed...well, every other time, except this one, apparently. 

Overall, I was not impressed with the main dish, with or without the advent of finding meat and cheese, in it. The sauce was good, but it lacked depth and complexity of flavor, and the overall experience, given finding animal ingredients, was not positive. 

However, Middle Way Cafe is one of the few places in town that will positively bend over backwards if you're wanting to veganize something, so, six one, half-dozen, the other? Time will tell. They're still a mainstay of my social dining places list, since almost anyone can find something that agrees with them, there.

In other MWC news, their breakfast items are amazing. Such as their vegan whole grain short stack, and their Colours tofu stack. I do wish they'd bring back their 'classic' breakfast burrito, but, patience. 

So, we decided to go for Korean food...

I should probably start this post with the fact that my partner and I have been living in Anchorage about three years, now, and are just starting to explore the little niches that make urban living, worth it. I say "worth it", because we were previously forest hermits in Fairbanks, twelve miles outside of Fairbanks, proper, in that little haven called Goldstream Valley. Anyway, it has been an interesting couple of year adapting to our new surroundings, up to and including our little slice of what I like to call suburbia hell. Soon to come: a post on our new-found life mission of, "get rid of the grass and grow some food".
Back on topic: we've been ranging out, trying to discover what great little spots there are within walking distance - and redefining 'walking distance', in the process. So far, we've discovered that Red Robin actually carries Boca patties - probably not a revelation for some, but it was for me. The local hipster dives in our neighborhood are more like biking distance, but Midnight Sun Brewery has an AWESOME hummus and veggie sandwich (named Peace Out); and when they have tofu (not of late, though), there are tacos to be had, of the epic variety, with fresh muddled-avo guac, house pico, and great, great, unfiltered, vegan-friendly beers. 

Our latest discovery is Korean Garden, a well-appointed little place in a strip mall off Dimond. I love Korean food, and was totally stoked to learn there was a restaurant that specialized in it, so close by. I ordered the only things that did not list meat as ingredients - a vegetable roll (sushi-style, and literally labeled, 'vegetable roll'), and tofu jige (piping hot kimchi stew with tofu). My partner, being the wiser of the two of us, specifies "no meat, no eggs", in her dish. 

The veggie roll arrives, and it is stuffed with rice, carrots, steamed spinach, pickled daikon radish......vienna sausage, eggs, surimi (fake crab), and fish cake. I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Our main dishes arrive, and Dael's bibimbap is perfectly meat and egg-free, complete with hot sauce and hot stone bowl, but her side soup (daikon), is comprised mostly of smoked pork broth. Mine? Smells off, as soon as I get a whiff. What I find - tofu, kimchi, onions, assorted veggies, rice starch cake...and about a cup-and-a-half of full-fat shredded smoked pork loin. My fault for not specifying "no meat" (even if it wasn't listed in the ingredients), but I get the feeling that it would have tasted of pig, anyway. Hope you enjoy your treats, Bou and Lacuna. I don't think we'll be going back there. Much better luck at VIP in Midtown, where they are more familiar with vegetarian diets, at the very least.

Moral of the story: ASSUME NOTHING, and go to VIP in Midtown Anchorage, if you want vegan Korean food. 

So, there are vegans in Alaska.

Hi! Taylor, here. After a little over six years as a vegan, and a life-long Alaskan, I've decided I've garnered enough experience, in both, to comment effectively on how one of these aspects of life may affect the other. 

I'm going to try posting once or twice a week, about my experiences finding certain products, the odd recipe, dining out, and dealing with people that have moved to Alaska "for the experience" (which usually means hunting, fishing, and 'subsistence'). Being as I'm fairly new at this, I am more than happy to take suggestions, answer questions, and try to be a resource for anyone traveling to Alaska, looking for vegan-friendly establishments, etc. 


A bit about myself: I'm a 30-something, born-and-raised Alaskan "gay girl", who is emphatically anti-Pebble (but I did work four years in the mineral exploration and mining industries, oddly enough). I hold a Bachelor's in Russian Studies, and once had ambitions of working for the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer, before I developed (very strong) opinions of my own. I've maintained a committed relationship for seven years, and my partner and I have two goats (pets, of course), a cat (reformed feral), and a dog (rescue), that we love and dote on, spoiled things that they are. 

I have been involved with various lines of employment/service. These include, but are not limited to: blood collections (blood banking); food service/espresso; commercial truck driver; municipal harbor cleanup crew and patrol; janitorial staff; Public Assistance eligibility technician (think food stamps); remote site medic, and, most recently, telemetry technician (monitoring and interpreting cardiac rhythms and vital signs for as many as thirty patients) on an ICU here, in Anchorage. I have ambitions to become a trauma nurse, or a doctor of emergency medicine...not sure which, yet

I grew up in the great outdoors, and love kayaking, rock climbing, hiking, wildlife watching, and other such activities. I also have a goal to learn more about mountain biking, than just simple single-track, this year, and LOVE my bicycle commute to work and errands, every day. I try to drive as little as possible, all seasons, and finished my first successful winter of ice/snow biking, thanks to Nokian Hakka bike studs!

Enough about me - I'm interested in knowing more about what any vegans would like to know about life in Alaska. More than happy to address any and all of those topics, here, in addition to whatever subjects I might stumble upon, in my spare time. Please, feel free to ask questions, comment, and suggest topics. I look forward to meeting you, whoever "you" are, out there, in the ether of the Internet.