pop!

just a quick little note about a special kind of beverage lauren, alex and i recently encountered. guess what - it's not beer! fooled ya. it's good old fashioned soda pop! which is a genre of drink we rarely tango with. sure, an ice cold diet coke from a gas station in ohio in the middle of a summer road trip is one thing. there too is a time and a place for a big splash of ginger ale to mellow out some whiskey. but when it comes to non-beer bubbles, the sisters kovach almost religiously drink seltzer (add some juice, it's called "so-jay") and not much else. i kind of like to think about seltzer like regular soda with all its make up scrubbed off.

so then why, the other week, did we order 2 bottles of soda pop alongside our slices of succulent vegan pizza at blackbird? well, we're suckers for great packaging and wacky flavors, and that about explains it:

DRY soda, a relatively new small company based in seattle, cranks out beautiful, clear, sparkling beverages in lovely bottles, infused with unconventional and creative flavors. each bottle contains only 45-70 calories, and between 11-19 grams of cane sugar. this is just a fraction of what is in "regular" soda. so despite our normal FU attitude towards pop, i ordered the cucumber, and lauren got lavender, though our other choices included blood orange, rhubarb, vanilla bean, and more. although still a bit sweet for my taste, the flavors harnessed in these sodas were amazing! the cuke was dry and smooth, and the lavender was floral and light, but not in a soapy or overtly fragrance-y ways.

DRY really gives a shit about its shit. even the briefest perusal of their website will prove as much. each soda flavor has its own page describing the flavor profile, food pairing ideas, and cocktail recipes. while i'm still a major proponent of making your own simple syrup or liquor infusions, all the DRY flavors would be out-of-control good in a boozy drink. might not buy this stuff by the case, but for a treat once in awhile, i'll totally go for it.

bonus- a few photos of blackbird's sexy za, best vegan pie in the city:

mushroom & potato

alright, stop drooling! if you haven't been to blackbird yet, the time is now. i think they even deliver...

love,

emily

Sidecar for Pigs Peace

alright, last west coast post, i promise. i need to get my head back on the east coast, and keep it there, especially with the phillies getting ready to take on the dodgers. EAST COAST IS THE BEAST COAST!!

ok, and on to the blogging. tucked away in seattle's university district, away from the hustle and bustle of student life there lies an oasis, a mirage, a vegan mecca on one little street corner. on one corner is sidecar pigs for peace, washington's only 100% vegan store.

everything up in this place is vegan, you don't even have to check the labels! i bought a bag of dandies marshmallows (cutest logo ever!), which i have yet to use, a few little chocolate treats and two vegan doughnuts, courtesy of mighty-o. check out the major vegan goods:

the sweet treat section could've been my downfall,
but the vegan doughnuts were really what i was after

a vegan "dairy" case. HA!
so much fake cheese, so little time

i very much like the sound of this

vegan truffles as far as the eye can see

i then enjoyed double fisting the vegan doughnuts outside of pizza pi, a totally vegan pizza shop across the street from the vegan grocery store! does it get any better? actually, there was a little variety shop next door and a spice shop across the street! plus a cool independent theater down the way and a little further walk took you to an adorable park. sadly, i wasn't very hungry and didn't get any pizza from pizza pi, with plans to return that never happened. next time, pizza pi. unless you deliver, that is?

portland and olympia were subject to a dead camera battery and a forgotten charger so no pictures of cajun tofu sandwich with handcut french fries, big old burritos, tofu benedict, MORE vegan doughnuts and even a house of vintage. someday portland i'm going to come back and then, THEN, will i capture photographs of your delicious victuals.

back east and eating,
lauren