Also Music Tuesday

Okay, I know, I know. We're off this week, but real quick-like, check this out - Say Please. It's the new single from the forthcoming album by...ahem...Monsters of Folk—the indie super group that consists of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) + Jim James (My Morning Jacket) + M. Ward (M. Ward) + that guy in the red shirt with the glasses. Crazy, right? I mean, who doesn't love New Traveling Wilburys? Also, is anyone else shocked that there's a Traveling Wilburys site?

Music Monday

We had some bad luck with the Web log last week. First, the day of posting our 'Hey, Bikes are Great' piece...like, literally minutes after posting, I proceeded to run over some glass with the Saint, which, evidently is bad for bikes? Who knew. Thus, the Saint Tropez has been out of commission because I keep saying that I need to learn how to fix a flat...and have yet to learn how to fix a flat. THEN last Friday we had some technical posting issues and the page went a little crazy for an hour or so (apologies). Then, at the end of the day, we got a bizarre notice from The Man (read: Google) that stated they had taken down our recent post on vegan dog treat company Max + Ruffy because it contained copyrighted musical performances...which was both weird and untrue. So, since we feel bad that that got taken down and see no reason for it not to be up, we're re-posting that piece at the end of this one. Blogs, man.

So, on to Music Monday. This week's Song of the Week is from Seattle's oddly-named Throw Me the Statue. TMTS started out as the hopeful bedroom recording project by Scott Reitherman: lo-fi, fuzzy, poppy, and great for what it was. But now Scott's grown into a full band and more mature sound, still basing it all on steady, strong song-writing. Their new LP, out on Secretly Canadian early next month, promises to be a good one. To tide you over, check out their song, Ancestors, courtesy of Secretly Canadian. As usual, click the album cover to the right to listen, left-click to download.

Now with the repost, originally posted Tuesday, July 14 -

The Find

Okay, we admit it: We don't have any dogs. But, if we did, I'd hope that they'd look like those two guys up there, sittin' by the creek. You know, total pals. BFFs. I'd also be super psyched because it'd mean I'd have a rather valid excuse to buy Max + Ruffy's vegan dog treats. They're a client of ours (nice logo, right?) and they also happen to be some of the nicest people with whom we've had the good fortune to work. The two owners (no, they're not named Max or Ruffy), being vegan themselves and very attentive to their companion animals dietary needs, saw a gap in the dog treat market: high-grade products made from completely vegan, organic ingredients for the shopper who prioritized cruelty-free consumerism AND healthy, tasty food for their animals.

How do I know they're tasty. Well...er...you know, when you're doing a really long photo shoot and you've just got these, um, vegan treats sitting in front of you that HAPPEN to be made with dogs in mind but have all these totally "human-grade" ingredients in them...yeah, well, I have no regrets. They taste good, man. My favorite...and I like to think my own tastes are usually in line with most canines'...is the Wolf Peach and Herb. It's like eating a little, dog-treat-shaped pizza.

Hint: wolf peach = tomato. That's another fun thing about the company—they have an educational aspect to some of the names. Like the origin of the name 'wolf peach' (totally from witches) or the great molasses explosion of 1919 in Boston. I mean, what dog doesn't love to learn, right?

So, point being, if you have a dog, like to give them good, healthy things to eat from a very environmentally-conscious company, and you're vegan or at least like to lessen your impact on the whole animal-based industry, give 'em a try. Or, if you're just totally hungry and happen to be walking by a pet food store one day...that too.

And, in case you were wondering, it's totally cool for dogs to be on 100% vegetarian diets. In most cases, it's actually healthier. Check it. One more point for the vegans.

And if you want to order some treats up, you can do so from their site. Better yet, tell your local pet store you want them to carry them. Power to the dogs, yo.

As the Crow Flies

News on the Quick
First off, apologies on starting today's post with a dark cloud, but everyone should watch this and share it with as many people as possible. It's disgusting that circuses not only enslave these wild animals but also torture them throughout their long, miserable lives.

Thanks to Joshua over at the Discerning Brute for the heads up on that video. With that out of the way, on to sunnier news and happenings coming up.

Pop Over to a Pop-Up

Check out the Pop Rocks pop-up shop and generals good times, presented by Brooklyn-based Mart in ye olde Williamsburg this Saturday. Mart's a new, independent collective of fashion fancies, product designers, artists, stylists, and musicians that are workin' to set the borough aflame, starting with tomorrow's event. Pop on over to peruse arty finds, jewelry, apparel, and don't forget your ears as they'll have live music going all day til the break of...um, 10PM or so. Details here.

Not enough popping up for you this weekend? Well head back over to Wburg/Greenpoint for the Dirty Pretty Things pop-up sale, presented by Tessi + June of the Brooklyn Flea and vintage-, green-minded-shop White Dove NYC. They'll have choice vintage finds and a sample sale from Love Brigade. Details here.

Rock and/or Pop

Trippy popsters Black Moth Super Rainbow play a free show with faves Blank Dogs tonight over at the South Street Seaport (Fulton & South Streets, Pier 17).

Scared of summer storms? Check out our pal, Ravi's Smiths tribute band—The Sons + Heirs—at the Bellhouse in Gowanus. We've seen them and were absolutely transfixed by their spot-on-ness and excellent songs. Honestly, so very Morrissey-y. Plus they're playing with fellow don't-call-them-cover-bands Meeting in the Aisle (Radiohead) and Green Shirt (Elvis Costello).

Sorry. We get a little dash-happy sometimes. DAMN. Did it again. -

We Like It On Top

Forget inside buildings. On top of them is where it's at. First, Rooftop Films + 5Gum (you know, the new, hip Wrigley's) kick off the Animation Block Party tonight on the roof of Autmotive High School in Williamsburg. Teengirl Fantasy preforms live. Details here. BAM continues the fun with Animation Weekend.

And tired of hitting up those tired old on-the-ground farmer's markets for your local produce? Check out this 6,000 square foot rooftop farm in the heart of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. They're providing SUPER-local produce to area residents and beginning to get area restaurants to carry their produce. Raise the roof! Here's a NYTimes article on the trend.

Sweet with a Beat

Very much like this song by Britain's Liam Frost, which features Rufus' little sister and superb singer, Martha Wainwright.

Find His Goddess

In closing, for anyone who hasn't already seen the best Web site ever, here you go.

Have a nice weekend, dear Internet.

Thursday Preen

Urban Outfitters continued its trend of massive hype and activity this week, announcing new women's shoes for the fall season. By my count, over a quarter of them are vegan. That's not to say they're made in 100% awesome conditions or great for the environment, so you might want to check out the individual manufacturers before buying, but some of the shoes ain't half bad. Our fave is the Woven Nylon Wedge by Slow and Steady Wins the Race, a New York Design group focused on re-examining the pace of life and interpreting how that plays into the fashion world. Cool, eh?

Our first choice for vegan shoes is always MooShoes, and we're especially excited about the new Novacas fall line, which we were able to preview earlier this year. But, to hold you over til then, check out the links for the vegan ones UO shoes, many of which come in multiple colors/prints:

T-Strap Wedge • Exposed Zip Boot • Foldover Bootie • Plaid Canvas Sneakers • Floral Print Canvas Sneaker • Animal Printed Canvas Sneaker • Oxford Heel • Studded Skimmer • Lace Up Boot • Woven Nylon Wedge • Patent Twist Sandal • Ballet Slipper • Tassel Slipper • Grommet Bootie • Woven Cage Heel • Cut Out Lace Up Wedge • Printed Canvas Lace Up • Autumn Overdye Lace Up

From the Nest

Vegan Cheese Showdown Throwdown
Teese vs. Daiya
Alright, we here KoR aren't ones to fan the flames of unnecessary fights in most cases. Unless it'd be super-funny, like when you convince your one friend who's weirdly competitive with board games and your other friend who's always very, very high to sit down to a game of Diplomacy. OR, OR, a bunch of you are in the car and the dude in the passenger seat falls asleep and then you all scream like you're about to be in an accident. Funny stuff, people. Funny stuff.

Be it also known, friends, that we are certainly not ones to cheer on in-fighting among already marginalized or under-represented groups...let's say, vegans. Unless they're total jerk-ass vegans (you know who you are). But, all that said, we have been hearing many, many whispers of late about a truly exciting thing, and we needed to put it to the test. A thing that, for so long now, has always been *just* out of reach to us all. A thing that—should it prove to hail from the world of hard, undeniable facts and not the ethereal, fictional dream-world—would change our vegan lives. The thing of legends. That's right, the lost arc of the covenant to vegans—tasty, convincing, stretchy, some might even say..."cheese-like" vegan cheese—was said to be at hand. Dear vegans and nons, we are here to tell you, Daiya is the shit.

As in, it's a really good thing. Reference point for potentially older readers: The Bomb, or perhaps, The Bomb-digity. Younger readers: I don't know. What do you say now? The Twitter? The Twighlight? Maybe it's gellin'? Anyway, point being, it's good. The shit is good.

Now, like many vegans, the first experience we had with vegan cheese was with Tofutti Soy-Cheese Slices. Honestly, it handled itself alright on a vegan grilled cheese every now and then, but the taste was WAY off and they never really melted that well. And, though I didn't care about this much back in college, they're also something like 70 calories per slice, nut-balls fatty, and super bright orange. But c'mon. They were around in the 80s, man. That's awesome. I realize the market was more Orthodox Jews than straight-edge vegans, but—with their non-dairy ice cream, sour cream, and cream cheese—you have to tip your hat to Tofutti for gettin' in there when no one else was around. Speaking of, check out this kind of awesome 1986 article on Tofutti and founder, David Mintz, from New Jersey Business.

Since then, thankfully, there have been a number of great attempts at working up a convincing, cookable vegan cheese substitute. The old-schoolers who started the southern California company Follow Your Heart—who produce, among other tasty items, the very superb Veganaise—gave us Vegan Gourmet. The Spanish company, Redwood Foods gave us the costly to import but pretty decent Cheezly. And, just last year, the innovative team at Chicago Soy Dairy (nice site re-design, by the by) gave us the reigning champ, Teese. We actually did a full review of Teese this past January and, as you can tell, we loved it. Superbly melty, pretty cheesy taste, and light-years ahead of other melty vegan cheese products. Really, there was little to no competition, in our humble opinion.

Until now. We had heard a lot about this secret Canadian vegan cheese—that it melted even better than Teese, that it actually tasted like cheese, that its secret recipe was guarded by genuine mounties and it cured any number of diseases—and we were lucky enough to try it earlier this year at a potluck where, evidently, some ninja-like vegan was able to steal away with the top secret stuff and make a couple quesadillas before being apprehended by Canadian authorities. We got a triangle or two (seriously...have you seen vegans at a potluck before?) and loved it. So when we heard that Rockville, Maryland's Pangea Vegan Store had started packing and selling it, we jumped at the chance to order some. Not like a ninja jump. More of a 'Hey, We're Excited' jump. We may have clicked our heels mid-air.

So, with the Teese we already had on-hand, we started the cheesedown, working up a nice dough from a Sullivan Street Bakery recipe and keeping the toppings simple so we could concentrate on the cheesiness. Now, again, it should be said, we went into with no pre-conceived notions and no bias. It should also be said that Teese has had a great run and given us many nights of wonderful cooking where we could almost forgot we were vegan. All that said though, Daiya totally kicked Teese's ass in all categories. Like, pummeled it. Were vegan cheese able to weep openly, Teese would have certainly done so.

First and foremost, let's talk taste, because, honestly, if it doesn't taste good, who cares how well it melts. Daiya straight-up tastes much cheesier than Teese. The problem we've always had with Teese is that it tastes way too sweet and buttery, not savory enough. We even told the company as much way back when as they were looking for feedback. And, to be fait, it did get a little better over time. But Daiya is already much more on the savory side and, though it's still a few steps off from a perfect cheese taste, it's really, really close.

Next, meltability and texture. Honestly, both melt very, very well, especially in a 500 degree gas oven. What's important to note though is that Daiya stays melty and even starts to get a little stringy once it cools, making it even tastier as it sits. Actually, with our first few bites, when the pizza was still pretty hot, Daiya comes off a little too gummy and sticky. The taste is still great, but the texture is much better when it cools a bit. But with Teese, it tends to congeal quite a bit and gets a little rubbery as it cools, so the illusion of vegan cheese heaven wears off much more quickly.

So, hands down vegan melty cheese champ: Daiya. Sorry, Teese.

With the contest behind us, we had half a bag of the 'italian' Daiya and a full bag of the cheddar to pay with. So the next couple weeks were pretty much a vegan cheese whirlwind (mmmm) of blissful cooking. First we made some homemade manicotti using the superb egg-free pasta recipe we've lauded before and the italian Daiya (pictured below). Then, with the cheddar, we fulfilled a dream of mine and made cheesy, heart-stopping enchiladas that really were amazing. After that it's a blur. I think there may have been some quesadillas? A mozzarepa? A cheese castle of some sort? Regardless, the results were all wonderful and, yes, we've fallen in love with Daiya.

The only current problem is availability and shipping. Daiya still seems to be working on the best plan for getting this out to customers, but they're actually focusing much of their energy on getting the product out to restaurants and the like to make it available to the public. I've heard of some Whole Foods markets in L.A. that have already started making Daiya pizzas in their wood oven pizzas. So, if you have a restaurant that you think might be able to carry the stuff, definitely send them on to Daiya's site. But, until we can walk down the street and get a vegan slice from the neighborhood pie shop, the rest of us will have to settle for ordering it from Pangea, who currently ships the cheeses out in a giant styrofoam box with a freezy pack. I can only imagine this will get streamlined with time, but the extra cost and waste of the packaging is kind of a bummer. But I guess that just means you have to order a bunch when you get it.

So, again, we don't mean to fall prey to in-fighting and don't want to seem like we're just jumping on the next bandwagon here, but, really, Daiya is great and we're thrilled that there's room for competition in our tiny, very needy vegan market. So ball's in your court, Chicago Soy Dairy and anyone else who can step up to the plate...I'm totally mixing sports metaphors, aren't I. Point being, if you can make an awesome vegan cheese, I'm buying.

Music Monday

Afrobeat featuring Ezra Koenig to help fuel our summer escapades? Yes, please. The not-so-modestly-titled collaboration between Malawi's Esau Mwamwaya and London's DJ/producer duo, Radioclit—The Very Best—tapped the Vampire Weekend frontman for this awesomely smooth hit. Summer weather finally here - check. Can't stop listening to it summer track - check. Kick-ass Lion-King-looking cover art - check. Enjoy!

The Find

This past May was Bike Month in NYC. Unfortunately for all of us (and the poor, neglected bikes), no one told that to the weather. So it was more 'Take the Subway and Just Be Happy It's Not Snowing Because, Really, It's Almost That Cold and Wet' Month. So I'm calling a redo. That's right, since May and June turned out to be such depressing wash outs, let's use the rest of July—the rest of the summer, really—to celebrate all things bike. First, let's start with:

The Wheels

Already set on this front? Great. If not, and you happen to be in the NYC, I highly recommend checking out Recycle-A-Bicycle, a non-profit that runs bike mechanic courses in three NYC Public Schools and allows students from around the city to intern at their storefront. There, kids and adults take old, naer do well bikes that have been donated to the organization and fix them up better than new. Not only is a great cause, they've also got some kickin' bikes. That's right. Kickin'.

Case in point: My bike, the St. Tropez (that handsome guy up there). From what I can tell online, it's either a bottom-of-the-barrel crap bike from Long Island or an awesome Japanese racing frame. I'm going with the latter, obviously. Especially since it's got 'Made in Japan' on it (who can fake that?). But the point is, regardless of whether it started off little better than a hopeless trike or it's a long-lost 80's samurai bike, it rules now and seems to ride in tip-top shape. So, when you get a chance, check out one of R-A-B's two shops in DUMBO and the East Village. Failing that, embattled craigslist is always a great place for used bikes. Or, if you're jonesin' for a shiny new bike, just stroll on down to your local bike shop. Oh, though it seems fixed gear bikes are officially uncool: Urban Outfitters has started selling customized fixed gears on their site. And the bike nerds are huffin'. Though it is sort of fun to hit the random button and see the crazy color combos. Who wants to pedal that much though? Next:

The Helmet

Alright, I'm the first to admit that I would totally prefer to be biking around all Cary Grant-style, with only a fashionable fedora and a brightly-colored ascot to protect me. Like this guy. But, the truth is, I live in New York, where people barely care about or notice other drivers, much less dudes and ladies on bikes. So, yeah, I don't want to get my head bonked, man. The problem? Most of those helmets are LAME. But there are a few companies out there that are producing some not-so-lame, almost-cool, better-than-a-head-injury numbers. My favorite: Bern Unlimited, a Massachusetts company that specializes in skate, BMX, and generally cool, angular headgear. The problem with them, though, is that their sizes run weirdly small. So even an extra-large wouldn't quite fit my head (huge brain) and I looked kind of like a carton stick figure when I did finally get it on. So my back-up was the Faction by mainstay Bell Helmets. Not quite as hip, but it also doesn't look like brightly-colored Predator/Alien/Transformer head. And, though they don't have any retailers state-side that I know of, Danish company Yakkay is making a very valiant effort to pretty up your brainware by crafting smallish, sleek helmets and accompanying hat-like covers. I've never seen them first-hand, so my only worry is that they would make even normal people's heads look enormous with all that protective and decorative material up there. In the photos they actually look a little equestrian. Cool? Not cool? Only the Danes can tell for sure.

The Route

So, New York—and likely every other major city in America—is trying their best to be more 'green.' As annoying as the greenwashing of our consumer culture can be (add green dye to any cleaning product and voila!), it seems the bandwagon jumping is, for the most part, a good thing. One effort Bloomberg and his administration are making to cut down on CO2 emissions in the city is to encourage bike-riding by creating more bike lanes in all five boroughs, with the ultimate goal of creating 1,800 miles of lanes by 2028. Now, that's a whole lot of dedicated bike lane-age, but, as anyone who uses bike lanes on already busy roads knows, sometimes knowing the less congested, safer routes is even more valuable than having specific lanes for your pedaling. I mean, which would you choose? Tiny bike lane where car service drivers are constantly double-parking and suddenly opening their doors or a tooling down a lovely, tree-lined street where little bluebirds follow you around tying ribbons in your hair as you go? Totally the bird accessories route, right? Which is why we were thrilled when our friend Vaidila Kungys and his pals started up Ride the City, a Web site dedicated to providing bike routes to anywhere in the city. The site allows you to prioritize your route by pretty safe, really safe, or most direct and, though it first focused on New York City, later expanded to cover Chicago as well. And just this month, the site expanded once again to cover one of our favorite cities, Austin, Texas. Though there doesn't seem to be any way to specify routes featuring fashion-forward avians, we're assuming that's on its way.

The Look

Biking has had some link to fashion since its very inception. Remember bloomers? Knickerbockers? Their use in the 1900's helped liberate women's fashion all so they could ride around the city skirt-free (hot). Nowadays fashion-infused biking seems more prominent than ever, treating bike routes in trendy neighborhoods like sped up open-air runways. Don't believe me? Check out the last fall's New York Times Field Guide to the NYC Bicyclist. That dude with the dog basket: Awesome. Or how about chictopia.com, who's paired with TopShop's bicycle club to give away special TopShop bikes to bikers who post their chicest looks. And, again, the Danes, with all their bike fashion, have a Copenhagen Cycle Chich blog. Those Danes.... Fashion voyeur, the Sartorialist (aka - Scott Schuman) even has a bike-specific section of his blog. So, yeah, seems like your bike sweats aren't gonna cut it anymore.

Friends, we've been robbed of much nice weather this spring and summer, but no more! We will not fall victim to these days of slow-moving malaise ANY MORE! Hear me, weather.com!? No more! So get your bike on, yo.

Music Monday

I feel like the best covers totally reinvent the song their paying tribute to, leaving you with absolutely no desire to hear the original. This week's Song of the Week doesn't quite do that (I'm totally looking for the Bruce Springsteen mix our friends Dave and Deirdre made us now), but there's something spectacularly beautiful and emotionally naked about Beerjacket's cover of the Boss's Dancing in the Dark. Yes, unfortunate name for this one-man Scottish acoustic folksman, but his new album, Animosity, is well-worth the listen. Very Elliot Smith, with a little Scottish flair. So much good music out of Glasgow lately...

Music Monday

Happy July, everyone. We here at KoR hope you are all on the mend after what was surely a celebratory, intensely patriotic weekend.

This Music Monday we bring you the Photons' Where Were You Last Night. This eight-piece, San Francisco-based chamber pop band makes music that sounds like party, so they seem a fitting choice for this week.

Plus they seem to have started quite an awesome blog, The Song Club, that presents readers with weekly themed song-writing challenges. We liked the challenge from a few weeks back: "Write a song about your favorite mythical beast. Do it in a really fast tempo." The resulting, Death by Dragon, written by Casey Saran rules a lot. Def check it out.

From the Nest

Sweet + Sara Marshmallows
It's tough being vegan in this world sometimes. Sure, there are the parades in your honor all the time, and all those 'Thanks for Not Eating Me' cards you get from the farm animals, but, in all honesty, we're missing out on a lot of pretty awesome tasting foods out there.

True, when you learn the details of what goes into the production of things like cheese or eggs or what have you, and the suffering that's brought upon the animals involved in making these things for us, and then you take into account that, no, we really don't live in a rural, small-town world when it comes to supply and demand anymore and industrialized food production is solely responsible for not only billions of animals in pain and life-long confinement, but also ravages upon the environment and human health, when you pay attention to all of that, it's 100% worth it. Why would you want to be a part of that system?

But man, cheese? That stuff was good. I feel like it almost always tops the 'Here are the Things I Miss' list for vegans. Which is why it surprised me a while back when a friend of mine was pining over the long-lost taste of marshmallows. I mean, marshmallows were fine and all, but they were no 10 year aged sharp cheddar. I don't think I really gave them much of a thought after going vegan. Then again, I don't really camp, so...

For anyone who doesn't know, traditionally, marshmallows are made with fun stuff like the hooves and bones and skin of animals. More specifically, the gelatin in marshmallows is made with the hooves and bones and skin of animals. It gives them that, I don't know, marshmallowy feel. Gross, right? So imagine my friend's joy a little while back when onto the market sprang Sweet & Sara's vegan marshmallows. Rumor had it that, not only were they cruelty-free, they were also pretty damn good. Long-time vegan Sara Sohn started the company in Queens after spending over a year in the kitchen trying to mad scientist these things up and get them just right. Turns out, all the work was worth it: the texture is superb—just enough give and not too gooey—and they actually taste better than your run-of-the-mill, buy 'em in a bag marshmallows. More along the lines of a gourmet marshmallow, which I recently realized does actually exist. Seems odd...like a gourmet Cheez-It. Oh, and the big question: How do they melt? The answer: Superbly. And not in a 'Hey, that vegan cheese melts...um...sort of alright...for vegan cheese' kind of way. In an actual, this is the way marshmallows melt way, be it over a camp fire (so I'm told) or in a microwave at 3AM between two ginger snaps with a piece of dark chocolate (Katie's genius).

Why'm I (is that a legit contraction?) talking about these things now if they've been around for over a year? Because, ever the perfectionist confectionist, Sara's now graced us with three new marshmallow products. In addition to her straight-up marshmallows and her AMAZING pre-packaged s'mores (circle of marshmallow on thick graham cracker covered in really nice dark chocolate), she can now boast three new superb sweets: Rocky Road Bark, with almonds and marshmallows in dark chocolate; Strawberry Marshmallows, for those of you jonesing for that strawberry Quick flavor of yore; and, best yet, Cinnamon Pecan Marshmallows (pictured above, before we devoured them all). The CP marshmallows boast a lovely balance of sweet and nutty flavor. Totally our favorites of the new bunch.

So if you've been robbing yourself of the wonderfulness that is marshmallow bliss so all those poor animals could hold onto their hooves and bones and skin, on their behalf, we thank you. But rob yourself no longer! Pick some of these sweet treats up. Totally worth it. And now that Whole Foods markets have started carrying Sweet and Sara nation-wide, they're easier to find than ever. And seriously, try the microwave-gingersnap thing. Best.