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Sunday, May 8, 2011

Will Tuttle Gets Crunk!

Okay, so former Buddhist monk/vegan activist Will Tuttle didn't really get all that crunk (at least not that I know of). But the World Peace Diet author did make a stop in Memphis over the weekend for a few events, one of which was our monthly Food Awareness vegetarian club meeting at Escape Alley Sundry. Stopping in Memphis kinda equals gettin' crunk, right? That's just how we do in the Dirty South!

But anyway, the super-awesome Tuttle gave a great speech on his bestselling pro-vegan book, World Peace Diet, which I have yet to read. But I'm definitely inspired to read the book now. He's such a kind and compassionate dude, and he's been vegan for 30 years!

After Tuttle's inspiring lecture, our group of about 30 people moved into the dining area at Escape Alley Sundry, a cute little diner tucked into an alley off of Marshall Ave. They offer a few vegan options on their regular menu (veggie chili and veggie dogs, which can be combined to make a veggie chili dog with the works!). But since owners Russell and Jo knew we were coming, they worked up a special vegan menu for us. We were offered Red Bean & Rice with Tofurky Kielbasa, Vegan Loaded Nachos, a Mushroom Pasta, a variety of nut butter sandwiches, and more.

In true Memphis spirit, I went with the BBQ Tofu Sandwich with Vegan Coleslaw:

Super good! The tofu was super-saucy, and the coleslaw was fantastic. And if that wasn't enough, Escape Alley even offered us a few vegan cupcakes! I went with the Vanilla Almond Cupcake because I'm a vanilla kind of gal:

The desserts were created by a talented local baker named Karina Khan, who makes ridiculously-good vegan cupcakes. She also sells her cupcakes and layer cakes at the brand-new Imagine Vegan Cafe in Cooper-Young.

On that note, Imagine Vegan Cafe, Memphis' ONLY all-vegan food restaurant, opened its doors last Saturday, and it is AMAZING! I'll be doing a massive Imagine post later this week, as I'm trying to collect photos of as many dishes as possible. That means lots of eating out. The life of a food blogger is so hard. ;-)

Anyway, thanks to Will Tuttle and Escape Alley Sundry for one of our best Food Awareness meetings ever!

6 comments:

  1. Um...all of that food looks mouthwatering. Wish we had a restaurant like that here!

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  2. I hope you're doing ok! I saw a ton of footage of all the flooding that's going on out there.

    Your BBQ tofu sammich is tempting me to fall off the no processed foods wagon I'm on! I'm a vanilla kind of girl too; I always choose it over chocolate :)

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  3. i had a great time, it was awesome to finaly meet and hang out with you!! Nice to see you gave into the cupcakes LOL and I think her name was Karina...

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  4. I haven't read his book either but he sounds really smart and sweet. I'll look into it!
    The BBQ tofu sandwich looks awesome, and I love pretty much ANY slaw.

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  5. Looks like a great day. I'm with you...eating out is sooooo hard to do!

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