The Fanciful Fox,the handmade, vegan soaperie you’ve come to know and love at Vegan Shop-Ups and various events in the tri-state area, finally has a new home base in Bushwick, Brooklyn and it is stunning (and smells divine).
The creative and ingenious proprietors, Kathie and Amanda Fox, have ingratiated themselves to the local community since they relocated from their popular shop in Scranton, PA a few years ago; the new boutique is an amalgamation of their exquisite products, family heirlooms, and artifacts from fellow vegan businesses.
At their recent grand opening, the luscious spread included cheese delights from Cheezehound, a sparkly cake from Clementine Bakery, and these gems from Gone Pie. Vegans supporting other vegans, yay!
The event was bursting not only with friends and supporters of The Fanciful Fox, but the reason we were all there: tables and shelves stocked with their cruelty-free, palm-free offerings such as soaps, lotions, and lip balms; as well as tattoo cream, beard oil, and candles–to name just a few of the impeccable products available from their homemade line.
Oh, and there are shop dogs; did I mention the shop dogs? Here are just a couple of the furry friends you may meet on your next visit.
Whether you’re already a fan of The Fanciful Fox, or you’re not yet acquainted, get yourself down to their new location in Bushwick; you’re in for a treat. Not nearby? You can always shop online to support their tireless, unwavering efforts towards a vegan world–while spoiling yourself in the process.
I rarely get to have fun on weekdays [ed. note: um hello we always text, are you saying that’s not fun Abby Bean?!?!?], but last week I got to have lunch at the new, vegan pizzeria in Brooklyn: Screamers!!
Brought to you by the folks behind both Champ’s (love) and Philly’s Blackbird[ed. note: LOVE!], this true slice pizza joint is located at the former site of Champ’s Junior in Greenpoint.
Their website doesn’t
yet offer a whole hell of a lot of information, but I took a pic of
their awesome selections so that you can start dreaming of what slice
you’ll want to try first. It’s hella hard to read, so why don’t you just head on over and take my word for everything being awesome?
Because we’re professionals, my pal and I ordered 4 slices to share. The
woman who helped us was kind enough to cut each slice in two, which
saved us what surely would have been some messy embarrassment.
Pictured top right: SUPREME: seitan pepperoni, bell peppers, seitan sausage, onion, tomato sauce, vegan cheese. And WHITE: garlic oil, vegan cheese, almond ricotta, broccoli rabe, carmelized onions.
Pictured bottom left: SCREAMERS: garlic oil, vegan cheese, cremini & oyster mushroom, parsley, almond parmesan. And CLEAN SLIDE:long hot pesto, broccoli rabe, vegan cheese, seitan sausage, sesame seeds, tomato sauce.
Every bite delivered decadent pizza goodness, but I think the supreme
and white were my favorites so far. I’ve been dreaming about this pizza
ever since and I can’t wait to go back. Pro tip: ask them to heat your
slices extra long so that they’re burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth hot.
If
you’re lucky like us, you’ll meet an extremely friendly pooch outside;
this one was wearing a cutie purple bow and let me hug her.
If all this isn’t enough to convince you to run to Screamers, you should definitely follow them on Instagram in order to keep up with all of their drool-inducing shots.
In the glorious age where “anything you can eat I can eat vegan,” it’s usually hard to think of a food item that you miss in your day-to-day, cruelty-free life. From meringue to macarons, soft cheese to fried chicken, almost everything has been replicated splendidly for the compassionate among us. But the one thing I’ve been missing all along has been the perennial fave: M&Ms. My dedicated M&M bowl has been empty for so long that I’d all but given up hope…UNTIL NOW!
Our friend Carmella, one half of The Food Duo and the fine folks behind V Marks the Shop, visited Expo West and reported back that there were vegan M&Ms to be had in the form of Little Secrets, who had a line of candy coated chocolates that included a few vegan varieties.* Upon initial inspection however, the inclusion of confectioner’s glaze had me suspicious. But I wrote to the company and heard back this great news:
Abby, Our Confectioners Glaze gives the shine on all of our products. The Confectioners Glaze is the term used for the coating that protects the surface of our candy and provides the characteristic “shine”. The functional ingredient contained in “Confectionary Glaze” Carnauba Wax and Mineral Oil. Carnauba wax is a single ingredient that is derived from the leaves of the Carnauba Palm Tree. We are updating our packaging to make it clearer that are [sic] Glaze is vegan across all of our lines. Just so you are our vegan flavors are Raspberry, Dark, And Sea Salted Peanut. If you send me your address i will be sure to send you some product.
Full disclosure: they didn’t send me any product–even after I wrote back to remind them (no shame!). In my defense, I didn’t necessarily want free candy (although that’s not the worst thing in the world), I just couldn’t find them anywhere. But, as you can see, the crisis has been averted and I’ve now tried all three vegan* varieties.
The salted peanut dark chocolate made with sea salt are exquisite! They’re the most upscale peanut M&Ms you ever could have imagined.
The rich & creamy dark chocolate are a crowd pleaser and my most-gifted thus far. This has nothing to do with the fact that I’m hoarding the salted peanut. NOTHING!
VM (a.k.a. my Vegetarian Mom) can’t get enough of the dark chocolate raspberry and I can’t say I blame her. I am not a fruit and chocolate kind of gal, but this combo is done right and then some.
Don’t forget that the other varieties are not vegan!
Little Secrets are kosher, fair trade, use natural food coloring, and have a swell sense of humor (see their website and packaging). And you can now buy all the vegan flavors on VeganEssentials.com. Go give ‘em a try and see for yourself! #untileveryM&Mbowlisfull
*
From the Little Secrets’ website: Q: Are your products vegan? A: Little Secrets cannot be called vegan, as they are produced in a facility which also produces milk products. Our Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Raspberry, Dark Chocolate Salted Peanut and seasonal Dark Chocolate Peppermint do NOT contain any milk or dairy in the ingredients, while our Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, Milk Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate Toasted Coconut do contain dairy.
If you haven’t yet been to 00 + Co, get there pronto! [that’s zero zero + Co., despite what our typeface would have you believe]
“00+Co, a new plant-based pizza concept from Matthew Kenney, opened its
doors in New York City’s East Village in February 2016. Serving small plates,
organic pizza prepared in a wood burning oven, vegan ice cream and
organic wines, 00 + Co showcases Matthew Kenney’s delicious, beautiful,
vibrant, and nutritious cuisine in one of New York’s favorite
neighborhoods.”
I’m not into wine, but I’m all about pizza [Ed. note: whuuuuut?? but….wine is life, Abby Bean!]. The items considered “not pizza” (is it just me or could that be a really long list?) are also pretty darn appealing. We’ll get to the issue of dessert in a minute. More importantly, all things cheesy:
We started with the cheese plate–THE CHEESE PLATE! Truffled cashew, smoked cheddar, and almond ricotta served with oregano flatbread and pickles. Two vegans and a vegetarian spent the whole beginning of our 00 experience marveling over the stunning presentation of the decadently creamy cheeses and striking accoutrements.
We each chose one pizza with the intention of sharing all three (pro-tip: it helps if you go with lightweights who can’t finish a whole pie themselves). Just such a pal chose the tomato basil, cashew mozzarella. This was a good, simple choice to start with, but it didn’t blow me away. The crust was just the way I like it: not too thick and not too thin, but
I didn’t think there was enough sauce or cheese. My tablemates did not necessarily agree, but since I’m a vegansaur, my opinion is automatically more important.
Another pal chose the tomato, farro-fennel sausage, cashew mozzarella. We all know that the reigning vegan sausage pie is In Ricotta Da Vegan from Paulie Gee’s, so this had a lot to live up to. While it was certainly yummy, PG still reigns supreme. I just wasn’t into the texture of the sausage, which I can most adequately describe using the adjective lumpy. The fresh herbs did this pie a lot of good, but I was still waiting to be wowed.
Finally, I chose the best pie of the night: truffled celeriac, maitake mushroom, parsley pesto. WOW. This was just the type of rich and flavorful pie I was hoping for. The toppings were in perfect proportion to the dough/crust and I easily could have devoured the whole thing without sharing. An absolute standout, do not miss this amazing green and shroomy pie. While there’s still quite a bit of the 00 menu to get through, I don’t think I could visit without ordering this one…and the illustrious cheese plate.
As for dessert, we skipped it. I know you’re thinking that’s utter blasphemy, but hear me out. For starters, we spied the vanilla bean cheesecake at another table and I’m pretty
sure I could have fit the whole thing in my mouth at once even though I was
hella full. Considering I’d just eaten about 2+ whole pies, it didn’t seem that the appropriate way to end the meal was to consume a $10 mini-cheesecake in one bite. As for the “vegan ice cream” option touted on their website, it was sorbet. Sorbet! Talk about blasphemy. Sorbet isn’t ice cream, my friends–not by a long shot. Also, it was pear. Come on! Trying to pass off pear sorbet as ice cream is the reason people don’t think they can go vegan. Let us not forget the decadent flavors we’ve grown accustomed to and increase the game up in there, 00; I know you can do it.
When it’s your dog’s birthday and a well-timed special delivery from Vegan Divas arrives in time for the party, pure joy ensues. Yes, you read that right. Vegan Divas has now added doggy treats to their line of vegan goodies and I can tell you that we have a VERY happy customer right here. Let’s just say it’s a good thing that they offer same day delivery in NYC (and ship to all 50 states).
Made of organic, unbleached spelt four; vegan canola oil; maple syrup; unsweetened applesauce; molasses; vanilla extract; kosher salt; and baking soda, the cookies are pretty massive. But that didn’t deter 89 from snatching one right out of my hand! I can tell you that once I smelled how fragrant it was, I almost snatched it back. Full disclosure: I kinda did. They really are human grade cookies and they’re really good. YES I TASTED THEM! For optimum sweetness, I definitely recommend you choose the Vegan Divas donuts and cookies intended exclusively for humans instead–but don’t forget your furry friend! It really wouldn’t be right to just feed your own pie hole and not your best buddy as well. 89 liked these so much that she actually licked the inside of the bag when there was no more cookie left. I feel ya, sister.
