Tommy's Restaurant in Cleveland Heights

On my third day in Cleveland, I finally made it to the famous ”Tommy’s” restaurant in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The menu was amazing and full of great vegan dishes as well as ‘normal’ food for my boys. The pricing was quite reasonable with hardly an item over $10.

I had an A.J. Wrap and a Not Dog. An A.J. Wrap is a wheat wrap filled with black bean chili, pickles, brown rice, veggies & lettuce. A Not Dog is a veggie hotdog made with tofu and spices and served on a whole wheat bun. It comes with a great garlicy sauce but I didn’t ask exactly what it was. Both were great.

It was also one of the only places in Cleveland where I didn’t get a strange look when asking for Green Tea.

It was a great restaurant and it lived up to all my expectations. The little neighbourhood it was located in kind of reminded me of Kensington Market in Toronto. They have a little give shop with clothing items. I was hoping they would have had a recipe book, but it wasn’t to be.

Check out their website for a detailed menu and history of the restaurant.

Figure Skater Needs Dead Animal Fur To Win Gold

I was going to write a nasty post about American figure skater, Johnny Weir. Earlier in the day, Johnny basically said that a little animal fur here and there didn't matter when there were so many humans dying in the world.

He has changed his mind after receiving international media pressure. Read the latest story here. He will wear 'faux fur' on his costume. But, he admits that he made the change so that 'some silly costume' wouldn't affect his training for the Olympic games. He stresses that animal rights activists have not won and that he still would rather be wearing his pretty fur outfit.

Long a target of PETA and other animal rights groups for his fashion sense, Mr. Weir just won't back down from what he believes in. You know, Johnny, it is a sport that you're competing in and not a fashion show. Just be a great figure skater and you won't have to worry about how much of a circus act you're being.

Well, Johnny Weir, you've made my burn-in-hell list and you're right next to the Montreal Canadiens (click on the team name to find out why they've made the list). May you fall on your pretty face.

Also in the news...

Dog fighting has made a comeback in Afghanistan. Hurray! The human killing is down so the bloodshed must come from another source. Why not the age-old pastime of dog fighting? Read all the good news here.


I've been pretty cranky lately and this activist alter-ego seems to be slipping out. I'm off to Cleveland, Ohio for a four day weekend and plan to visit some of the city's finer vegan restaurants. I promise not to be such a grump for the next post!

Chana Dal, What The Hell Are You?

I was at Costco the other day, witnessing Christmas shopping but not really partaking. I took a stroll through the food section and stumbled upon something new to me. Chana Dal. It looked just like a bag of split peas but had an exotic Indian name and came in a 4lb bag that was only $2.99. I was intrigued.
Even more intriguing were the nutritional values printed on the underside of the bag. For a 100g serving, this stuff packed a whopping 370 calories. These would obviously be good calories as the only ingredient was the Chana Dal with no additives whatsoever. Also included in the meagre 100g serving was 23 grams of protein, 30% of your daily intake of iron and 40% of your daily intake of dietary fibre. Word on the street is that it has the lowest glycemic index reading of any measured food at somewhere between 5 and 10, depending on the source.
It seems all you have to do to survive is have 100g of this stuff at every meal along with a garden salad and you'd be all set. Man, that would save on the grocery bill.
It turns out that Chana Dal is very closely related to the regular old Chick Pea or Garbanzo. Indeed, it is quite similar but on the smaller side. I've checked several grocery stores since purchasing my bag but have yet to see any on the shelves.
The next question is: how do you cook the stuff? Quite easy. Simply soak 1 cup of the dried Chana Dal in water for about 3 hours. Rinse and then transfer to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Once a boil is reached, simmer covered for 30 minutes and your Chana Dal is ready to go.
At this point, rinse again and add whatever spices you'd like and mix in. Of course, Curry Powder, Cumin, Garlic and Turmeric are natural choices if you want to stay with the Indian theme.
A great resource on Chana Gal can be found online at David Mendosa's site. David takes a special interest in Chana Gal because of its low glycemic numbers and its benefit to diabetics.

Other notes:

I'm planning a trip to Cleveland at the end of January and went to the folks at Vegan In Cleveland for some advise on where to eat. Needless to say, they were very helpful. Their site is full of information on Vegan eateries in the Cleveland area, so if you are planning to visit the city for any reason, check them out.