Time in Austin. Texas.

I am in Austin, Texas for the third Vida Vegan Con vegan bloggers conference! Yes, a gay vegan in Texas! And by Friday there will be many of us! A whole group of gay vegans. I must come up with a term for that!

The road trip here was filled with excitement: speeding ticket in New Mexico, tornado warnings around Abilene and the loudest, longest thunder storm I have experienced about two hours north of Austin.

I am super excited to be at another Vida Vegan Con. Last time, two years ago, I learned so much about blogging and becoming a better blogger, plus I met so many people who are making the world  a better place for all living beings.

I will be taking photos and sharing experiences throughout the next five days mainly on Instagram and Twitter where I am @thegayvgeans on both.

So far the humidity is already hitting me hard!

If you have a favorite in Austin please let me know.

More to come.

Thanks for reading!

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!

Headed to Salt Lake City

Mike and I start our summer vacation next week. Although our destination is San Diego (no surprise) we are making several stops on the way. After an evening enjoying the hot springs at Glenwood Springs, we head to Salt Lake City.

Why on earth would two gay vegans go to Salt Lake City?

I used to think the same thing. Then I went there about ten years ago for an Amnesty International conference. Loved it.

It's a pretty progressive city.

And way vegan friendly.

We are so excited. This will be Mike's first time. And in the last ten years I think the vegan scene has exploded. Plus, Utah's marriage ban was ruled unconstitutional and although wedding were stopped for the time being I know it is just a matter of time until marriage equality becomes the law of the land.

Have you been to Salt Lake City lately? Or do you live there?

We'd love to hear from you. Only one night so basically dinner and breakfast. We'll be staying at the Hotel Monaco which is downtown.

We love road trips. And we're so excited about this one coming up.

Thanks for reading! We'll keep you posted on any incredible finds during the trip!

Trying Air BnB

Last year at Vida Vegan Con in Portland, OR I met some people who had booked a place to stay through Air Bnb. I don't know what world I had been living in, but I had never heard about this.

For those who are not in the know as I was, Air Bnb is a website where you can find a room, a studio, an apartment or a house to stay in all over the world. The main page offers a place to stay in over 34,000 cities in 190 countries. That covers a lot of choices for travel.

We are new to this, After hearing from another friend who had just booked places to stay during a cross country trip, I got onto the website and started looking at some choices for our upcoming trip to San Diego. We are taking quite the route to get to San Diego, which is typical for our road trips as we plan them around people we can visit and delicious vegan food options we have heard of.

I have to say it's pretty exciting. The profiles of places to stay are well written with plenty of photographs. They include information on whether or not dogs (or cats) are welcome, a map of the location, a way to contact the person offering the space, and reviews from others who have stayed at the property.

I found a couple of places that I thought Mike and I would like and emailed the folks listed as a contact with a couple of questions. For example, at first I didn't know if the dog and cat information meant that the person had dogs and/or cats or that we could bring Suga. The profile states the time frame in which the contact will get back to you and in all three cases I was contacted back well within that time.

So we are booked for our first Air BnB experience! I am pretty excited. A new adventure for us.

If you are interested in checking out a spot for your next trip, here is their website: https://www.airbnb.com/

I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks for reading!

Vegan summer adventures

Every year Mike and I take a vegan summer adventure. Most of the time we go to Florida, Illinois or Michigan to visit family.

This year we are taking a long-planned dream vacation to Encinitas, California starting with a couple of days in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles we plan to spend time with friends and eat a lot of delish vegan food. Once in Encinitas, we check into a beautiful little place on the beach where we will eat, cook, relax, swim, kayak and I'm sure many other things while there.

As a blogger near Denver (we live in Lakewood, just west) I often receive questions from folks coming here regarding where to eat. Vegan road trips or trips in general can be tough sometimes. I love to eat. And when I am on vacation I love to eat more. Fortunately for us we get to travel to places where there are awesome places to grab an amazing vegan meal. But that's not the case everywhere.

What to do?

First, check out http://www.happycow.net/ ! All you have to do is plug in the city where you are traveling, and instantly you have all of the known places to grab a bite to eat. This includes restaurant (both vegan and vegan friendly) as well as nutrition stores and grocery stores that might serve or sell vegan dishes.

We have found Happy Cow to be really helpful. On a trip to Florida, we found this amazing grocery store/restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi where we ate like kings. We enjoyed it so much that we made sure to stop in on the way home.

The key here, at least for us, is to try to find places to eat before you leave for your trip. That way you not only have something to look forward to, you also know that at this particular point in the trip you'll be able to find some good vegan options.

While on the internet, Google "vegan" and then the city or country you are traveling to. You might be surprised of your choices. If nothing pops up (never happened to us but just in case) try searching for "vegetarian" then the city or country.

One last place to check out on the internet that can be very helpful are vegan bloggers local to where you are traveling. We follow bloggers all over the place, including Omaha, Memphis, Los Angeles, Portland, Miami, Chicago and San Diego. When it comes to us traveling to one of these places we simply email the blogger and find out where to go.

While traveling between places (like Denver to Los Angeles) we rely not only on Happy Cow but also local, ethnic restaurants. They seem to be even in the smallest of towns and practically every Indian, Nepalese, Ethiopian, Chinese and Thai restaurant has vegan options.

What is your summer adventure going to be?

Thanks so much for reading!

Road trip to Portland and Vida Vegan Con 2013

It had been 10 months since I purchased my registration for the 2013 Vida Vegan Con.

I decided (no surprise) that I would drive to Portland. Nineteen hours, no sweat. I was totally thrilled when Ryan Patey said he would fly into Denver and head out there with me! Ryan is the editor of T.O.F.U. Magazine and has become a great friend.

Car was packed and we set out for the road. Our goal was to try to make it to Boise, Idaho and spend the night there. A bigger goal was to make it to Boise by 7pm so we could dine at the fabulous Shangri La restaurant, a mostly vegan establishment (if not totally vegan, I honestly can't remember!).

We made it! It was so worth getting into Boise and being able to eat at Shangri La. Only about 10 minutes off of I-84, we were immediately welcomed by staff. Live music also welcomed us.  Shangri La is a wonderful vegan haven in Boise. I was surprised!

The menu had a lot of raw options and several soups. I was hoping to get a hot tofu dish, and I certainly wasn't disappointed after enjoying the mock tuna and crackers plate with a bowl of miso soup. Ryan loved hi mock tuna sandwich. Shangri La is the perfect place to be able to spend a little time after  along road trip. I highly recommend it. Oh, and a shout out to Tristan for telling me about it!

From Boise it's about a half an hour to the Oregon state line. My first time in Oregon and now I am down to six states that I haven't been to (Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire).

The main thing that you just have to know is that the drive along the Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken in the U.S. Holy Cow! I loved every mile of it. Even if you are in Portland but flew there, somehow make a trip out to this amazing drive.

 We pulled into Portland mid-afternoon on the day before Vida Vegan Con began, plenty of time to check into our hotels and I had a chance to clean up before catching a cab to the unofficial welcome reception. I will go more into food and sessions in another post but I just HAVE to tell you about the White Owl Social Club bar and restaurant in Portland. All I have to say is fried mac n cheese sandwiches! Oh my! Simply mind blowing. And of course I had to try the loaded potatoes. To go with all of this was my new favorite drink, Cock & Bull Ginger Beer. Mmmmm! For non-drinkers it's not always easy finding something different and tasty out there, and Cock & Ball was it for me!

Believe it or not, the food was not the highlight of the party. I started to meet many of the hundreds of other vegan bloggers that had come to Vida Vegan Con and I immediately knew that there were going to be many new friendships! Indeed there are!

Remember, this was just my first night in Portland. Vida Vegan Con hadn't even started. More on the conference in the next post.

Thanks for reading!

My first bloggers conference!

Next month will be the two year anniversary of The Gay Vegans blog. I feel like a new blogger, and sometimes I feel like I"m not even a blogger yet! I have had a blast with The Gay Vegans and continually try to write well thought out, interesting and hopefully engaging posts.

So I am super excited to be going to my first ever bloggers conference, and it will be an all vegan conference! Holy cow! Vida Vegan Con is May 24 - 26 in Portland, Oregon and there will be hundreds of vegan bloggers from around the world. There will be incredible vegan food, lots of sessions where I can learn all sorts of things, and for me, just being able to connect with people whose blogs I love and who I want to learn from.

First things first. I have to get there.

ROAD TRIP!

I have never been to Oregon, or much of Idaho, so I am ecstatic to be able to cover new terrain. My friend and fellow blogger Ryan is flying in to Denver to join me for this trip that will take us from Denver to Portland via Boise, Idaho. So exciting.

I know we have plenty of blog readers in Idaho, so please let me know if there is a place we simply must eat at while driving through. We will spend the night in Boise so most likely will have dinner there. If we are making good time heading west on I 80 we might even take a quick meal break in Salt Lake City which would totally rock it!

I love road trips. I write about road trips.

This road trip will end in Portland, where I will immerse myself into an intense, vegan blogger's dream. So much to do, so much to learn, so many people I want to meet. I feel like a gay teenager going to his first Black Sabbath concert! (that was me by the way, back in 1982!)

Fortunately there are several folks attending Vida Vegan Con who are from Portland and they have been keeping all of informed as to the multitude of vegan experiences possible in Portland. It seems like there will not be enough time in the day! 

And on Saturday night, the Galarama! A huge party to raise money for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!

Whew!

My return trip will be solo so I am bringing camping gear to hit a place I haven't camped before, which won't be difficult to find.

Thanks so much for reading. I will keep you updated for sure.

Vegan New Mexico

After being laid off last week I jumped into the job search. Having never been unemployed, I wasn't really sure what to expect. After settling in over the first couple of days I decided I could do a job search from anywhere. So Miguel, one of our furries, and I headed down to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit our dear friend Tammy.

I have been traveling to New Mexico ever since I moved to Colorado 14 years ago. I love New Mexico. One thing that makes a place/area able to make it to my "love" list is having plenty of good vegan food. New Mexico does not disappoint. I knew that before this trip but during this trip Tammy turned me on to whole new vegan food experiences that you must check out if ever in The Land of Enchantment.

Our first night we went to the gym before heading to dinner. As much as I like to eat, remaining active and working out during a visit anywhere where I am going to try new places is important. The first night we went to Thai Vegan. There are two in Albuquerque and we went to the one on Central Avenue. Beautiful place, amazingly friendly staff, and a loving greeting by the owner. They have fake meats and a bunch of desserts. And, as you might guess from the name, everything is vegan. We tried several things, Tammy got a crazy-big salad with tofu and I got a chicken/spinach peanut sauce dish. We got a couple of appetizers too, of course. I loved this place.

The next morning I got early and headed to the Flying Star Cafe. Great place to work on a job search as this place is filled with folks working on their laptops and conversing. I loved it. And endless coffee. From a vegan food perspective there isn't a lot, but the tofu scramble is delish. It's not on the menu but you can order it.  Free wireless too so perfect for an unemployed vegan guy who is hungry for food and a job. I know that there are at least two locations, this one is on Central Avenue.

While working on my job search I had no idea that my life was about to change in a huge way. Tammy was taking me to Mint Tulip, an all vegan cafe right across from the University of New Mexico. Vegan shakes. That's all I have to say. Well, I could stop there but there is so much more to tell. The place is super cute. Owner and staff totally friendly. I ordered a peanut butter chocolate milkshake, Tammy got strawberry. We started our eating with chips and queso. We both got the grilled cheese sandwich. Oh my.

The next day we went back and I got the sausage and cheese biscuit. Well, two of them, with a shake of course.

Mint Tulip is a MUST stop if ever in Albuquerque.

The blissful trip continued the next day when Tammy took me to Ten Thousand Waves. Just outside of downtown Santa Fe, about an hour from Albuquerque. Mike and I had been before and I love it. A Japanese spa with hot tubs and hot springs. You can partake in as much or as little as you wish, depending on how much money you want to spend. I am content with the hot pool and sauna, reading in between soaks and sweats.

After a couple of luxurious hours at Ten Thousand Waves Tammy just had to take me to a new vegan place in Santa Fe, Momo and Co. We decided to swing by there, get a couple of vegan cupcakes for the road, and then go quickly back to Albuquerque to grab another meal at Mint Tulip. It didn't quite work out that way as Momo and Co. is not just a bakery. They have a bunch of delish vegan meal options, including waffles! Note: Almost everything is vegan, but double check.  Tammy ordered a cupcake and I inquired about the waffle. Yes, they could prepare it to go. Would I like butter with that? Oh my.

This photo is not of the waffle I fell in love with but a great example of the vegan creations Momo makes!

Note: As I become a better blogger I realize that when including friends/family in a post, you don't want to write a tell all. Suffice to say that one of the many reasons I love Tammy is that she loves to eat like me!

Tammy patiently waited while they worked on my waffle. I had a chance to talk with Momo, the owner, whom I truly love. After a few minutes we were set, and as Tammy drove us back to Albuquerque and to another meal at Mint Tulip I totally enjoyed my vegan waffle with vegan butter and berries. As much as  I loved the waffle, definitely try a cupcake or two as well.

There is much more to Albuquerque and Santa Fe and this blog post only covers what I experienced during this three-day trip. I urge you to explore the vastness that is New Mexico, knowing that in these two cities you can eat well for sure.



http://www.thaivegannm.com/

http://www.flyingstarcafe.com/

http://minttulipvegan.tumblr.com/

http://tenthousandwaves.com/

http://www.momoandcompany.com/

Chicago is like vegan heaven

Mike and I love Chicago.

On our way from Denver to Michigan we decided to plan a couple of days in Chicago to eat and enjoy the city.

Boy did we enjoy it.

For our vegan readers, this post might disappoint as we only ate at one restaurant, the Chicago Diner. With only a couple of days in town we decided to go with what we know and stayed at the diner.

Vegan chocolate peanut butter milkshake. Need I say more.

Their brand is "Meatless since '83". I have been going to the diner since 1996 and although they aren't always perfect, I have always loved going there. Service can be hit or miss and we experienced totally great service all three times. I always get a shake. This time we both tried the grilled Caesar Salad with blackened tofu and it was DELISH! Christine and Brian were our serves and both are super-friendly and fun to be with.

We happened to be in Chicago during gay pride weekend and were stoked to see Mercy For Animals, one of our all-time favorite animal rights groups and one that we financially support, having a booth at pride. They were also in the parade. This might not surprise many of you, but it is great that an animal rights group brought the voice of the voiceless to gay pride.

There are a ton of vegan options in Chicago.  Happy Cow has a great list, including new ones: http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/illinois/chicago/

This trip we stayed at the historic Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue. I can't write enough wonderful things about this hotel. Incredible rooms, great, friendly staff, perfect location, great views. The hotel is two blocks from the red line which takes you right to the Chicago Diner's neighborhood.

If you haven't been to Chicago we definitely recommend a trip there. Let me know if you have any questions that you think I might be able to help with regarding a trip there. My email is vegandude@msn.com

Vegan road trip continues

Our 2012 summer road trip has been a blast and we wanted to share a few moments of it with you.

We were thrilled to see that the speed limit in Kansas is now 75! The trip to Kansas City was uneventful, mainly listening to OUTQ radio and enjoying the time.

Kansas City has a new gem in the vegan restaurant Cafe Gratitude. We were staying walking distance from there and were couldn't believe there was such a place in Kansas City. Cafe Gratitude is connected to the same places in California and the food was crazy good. They have a lot of raw options and I think they have something for everyone. Definitely check them out if you're ever in KC. For us, it was a great place for our first night on the road!

From Kansas City, MO we drove to St. Louis, swinging by Main Squeeze in Columbia, MO for lunch. We have been to this veg haven many times now, never disappointed. It's about 10 minutes from I-70. Mike thinks their vegan Reuben is the best Reuben out there!

St. Louis was great. We stayed in the Loop area and had Thai food at one of several ethnic restaurants in the area. It was OK. Our hotel, the Moonrise, was gorgeous. Friendly staff, comfy room. The problem was that they charged an additional $50 for Suga! I don't get the extra charge but we left our comments about that and would not stay there again unless the fee (fine) was gone.

While in St. Louis we caught a performance of Opera Theater St. Louis's Cosi Fan Tutte and loved it. As a fundraiser for an opera company it was great to be on the other end and to totally just sit back and enjoy an opera. Plus, we were right in the front row which is a totally different experience!

From St. Louis we went to Chicago, and that is a whole other post!

We love road trips, and encourage anyone to go for it and plan one!

Thank you for reading! My email address is vegandude@msn.com

The gay vegan road trip!

It's that time of year again and Mike and I are packing up for our annual summer road trip!

This year will be a bit shorter than last years' trip to Florida as we travel through the Midwest to Michigan to visit my parents.

We begin in Kansas City, then to St. Louis to catch an opera, then a couple of days in Chicago (one of our favorite cities!) then to eastern Michigan where the family visits begin.

We LOVE road trips. We are both totally psyched.

Road trips give us a lot of one on one time, which is perfect. They also give a chance to check out new places to eat, to check out new places, and meet new people.

This time last year was when I started this blog. It began as an opportunity to share with people our road trip experience from last summer. Our trip last year was 5,050 miles!

One of the many beauties of our blog is that so many of our readers have given us clues as to where to eat, what to visit, and have even invited us to a meal during this road trip!

My gratitude around this blog and all of the people we have met and things we have learned continues to grow and grow. This community around The gay vegans is beyond whatever I might have dreamed of when I first started the blog. Every day we get at least one note from a reader sharing a personal experience related to a blog post, or simply just thanking us. It's unbelievable!

So we're off. We'll be on the road for two weeks and I'm sure I'll get at least one or two blogs out. We'll be back just in time for Veg fest Colorado, which we are sponsoring!

Thank you for reading! My email address is vegandude@msn.com

The gay, vegan road trip

This past summer was when I decided to create The Gay Vegans blog. I had been writing a fundraising blog for over a year and after deciding I wanted to keep that just about fundraising and not my personal life, I created The Gay Vegans.

Mike and I have amazing families. Families that are scattered all over the country. SO last June we decided to go visit Mike's mom near Daytona Beach, FL, and we drove. Yep, round trip it was 5,050 miles!

We love road trips and this one was no exception. We went from Denver to Memphis, TN and visited the National Civil Rights Museum which I had wanted to do for a long time. If you ever have a chance to visit that museum we highly recommend it! And lucky us, as we exited the museum (the annex part across the street from the main museum) we saw a chicken and waffle place. They wouldn't have anything vegan would they? They sure did! They had Boca crumbles on any salad as well as Boca burgers, and they had fries and fried okra. Oh, and SWEET TEA! Oh my, it was perfect. A nice vegan lunch with amazingly friendly people on a 101 degrees day with my husband and sweet tea!

We stopped in Jackson,MS both on the way there and back. The reason was Rainbow Natural Grocery. On our way south we stopped and had incredible vegan food for lunch. Their in-house restaurant was closed but they make a bunch of items before they close and sell them as grab-n-go for the rest of the day. We grabbed a lot and stayed. And feasted! All of the food was so good we just had to swing by on our way home. And, like every place we ate at throughout the south, everyone was so friendly. We might have doubled the population of gay vegans in Mississippi while there, but we loved it!

More on this road trip another post. The reason I wanted to write this particular post was to encourage our readers to take a road trip and, for our vegan or vegetarian readers, to not worry about food as there are a ton of choices out there.

By the way, our next trip is in June to Michigan, via St. Louis and Chicago!

Thanks for reading!