My 14 faves of '14: #10

Looking at my list I see food all over the place. And restaurants.

This summer I had the chance to dine at Detroit Vegan Soul and I will never be the same. If you ever get the chance to go, go! Take your time. Try things that you normally wouldn't.

I was blown away by the food at Detroit Vegan Soul. The service was perfect and I fell in love with the owners.

So many positive things are happening in Detroit, and this place tops the list in my opinion.

Many times since my visit I find myself thinking about their food, or wanting to check flights to see if I could make it for dinner.

Even if you think you don't like soul food, go!

http://detroitvegansoul.com/

Restaurant review - Detroit Vegan Soul

I recently had to go back to my home state for a family funeral and had the opportunity to go check out Detroit's thriving vegan scene.

Yes, Detroit.

And yes, thriving.

This post was going to be about that scene but it has become all about one place: Detroit Vegan Soul. I enjoyed my time here so much that I need a whole post just for them! I will write a future post about Detroit in general.

My interest was peaked while speaking with one of the owners of The Lunch Room in Ann Arbor (where I was staying and about 45 minutes from Detroit) who told me about Detroit Vegan Soul. I had read about them and am connected with them on Twitter, but I hadn't considered checking them out.

Later that afternoon I called to see what the dress was (casual) and asked about traffic. My conversation ended up being with one of the owners  and she was SO friendly. Because of her friendliness I just had to go, and off I went.

Detroit definitely has it's problems and you see a lot of them while driving to Detroit Vegan Soul. Then all of a sudden you turn a corner and you encounter an oasis of different businesses that includes Detroit Vegan Soul.

I walked in and was immediately greeted by staff, very friendly staff. If you have ever read any of my restaurant reviews you know that staff hospitality is important to me. I was ecstatic to be there. The restaurant was alive with almost a full house and lots of conversations going on.

I started with the Collard Green Spring Rolls which apparently are quite popular. I now know why. They are delicious and a great start to any meal.

I should mention here that the women who own Detroit Vegan Soul started with a food truck. When they opened the restaurant there was a line down the block.

I know why.  My server was friendly and helpful. He suggested, as it was my first time, to try the Soul Platter. Oh my. I loved every bite. The mac n cheese and the yams didn't last long. And the collard greens! All I wanted to do was savor ever bite. And I wasn't alone. I watched as other customers were loving what they had ordered. I just wanted to ask for the menu back and order another dish, but I also had to leave room for dessert. Dessert was Snickerdoodle cake, and I loved it. But keep in mind that the cake changes.

The menu is intense, and I just can't give it justice as I didn't try that many items. I can only imagine how delicious the Okra Stew or the Catfish Tofu are! I am salivating thinking about this place as I write, thinking of what I would order if Mike and I could go for dinner tonight.

I did get to meet the owners, and meeting Kirsten and Erika was truly one of the highlights of my entire trip. I can't wait to see them again and to enjoy more meals at Detroit Vegan Soul. Check them out here.

Finally, I just have to let you know about this photo in the bathroom. It gave me pause. It's hard to see because I didn't catch it in the right light, but the word "History" is etched over the photo.

If you are familiar with Detroit, Detroit Vegan Soul is just a couple of blocks north of Jefferson at Van Dyke. Not too far from Belle Isle.

Detroit Vegan Soul
8029 Agnes Street
Detroit, MI  48214
313.649.2759

Thanks for reading!

7 - 0 victory in Sterling Heights!

It happened around midnight in the City Council chambers in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The Council voted unanimously, 7 - 0, to pass an ordinance that will prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. The ordinance will "apply to all persons seeking employment or housing in the city, but specifically would extend civil rights protection based upon sexual orientation and identity."

I am ecstatic.

7 - 0.

I had the honor of speaking with Mayor Pro Tem Mike Taylor before the vote. With allies like him and others on the Council who spoke about equality and prejudice, I feel even more hopeful about the future for those of us who do not fit into the heterosexual norm than I did before.

Said Mayor Pro Tem Taylor in a prior vote that brought us to last night, "“For those of you concerned that your ability to practice religion is being taken away, that is not the case. We can argue and debate many things, but this is not one of them,” he said. “The First Amendment is your shield and it protects you and your ability to practice religion, but it is not a sword to be used to strike down your fellow citizens because they do not agree with you.”

I agree.

I most likely won't get to speak with all of those on the Sterling Heights City Council who voted last night so will pass this message along:

Thank you. Thank you for being a voice for the voiceless. Thank you for shining light onto bigotry in any form. Thank you for doing the right thing and acknowledging all of your citizens and those who want to be part of the greatness that is Sterling Heights. As one of your citizens said "Discrimination is real and it happens every day. It is subtle, it is rarely overt, and it is laws like this that are necessary to protect LGBT people…Freedom is for all of us not just some of us who fit into a preconceived norm. Sometimes freedom for all makes us uncomfortable, that is the challenge of freedom."

I have a huge smile on my face and even more hope in my heart. Sterling Heights is where I came of age. I lived there during elementary school and junior high school, the years that I began to realize that I was different. It is a very special place for me.

Based on the vote last night, the City Council also thinks so.

Thank you for reading.

A great step towards equality in Michigan!

Every day amazing people everywhere are making their voices heard in support of equality. I want to share about someone in Sterling Heights, MI who I recently heard from.

I am approaching the third anniversary of The Gay Vegans blog and am as excited and committed as ever to keep this blog as a part of a community that speaks out for the voiceless, works for equality, and believes that we all have more in common than not.

I still feel new to the blogging world. I still feel full of wonder. Every day I seem to learn more about blogging and websites. It's an incredible path for sure.

Since the very start I have been blown away by the support from readers that I get. The love. The compassion. The conversation about topics important to us. It's always great to know that not only is someone reading my post, but they they took action because of it, shared it, or began to think about something that they had previously not thought about.

This week I received an email from someone who read one of my posts. It was a post I had written when a US federal judge had ruled that Michigan's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. Having grown up in Michigan I was ecstatic.

A city council member, actually the Mayor Pro Tem, of Sterling Heights, a city I had lived in for several years, wrote to me about the post. Mike Taylor had read my post and wanted to connect about an action he was taking:

"It was very frustrating for me to hear you recount such painful memories from Michigan and Sterling Heights. I'm sure you're not alone. I'm hoping I can do something to help people here who feel the way you did. To that end, at our latest council meeting (Tuesday May 20) I asked the administration to prepare a non-discrimination ordinance that will protect everyone in Sterling Heights from discrimination on the basis of orientation and gender identity. Currently in Michigan, there is no protection against discriminating against someone in employment, housing, or in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity."

He hopes to report that next  month this will pass, making Sterling Heights the 34th city in Michigan to have such an ordinance.

Glory be.

Thank you Mike Taylor. 

I will admit, with no surprise for our readers, that this made me quite emotional. It's difficult not to get tears in my eyes while writing this post. I am 48 years old yet clearly remember a different time in my life when I was filled with self-hatred, fear and shame. This was the young man who lived in Sterling Heights. Now this same man gets to see an equality ordinance passed in that same city.

I am incredibly grateful to Mayor Pro Tem Taylor and will keep you all posted on the ordinance.

Will the ordinance make a difference? Of course. In a state like Michigan where there are no legal protections against discrimination of those in the LGBTQ community, this will be a powerful force. Where I think it will make an even bigger difference is amongst the young people in Sterling Heights, maybe some who are living like I did. Now they hear that those in power in their city support them. Perhaps there will be less self-hatred, less hate, less bullying and even fewer young people thinking that death is better than being themselves. We just never know the power of such an ordinance.

I will keep writing posts that I hope are engaging, eye opening and helpful to everyone who reads them. I will keep writing posts that ask those who read them to take actions that will make the world a better place for all living beings.

I would be grateful if you shared this post with friends and family who might live in Sterling Heights. It's always nice to support those who support equality. 

Thank you for reading.

Marriage equality in Michigan!

Grissom Middle School, Sterling Heights

Midland High School, Midland

I grew up in Michigan.

I grew up gay in Michigan. Some time in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights and a couple of years in Midland, further north.

All of my family is still in Michigan. Mike and I visit at least every other year.

I seldom talk positively about Michigan. That's my flaw. I just think it's dreary and don't have fond memories.  I remember the intense self-hatred. I remember the secret. I could never be honest with anyone. I could only survive day by day with my shame. Many days I didn't want to survive.
 
Fortunately for me I have recent awesome memories of time with old friends and vegan adventures. I have also realized in my adulthood that bigotry and hate are everywhere, not just in my home state. I actually get excited these days when Mike and I talk about a visit to Michigan. 

So this morning when I say photos of gay couples in line to get marriage licenses and of couples getting married, I bawled.

I bawled for quite a while.

The world is changing. Freedom is coming to many who previously had only dreamed about it. I honestly never thought the day would come when I could be legally married. Or would be legally married. I honestly never thought that marriage equality would ever come to the state that for me was synonymous with shame, brutal bigotry, and hate.

And here we are.

Whew.

Let's celebrate. And then let's continue to work towards full marriage equality throughout our country. Let's continue to speak out against bigotry and hate at every level.

Thanks for reading.

Marriage equality in New Jersey!

Two states were in the news this week with marriage equality.

As I wrote in a post last week, a federal judge in Michigan was going to consider Michigan's ban on gay marriage. As is common in many cases around equality, he punted, saying he would hear arguments in February. Seriously. February.

Yet on Friday of this week the New Jersey State Supreme Court did not punt and let a lower court judge's ruling that marriages could begin while the issue of marriage equality was in the courts. Marriages can begin this Monday!

Here at home in Colorado marriage for Mike and I is still not a reality, and most likely won't be for some time. Many people say to us, "I just don't get why it is not legal". We definitely feel the same way. Yet when we look around and still see those who support equality not expressing themselves at the voting booth while the religious extremists and bigots do, then it makes sense.

We have to be a voice for equality. We cannot let the religious extremists in this country have say over which Americans should have rights and which shouldn't. It's bad enough that they have so much power in Congress. We need to take their power away.

Whew, from Michigan to New Jersey to Congress all in a few paragraphs.

We are sending loads of love to our brothers and sisters in Jersey who very soon will have legal marriage!

Thanks for reading!

Legal marriage in Michigan this week?

I grew up in Michigan.

I don't talk a lot about that. Since I left Michigan six days after graduating from high school I don't even mention it when I talk about where I am from. I usually mention Norfolk.

Most of my memories around growing up in Michigan are about my high school years, years which the word difficult would be an understatement in describing. High school for me felt more like a prison sentence, a long, tortuous prison sentence. Much of this was because I knew I was gay and also knew that I couldn't tell anyone. Holding secrets is no fun.

I can even remember back to junior high school and my first crushes. No, I had no interest in going to the dance with her. I wanted to go with him.

All of my family still lives in Michigan. My parents, brothers (including my brother who hasn't spoken to me since I came out in 1990) as well as a bunch of aunts, uncles and cousins. Thanks to Facebook, I am also in touch with the very few people I felt safe with during high school, and I actually love that.

So when I start hearing about this big marriage case being heard in Detroit on October 16th, I must admit that I get excited.

I honestly don't know much about the case. But when I read this, from the county where I lived and spent my high school years, I was ecstatic and almost had tears in my eyes:

"Midland County will be issuing marriage licenses as soon as the ruling comes down."

Holy cow.

Of course bigotry is everywhere and I have read about all of the groups writing notes against any type of ruling that would support marriage equality.

All of that aside, I feel like mariage equality could actually become a reality in Michigan.

And I am grinning from ear to ear.

Thanks for reading.

"Midland County will be issuing marriage license to same sex couples as soon as the ruling comes down. In addition the Michigan Department of Public Health is working on a marriage application and license that is to be ready by October 16th." - See more at: http://www.equalitymi.org/marriage/county/Midland#sthash.8yBETsqf.dpuf

"Midland County will be issuing marriage license to same sex couples as soon as the ruling comes down. In addition the Michigan Department of Public Health is working on a marriage application and license that is to be ready by October 16th." - See more at: http://www.equalitymi.org/marriage/county/Midland#sthash.8yBETsqf.dpuf

"Midland County will be issuing marriage license to same sex couples as soon as the ruling comes down. In addition the Michigan Department of Public Health is working on a marriage application and license that is to be ready by October 16th." - See more at: http://www.equalitymi.org/marriage/county/Midland#sthash.8yBETsqf.dpuf

A few of our favorite things Part II

Part II of a two-part post!

It's that time of year again, when folks put out their "best of" lists. Last year we did a blog post on our favorite women and a blog post on our favorite men. This years' list includes many of our favorite things: people, groups, restaurants, etc. Like we did last year, we invite you to share some of your favorites with us!

And here's the rest of our list:

Chris Kluwe. He plays for the Minnesota Vikings, is way sexy and constantly speaks out for marriage equality. It is when people do what he does that makes me feel we will have full marriage equality one day.

Heather's Restaurant. I wrote a blog about this treasure in Bay City, Michigan. What a find. My mom lives near here and took us for lunch. We were blown away. HUGE selection of vegan dishes including desserts and cinnamon rolls!

Pussy Riot. Yes, you have most likely heard of this Russian all-female band whose members (two) are currently in a prison (actually I think it's a labor camp) all because of their peaceful expression of their beliefs, in a church. The church got mad. We love activists with courage and our reason for naming them here is to get more people to speak out against the injustice of their being imprisoned.

#tweetfortaiji. This is a symbol on Twitter for all of those speaking out for the dolphins being massacred in "the cove" in Japan.  I spend a lot of time thinking about the pods of dolphins being pushed into the cove and then being killed by hand. The fear, torture, cruelty and hopelessness as they try to survive breaks my heart. I will write a blog post soon in hopes of taking action against what is going on there.

Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera. Kasha is the founder and executive director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, a leading LGBTQ rights organization. In Uganda. One of the most anti-gay countries in the world. If you see this Kasha, know we love you. And to all LGBTQ activists who live in harm's way, we are sending you love too.

The activist. Yep, we know you are out there. You work all day. In some cases you take care of your family and are a supportive other-half. And in the limited free time you have you are a voice for the voiceless. And you rock. We love you. And we get it. It's not always easy. Thank you.

Thank you for reading our list of a few of our favorite things. We could probably write at least two more posts. We encourage you to speak out for your favorites and to let folks who you think rock know that they do and how you feel.

Vegan paradise in Michigan

Mike and I had a surprise waiting for us when we got to Michigan.

Picture this. If you are vegan, you have probably experienced this. A friend or relative says that they have been to a restaurant where "you can eat" and that you would love it. Having experienced this before and not being impressed with being able to order a chef's salad without the meat and cheese, you're thinking "sure".

This is what Mike and I were thinking when we walked into Heather's for lunch in downtown Bay City, MI.

Boy were we wrong!

Heather's is a vegan paradise right in the middle of Michigan. Well, sort of in the middle. Downtown Bay City is just ten minutes east of I75, and about two hours north of Detroit.

When we first saw the menu I smiled as I read about the vegan seitan pot pie. Oh my! That's what I ordered the first time and all I can say is delish! The side I ordered was a butternut squash delight with pecans and brown sugar. Incredible. Mike got the vegan BLT with homemade vegan bacon and homemade vegan mayo. What more can I say?

The second time we went for dinner, which they serve Fridays and Saturdays. Other days of the week they only serve breakfast (including vegan pancakes and French Toast!) and lunch. For dinner they have two vegan and two non-vegan specials, plus the lunch and breakfast menu offerings.  This time Mike got the vegan pot pie and I got the vegan special which was Beef Stroganoff. I loved it. My uncle got the soup which he loved. They have a vegan soup every day.

The most incredible of a totally incredible experience was the dessert. Both times I ordered the Peanut Butter Brownie Crust Vanilla Pie. I just can't write enough about this, or tell you how absolutely delish it was. I will dream about it. Their desserts change but they typically have five or six vegan desserts. Mike got the banana cake and it was crazy good.

Finally, as we left Bay City we stopped by for breakfast. One of the staff told us that vegan cinnamon rolls had just come out of the oven. Oh my. They were incredible.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner. We covered them all. All were amazing.

If you are a long-term reader of ours you might know that for me, friendly service is critical in a restaurant experience. I am long past going to a vegan or veg or veg friendly restaurant just to be treated like crap or left feeling like I was in the way or not good enough (or cool enough) to dine there. Every person we encountered at Heather's, including Heather, was beyond friendly, kind, hospitable and helpful. We felt like we were being welcomed into a special place for sure.

Heather's is not exclusively vegan. They serve meat dishes. Their vegan dishes take up a good part of their menu.

We would travel hours to go back. We highly recommend Heather's to anyone who wants to be blown away by delicious, fresh food and incredibly friendly service. They could use your support, too. It's not easy being a vegan haven in the middle of Michigan.

Heather's is at 205 3rd Street in downtown Bay City. Their phone is 989.402.1116.

Thanks for reading. I would love your feedback. My email is vegandude@msn.com