Bay Area Vegetarians

Just a reminder that Vegan Drinks is tonite at Martuni’s (Valencia @ Market). Not only is this a fantastic chance to mingle with other vegans while enjoying drinks specials and super-sized martinis (along with a host of non-alcoholic beverage options), you can support Bay Area Vegetarians as well!

This month, we’re introducing a brand-new giveaway for a gift certificate to a San Francisco veg restaurant (this month, it’s a $50 certificate to Herbivore). Raffle tickets are $1, and all money goes to Bay Area Vegetarians! That’s right, enter to win a fabulous meal at Herbivore, and help a great local non-profit at the same time.

Here’s the lowdown:

Thursday, July 30
6pm to 8pm @ Martuni’s

Details at sfvegandrinks.com

Well, we’ve long heard rumors that New World Vegan would be closing .. thanks to Rachel for sharing the update that a date has been set.  New World Vegan will close its doors at the end of August.

New World lives on in Symphonie, a sister restaurant located in Richmond that opened in February 2009.

Long-time Bay Area folks may remember another veg restaurant, Bode, that occupied that same location prior to New World Vegan.

Cha-Ya’s newest restaurant in San Francisco opened its doors last week, at 9th and Irving.  For this all vegan Japanese restaurant, this is it’s 2nd SF restaurant, joining its original Berkeley location and SF Mission district.

Thanks to Winnie for the update of San Francisco’s newest vegan eatery.

Ultimate Guide – Cha-Ya:  read it, rate it, review it

Souley Vegan reopened on Friday, July 24th in its new restaurant location in Oakland’s Jack London Square.  It was previously located on 13th Street in Oakland, closed last fall for remodelling, and never re-opened.  Many in the veg community are happy to see the return of vegan soul food.

Souley Vegan continues to sell its fare at Farmer’s Markets throughout the bay area, including the Lake Merritt Farmer’s Market and the relatively new Farmer’s Market in the Metreon complex in San Francisco.

Thanks to Bob for sharing the official word of their long anticipated opening.

Ultimate Guide: Souley Vegan – read it, rate it, review it

Bay Area Vegetarians’ Food for Thought book club is now meeting monthly.  We will be discussing general non-fiction veg/AR books on odd-numbered months, and animal rights philosophy books on even-numbered months.  Most meetings are held in San Francisco, but we occasionally have meetings on the Peninsula.

Future books include Case for Animal Rights by Tom Regan, Ethics into Action:  Henry Spira and the Animal Rights Movement by Peter Singer, and Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz.

If you’d like to share a suggestion for a great book to read, please comment with your suggestion!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Food for Thought Book Club, please see the event calendar for upcoming book discussions or join our Food for Thought Book Club list, which is a very low-volume yahoogroups list dedicated to book club organizing.

2009 Meetings
Jan – Appetite for Profit
Mar – Striking at the Roots
May – Animal Rights discussion based on Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation
July – The Longest Struggle

2008 Meetings
Jan – For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism
Mar – Making Burros Fly
May – Eternal Treblinka
Sept –  Specious Science
Nov – Sexual Politics of Meat

2007 Meetings
January – Dominion
March – Vegan Freaks
May – The China Study
July – Free the Animals
Sept – Pleasurable Kingdom
Nov – Committed: A Rabble-Rouser’s Memoir

2006 Meetings
Feb – Animal Liberation
July – The Pig Who Sang to the Moon
Aug – The Way We Eat, Why Our Food Choices Matter
Nov – Living Among Meat Eaters