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My weekend updateHi there! Yes it's actually me. LOL I'm on my way out the door, but have a few spare minutes and did so not want to go another day without checking in! Yesterday was really an insanely busy and quite full day. There was just waaaay too much to do in order to be ready for both tomorrow's trip, the trip following that (Cruise to Bermuda), Cosette's prom dress shopping, coaching her on the ice, meal planning and shopping for the fam bam for the 9 days that I'll be gone, squeezing in a facial, and of course there was more. I managed to do ALMOST everything on my list. But I still need to put together an agenda for tonight's IPC Associate's meeting and Elections, as well as help Dave B. with his packing, and then throwing in any and all of the last minute travel necessities. We'll be hitting the road quite early in the AM tomorrow morning and attempting to successfully make our way to Denver! Hoping to not run into any travel mis-adventures as I did last week. LOL  However, before I head on outta here I want to share a few pic memories from Saturday and from Cosette's performance with the International Peace Choir at the Children's Festival at Pearson's Park in Anaheim.  Pearson Park (c)travelincousins.com  Pearson Park (c)travelincousins.com  The International Peace Choir at Pearson Park (c)travelincousins.com  The International Peace Choir at Pearson Park (c)travelincousins.com The performance was lovely and the plan after all the singing and dancing was to head on over to Aunt Yesies for lunch.  Lunch Special that Dave ordered - Chilaquiles (c)travelincousins.com  Super Delish French Toast (c)travelincousins.com  Vegan Quesadilla Special (c)travelincousins.com I invited a friend t(who is newly vegan) to meet us for lunch and everything was quite tasty as usual. Plus good conversation and plenty of laughs. I had actually even run into another vegan friend sitting at a table across from us. Fun times. The rest of Saturday was quite busy as well, with doing the first and most difficult stage of my packing. I was so focused on getting this task accomplished that I completely went without planning dinner. The rest of the gang really wasn't any more helpful in us figuring out what to do so that we didn't call it a night with our stomaches grumbling. So what did we do... After picking up Cosette from work, we had gone to none other than Del Taco!!!  Beyond Avocado Taco (c)travelincousins.com Beyond Avocado Tacos for the masses! And they weren't half bad! I do believe that in a pinch that we will be going back! Anyhow my time is up and I must be on my way. Have a great one out there - wherever you are and what ever you might be doing. -Travelin' Tanya  | NYC Vegetarian Food Festival RecapA big hello and Happy Monday!! Well, well, well, this month is certainly moving right along! Can you believe that Memorial Day weekend is only a few days away?! I'm pretty happy that Summer is right around the corner, but I'm hoping it does not fly by quickly. Me and my gang are still organizing our calendar for the next few months, and I'll share with you as soon as they are finalized. As for today, I want to tell you all about my fun, festive and foodie day yesterday at the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival at the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street in Manhattan.  The Empire State Building in view from the Long Island Expressway approach to the Queens Midtown Tunnel (c) travelincousins.com Initially, we were going to train it into the city, but then we figured we'd have more flexibility if we had our car. The drive in was pretty uneventful. Since the city removed all the toll booths at the Midtown Tunnel, things do not back up as they used to when making the approach from the Long Island Expressway. Lucky for us, there was also a parking garage across the street from The Metropolitan Pavilion, where the Veg Food Festival was being held.  Gorgeous Sunny Day in Manhattan at the Metropolitan Pavilion (c) travelincousins.com The building itself is very pretty and with, what appeared to be a newly renovated interior. The staff was friendly, as were the array of vendors, which not only included food companies, but also exhibitors representing organizations, services and non-food product offerings, such as apparel, jewelry and other accessories. The Festival included a line up of educational lectures both days of the event this past weekend. My little group did not sit in on any of these yesterday, as that would have been sheer torture for my teen daughters.  Gianna heading into the festival (c) traveincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com We had planned to scout out all the booths first and then re-visit one by one, but that plan never seems to work for me and my foodie trio. We were STARVING by the time we arrived - since we had saved our appetite for the event - so upon entering, the smells of food over took us and we were ready to just eat! It's not easy to mention every single exhibitor, so, I'll give you an overview, highlighting several that we visited and from which we purchased tasty morsels!!! Our plan of action was to "share" so that we could taste a greater quantity of items.  Beyond Sushi (c) travelincousins.com Our first stop was at Beyond Sushi for their empanadas. Filled with a slew of veggies including mushrooms and kale, I was completely taken by surprise that Kelsey tried AND liked it!!  (c) travelincousins.com Walking past Upton's Naturals, I decided to give their samples a try. An independently owned natural foods company with a focus on meat alternatives, they were giving out their vegan meat on tortilla chips. It definitely had a bit of a kick and the texture of real meat!  Me with Marty of Marty's V Burger (c) travelincousins.com  Half-way into my deelish Original burger (c) travelincousins.com I was completely stoked that Marty's V Burger was at the festival! It has been a while since my last Marty's burger and I was psyched that the kids were with me to try his vegan food! We ordered the Classic Burger, which was served with lettuce, vegan cheese and pickles along with a side of mac n' cheese. While we were waiting for our food, I was introduced to Marty himself by his lovely wife, who had taken our order. I was so excited to finally meet the man behind the burger and he took a moment out of "the kitchen" to say hello and take a picture with me!! Thanks Marty!! And if you missed the Food Festival this past weekend, don't fret - you can visit Marty's V Burger Restaurant at 134 East 27th Street (between Lexington and 3rd Avenue). As Marty himself says, "Fast Food. No Bull."  (c) travelincousins.com  (c) travelincousins.com  About to dig into my Vegan Cookies and Cream ice cream cone from Bona Bona Ice Cream (c) travelincousins.com Gianna commented on how we had been eating lots of savory deelights, and it was time for some sweets! So, off we went to Bona Bona Ice Cream for two large cones of their vegan ice cream. Kelsey was filling up, so she passed because she was holding out for her "savory snack, Hippeas. One of the things that Bona Bona is known for is topping their ice cream cones with a vegan meringue and then toasting it up. I decided to try Cookies and Cream, while Gianna got Butter Pecan. The sad thing is that we both literally attached our respective cones, that we didn't even get a chance to taste the other's! I wasn't sure about the meringue, but, trust me, it was tasty! They are located in Port Chester in Westchester and worth a trip for their vegan ice cream!  (c) travelincousins.com It was time for Kelsey's faves - Hippeas! If you haven't tried these little baked chickpea puffs, they are pretty darn tasty!! And crunchy too! Now readily available at most supermarket chains, these snacks are vegan, gluten free, contain no soy, no nuts and are non-GMO. At the Festival, they were sampling the vegan white cheddar, which were delightful! For sale, they offered three of their varieties - Sriracha Sunshine, Bohemian Barbeque and, of course, Vegan White Cheddar. We took a few bags to go!!  Biena Snacks booth (c) travelincousins.com We did our share of sampling and grazing as well, mostly in the snack department. Biena Snacks was one of them. This company has also focused on the chick pea for healthy snacking. Founder, Poorvi Patodia's launched her line of Roasted Chickpea Snacks back in 2012, during the infancy of plant-protein snacks and from its roots in a single store outside of Boston, today, Biena Snacks are available in 15,000 retail locations nationwide. I tried a few flavors of roasted chickpea snacks being sampled which included Thin Mint, Cinnamon Crunch and Barbeque. Crunchy and tasty!! We also managed to try a few of the variety of Paleo Bites being offeredy by Amrita Health Foods. While I didn't get a photo, because the booth was a bit crowded, the flavors were totally yummy and quite satifying. I just love that vegans and healthy-conscious individuals have so many more choices when it comes to snacking!  V-Spot Restaurant Pop Up (c) travelincousins.com  Columbian Empanata and Avocado Fries from V-Spot (c) travelincousins.com What I love about these festivals is that it's a great place for people to become familiar with up and coming companies as well as store front establishments. We stopped by V-Spot's booth, where they were serving a few of the Latin Vegan and Kosher restaurant's signature items. With locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, this festival pop up was the perfect spot for me and my girls to try their Columbian Empanadas and Avocado Fries.  (c) travelincousins.com By the time we got to Stanley's Polish Pierogi, we were beyond stuffed. I was a bit annoyed because I LOVE pierogis! Especially Vegan ones!!! Although I was too full to try them at the Festival, I was comforted by the fact that Stanley Pierogi is located in Queens!! Since 1991, Stanley’s Pierogi has been providing a delectable line of delicious Pierogi at retail and the food services industries and are open to the public Monday through Saturday! Offering both vegan, vegetarian options, this place is on my "must visit" list!!  That pretty much sums up my day! After spending roughly three hours walking around, eating and taking it all in, me, Gianna and Kelsey headed back to Long Island with a fun day having been had by all!! And as for me, I'm getting myself outside for a nice long walk in the lovely day's sunshine! See ya back here tomorrow! -Travelin' Elisa xoxo  |
