Whether you're in a quandry about the office holiday party and being the only vegan at work, or in a pickle about what to say when handing out a "Why Vegan" booklet, or simply want to know about buying or making vegan whipped cream (sans cruelty to cows) -- or anything else about vegetarianism or vegetarian living or simply a veg perspective -- then Ask Cat!

Cat is the voice of our panel of experts, waiting by their Inboxes for your questions. Send Cat your questions today! Every month we will answer several questions and we may even occasionally host a live chat session for new veg*ns. Please include at least your first name and city with your inquiry.

We always welcome any questions or discussions in our Veggie Mentor program, too.

Thank you to everyone for their participation in our annual BEST OF VEG survey for vegan and vegetarian dining in the San Francisco Bay Area. After all the votes were tallied, Herbivore and Millennium defended their titles and remain the top restaurants for vegetarian and vegan foods in the san Francisco Bay Area.

Best Overall Vegetarian Restaurant: Herbivore
Best Overall Vegan Restaurant: Millennium

Please visit our website for full results in the 19 categories, including Best Every Veggie Day, Best Special Occasion, Friendliest Service, Best Restaurant for a Casual Veggie Date, as well as our voter prizes.

Are you new to vegan/vegetarian cooking, or wondering "Is it possible to bake a great Vegan Cake without dairy or eggs"?

Please join us for one of our upcoming classes geared towards teaching you kitchen-tested recipes and techniques for successful vegan cooking and baking.

Dec 9 Vegan Holiday Cookies Baking Class (5 spaces left)
Jan 13 New Vegetarian/Vegan Cooking Class

The January class is designed to help aspiring vegetarians and vegans start the New Year deliciously. If you bring a new (non-veg) person with you, you can both attend for the price of one ($10)! So if you're looking for a thoughtful gift, this may be the perfect opportunity.

Space is limited so sign-up today!

There's always vegan events and advocacy on behalf of animals happening every month with Bay Area Vegetarians, from letter writing to protesting cruelty to chickens at KFC to promoting a plant-based diet to sharing the secrets of vegan baking, BAVeg volunteers are planting the seeds of compassion and good health.

Wait, isn't that exactly what we said that last month? Yup, it sure is! Check out the November roundup, which includes a report from Ari (excerpt below) on outreach at the Junior State of America conference.

"These young people were seriously ready to question everything they have been taught about how animals are only here to serve us and have no feelings (with the exception of cats/dogs). Of course, in any discussion, the fact that we were coming from a very thought-out and researched (not to mention compassionate) point-of-view made our argument pretty convincing to these mostly open-minded people."

Two SF outreach opportunities this month - 12/15 Lunchtime Advocacy and 12/31 Make 2007 The Year of ALL Animals! Advocacy also works on a personal level, like bringing your non-veg family & friends to veg events.

When Lisa started the book club in 2006 to read 8 general fiction books, for the other months, there was a complementary group reading four non-fiction/veg-AR books.

Based on interest in the vegetarian/animal rights selections, we are expanding it to read 6 books this year, with rotating discussions in SF and South Bay. We invite interested folks to join us, and help decide future book selections. So, mark your calendar for the next book discussion:

On Jan 7th, over vegan ice cream, sundaes, and floats at MaggieMudd, we will discuss Matthew Sculley's Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy.

Layonna Vegetarian has opened their vegetarian kitchen doors in the Richmond district in SF, just across the street from Bok Choy Garden. We've heard that Asian Rose will reopen at their new Santa Cruz location on Front Street in mid-December. Stay tuned for more news on that.

The TV show "Eye on the Bay" did an entire show on "Veggie Eats" in the Bay Area. Happy Bamboo (2nd Tues. monthly dinner) and MaggieMudd (veg/AR book discussion) were 2 of the 7 businesses featured.

For regular updates, check out our Guide News blog

Lots of movement in the Top Ten this month as New World Vegetarian falls from 2nd to 10th place.

With more than 1,000 reviews in the Ultimate Guide, these vegetarian restaurants are ranked the best. Agree or Disagree about the Top Ten? Then say something about it, with an Ultimate Guide review.

Top Ten Vegetarian Restaurants - based on 1000+ reviews

1) Vegetarian House, San Jose - 4.5
2) Good Karma, San Jose - 4.38
3) The Manzanita Restaurant, Oakland - 4.38
4) Cha-Ya, Berkeley - 4.37
5) Garden Fresh, Mtn View - 4.33
6) Tofoo Com Chay, San Jose - 4.29
7) Saturn Cafe, Santa Cruz - 4.25
8) Shangri-La, SF - 4.23
9) Millennium, SF - 4.18
10) New World Vegetarian, Oakland - 4.18

How to review a restaurant in the Ultimate Guide

Enjoy the holidays with some festive vegan cookies. It's a great opportunity to make extras and bring them to your next holiday party or gift them to a friend.

*Cranberry Walnut Oat Cookies
*Chocolate Frosted Macaroons
*Ginger Star Cookies
*Cinnamon-Orange Ice Cream
*Gingerbread

On January 13th, Chef Alex Bury will be teaching a cooking class for new vegetarians and vegans. If you bring a new (non-veg) person with you, you can both attend for the price of one ($10)!

12/07 Marin Vegan Food & Fellowship Dinner - San Rafael
12/09 Vegan Baking Class - Mill Valley
12/09 Vegetarian House Dinner - San Jose
12/10 Book Club Discussion: Reading Lolita in Tehran - SF
12/10 KFC Cruelty Protest - SF
12/12 Letter Writing Party - Berkeley
12/12 Happy Bamboo dinner - San Jose
12/15 Lunchtime Advocacy - SF
12/16 KFC Cruelty Protest - Palo Alto
12/16 Holiday Dinner & Fundraiser for Farm Sanctuary - Mtn View
12/25 Christmas Day dinner - Oakland
12/31 Make 2007 The Year of ALL Animals! Leafleting & Dinner - SF

01/06 KFC Cruelty Protest - San Jose
01/07 Book Discussion: Dominion- San Francisco

Outlook users can use the 'calendar' icon link ()to add this event to their calendar.

For latest news and events for Bay Area Vegetarians, check out the News Blog and Event Calendar. We don't always announce it, but event photos are added periodically to the gallery, too.