Vegan Days to Vegan Nights

It’s about time I got myself to Stogo, New York City’s all-vegan gourmet ice cream shop. To escape the debilitating heat and humidity, CandyPenny and I ducked into the East Village storefront’s huge people-watching windows to cool down with their soy, hemp and coconut-based frozen treats. Stogo has some wonderful rotating flavors like Bananas Foster, which I sampled and must return for, Salted Caramel Pecan, Pomegranate Chocolate Chip and Toasted Almond Joy, as well as a selection of fruity sorbets. I chose the Creamsicle, a blend of decadent coconut-milk based vanilla ice cream (with specks of real vanilla beans… like Breyers) and orange ice pop.
We then traveled to Bushwick, Brooklyn to try the new vegan menu at Wreck Room, a grungy bar with a penchant for nostalgic tunes, a wide variety of barflies and South Park on the big screen. Wreck Room serves up straight-up bar food and I am glad they exist. New York City trails behind many other cities in this genre  (I’m thinking Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Palomino. My goodness!) The menu is mostly reheat-ables, similar to my hood’s Foodswings. We got the Buffalo wings, soy science meat with the vegan bone in the middle, and split a Philly Cheese Steak made of seitan and topped with Daiya. Wash it down with a pint of local brew Six Point and smile big at the attentive and friendly bar staff. Good stuff.
From one vegan-friendly dive to another… it was time for the monthly Vegan Drinks night at Angels & Kings in the East Village to reunite the veggie gals. This time around Terri, Chelsea’s all-vegan sandwich shop, provided some sample noshes… quesadillas, mini sandwiches and maxi cupcakes! For afterhours we headed to Summit Bar on Avenue C to squeeze in with the overdressed for innovative foodie cocktails like the Ground to Glass, Corralejo blanco tequila, red pepper puree, cucumber, fresh lime, blended bitters and hickory smoked salt, or The Situation, Afghani Raisin Infused Rittenhouse Rye, Caraway infused agave, fresh lemon and Orange Bitters. The counter space looked like the offspring of a bar and a spice shop!