Of course, it was an ice cream party on the coldest day of the year, but that didn't stop my friend Lauren and I. It just made us walk faster, so we were the first people there. They were still setting up their serving table when we got there. Not only was there VEGAN ICE CREAM, but there was a nice selection of fresh fruit available to top it with.
The space was tiny and the demand was high, so once people started showing up, there really wasn't much room to move. After a while, there were people standing outside eating ice cream (the "real feel temperature" was around 7 F)! That's dedication.
The first flavor we were given was peanut butter chip. I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter, but the addition was quite subtle, so I enjoyed it. Next up was espresso chip, which I had some blackberries on, so that helped mask the coffee flavor (I don't like coffee either). Third was chocolate coconut, which I liked a lot despite my general aversion to coconut (yes, this was very weird: conceptually, I knew I shouldn't like any of the flavors, but I did!). I liked chewing on the little bits of coconut. They broke out the big guns last: Mexican chocolate. It was spiced just right and I almost melted into a pile of goo right there from it. It was that good. When this stuff hits stores, it better come in barrels.
The ice cream itself was awesome. Very creamy. I'd never know it was non-dairy (they use soy). This event filled me with great joy since I hadn't eaten ice cream since July or August and I really missed it!
Despite what we'd like to believe, man cannot live on ice cream alone, so we followed that with brunch at Kate's Joint (a vegetarian diner sort of place with a bar that plays great - though repetitive - music).
Kate's does have eggs and cheese on the menu, but they also have tofu and vegan cheese options for all of those dishes. Rock. I got Kate's Benedict with tofu and vegan hollandaise. It was really, really good, except when I dropped about half of it in my lap (I found a chunk of tofu in my wallet when it was time to pay). Lauren got the Breakfast Burrito, which looked like a pretty standard (though big) breakfast burrito. She said it was tasty and chock full of protein. Even though it's not technically brunch fare, when we saw UnChicken Wings on the menu, we couldn't resist them and we got those too. They were very spicy and tasty, but also very tofu-y. They didn't imitate meat as well as those at Red Bamboo (which actually come on a stick!), but they were still really good. It's a cute place, right by the Mercury Lounge and Downtown Yarns and they're open late, so I'll definitely go back.
Wings!
Kate's Benedict
