Guest guest Posted February 12, 2005 Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 Vegans Strut Out SF Examiner http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/02/11//columnists/p_j_corkery/ 20050211_co01_pj.txt Wednesday night, down on Geary in the heart of the theater district, I encountered a ripening new scene, a melding of all the above. ... Just opposite the Home of the Original Perfect Hamburger and that delightful low bar, the High Tide Lounge -- with its neon champagne bubbles effervescing from a red neon glass -- the lively, glossy magazine VegNews, published in the Sunset, brought its readers downtown for the annual Veggie Awards, a kind of Academy Awards for veg-friendly institutions. And it was quite uptown. ... The venue was the Millennium Restaurant in the Savoy Hotel, perhaps the most upscale vegetarian restaurant in America. One might think the vegans and vegetarians assembled would resemble a joyless salad of ex-hippies, Santa Cruz nature lovers and relics of stern childhoods, intent on punishing the palate. But what a scene! This may be the first time in the years it's been my pleasant duty to check out scenes that I entered a room of 200 partying San Franciscans and wasn't blinking from the light bouncing off the reflector-tight skin of myriad Botox-ed foreheads and pointy, angular, surgically sharpened cheekbones. And about half were in their 50s, 60s and above. .... The other half were twenty- and thirty-somethings, epitomized by Julia Butterfly Hill, famous for having lived in Luna, a 180-foot Coast Redwood, for two years to spare it from the ax. Julia left the lumbering look behind for tight slacks, belly-showing sweater and beaten silver earnings. She ran the show. ... There are 70,000 vegetarians in The City, so it stands to reason they cross economic and social lines, but as they don't have pinched faces, they don't have pinched personalities. Talk politics in most joints these days and you feel like you've taken a shot in the liver -- people are so depressed. Not here. These people are kind of optimistic, but not naïve. Maybe because they feel good. There was lots of political talk, refreshing in its hopeful expectation. Top veg venue victory was scored by Millennium. Owners Larry and Ann Wheat (a fine old vegan name) are accidental restaurateurs. He was a top partner at KPMG, the accounting firm. Retired, the Wheats were hungering for a vegetarian restaurant that would define itself around fine dining. In chef Eric Tucker, they found their man. Curiously, about half of Millennium's customers are not practicing vegetarians -- just foodies. ... The Gav was there to accept an award for S.F. as America's most veg-friendly city. Jenny Humphrey asked him The Question. His answer: " I'm an aspiring vegetarian. " ... Rainbow Grocery won the market award, and that ongoing county fair, the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, won too. Herbivore won for favorite brunch. When vegans are praising brunch -- the most Society-like meal -- you know they've arrived. ... Food was delish, too. ... What you see is what you get You've made your bed, you better lie in it You choose your leaders and place your trust As their lies wash you down and their promises rust You'll see kidney machines replaced by rockets and guns And the public wants what the public gets But I don't get what this society wants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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