Meatless Monday: SO Tasty Vegan Pop-Up Dinner at Trattoria Rustica

by Dianne Wenz


Montclair is about to get a little more vegan-friendly! Sally Owens of SO Tasty Vegan will be cooking up delicious vegan and gluten-free dinners every Wednesday night at Trattoria Rustica. Dinner will begin at 7:00pm and will be a pre fixe four-course meal.

SO Tasty Vegan’s pop-up café will begin on Wednesday, April 24th with a special introductory rate of $32.95 per person. Sally hasn’t released the evening’s menu yet, but she promises it will be gorgeous! Seating for the first night’s dinner is limited to 40 people, but more seats will open as the weeks move on. Reservations are required. Once a weekly flow is established, Amanti Vino will join in with wine pairings.

SO Tasty Vegan is the project of vegan chef Sally Owens, a.k.a. "SO". Sally has always been innovative in the kitchen – not always by choice due to a dairy allergy – but when she went vegan she quickly learned it was her entire lifestyle that was transformed, not merely her diet. The passion, heightened awareness, and artistry born out of her relationship with food unexpectedly flowed into every dimension of her life. SO Tasty Vegan is Sally’s commitment to share her discoveries with anyone and everyone interested in cultivating a better understanding of the intricate relationship between their food, body, and lifestyle. 

The SO Tasty Vegan Pop-Up Café begins at 7:00pm on April 24th at Trattoria Rustica, located at 517 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant at (973) 783-3436. Visit SO Tasty Vegan’s Facebook page for schedules and menus. (Note: there will be no dinner on May 6th.) You can bet that Hotwill be on hand on the 24th and we’ll let you know all about it on Meatless Monday.


Meatless Monday - Betty Goes Vegan

by Dianne Wenz in


The vegan community has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Betty Goes Vegan by Annie and Dan Shannon, and happily it hit bookshelves last week. The Shannons' veganization of the classic 1950s red Betty Crocker cookbook has been wildly popular on the couple's Meet the Shannons website, and they were recently featured in a spread in Vegetarian Times magazine. The even made an appearance on the Today Show last week, cooking up vegan dishes with Kathy Lee and Hoda.
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Meatless Monday at Trend Coffee and Tea House

by Dianne Wenz in ,


While I don’t make it down to the east end of Bloomfield Avenue very often, it seems every time I have been down in that direction Trend Coffee and Tea House has had a “closed for renovations” sign in the window. With no indication that anything was actually going on inside, I was sure they had closed their doors for good. (In fact their page on Yelp says it has closed.) A friend’s recent Facebook post cued me in to the fact that they had reopened, so I decided to check it out.
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Meatless Monday - Guaca-Verde-Mole

by Dianne Wenz in ,


I'm not really into sports, but I've been told that Superbowl Sunday takes place this coming weekend. I recently read that about 53 million pounds of avocados are consumed on this one particular Sunday annually. While I'm not really a fan of football, I am a big fan of avocados. In this recipe, I've altered everyone's favorite guacamole dip but crossing it with salsa verde and coming up with a salsa-guacamole hybrid. Despite the two jalapenos, this salsa-mole doesn’t have much heat to it, so if you like things spicy, add more of them, or use something hotter, like habanero peppers. This recipe makes a lot of dip, so there will be plenty for all of your friends at your Superbowl Party this Sunday.
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Meatless Monday at Red Eye Cafe

by Dianne Wenz in ,


Over the weekend Veggieguy and I were talking about how we wished there was a place we could have simple no-fuss vegan sandwiches for lunch. Cinanci on Church Street used to be our favorite lunch spot, but sadly it closed its doors a while ago. I suddenly remembered that a few people had recommended Red Eye Café to me, so we decided to give it a try. I know, I know… Red Eye Café opened last May, how has it taken me this long to try it? I really have no excuse.
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