Columbus-born, -bred, and -based Del Sroufe, author of Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook, has been a whiz in the kitchen since he was a wee one—eight years old, to be exact. “I’m self-taught,” he beams. A professional chef for 23 years, it wasn’t until he was hired at a vegetarian restaurant in 1989 that the Midwest man was first introduced to this less-than-conventional cuisine. “I fell in love,” he recalls. “I slowly became vegetarian and, by the time I opened my own bakery, I’d become vegan.”

He’s referring to Wellness Forum Foods, which has offered  freshly prepared foods to shop visitors and shipped them frozen to customers across the country since 1997. “If you live in Ohio, you can come see me,” he grins, rattling off the amenities available to locals, which include classes, catering, and “…a deli case brimming with yummies.” Everything’s cruelty-free, of course.

Sroufe has always battled with his weight, which was a major motivation behind his initial adoption of a plant-based diet. Even while eschewing meat, dairy, and eggs, however, Sroufe packed on the pounds. The problem, he discovered, was processed and refined foods, devoid of nutritional value yet full of calories.

Thanks in part to the proximity between that discovery and the revelations advanced by breakout documentary Forks Over Knives—and of course to his own life-saving health overhaul, which he explains in greater detail below—Sroufe has come a long way since his slump. Now he’s on a roll with this book, in the midst of a four-week run on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and is justifiably optimistic about what’s to come.

Congratulations on the cookbook! How did you link up with the Forks Over Knives folks?
My business partner, Dr. Pam Popper, was in Los Angeles, speaking at a convention, and the producers of Forks Over Knives were there to hear Dr. T. Colin Campbell. They heard my business partner, loved what she had to say, and wanted her in the movie. So, they came to Columbus and filmed. Of course, I fed them, so they asked for recipes for the first book. Eventually they asked me to do the cookbook.

And the rest is history, as they say. Forks Over Knives sure has had a ripple effect. What an honor to be affiliated with such a successful and meaningful franchise.
You have to wonder what is it that made this documentary such a firestorm. Everyone’s talking about it. It’s everywhere you go. People who would never think about a vegan diet are doing it.

What inspired you to become vegan?
Meeting people who had strong convictions. Learning about animal rights and health, I was like, This makes sense. Now, I don’t even think about it.

You gave up animal products in large part for weight loss reasons. But it isn’t that simple, is it?
At one time I weighed almost 500 pounds. And that was on a vegan diet. It’s easy to do. There’s a lot of processed foods, which are concentrated calories with no nutrition: white flour, oils, sugars. Potato chips!

Tell me what that was like.
When you weigh 500 pounds, your goal is daily survival. To get through the day as easily as possible. It’s very hard. And painful. I could barely exercise. I could barely walk. Everything was a challenge.

But you’ve saved yourself.
I’ve lost over 200 pounds on a whole foods program. Now, I can do a lot more. I can exercise. I’m less prone to injury. Better energy, less depression. I’m just going to continue my journey.

What goals still lay ahead?
I want to lose another 50 pounds. I’m working more now on achieving optimal health. Weight loss will come as part of that. Just eating the right diet is my goal. Weight loss, good health and higher energy are all great effects of that.

What does your current diet look like?
Beans, grains, fruits, and vegetables. I eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible—higher-fat foods sparingly, so, nuts and seeds, not as much. I cheat, like everybody else, but on a daily basis I just try to keep everything in perspective; if you’re eating chocolate cake every day, you’re not on a healthy diet.

Have you any advice for others looking to lose weight, whether a whole lot or a little?
My first diet was a calorie restriction diet, which didn’t work. It led to a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. I had a low metabolism, because my body was always in starvation mode. You always gain the weight back on that kind of a diet. For a permanent solution, you need to not be afraid to eat. Eat the right foods. This diet is permanent and it works. It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.

The biggest question people ask when they embark on this diet is, What do I eat now? I think that’s what this book is for. You’ve got 300+ recipes, from easy to difficult: breakfasts, lunches, entrees, soups, and salads. It’s very do-able. I think that’s the exciting part. And the food tastes great. There are recipes for all tastes, food from all over the world: Thai, Indian, Mexican, Caribbean, Americana. You’ve got a lot of options and no reason not to do it.

I encounter a lot of gluten-free people who feel like they can’t be vegan. What do you have to say to that?
If you’re having digestive problems, often it’s because you have an impaired gut. That happens because we take too many antibiotics and we eat a high-fat animal food diet. Getting rid of the high-fat animal foods and antibiotics, and rebuilding the healthy gut flora, often relieves a lot of situations, from food allergies to intolerances.

But, what about those who suffer from celiac disease?
The hardest part is eating processed foods. Once you learn what processed foods you cannot eat, it’s easy. But, processed foods are the worst. You shouldn’t be eating those anyway. Most of the recipes in Forks Over Knives are gluten free, or can be made gluten free. Don’t think of any recipe as the law of the land. Think of it as a stepping-stone for a new dish.

What do you think is the best tip you offer in the cookbook?
The biggest secret I teach for putting flavor in my food is how to cook without oil. Learning how to sauté and stir-fry without oil. It really helps build flavor. My goal is always to eat rich-tasting food that’s not rich. This cookbook shows you can eat well and enjoy food. That’s the best part. I love good food. I wouldn’t be a cook if I didn’t.

Besides meat = protein and dairy = calcium, what’s the single biggest food or diet myth you’ve discovered?
We live in a starch-phobic society. But, quality starch is the food you want to base your diet on. It fills you up. It’s animal protein that is the greatest danger. So many foods debilitate us. But, giving into any condition that comes your way is the worst mistake people make. There’s no reason you can’t live with optimal health. There’s one disease, which is diet. Fixing that is easy, because there’s one diet that works. You want to improve your odds.

I always wonder, where’s the medical profession? So few practitioners have any nutrition training at all, let alone legitimate exposure to the actual facts.
They don’t know. Their training’s abominable. It’s scary.

Have you ever been approached by someone whose life you’ve changed or, dare I say, saved?
I’ve met people that say this whole program has changed their life. We see people every day. I watch people walk into Wellness Forum Foods with some condition or disease, then see them, some as quickly as two or three weeks later, walk out without it. I meet those people. People who are symptom-free because they eat right.

So, what’s next for you?
I’m writing another cookbook that in part chronicles my weight loss story. Also, touring and talking. I have the gift of gab!

in sum
Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook
by Del Sroufe
Over 300 recipes to support a plant-based, whole foods diet.
Buy it from the Forks Over Knives store →

Designer John Bartlett

CFDA award-winning menswear designer John Bartlett returned to the fashion scene this week with his SS13 collection, a comfortably tailored, richly hued, linen-based line. While the visionary produced a nuanced presentation last winter, his first showcase in some time, this past Tuesday at noon the talent reestablished himself as a formidable figure within Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The last time his eponymous label rocked the runway in such a high-profile capacity, MBFW’s tents were erected in Bryant Park.

Bartlett’s resurgence is cause for celebration. A commitment to ethical fashion—rejecting animal-made materials and embracing the genuinely eco-conscious—sets him apart in the industry. In fact, I’m told Bartlett’s is the first show—ever—to stage at the official MBFW venue while explicitly foregoing the use of animals for clothes.

Of course, values in fashion can’t work without the “fashion” part, and Bartlett, as ever, delivers. This time around, his expert eye for playful luxurious style is lasered in, from head to toe, on long-underestimated linen. “Linen is the most sustainable fabric besides hemp. Even over cotton,” he explained to us onsite, minutes before 21 handsome men strutted their stuff for a room packed to capacity.

Which is a positive thing for the fashion industry, because it needs designers like John Bartlett. The good guys are too few in this fur-leather-wool-feather-silk-obsessed trade; Bartlett, on the other hand, is a touchpoint with the real world, where an increasingly connected and crowded human species is finding it difficult to ignore the likewise increasingly visible (and disturbing) effects of unprincipled consumerism.

Prior to the show, Bartlett spoke with me about the state of the industry, recent pet projects (pun intended), and what he’s working on now.

Fur made a comeback in 2011. At the time, you were the rare industry insider who spoke out against it. Where do things stand now?
The fur thing is very tricky. Many designers believe that, if you have a luxury brand, fur needs to be a part of it. That’s what’s taught to them. That’s what’s reinforced by editors, et cetera. It’s hard for designers to see beyond that. There’s a few [that do]. They’re more mature. They’re more my age, rethinking things. ‘I don’t need to be that person. I don’t need to use those things.’

But, fur is a really heartbreaking aspect of my industry. Many people in my industry think, ‘That’s why they’re bred. They’re bred to be fur. What’s the problem?’ There are a lot of people that just aren’t ready to look into that in a deeper way.

Where do you see the most positive change happening in the industry?
I think the most positive change happening right now is that there’s a big push to move production back to the states. There’s a big movement to save the Garment Center, to help provide more jobs here. And that is a wonderful aspect that I think the whole of the industry is really trying to embrace and figure out how we can bring work back to America.

You recently teamed up with Farm Sanctuary on The Ambassador Collection. How did that come about?
I met Gene [Baur, co-founder of Farm Sanctuary]. He came to my presentation last season. I had been a huge fan of Farm Sanctuary and, as a matter of fact, [Gene’s book] Farm Sanctuary was one of the first books I read when I went vegan. So, after my show we set up a time to meet and he said, ‘I would love it if you could come up with a product that would speak to the amount of animals killed for food every year, but in a way that’s very simple, symbolic and fashionable.’ So, we created t-shirts—one with a pig, one with a cow, one with a chicken—symbolizing these animals we consider to be ambassadors. Those are the farm animals that have been saved and are living their lives out at Farm Sanctuary. They’re ambassadors for their species, in hopes that someday they won’t, as a species, have to go through the kind of suffering that, right now, is a given.

From The Ambassador Collection by John Bartlett

You started the Tiny Tim Rescue Fund and have supported it with its own collection. Who was Tiny Tim? What does the Fund do?
Tiny Tim was my beloved rescue hound who was three-legged. He lost his leg on Christmas Eve, before I met him, and was named Tiny Tim in honor of the Dickens character. When he died, I started visiting the municipal shelter (the ACC) and realized I could help raise money for independent rescue groups who pull from the “kill shelters” and save lives.

What’s next for you?
Heading to LA to show this collection next weekend with the H-Couture show that the Humane Society of the United States is producing, launching my fall/winter John Bartlett Collection, available in October through my site, and continuing to grow and develop my Tiny Tim Collection, which is always available online.

in sum
John Bartlett
CFDA award-winning fashion designer of plant-based, sustainable, cruelty-free and eco-conscious menswear.
www.johnbartlettny.com

I’ve been saying “skinny fatties,” but I’m getting the feeling that, though acceptable, it’s not necessarily the preferred pronunciation. Joshua Brueckner, founder of SKINNYFATTIES, has been nice about letting me say it only my way up to this point, but now that I’m introducing him and his work to friends at Fontana’s in the LES, he offers an annotation. “You can also say it, ‘skinny fat ties,’” he states, before adding, “Either way!”

“Skinny fat ties” actually makes a little more sense—or at least delivers more descriptive precision. Under the SKINNYFATTIES label, Brueckner takes your old wide-load, 3.5-inch-plus neckties and converts them into the slimmer, more youthful cut preferred by today’s men-about-town. For those of us who have kept our ‘90s-chic wide ties until now, despite believing for the past several years that we’d never wear them again, Brueckner is our savior.

* * *

He lives on the edge of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, right off the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Its sounds drift into the bedroom through breezy off-white linen curtains and past a psychedelic mountain of in-progress neckties. The cacophony matches the BQE’s reputation: zooming, dangerous, unapologetic.

Still, a pleasant ding cuts through. It’s the computer on Brueckner’s desk. “Someone wants to chat!” he says, beaming. This is literally seconds after he’s finished telling me about the new live chat feature on his website, which allows for instant customer interaction. I ask him who mans it and for what hours of the day, assuming he’s hired a specialized service. In fact, “It’s just me,” he reveals. “I have my iPhone hooked up to it so I can monitor it all day, every day,” even when he’s on the go. This is especially useful on the days when he hops over to nearby McCarren Park to cut and sew. Usually, though, Brueckner sticks to the modest workstation in his apartment, a cozy two-bedroom that’s more kempt than his frequent apologies to the contrary would indicate.

Eager to see his handiwork firsthand, I’ve brought Brueckner a tie that needs slimming. It’s been with me since the beginning of college and, at 3.5 inches, is definitely too wide for me to wear these days. But the print is unique and handsome, and I’m quite attached to it. Brueckner has given me reason to hope that he’ll be able to drag it from 2002 into 2012.

I’m not the only one who’s daring to hope. Brueckner says he constantly gets feedback on the concept ranging from “Amazing!” to “Brilliant!”, and that makes sense—it is a great and surprising idea. Within mere weeks of opening, he was already receiving orders from customers all over the world who couldn’t wait to empty the dusty, unused sections of their tie racks and send them in for tailoring. There are even those considering taking from others’ tie racks: a Facebook friend posted a link to the SKINNYFATTIES website with the words, “TIME TO RAID DAD’S CLOSET.” That’s how I discovered Brueckner’s site in the first place.

There’s little doubt that the tie conversion service is a solid concept. The question is: can this self-taught tie tailor execute it well? Do ties look great post-Brueckner? As I watch him fearlessly begin to dismantle my tie, thread coming undone, innards peaking through, I feel a tiny, tiny bit like a Dad myself—the nervous kind who has decided to observe his child’s surgery, wordlessly repeating, It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.

* * *

Brueckner is tall and lanky. He wears Brooklyn-appropriate eyeglasses atop a prominent nose and is liable to cover his straight, slightly unruly hair with a baseball cap. Of course, he also feels quite at home in a tie.

But his facial expression is the real tell. It meanders between mischievous restraint and wide-eyed enthusiasm. I sense the mischief is the result of a deep intelligence that Brueckner has learned to tame in the presence of new acquaintances, though it sometimes gets unleashed in the form of incisive, darkly funny one-liners. The enthusiasm, on the other hand, clearly comes from the uncontainable joy his new business brings him. (On a whiteboard in his bedroom/workspace, Brueckner has scrawled in massive caps-locked letters the Jay-Z line, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man!” followed by, in smaller, calmer lettering, “I werk for myself.”) And then there’s all the self-conscious smiling, but that’s because I’ve got a camera on him for much of the afternoon, taking pictures to accompany this write-up.

Perhaps none of these visages is standard or ideal for a photo shoot, but I’m happy about that. They represent him, right now, in New York City, working for himself for the first time, at the heady start of his promising new business, and it’s a pretty cool moment.

* * *

At Fontana’s, I’m not just introducing friends to Brueckner and his brand, I’m also introducing them to his work. The tie he slimmed down for me is around my neck. It came out of surgery—having been recut, re-ironed, re-sewn—as good as new, but with nostalgia preserved. Heritage too: the original label, which had to be removed to tailor the tie, is sewn back in lengthwise near the short end, replaced at the wide end by a new SKINNYFATTIES label.

When I think about how well it’s turned out, I realize it doesn’t really matter how I pronounce Brueckner’s brand. Who cares if it’s “skinny fatties,” “ skinny fat ties,” or both? The tie speaks for itself.

in sum
SKINNYFATTIES
by Joshua Brueckner
Taking your wide ties and making them slimmer.
www.skinnyfatties.com

Meet Jennifer Clary. As a filmmaker, she’s the “Jen” in JenKev Productions, for which she wrote, directed, and co-produced new psychological thriller/dark comedy hybrid The Silent Thief. As an entrepreneur, she’s a co-founder of L.A.-based Gobble Green, a thriving vegan foods delivery service. The other executive half of each project—and in life—is her husband, Kevin Haberer, who also edited Thief.

Clary and Haberer were recently in New York to screen their new film—featuring young stars Toby Hemingway, Scout Taylor Compton, Josh Pence, and Cody Longo alongside silver screen stalwarts Kurt Fuller and Frances Fisher—during the 17th annual GenArt Film Festival at SVA Theater. At the celebratory after-party, Clary, wearing an animal-absent Rebecca Minkoff frock, spoke with us about The Silent Thief, life on set, and Gobble Green’s humble beginnings.

What about The Silent Thief appeals to you most as a storyteller?
I was really compelled by the idea that all of my characters had the capacity for great good and great evil. I find that entirely fascinating about mankind in general. Everybody has these moments where they’re at their best, but they’re so far and few between and there’s all this cunning that goes into everyday existence. I think this film highlights that in such a surreal way.

Suspense films often have a challenge executing the third act in a way that intensifies the suspense yet also keeps things realistic. Is that something you were wary of?
Yes. But I don’t feel that The Silent Thief is a traditional thriller. I approached it more as a character study. Characters are inherently thrilling. I think that, rather than trying to play into the genre, I really focused more on the development of this young man finding a place where he could belong.

Speaking of difficulty belonging, is that sort of what got you started on Gobble Green?
I was in Fort Worth visiting my in-laws who didn’t have anything for me to eat and I was starving and we started talking about it. There were no 100% vegan certified delivery services. I thought, Oh my god, that’s crazy. And so I told my husband, Oh my god, we have to start this, like, tomorrow. And he said, That sounds like a lot of work. And I said, Well, we have to do it. So we started it the next day. At the beginning, Kevin and I did everything. Now we have 28 employees. It’s done very well and I’m very proud. I think we’ve made a difference and we contribute to a lot of animal sanctuaries that we care about.

When you met your husband, was he vegan, too?
I was vegetarian since I was three and my husband ate a more conventional diet. We had a bit of an issue because I wasn’t totally thrilled making out with someone who ate meat all the time. It just grossed me out. So, I kept encouraging him to go vegetarian. And, as he started reading the literature about it, he decided that for him personally, veganism was the more ethical thing to do. It was the right thing for him. So, I said, you know, let’s do it as a couple. And we just went all the way together.

That’s amazing. When was that?
Five years ago, I think.

Wait, I’m pretty sure I saw burgers and fishing in the film…
We had a fully vegan set. Gobble Green did the catering. I put into the film a lot of things about catch-and-release. There wasn’t any actual fishing; it was just a string. I would never fish—catch or release—but I felt my character would. That said, our turkey for Thanksgiving was made of seitan and all the burgers were vegan patties. Not one animal was injured in this movie at all. Period. It was a 100% vegan set. 100% animal-friendly. The dog was the most spoiled member of the team.

Was the dog vegan, too?
The dog was vegan on my set!

So, if anyone wanted to consume animal products, they had to sneak off the set?
My take on it was, as long as I’m producing a project and it’s my money, I’m not going to financially support the unethical treatment of animals. I was very lucky to have a cast and crew who were very supportive of that. Kurt Fuller is actually vegan. And Frances is also largely vegan. They’re both really into treating animals with respect. I was lucky. It was just a fluke that I had a wonderful team of people with me.

You live in L.A., but you’ve surely tried some of the amazing vegan food NYC has to offer. When you come here, where do you like to eat?
TeaNY is great. I love Blossom. Wild Ginger. There are a few that are a must-hit. It’s a really great city for vegans—although, on this trip, I haven’t had much time to eat.

in sum
Jennifer Clary
Writer, Director, and Co-Producer of The Silent Thief.
Co-Founder of Gobble Green, a vegan food delivery business.
www.thesilentthiefmovie.com | www.gobblegreen.com

In 2000, Denise Mari started healthy lifestyle company Organic Avenue out of her home. As of two weeks ago, she’s opened OA’s tenth storefront, located on the northeast corner of 21st Street and 8th Avenue in trendy Chelsea. Known for an array of organic, raw vegan offerings (from juices and smoothies to kale chips to wraps to gluten-free chocolate tarts) and a grab-and-go M.O., this latest location—though it’s currently in “pop-up” stage—will soon be a sit-and-stay kind of place.

Mari, now 38, is what she eats. She follows the nutrition philosophy behind the nourishment she sells, summed up by OA mantra “LOVE,” a.k.a. the “Live (long i) Organic Vegan Experience.” With a slender frame, glowing skin, sparkling eyes, radiant hair, and a truly loving mindset, Mari’s got the traits to match the gait.

But can she also talk the talk? I stopped by the grand opening of OA’s latest location to find out.

First off, what’s in store for this new location?
This space is going to be home to our new expanded concept. We’re looking forward to incorporating more community interaction, more seating, more foods and juices in more than a grab-and-go format. We may have an elegant bar serving elixirs and smoothies. Come winter, you’ll be able to heat your soups. We have a full kitchen here, so we’ll start working with consciously cooked food—really clean, but allowing us to offer more than raw. I think a lot of people need that bridge between the two.

How would you classify your own diet?
I’m vegan. I eat predominantly raw food, but not a hundred percent. Vegetarian 18-plus years, 13-plus years vegan/mostly raw.

What first inspired you to get there?
It began in childhood. I had a love for animals. When I was eight, I went fishing with my father and made the connection between fish and food. I didn’t feel like it was something I could consume, so I gave it up. Then came college. I met my first vegetarian and started asking myself, Why am I still eating meat when I love animals? If I could be healthy without it, then I wanted to explore it. So, I became a vegetarian and, about five years later, became interested in actually learning about what I was consuming. I visited PETA’s website and found out there’s an entire industry associated with the byproducts of animals. I felt very uncomfortable about this. Then, I learned about veganism and, luckily, raw foodism at the same time. I became more health-conscious and chose to eat more intelligently.

Aside from Organic Ave, what’s your favorite eating establishment in NYC?
If I’m sticking close to raw, you’ll find me at Pure Food & Wine. If I’m looking for comfort food, you’ll find me in one of the Blossoms. V-Note on the Upper East Side I tend to enjoy very much.

What motivates you to eat raw?
The more juicing I do and the less cooked food I eat, the better I look and feel. It’s motivation, because you see results right away. Go a couple days on cucumber and green juice and you’ll see the glow.

If someone’s not already juicing, why should they start?
If you feel great and think you’re getting younger, don’t. But, if you have any chronic symptoms, feel like your energy is low, or you’re aging faster than you should, I suggest trying an unprocessed raw vegan diet with lots of juicing. It really is a panacea for health, the planet, and animals.

What do you say if someone says Organic Avenue’s offerings are too expensive?
It’s true, they are expensive. The reason? We don’t skimp. We use only the highest quality ingredients. Organic certified. If people are eager to spend $12 on a cocktail at a bar, well, this $9 juice is an investment in your health and has long-term benefits.

Your costs go down in other ways, I think.
You reduce time out of work. Your energy’s up, so you’re exercising more than you were. Your clarity of purpose is there. Endless benefits. After going raw, I felt the best I’d ever felt. And spiritually, it tapped me into the idea of Organic Avenue and allowed me to discover my purpose—what I was going to do with my life.

Do you still exercise a lot?
Not as much as I’d like, but you know, the diet takes care of a lot. At one point I was 155 pounds. I was overweight, sluggish, fatigued. Not anymore. I think about a horse eating grass all day but being this extremely healthy, muscular animal. Many of the biggest mammals on the planet are raw vegans. It’s a choice we humans have. Do we want to live a lifestyle that supports more death, sickness, and disease? Or do we want to live a lifestyle of peace and nonviolence?

in sum
Organic Avenue
Live, organic, vegan foods and juices, including cleanses.
Newest location: 216 8th Avenue, at 21st Street (map)
Mon-Sun 8am-9pm | love@organicavenue.com
www.organicavenue.com

There’s something about the folks at Haven’s Kitchen that we at Cllctv really appreciate. It isn’t that they’re entirely vegan (they’re not); it’s their recognition of the ever-growing community that is. Beyond their coffee counter, which caters to plant-powered people with soy and almond milks as well as scrumptious dairy- and egg-free chocolate chip cookies (more than can be said of most omni outposts, even in progressive NYC), they also offer cruelty-free cooking and baking classes in their spacious, well-equipped teaching kitchen.

Chickpea & Olive, a young catering company comprised of cute couple Danielle Ricciardi and Daniel Strong (at top), hosted just such a class in mid-July. (Strong was previously sous chef at Dell’Anima, so he knows his slicing, dicing, and otherwise; Ricciardi currently tends bar and waits tables there, while handling operations for C&O.) The theme of the lesson? Veggie Burgers and Vegan Beer, which, on this occasion, was broadly compelling enough to attract more non-vegans than vegans. 

As about a dozen aproned, culinary-curious New Yorkers gathered ’round the island stovetop at HK, Strong started off with knife basics (including how to properly cut onions, which is more specialized than you’d think), then proceeded to show us how to prepare the various elements of the patty. Once put through a food processor but before being cooked, we sampled the delicious mix of black beans, hominy corn, and several other ingredients including ancho and guajillo chiles, which added both sweetness and kick.

As you can guess, these were Latin-inspired burgers, and an impromptu mango-pineapple-chipotle side relish added rocket fuel to the fire. Indeed, the concentration of chipotle peppers made it too hot for me to handle; beware of that danger should you try to combine these ingredients at home. Though I kept digging in with lightly toasted tortillas (“It hurts so good,” I’d wince), I also regretted it every time, eventually training myself to grab chunks of leftover pineapple instead.

Between food-focused portions of the evening, we also got a 101 on beer-making. Fellow Dell’Anima connection and avid home-brewer Marlon Morales took us through the initial stages of his alcoholic art, which resembled a much-stripped-down version of a “cooking” scene on Breaking Bad. It was fun to watch and I gained a new appreciation for what goes into any brew. The batch Morales began in front of us wouldn’t be ready for several weeks, but he came prepared with some cold ones he’d finished at home—a blood orange saison (the crowd-favorite) and an amber ale—for us to enjoy with our end-of-class dinner.

And oh, that dinner. In addition to the burger patties and the beer, we enjoyed a watermelon and heirloom tomato (with tarragon, mint, slivered almonds, and shaved chocolate) salad. Best of all, perhaps, was the burger’s bun: a vegan brioche. Strong’s secret formula made for one of the most stellar eating vehicles I’ve ever tasted. Dotted with sesame seeds (my favorite) and liberally toasted, it slightly reminded of a soft pretzel, with an added richness suggesting that eggs had been involved—which, of course, they hadn’t. Soon, the duo tells me, they plan to sell bags of these babies. (In the meantime, I’ll visit them at Smorgasburg, where weekly they serve up grilled Daiya cheeses, potato salad, and their much-raved-about Phatty Beet Sliders.)

Both Strong and Ricciardi fielded questions throughout the evening, though he took the lead on preparation inquiries and she was more vocal about animal aspects, especially when addressed directly. All in all it was an informative and entertaining session. It didn’t hurt that, by the end, we were sitting down to dinner at a beautifully set community table, stuffing ourselves silly with fresh, flavorful food complimented by ice-cold beers and a few new friends.

in sum
Chickpea & Olive

“Peace on a plate.” Local, vegan, organic, artisanal food company.
Offering cooking classes, chef services, and catering.
Find them at Smorgasburg on Saturdays.
www.chickpeaandolive.com | chickpeaandolive@gmail.com

Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary’s sassy co-founder/director Jenny Brown can now add published author to her resume. The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight for Farm Animals came out five days ago and, with assistance from her co-writer and friend (“I couldn’t have done it without her!”) Gretchen Primack, the book offers an alternately tear-jerking, howl-inducing tracing of Brown’s courageous path to the present.

From losing a leg to bone cancer at just ten years of age to working as an undercover investigator at a Texas stockyard to creating one of the country’s premier safe havens for rescued farmed animals along with her husband, Doug Abel, Brown’s story is a remarkable one. Even so, we surmise that the stories of the animals saved and cared for by WFAS—individuals who thrive when respected and loved and who suffer greatly when marginalized and commodified—are the ones she most hopes people will take away from the book.

Personally, I took it all away, and it was a great pleasure to be able to chat with Brown about The Lucky Ones. (And you can chat with her yourself at MooShoes tonight for the NYC book release party.)

With all the books out there surrounding this subject, like Gene Baur’s Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts & Minds About Animals & Food, why do you think people should pick up The Lucky Ones?
Like Gene’s book, The Lucky Ones has a lot of heartwarming animal stories. But I would say Gene’s is more academic. Mine is more conversational. It’s a memoir with a mission. What helps engage people is seeing somebody else’s personal journey. And people find my story inspiring. That’s what the publishers were interested in: overcoming cancer, the drastic change in lifestyle—growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, in a Southern Baptist household—discovering the world, and arriving at a deeper understanding of our relationship with animals.

How did the book come to be?
In 2008 there was a story in the New York Times about myself, my artificial leg, and a goat rescued from the streets of New York City. He’d been hogtied and had to have his leg amputated. That story brought a lot of attention to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. It brought in $70,000. It brought in international media. And four literary agents within the first two weeks of its release. It was one of the best things that ever happened to our organization. As I like to joke, I didn’t realize that, in order to get the word out about our work and our mission, all I needed to do was show a little leg!

Your attitude towards the amputation wasn’t always so cheeky.
I felt like I wasn’t in control of my life as a child. It’s basically the same for domestic animals. I really related to them in that way.

In general, children relate to animals. For me, it was my cat Boogie. I felt judged and mistreated as a child. I was Baldy [because of the chemo], Long John Silver, Peg Leg. But animals never judged me. I think that’s why I was drawn to them.

Most people say they like or even love animals—certainly dogs and/or cats. But they also do things, or pay others to do things, to innocent animals that they wouldn’t wish upon their worst enemies.
Amazingly, many of the most educated people never make the connection. It requires dispelling the myths that we have been brought up to believe about food and food production. The egg industry is a great example of how far the reality is from the popular assumption. The industry kills 350 million male chicks every year because they don’t lay eggs. Meanwhile, female chicks and then hens live the entirety of their lives in a space with five others that is about the size of an album cover. Six hens to a tiny cage in massive warehouses, row upon row, stacked on top of one another. Everything that makes life worth living to them is denied them. Their beaks are seared off, they can’t stretch their wings, they can’t lay down. Their feet never touch the ground because they’re standing on painful metal wire cages. Covered in feces. All for what is a product of a chicken’s menstrual cycle.

Once you do make the connection, you realize how insane it is.
And to top it off, because of the cheap subsidies of meat and dairy, a Big Mac is less expensive than a head of broccoli! We have to question that.

One of the most moving anecdotes in the book recalls you going undercover to obtain footage at stockyards—not a factory farm or a slaughterhouse, but a livestock auction.
The very first one I went to, my heart broke for all the unwanted Holstein calves. If a dairy farm doesn’t have a veal operation themselves, then they sell the male offspring. In their desperation and their confusion, spindly legs, still covered with birth fluids, umbilical cords, you name it, the calves didn’t want to walk off the truck. So they were electric prodded and dragged, looking like limbs might pull out of their joints.

What went through your head in that moment?
I saw for myself what my consumption of cheese was supporting. That was written in stone for me from there on. To be able to bear witness is a whole other experience. The wails enveloped me. The mourning and the fear. I left scarred and forever changed.

It must have been madness seeing them there and being unable to rescue them from their fate.
That was the hardest part of it. Not being able to get them out of there. I just wanted to grab them. I stopped by the pen with all the little veal calves and so many of them came up to me, desperately trying to suckle on my fingers. As I left, I had giant tears rolling down my face.

What’s the greatest reward you receive from rescuing animals now?
I’m being the change I want to see in this world. This, to me, is the most important cause of our time because it affects the greatest number of beings in the greatest ways. There is no greater joy in my life. A voice for farm animals everywhere is why I was put on this earth. When rescued animals come through our doors, it matters a whole hell of a lot to each and every one of those individuals to be treated as friends, not food.

What happens when people visit the sanctuary?
Most people who come here have never seen a pig or a cow or a chicken. They meet the animals. They’ll meet Andy the pig and hear his story, how he came to be with us, and what his fate would have been if he hadn’t. They’ll also hear how millions of other “Andys” are living at that moment.

With the sanctuary being just a couple hours from New York City, you’re often here bringing the haven—or at least, the message—to us. What’s your favorite place to eat when you’re in town?
I love Gobo, Blossom, and Candle Café. For fast food, I really love Blossom Du Jour.

Any last words?
Animals are here with us and not for us. People will defend their right to eat meat and dairy and eggs, but they’re forgetting that there’s a victim. An individual. So it isn’t a personal choice. Our consumer choices drive these industries, and our consumer choices can also stop them.

in sum
The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight for Farm Animals
by Jenny Brown & Gretchen Primack
Purchase: WFAS Store | Books A Million | IndieBound

In a city where real estate is as squeezed as Times Square on NYE, it’s not unusual to find weirdly disparate businesses next to, or on top of, each other. To get to Swanand Yoga, already situated amidst the general chaos of West 29th street near 7th Ave, you have to pass through the pungent smells and scenes, respectively, of a first-floor cigar shop and a second-floor tax preparer’s office straight out of a ’70s noir flick. Which, once you’re on the third floor, makes Swanand’s six-month-old space even more of a sight for sore eyes, a place to slow fast-walking feet and still racing mind.

Family-owned and -operated, Swanand—literally translating to “innate happiness”—welcomes with yellow accents, minimalist décor, and a warm, new-looking wood floor. Hatha-style (often conceptualized as traditional, back-to-basics) yoga is the specialty here, and from the first friendly welcome to the magic on the mat, from downward dog to shavasana, the aim is to help the stresses of metropolitan life melt away.

At Swanand, breath is the trick. The instructor for the class I took devoted serious attention to the quality of our inhale-exhale, pushing us to let airflow drive our movements and poses as opposed to brute force or strained exertion. Zen settled in as I let go of the grind with each posture and breath, and I needed it because, in usual harried fashion, I had been running late.

Not only did the instructor wait for me, but he also waited for the girl who was still later than I. Then again, on a Tuesday evening, it was just we two and Alan Cook, our yogi guru guide. Interactions during the lesson were casual and tailored, Cook accommodating our respective comfort zones and challenging us when he felt we needed it. As someone who’d already been well initiated to yoga with vinyasa and bikram—all about working and sweating it out—Swanand’s drier, cooler, gentler atmosphere proved a refreshing change of pace.

And sometimes, a more relaxed, slower approach actually achieves better results anyway. Thanks to Cook’s calm tone of voice, tranquil disposition, and accommodating attitude, I came closer than ever to mastering an arm balance. Not having to forge through the high temps and fast tempo of my usual studio, I was granted time to try…and try again. It’s since instilled in me a confidence that, yes, I can conquer the poses (at least some of them!) that up until now had made me too nervous to try.

After all, even when doing something as mental chatter-dissolving as yoga, it’s tough to disengage from the feeling, conscious or subconscious, justified or not, that it’s just another proving-ground or competition. Especially given New York’s ambitious, go-getter culture, it’s not hard to imagine yoga becoming less about achieving inner peace and more about achieving ever-more-strenuous physical feats or impressing the cute guy or girl one up and two over. Swanand counters that feeling, encouraging individuals of all ages, shapes, sizes, and degrees of familiarity to find an elusive inner peace at the center of the greatest human maelstrom in the world.

in sum
Swanand Yoga
Hosting Hatha-style yoga classes and special events like Yoga for Foodies (100% vegetarian).
171 W. 29th Street, 3rd Floor (map)
(212) 502-4181 | info@swanandyoga.com
www.swanandyoga.com

They say good things are hard to find, but vegan, mostly gluten-free, raw-happy Park Slope gem Sun In Bloom is pretty easy. For this Chelsea-dweller, it’s just four travel directions: across the street, down the Brooklyn-bound 2-3 line, off the Bergen Street stop, down the block. Non-red-liners can take the 4, 5, B, D, N, R, or Q trains to Atlantic Ave, which means just a short five-minute stroll during the home stretch.

Then again, the relative convenience is almost irrelevant. As founder Aimee Follette noted during our visit, SIB is a destination restaurant; many of its loyal customers don’t live nearby, at least by NYC standards. After a recent lunch there, it’s easy to see why they’re willing to travel.

To begin with, the clean white walls depressurize, the dark wood tables comfort, and two sizable windows (and a glass door) offer nice light during the day with a pleasant view of the quiet sidewalk outside. The vibe is serene—no harried or impatient waitstaff here—though, if you happen to be pressed for time, you can take a little relaxation on your way with pressed juices and decadent gluten-free desserts to go. In fact, pretty much the entire menu is accessible to those who want or need to avoid gluten, and one of the things that makes SIB so special is that you don’t miss it. Ditto for the less universal but still plentiful raw-friendly components of the menu.

Speaking of which, sitting down for a meal on a particularly steamy day in the city, my lunch friend and I were thankful to start off with the Raw Alkalinizing Green Soup. Served cold and consisting of romaine, cucumber, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and avocado, the smooth, thick brew was exceptionally refreshing. We’d have gone so far as to top it off with some cilantro and chips, but it was still yummy, and we imagine it’s the perfect thing for those who like their cool-off pure and clean.

Then, in a very tasty follow-up, we had the Bella Devine Salad—organic kale “massaged” with a live sesame ginger dressing and raw homemade sauerkraut, finished with dulse seaweed, slices of avocado, and kale chips for a little added crunch. (See photo at top.) Not only is it healthy as heck, but it also presented a really pleasing medley of textures and flavors.

So did our next course, the Bloom Burger, which we hear is an SIB-loyalist favorite. Ordered either on an Ezekiel sprouted bread for the gluten-tolerant or wrapped in sturdy collard greens for the -sensitive, this scrumptious concoction was likened by my meal partner to an elevated reinvention of a falafel sandwich, and it was as special as the latter is ubiquitous. The soft, slightly sweet sesame seed-drenched (and we mean drenched) bun was a heavenly handle for the vibrant insides, which comprised sprouted sunflower seeds, dehydrated caramelized onions, chickpea miso, tomato, basil, cabbage, and a live sunflower dill dressing. Enjoying as a wrap (my personal preference) provided a cathartic crunch and lighter touch; either way, all of those amazing ingredients came through. It’s not a huge portion, volume-wise, but the fact that many of the ingredients are raw and alive gives it enough density to sate, and the complex flavor palette means you’re likelier to savor it long enough for your hypothalamus to catch up.

And so it was that, by the time we’d devoured our soup, salad, and burgers, we could have called it a day and been very satisfied. But that wouldn’t have made for a complete-enough review of the menu; or so we were willing to rationalize, if it meant we got to keep trying things like the Blueberry Ginger Smoothie, which arrived in a jam jar and immediately blew us away with its airy lightness and subtle floridity. At first sip, it’s unassuming, tasting gently like its lavender hue. Then BANG!—the ginger hits the back of your palate—and you’re not only pleasantly surprised, you’re going back in for more of that floridity to balance that delayed gingery zip. Feeling eloquent, my table mate exclaimed, “It’s fucking good. You can quote me on that!” Needless to say, it was delish, and the accompanying bendy straws were a fun bonus.

Next in line was the tempeh-based Reuben Special, which happily avoided the drippy Russian dressing mess that so often attends the “real” thing. It came on a toasted sprouted several-grain bread and the tempeh/sauerkraut filling lived up to that word, being on the heartier side. Texture was nice, though we thought perhaps it could have used some more kick in terms of seasoning and color. The live dressing’s consistency was halfway to hummus, which is why it held to the confines of the sandwich so well. And it would have been interesting to try it with added avocado, a menu option we didn’t notice at the time.

Then again, we’d already eaten well over a large meal apiece, and we not only hadn’t finished; we hadn’t even gotten to the best part yet. What came next changed my understanding of what’s possible using gluten-free ingredients. And it’s funny to think that pancakes—SIB’s Gluten-Free Pancake Stack, to be precise—could be so revelatory. But they were: the three cakes, made from scratch with sorghum and corn flours, were melt-in-our-mouths amazing. Vegan and soy-free (made with rice milk) as well, these bad boys tasted even better than the buttermilk breakfast indulgence of our pre-plant-based days. Topped with shaved caramelized apple upon request (caramelized bananas are the default, but we were in an apple-y mood) and germinated spiced walnuts, served with a side of Vermont maple syrup, our forks couldn’t stop. Having recorded our reactions at the time, in playing it back I heard myself say, “This is bomb. Oh my god. So good.”

As if the pancake stack weren’t finale enough, a bombastic, angular slice of raw blueberry cheesecake on a rustic wood-block server was plunked down before us. Despite our progressing food coma, we had at it. With a crust made of almonds, fresh coconut, and dates and the cheesecake itself made from soaked cashews, lemon juice, agave, coconut oil, lecithin, and a ton of blueberries, this cake took just that. It was rich, not too heavy, and had a real, non-saccharine blueberry flavor with just a dash of that lemon juice zing. Intact blueberries hidden within created some nice textural surprises and helped maintain the feeling that, as far as desserts go, this one does a body good.

Really, that’s the amazing thing about Sun In Bloom—the food is wonderfully unique and delicious, yes, but it’s also super-healthy and energizing, not to forget mindful of animals and the Earth. Are you hankering for an edible adventure? Looking to improve your health from the inside out? A fan of food that not only tastes good but feels good (and is good for the world)? Pop by SIB ASAP.

in sum
Sun in Bloom
Specializing in vegan, gluten-free, raw, live, organic, fresh cuisine.
460 Bergen Street in Park Slope (map)
8:30am-9pm Mon-Fri | 10am-5pm Sat-Sun
(718) 622-4303 | info@suninbloom.com
www.suninbloom.com

In her latest book, Cruel: Bearing Witness to Animal Exploitation, artist and author Sue Coe presents beautiful illustrations of the incredibly ugly brutalities of animal harvesting. Sketchpad in hand, Coe’s been granted access to places few industry outsiders have been, absorbing hellish scenes and putting them to paper. This is no small feat: animal exploiters generally try very hard to make their exploitations invisible, aided by consumers who try not to see. Tackling that problem from both ends, Cruel is as much a mirror as a chronicle, calmly but resolutely compelling readers to confront their own roles in the food system they’ve supported.

Observations and musings accompanying the visuals are as unflinching as the images themselves, and poignancy is in long supply. Coe’s portrayals demand an emotional response yet also ignite an intellectual one, with mostly grayscale (sometimes red-accented, sometimes beige-tinged) illustrations, handwritten notes, and sentences like these: “We have only partial glimpses of truth, as though illuminated by lightning only for a fraction of a second. If we could see what we have done to the earth, we would go mad with sorrow.”

Like all genuine activists, Coe embodies the paradox of facing the awful, pervasive truth of the matter while maintaining the optimism inherent in trying to do something about it. Though a largely somber palette and subject matter might seem to indicate otherwise, Cruel isn’t meant to be a gateway to despondency. (“Despair is a luxury,” Coe tells us below.) Instead, it’s a thought-provoking, conversation-starting coffee table book boasting depth well beyond your typical display piece—especially excellent for when your non-vegan friends and family come over, and you’ve casually left them alone knowing that they’ll examine whatever catches their eye in your living area. That said, even seasoned investigators and critics of the animal industry will not walk away unchanged.

Such accomplished artwork is rich with meaning and depth, prompting further questions to spring up in the minds of interested observers. Fortunately, we were able to ask the artist herself questions about some of the illustrations that most piqued our curiosity (click an image below to view it high-res), and, graciously, Sue Coe obliged:

In practice, structure, and motive, the animal harvesting industry is about exerting and accruing power. The man in the image enjoys a high-society lifestyle paid for with the bodies of other animals. Who is he?

I found in a thrift store an old business card for Swift. On it was printed ‘Swift, Butcher to the World.’ Mass slaughter of animals and access to ‘meat’ came about because of refrigeration of the train cars, which allowed for millions of tons of meat to go from Chicago all around the country. Chicago was then nicknamed ‘Porkopolis.’ Chicago was the location of the largest slaughterhouses and stockyards. The two competing capitalists who ruled the meat industry in America were Swift and Armor. They had acres of stockyards and slaughterhouses, employing thousands of immigrants. In those days of the 19th century, the slaughterhouses had gone municipal, as opposed to small local ‘shambles’ where animals were slaughtered, close to where they were raised. These new giant abattoirs were open to the public, and there were guided tours, boasting of both the technology and the hygiene, which was then as now called ‘the continuous line system.’ Before this mechanization, cattle were not raised off the ground to exsanguinate, and so fell to the ground with their throats cut. It was a slower, messier process. The line system, though, has a wheel that raises the cow or pig and rotates them onto the next series of workers, who dispatch the animal and make that animal into parts [as in the image above], very quickly.

You’ve juxtaposed the unadulterated malice of the cigarette burner, who thinks he’s unseen by prying eyes, with the puncher’s searching expression about whether or not he ought to feel embarrassed that an outside observer is witnessing his cruelty. Is this a scene you personally observed?

I have witnessed many of these scenes, although not this one specifically. They happen because it’s mostly young males trapped together who, if left unwatched, will torment the animals in part because they feel tormented having to do that job.

Meanwhile, it’s a pitted war between the staff and the animals. Hogs and larger animals will try to escape; they are not going to go quietly. The human animal has the electric prod to move the other animal forward. It’s inherent to the system of slaughter that it reduces human beings to thugs and other living beings to ‘meat.’

Conventional thinkers tend to consider aquatic animals less morally significant than land animals; and that’s saying something, considering what we do to the latter. Still, the idea of being ripped into an asphyxiating environment and hacked to pieces is intensely horrifying when we think of ourselves as the victims. How is it possible that the practitioners of exactly this level of victimization can rationalize this? What do you think is going through their minds?

I researched finning and discovered the hammerhead shark is the most desirable, because they have more fins. More research revealed to me that the hammerhead has the ability to see 360 degrees, so s/he can witness themselves being mutilated, before being thrown back into the ocean to drown. I think this denial has to do with the fact that aquatic creatures do not physically resemble us, even though they are our genetic brothers and sisters. We are always looking for minute reflections in the other’s face, to communicate, and assume because the faces and expressions are so different in aquatic animals that they do not feel pain. How many ads on TV show the happy and medicated grandfather with the fishing pole and the grandson going off together, bonding over an activity that murders? It has a benign and warm feeling. This is not to say that if humans accepted that aquatic creatures felt pain they would be exempt from our war on them, but it would be a start to changing our ways.

Ultimately, just like any animal slaughter, it’s all done for profit. If there is a market, they will be murdered. Any time I have questioned slaughterhouse staff as to why they do this job, the answer has been ‘for their family,’ which completes the cycle of violence. Their human ‘families’ are disasters to all other families.

When we talk about the harm done to these animals, we often forget the violent psychological loss that’s been visited upon them—the feelings of shame, bewilderment, and complete powerlessness. This is a set of emotions familiar to animal protectors as well, as we look at our own past habits, empathize with the almost inconceivable numbers of animals suffering these transgressions right now, and try desperately, often helplessly and indirectly, to change the world around us. When you produce images like these, how do you avoid falling into despair?

The answer to this question is: despair is a luxury most of us can’t afford.

We have imagination and empathy. We have more choices than we believe we have. We can imagine a different world where there is compassion for all, where we [coexist] with other species. For animal liberation to become public policy, the economic structure must change to one that is about life before profit. Then humans will adapt to that, rather than this economy that puts us in a continuous state of war and competition with all species.

I am amazed at all the activists in the world that have banned circuses in entire countries, refused to eat animal products, gone out and demonstrated, rescued, educated, from China to Peru to South Africa. It does not take much of a spark to ignite change. Animal liberation is the last great social justice movement—historically, these social justice movements take hundreds of years to achieve. Every speck of change adds up to a momentum that can move mountains.

in sum
Cruel: Bearing Witness to Animal Exploitation
written and illustrated by Sue Coe
Website | Amazon