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Showing posts with label Greener Pastures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greener Pastures. Show all posts

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Greener Pastures. The sweetest grass in New York. Union Square's Magic Sprout Bus.


Where in the world is sprout juice delivered by magic school buses?  Union Square, New York.  Of Course.  I had read about "Greener Pastures" in the NY Vegan Guide.  Something about "the sweetest grass in the city" being sold out of a schoolbus, many mornings in Union Square.  Handcranked from a manual metal juicer.  Perfect.  And the location is perfect.  First, the GreenMarket is also home to "Body & Soul"  a vegan baked goods stand that is really close to the Grass Stand.  Then Whole Foods is right there.  Jivamukti a few steps away on Broadway.  Um.....aside from the absolute lack of "yard" in the city.....this is one of the island's sweetest spots.

Union Sq W
16th St

New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village

We always get "doubles" and they crank it out on a little metal juicer made in Czechoslovakia.  

They sell sprouts and sprout juice.  Lots of photos of all their furkids.  





Isn't this great?  A bus full of sprouts.  Wheatgrass, Pea Sprouts, Sunflower greens.



They seem to have a pretty steady flow of customers.  

Their cats like grass too.

Sunflower Greens.

Green Pea Juice.

I have personal experience with this.  I have had to hide my grass because all of the cats think I have gotten them grazing beds.  They eat the stuff and then they love to just the whole tray of it for a bed.

Bustle in Union Square.  Ignore the Grass Fed Beef.  Ick.  Just because murder is local, it doesn't really romanticize it at all.  It's not like NY brags about their human homicide rate.  


Lots of artists set up shop & sell their goods.


Whole Foods...........Not as crazy as the one in Columbus Circle, but busy.  Can't tell there is a recession when you walk into that place.  
Ahhhh....Just makes me want to grow grass and buy a school bus.  I would want to paint lots of colors on it though.  Just not sure Sprout Juice would be such a hot selling item in downtown St. Louis.


And the street kids of East St. Louis.  They don't want to be street kids forever and they are begging for foster homes.  www.gatewaypets.com
A few of the kids from February 3, 2012.
 Knuckles.  Knuckles may have a dislocated "elbow" and we may or may not be able to do anything about that.  But to find all of that out, we need to rescue this guy & get him to a vet.  Yeah, in order to do that we need a foster.  No, we don't have a brick & mortar shelter yet, so we truly have nowhere to take Mr. Knuckles.

 The homes in the background have been temporary shelter, yet dangerous from the lack of structural integrity, to many of the street kids.  Most of these homes are on the verge of total collapse and the interiors are completely filled with debris. 

 Mr. Tux, Tommy's kitty?, then "The Siamese", and Tommy on the right.  The Siamese acts a bit like ours, and Pj told me I should exchange ours for the one on the street.  Ours acts out a bit.  She is a total diva and a terrible tease and she torments Fatoush......."Fatty" the cat.  But.....she is part of our family so we deal with her being totally bipolar.  I am suspect of any cat that is that cute......so I am not going to exhange ours for this one  :)  However, all these kids need homes!

 Ms. A, an incredible artist and past president of GPG, loved Lloyd. Ms A. went on to make human babies.  I kind of can't believe Lloyd is still on the street.  He may need a special home though, because Pj doesn't think he would get along with everyone.  He might be a little bossy, but at the same time, he is always with this pack.  


 Rebel is a new little girl.  She looks like Wolfgang, but the timing is wrong says Ms. Pj.  So who knows......but she is pretty shy.  You can tell that she really wants to be comfortable around us, she is just still fearful.

This is just a strange thing.  This little "shed" with an "open" sign in the window is on the corner.  Maybe this place does Barbecues at night?  And maybe people hang out on the outdoor carpeting and bed??  I don't know....but the "room" keeps expanding.  Wonder if that counts as an extra room at tax time??  Speaking of taxes, apparently East St. Louis is sort of like Detroit in that one would think that taxes are low because you really don't get many perks living here.  But no, I guess that taxes are kind of high........It may be they are in dire need of money and there are not enough people that can supply that money that live within the city limits, so the taxes are higher than one could imagine.  I know there are beautiful historic homes in Detroit, but that the taxes can break the deal.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Vegan in New York. There's An App for that.


      

Yes, I have a sick habit of accumulating books.  And after I gave all my favorite ones away, I just started again.  But I never gave away my past 5 years worth of "Vegan Guide to New York City" by Rynn Berry & Chris Suzuki. .  Nope.  Those books are far too precious and to be doled out to close friends.  Seriously, West Coasters, you guys have NOTHING on the Lower East Side!!  What is so amazing about "The Big Apple" is that places are so close in proximity!  We haven't even ventured into Brooklyn yet!  Plant yourself in Union Square & you have the GreenMarket with the freshest Wheat Grass ever, Body & Soul bakery, Jivamuktea Cafe, Pure Food & Wine, Viva Pizzeria, Liqueteria, Quintessence, Lula's Sweet Apothecary, Angelica's Kitchen, Caravan of Dreams, Sacred Chow, NY Dosas,  Stogo Ice Cream,  Tien Garden, Babycakes, Teany, yikes, the list is endless, truly.

The Vegan Guide to New York City 2011
Vegan Guide to New York City  
Tien Garden.  Vegan Chinese sin garlic or onions.  Next to anarchist/progressive/hip "Bluestockings" bookstore.

This year I not only bought the book, but the Vegan Guide to New York City App. as well.  It isn't imperative to buy a new guide yearly, but I just don't want to miss out on the latest!!  You do need to call places regarding hours though.  Often places will consistently close earlier than the "stated" hours, especially late night venues.  And the summer hours tend to be longer.  If you are vegan, New York is the Planet's Mecca!!   The app. is cool because it gets updated when new stuff happens & it has the map with all the places on it!  The authors dish their faves also, by giving it a "pick" or just mentioning it's existence and the pros & cons.  They give you the "heads up" on which Indian Joints clearly mark *vegan* and which are *questionable*.  Even if you just go for a weekend, you gotta have this book/and or app!!  Hubby & I can usually hit 6 places a day, at the very least!!! Granted, we gotta do Babycakes as "take-out".  And after you have stuffed yourself so completely, you hit Moo-Shoes & look at vegan wallets, shoes, books, tee shirts, and cats.  Especially cute is the cat that gets shaved like a lion.


Dosas from the Ny Dosa Cart.  

And there's this great little video that the "Our Hen House" gals put together for VegNews, New York on the Cheap.  They covered many non-vegan places also, and didn't hit all our faves, but they did put together an awesome collage.  Hopefully there's more to follow!

Babycakes.  Vegan.  Lots of Gluten Free, Coconut Oil, Non Sugar sweetened goodies.

I say for "Cheap" that the Dosa Cart in Washington Park is our fave.  But we don't usually go for "Cheap" in New York, since we don't live there.  My New York Faves are Pure Food & Wine (but we don't usually eat there now because it is too dripping with hipness for us!!, Quintessence for some dessert, Lula's Sweet Apothecary for some the most amazing ice cream (my fave is coconut based), Hubby's fave pizza from Viva Pizzeria, Babycakes for gluten free non refined sugar donuts, cookies & more, Jivamuktea Cafe for some Yoga & beautiful Vegan cafe with lovely light, Liqueteria for amazing juices, NY Dosa Cart for amazing Vegan Dosas, Hangawi for a beautiful Korean Vegan Zenned out "experience" (barefoot dining), Tien Garden for Chinese Food without the Garlic or Onions (bad for the meditation), Teany (late night) the teeny tiny tea joint with Vegan Sweets & lots of comfort food sandwiches & extended tea list-oh & booze.

Viva Herbal Pizzeria.

The Ultimate WheatGrass.  "Greener Pastures" in Union Square.

Alicia Silverstone eating her way through some of her New York Faves!

What are your fave vegan joints or places that have vegan stuff on the menu?? In New York?  Elsewhere?  What about Late Night Vegan New York??