Oprah Goes Vegan Viewing Party

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining a packed house of fellow vegans at Harvey's in the Castro to watch an episode of Oprah. Yes, Oprah. I know, some of you may not be fans, but she did some really groundbreaking work on yesterday's show. She, along with almost 400 of her staff went vegan for a week... and lived to tell about it! In fact, many of them talked about how they are continuing because they feel too good to stop. Yes, there was too much of Michael Pollan making all sorts of excuses for killing animals ("But I loved it before I murdered it and ate it!") and probably even too much talk about bowel movements (us vegans are "regular" folk) but overall it painted veganism in a positive light. This was due, in large part to Kathy Freston's eloquence. Bravo, Kathy!

Around these parts, we have our own vegan guru, Colleen Patrick Goudreau (with yours truly, above) and, timely as she is, her book coming out later this year is The 30 Day Vegan Challenge. If you know anyone even considering the plunge into a cruelty-free life, I highly recommend they pre-order this book today!

I also recommend that you Bay Area people go to Harvey's and try some of the numerous vegan items which they developed with Colleen's help, like the tasty chili in the picture. Harvey's is mainly a bar so the food is geared in that direction, but c'mon, even vegans need onion rings and burgers sometimes... especially when they taste this good!

A great time was had by all, and although Oprah only vowed to remain "veganISH," I hope this program inspired people across the country to give it a try.

Up next? I finally get my booty to a restaurant that's been on my list forever, with friends who are experts in its cuisine, no less. Stay tuned!