I had a great trip to Seattle last week. Lots of good people and good food.

I mentioned Cyber-Dogs in the previous entry, but another place I enjoyed was the (not-fully-vegetarian) Ballet. Here’s my review, with more reviews on the way.

I’ve long said that while there are amazing meatless sausages and hamburgers and chicken and on and on and on, all of the meatless hot dogs I’ve tasted—and I’ve tried all the major brands—have fallen short of the real things in terms of taste and texture. And most of them have a funny smell, too. I started to think that there was no such thing as a really good veggie hot dog.

I’m happy to report I was wrong. Unfortunately, I had to come to Seattle to find that out.

After getting into town last night at about 8:30, I called over to Cyber-Dogs, located just three blocks from where I’m staying. I figured they might be closing soon if there weren’t already. Fortuantely, they’re open until midnight every night, so I wandered over there for a second dinner (the one on the plane wasn’t terribly satisfying).

On a recommendation from an employee, I ordered the El Bandido with chili, vegan cheese, and avocado on a 7-grain roll. Let me tell you, folks: this hot dog was some good eats. The dog itself wasn’t an uncomfortable chewy texture and didn’t have the funny aftertaste. It was how I remember hot dogs. The chili was also quite good and piled high on the dog and it all equaled up to one heck of a meal.

On my way out, I chatted with the awesome Russian woman (Tania?) who runs the joint. She convinced me to buy a vegan cookie she had made (damn fine!) and told me about her hope to open up a bakery in Rosslyn that sells a wider variety of vegan baked goods.

Be sure to schedule a visit if you’re in the area. It’s well worth it (and you get 20 minutes of computer time for free if you order some food).

I apologize to you now for starting the week off with a story like this one: Woman who offered pig to lure tiger faces cruelty charge.

Linda Meredith drove from her home to C Road and Okeechobee Road with her Yorkshire pig Monday shortly after learning that the 600-pound tiger belonging to a one-time B-movie Tarzan Steve Sipek had escaped his 5-acre compound.

Meredith, wearing a tiger print and a gold lion medallion, pleaded with deputies to take the piglet named Baby by its hind legs or twist its ears to make it squeal and attract the hungry tiger.

It should be noted that Ms. Meredith transported the pig in the trunk of her car in 90 degree heat. “Even pigs transported for slaughter are required by law to be moved humanely,” Animal Care and Control Director Diane Sauve said. (Of course, we all know that the law may say that, but the reality is much different.)

I feel I should balance out that story a bit with this one: ‘Moody’ pooch alerts family in time to escape fire.

Rhonda McCrory’s friends and family members don’t really like her Pomeranian, Buddy, because of his grumpy disposition. They’ll probably change their minds now.

As flames swept through the kitchen of her Pecan Boulevard home, his barking awakened her just in time so she and her children could escape without injury.

(Both stories via Obscure Store)

I don’t fly often, but as I mentioned earlier, I’m headed to Seattle next week and that will require putting my fears aside and getting on a plane. On my flight there, I’ll be served a meal, so naturally, I wanted to get a meat-free meal. While I have no idea exactly what I’ll be served, I came across this page about vegetarian meal options on United’s site. Interestingly, if you specify that you’re a lacto-ovo vegetarian, you will be served a vegan meal! I guess that way, they figure everyone’s happy and it makes planning a little easier for them. United First and United Business passengers, however, are offered the option of dairy desserts and milk, should they so desire. I ordered a vegan meal, but was happy to see that even if they misread it or enter it into their system incorrectly, I’ll still get what I ordered.

I thought I had remembered reading about specialty meal requests being dropped by a lot of airlines as a cost-cutting measure, but apparently that’s not the case with United. I’ll be sure to report back on exactly how soggy my giant plate of canned string beans is.

I’m headed to Seattle next week for a conference. Any suggestions on good places to get some good veg eats? I’ve got a nice listing of restaurants, but prefer personal recommendations.

I believe I’ll be in the south part of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, as far as I can tell, and will be relying on either my feet or public transportation to get around.

And if there are any readers in Seattle that might want to meet up, drop me a line.

Two Jailed for Eating Rare Tiger

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has sentenced two farmers to jail terms of up to nine years for eating a rare Manchurian tiger after leaving it to die in a trap, the Beijing Evening News reported Thursday.

A court in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang convicted Zhang Lichen and Gong Weisheng of killing an endangered rare species recently, the paper said.

The two men found the tiger caught in a trap in a mountain last year but did not report it to the authorities. They left the tiger to die and returned six days later to bring the beast home, skin it and eat its meat.

“The two men knew selling a tiger was a crime, but they thought eating a dead tiger’s meat did not break the law,” the newspaper said.

Paul’s made a connection between Atkins and 1984.

Which also makes me wonder how Atkins would have fared on Animal Farm…

A month or so ago I started on my quest to do more baking this summer. I began with Chocolate Orange Cupcakes, then went to Chocolate Bomb Cake, and then this week, I baked the most successful recipe yet, Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. As with the previous two recipes, this one came from The Post-Punk Kitchen. In place of eggs, it used a mixture of four teaspoons of ground flax seeds with a 1/4 cup of soy milk. I botched this part (somehow misreading the recipe as “one teaspoon of ground flax seeds and one tablespoon of soy milk”) and corrected it just before forming the dough and they still came out properly.

The recipe has you using your hands an awful lot, but when I found myself with chocolate gloves on my hands, I decided that next time around it would probably be better to use a hand mixer for some of the work. Nevertheless, after baking for ten minutes and then cooling for a few more, the cookies were very soft, rich, and tasty and sweet enough to melt holes in your teeth right then and there. I gave them to several people and the chocolate lovers among them loved them and were impressed that cookies that soft were made without eggs.

After three successful baking attempts, I’m starting to get cocky. What’s next? A vegan cake, perhaps?

Bessemer lays claim to world’s oldest chicken

Matilda, a [14-year-old] bantam hen in Bessemer who has been a prop in the magic act of “Mort the Mystifying and Donna” for years, recently was designated as the World’s Oldest Living Chicken. She has a letter and a certificate from Guinness World Records to prove it.

…

[Donna] Barton noted also that Matilda receives the best of care and is petted and pampered and even tucked in at night.

“Most chickens live outside and put up with the cold, wind,’coons,’possums. … I don’t know if that chicken ever hits dirt,” she said.