• Loomstate has partnered with Keds to make these cool, vegan, organic canvas boots with recycled tire soles and faux-shearling lining. These are great for cold weather and for looking snappy. Might I suggest waterproofing the canvas with a vegan waterproofer? Sustainably leather-free and $110.
• Trycycle Glassware is made with 100% post-consumer recycled glass. If you like to host dinners or gatherings that involve drinks, it’s difficult to find ethical glasses unless you get them from vintage or thrift shops. From stemware and decanters to tumblers and jars, Trycycle takes it’s inspiration from the green-tinted glassware of Europe. The crisp green color is a result of the recycling process. It’s very affordable around $20-$30 for a set of 4 glasses.
• Cheap Monday, Paul Smith, and Monkee Genes are offering some organic threads at ASOS. I’m a huge fan of olive pants and button-down collars, and these hit the spot.
• Mark Zuckerberg, whose face currently graces the cover of TIME, is a young genius. He is also rumored to be vegan. There are many articles flying around about whether he is or isn’t – so I ask you, dear readers, to point out your best researched evidence. If he is, hopefully his leadership in the area of ethics will also be celebrated.
Rejoice! It’s finally here! Our favorite vegan Parisian, Brice Partouche, has launched April 77′s online store, chock full of bad-boy clothes and accessories that embrace the real rebels out there. Their new campaign features Jethro Cave (model, musician, and Nick Cave’s son) and Sophie Willing (model and actress) in photos and an upcoming video!
Matteo Silverman’s food is legendary in Brooklyn. After many successful years of hosting 4CV (Four Course Vegan), he has refined and mastered his technique and style. This was obvious last Friday when he unleashed a six-course Mexican-fusion menu – plus a customized Kanon Organic Vodka martini; Sastuma Tangerine & Thai Basil.
The raw cashew-cheese Amuse Bouchce was both a visual delight in the pink root vegetable pocket, and a delicious starter that got everyone in the mood for more. The Cayuga Farms Black Bean Soup with Toasted Cumin and Citrus Sour Cream was rich, hearty, decadent, and perfect for the chilly weather. The Red Kuri Squash Crepinette with Pickled Beets and Oaxacan Mole was outstanding, complex, and thought-provoking – and how can you go wrong with chocolate for dessert combined with cinnamon and vanilla?
This was the last GRACIOUS GOURMAND until 2011, so if you missed it, I’m sorry! In the time being, don;t forget to come every Sunday from 11am- 3pm to the Gracious Gourmand Waffle Brunch featuring Chef Ayinde Howell.
by contributor, Matt Lara
Hark the herald angels shop…
I am packed in a department store dodging the usual giant shopping backs full to the brim, and eagerly browsing customers searching for the perfect deal. Normally I would panic seeing as I thoroughly loath any store during the holidays. This year is different, however, as I have risen and shipped out early on the final day of Divine Design—the annual charity shopping event created by Project Angel Food. The group truly is divine, as they provide food and care to those unable to provide for themselves due to HIV/AIDS, and other life-threatening diseases. So, today’s shopping spree is more of a joy. How nice to actually shop in Beverly Hills without having to incur serious debt. You see, the deals are fantastic with each item marked down 50% off on the first day, then down another 10% for each succeeding shopping day. And this isn’t discount crap either — the merchandise consists of brand new packaged goods donated by retailers and most are quite a steal. Today, I’m wandering through apparel, shoes, a large selection of Barbies (I don’t know), and spend most of my time plucking home goodies and gifts for my family. I walk away with happy to have supported such an amazing organization.
With every Christmas card I trash…
I must admit that I am in the spirit, although I’m just as likely to be a big Scrooge among the hassle, traffic, and cost of it all. I pull out my Christmas box full of old holiday cards wondering if I should keep them. I have card conflict—someone took a moment and spent a few dollars on that little piece of plastic-coated card stock. (Are these even recyclable?) I decide not to throw them away, but turn on yet another one of my very manly talents: crafting. You just watch out for my glue gun…
Every crafter knows where to look… let’s just call her Mother Martha. She’s one of the most successful, and more notorious, craft queens ever. And her website has the perfect craft for that stack of cards as thick as a two-by-four. My new family heirloom:
Handsome, right? Basically, you’re going to need to cut about 20 circles out of holiday cards, and be really savvy with the scissors and glue. It’s
easier than it looks. By the way, I buckled and purchased a box of simple greetings from Quotable
Cards. Each one is made from recycled paper, soy-based ink, and manufactured using wind power. I think an elf must have guided me to these smart little cards. Another holiday tradition I have conflicts with: wrapping paper. It’s so sleek, and I love a well-wrapped gift, but I can only imagine a landfill piled high with that lawnbag-full of discarded paper city after city has thrown out (not to mention the mountains of cardboard and plastic packaging). This year, I’m turning to my late Grandfather—a cowboy, veteran, and rough-and-tumble S.O.B. when he needed to be—for inspiration. He was notorious for wrapping gifts in newspaper. Too tacky? Fine, pop a sticky-bow on there if you want. I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t. I got some good ideas here and here.
Magazine pages work well too. If you really, really want those snowmen and candy canes all over your gifts, use holiday catalogs. Remember how much our junk mail is wreaking havoc on the environment? Take it from a Brute who loves to wrap gifts—reuse!
Oh Christmas beans, oh Christmas beans…
I feel like I’m in holiday therapy, what with me spouting off my conflicts and solutions and so on. I have yet one more to chew over. Holiday meals conjure visions of some old school cooking—can green beans drowned in canned mushroom sauce and crispy onions. How in the world did we come up with this dish with it’s odd, crunchy, salty comfort? (this is how, according to Wikipedia) This year, my family and I are perfecting our attempt at deconstructing Green Bean Casserole as inspired by VeganYumYum (where are you Lolo? We want you to 
update the blog!). We’ve since abandoned the deconstructed part, but let’s just say we are never going back to the canned crap. I never say never but…never. Another conflict solved! Make a holiday classic from scratch, and see just how good it gets.
Silent night, scandalous light…
I’m signing off until next year, but not after I tell you about some last minute shopping. If you’re in Los Angeles and surrounding areas, you have to check out Spork Foods. I went up to their Holiday Bazaar this year and ran into good friends Ari and Mikko from A Scent of Scandal and browsed the array of naughty aromatic candles. I want to be a good boy for Santa therefore I cannot say the names of scents without having to wash my mouth out with soap. All I can say is, there’s Scandal wafting through my holiday…
Have a happy and conscious holiday. We face a new year of both challenges and triumphs. I believe if you’re here reading this, you’re making an effort to do good in the world, and that is the greatest gift one could hope for this holiday.
-Matt Lara
I’ve been in the development process for the exclusive Discerning Brute Suit Line (which will be available on BraveGentleMan.com soon!) and there are so many elements to making a good suit, and may of them are not at all animal-friendly. From bull-horn and buffalo buttons to wool fabric, from horse or goat or camel-hair interfacing and wool felt under-collar fabric, to silk thread, making a cruelty-free suit is no easy task. Many menswear factories are set up to provide stock-interfacing and thread – and bringing in your own alternatives sometimes poses problems.
Things like buttons and interfacing are definitely more subtle elements of ethical fashion, but they are valid nonetheless.
What visually and texturally distinguishes horn buttons from alternatives like tagua nut, wood, plastic, or coconut? The buttons in the image below are typical horn buttons, carved from the horns of animals like buffalo or bull. Definitely not cruelty-free, and definitely not sustainable considering the ecological impact of livestock production.
Horn buttons come in light brown, dark brown, black, amber, and ivory. They usually have an organic texture (run your fingernail along the rim and it should have a tiny ridges, like a worn-down quarter, and often they appear to be marbleized. Upon close inspection, they have depth in the 
lighter areas, which are slightly translucent. Horn buttons are also typically semi-matte – unlike plastic buttons which are smooth and uniformly shiny, though many mimic the marble patter and colors.
Tagua Nut Buttons are a gorgeous, organic alternative to animal horn and plastic. They are also called Corozo, mococha and vegetable ivory. Tagua has been used in since 1750 for toys, beads, and buttons. The Tagua nut comes in various colors, shades, and patterns, and are considered the “ivory of wood”. Companies like Howies and Vaute Couture, who I’ve talked about on The Discerning Brute before, are now using Tagua Nut. The Tagua nut, it comes from a palm tree called Phytelephas Macrocarpa (a palm from South America). The nuts are gathered and dried out for 4-8 weeks, sorted and sliced. Their scientific name means “plant elephant” and the very hard white endosperm of their seeds (tagua nuts) resembles elephant ivory, does not break, and maintains the same properties as man-made buttons along with the texture and color patterning similar to horn.
The Tagua Nut is sustainably harvested, often fairly traded, and does not require the cutting-down of trees (since it comes from the tree’s nut). It also has such similar properties to Ivory that it has helped curb the poaching of elephants. What’s not to like? Definitely look for Tagua Nut Buttons on my upcoming suit line!
The Civet Cat is a rather cute animal. Sort of cat-like, but actually from the Viverridae family – the animal is native to Africa, Madagascar, the Iberian Peninsula, southern China, and Southeast Asia. Strangely, we humans have taken a liking to this fuzzy critters poop and anal gland secretions. We’ve been wearing it in our fragrances and drinking coffee beans that pass through (if you know what I mean).
The smelly stuff, which is also called civet, that comes out of the perineal glands (near the anus) is quite musky and acts as a stabilizing agent in fragrances – it extends the life of the overall smell, their olfactory duration, if you will. Left to itself in nature, the musk is very offensive, has been known to induce vomiting in humans, and can smell for up to four months. In order to harvest the secretion, the civet must be killed or have the thick, yellow grease painfully scraped from the gland’s anal sac. The civet’s secretions must be combined with alcohol and other chemicals to bring out its “pleasant musky odor”. It is rumored that civet cats produce more secretions when they are under stress, so many of the farmers hit their cages to keep them scared. Fortunately, synthetic civetone has been synthesized from precursor chemicals found in palm oil, but many supposed “high-quality” perfume manufacturers still prefer torturing these unfortunate and smelly animals. There are other animals also used for their smells.
And if you didn’t think this poor animal already had it tough, people have been drinking incredibly expensive coffee that has been shat out after these guys eat the coffee cherries. It sorta looks like a Babe Ruth bar, no? At first, people collected the wild droppings, but now they’ve realized that farming the civets yields greater revenue. The whole demand for the crappuccino comes from the distinct and rare flavor that occurs from the fermentation process inside the civets stomach. Now, I know there are people out there who are scientists. Can’t you think of more intelligent way to ferment coffee cherries?
Fortunately, someone has done just that. According to poopcoffee.com, “The Trung Nguyen Coffee Company hired a German scientist to research the chemical processes that occur in the Civet’s stomach, and in 1996 scientists were able to isolate six specific digestive enzymes and then use these enzymes to create a synthetic soak known as Legendee, which they patented. “
When you cage a wild animal, you prevent it from doing anything that nature intended it to do. It is emotional and physical torture for wild animals to be locked up – and this is no exception, no matter how delicious the coffee tastes, it’s still shitty. No matter how amazing the fragrance smells, it’s still shitty. Free the civet cats!
GRACIOUS GOURMAND was abuzz on Friday night with people anxiously awaiting Ella Nemcova (of The Regal Vegan)‘s incredible menu, featuring six courses of sophisticated flavors and textures that soon left guests joyfully full and gastronomically stimulated. The pistachio and Bing-Cherry crusted faux gras truffles over micro-greens blew my mind, and the visual presentation of the salad, complete with butterfly-shaped golden beets was a simple pleasure. The lobster mushroom entree would have pleased any ravenous foodie, swimming in a rich porcini cream sauce and paired with a kabocha puree. What was also surprising was the sparkling rose-water infused martinis with chocolate shavings featuring Kanon Organic Vodka.
Chef Ella Nemcova performed magnificently in this forum for avant garde, sustainable fare and I look forward to her sophomore performance! The next GRACIOUS GOURMAND will be December 3rd featuring Chef Matteo Silverman of 4CV. Get tickets now!
Men who eat a lot of saturated fat could be damaging their sperm, new research suggests. Even more reason every man should go vegan.
Experts at Harvard Medical School in the US found men who consume lots of saturated fat and monounsaturated fat may have fewer sperm. Diets including meat and cheese are especially high in these fats.
In contrast, those who eat healthier fats – specifically omega 3 and omega 6 found in nuts and seeds like cashew and flax – may have healthier sperm that is more active, the study suggests.
Chef Ayinde Howell makes his comeback to Gracious Gourmand on October 22nd, 2010, featuring an inspired, sustainable Mediterranean menu:
◊ Morrocan Preserved lemon drop martinis with date sugar rim
◊ Shwarma “Street meat” skewers
◊ Pomegranate arugula salad with Klamata Olives
◊ Mediterranean mushroom soup
◊ Chermoula Tempeh over Raisin Couscous
◊ Cashew Ice cream Affogato
Don’t miss this dinner at Second Stop Cafe in Williamsburg Brooklyn, get tickets now!
