Happy 2010!

Though I've got a full day until the countdown, my Sydney-sider friends will be rocking in the new year in just a few hours, so I thought I'd go ahead and post my look back at the year that was 2009.

This year Veg Table and Vegan@Large were born! I hope to have a bit more time to do some community building on Veg Table in 2010, but in the mean time I sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to the site, as well as all my readers here, followers on Twitter, and just the awesome vegan community in general.

In personal news, Tim and I witnessed some of our closest friends and family members get hitched! Lots of love to Amy and Stewart, Ali and Quinn, Brad and Becky, and Karen and Craig! And although I sadly lost a dear family member this year, there was still MUCH to be thankful for. Our travels for weddings and other events took us to Sydney, Long Island, Los Angeles, San Diego, Napa, New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Arizona. I've got the travel bug for sure and can't wait to explore a whole new part of the world next year.

I worked on three amazing bakesales, the first as part of the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale which led to the creation of the ongoing SF Vegan Bake Sale which continues to blow my mind in terms of funds raised, not to mention community building and some of the best vegan outreach there is.

Some other great strides were made this year in terms of mainstream vegan acceptance. Jonathan Safran Foer and Alicia Silverstone brought animal rights and veganism to new audiences through their books. Ellen Degeneres started doing easy vegan cooking demos on her talk show and Oprah welcomed chef Tal Ronnen (whose book The Conscious Cook I got as a Christmas gift and is food porn like WOAH) to show that vegan cooking can be gourmet and delicious.

Vegansaurus has an awesome wrap-up of the decade in veganism. I've only been vegan for half of the decade, but I'm so excited for the coming years for vegans. If you're itching for other year-end lists (because they're very hard to come by on the internet right now) I suggest really the only other essential list: The 30 Most Important Cats of 2009. Other than the glaring omission of Tony Danza, it's pretty much spot-on.

Lastly, I hope you all enjoy wonderful New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations. I'm not doing anything of particular vegan note, but I may make some Texas Caviar. As a one-time Texan and lover of black-eyed peas, it's a New Year's tradition I can get behind. VegWeb has a great round-up of other black-eyed pea recipes to bring you all sorts of good luck.

Happy 2010, y'all!

SoCal Vegans, Help Me Out!

My next wedding adventure takes me to Southern California. Having been a resident of this state for 4+ years, it's a little tragic that I've never ventured further south than Santa Barbara. But starting Friday, my husband and I will be in San Diego for two nights and Los Angeles for three (one of which is our own 2 year anniversary).

Naturally, I'm trying to plan this trip a bit around where we want to eat just as much as the places we want to see. Here's what I've got planned so far, but knowing little about these restaurants, I welcome suggestions for better places to go...

Aug. 7 - We fly into San Diego mid-afternoon and will probably just explore Balboa Park. Dinner at Spread.
Aug. 8 - Spending the morning/afternoon at Mission Beach. Lunch at Vegan Zone. That night: Ali and Quinn's wedding! Yay!
Aug. 9 - Lunch at Rancho's Vegan Deli. I think we may go to the Zoo* that afternoon before driving to Los Angeles. Dinner in LA at Real Food Daily in West Hollywood.
Aug. 10 - Tourist day! Hollywood Walk of Fame, etc. Lunch at one of these somewhat-generic vegan restaurants. Dinner at Pure Luck and then maybe check out Silver Lake. Is there good nightlife there?
Aug. 11 - Our Anniversary! Santa Monica for the day, lunch at Euphoria Loves RAWvolution. (Their website is ludicrous.) Dinner at Michael Minna's XIV, which apparently has a semi-secret vegan tasting menu.
Aug. 12 - Lunch at Cafe Flourish and if we have time, the La Brea tar pits. Then we head back to San Francisco that evening.

So, my SoCal readers, are there any glaring omissions in our restaurant choices? I'm a little disappointed we can't go to Fatty's in Eagle Rock, but they're closed Monday and Tuesday and a bit far to drive on Sunday. I guess there's always next time. Are any of our other restaurant choices bad ideas?

Also, is the tourist stuff we've chosen totally lame? I mean I'm sure city residents always hate their touristy areas. (God knows I avoid Fisherman's Wharf if I can.) But there is something to be said about cultural landmarks. (I still marvel everytime I drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.)

What about night life? Havng to drive every where will put a little bit of a damper on how much we can drink, but where are some good neighborhoods to hang out? (Maybe reminiscent of SF's Mission District?)

Much obliged for any help. Looking forward to some much needed sunshine!


*I know, it's questionable when it comes to animal rights. Feel free to try persuade me otherwise (seriously I may change my mind). But I love animals! I'd hang out with monkeys and penguins every day if I could, and my love of animals and zoos while growing up, I have no doubt, made me more inclined to become vegan. And San Diego Zoo is reputable and huge, not like some sad zoos where the gorillas look depressed, right? Right?? (Yes, I carry some guilt, can you tell?)