Cinnamon Snail

Doughnuts and miniature cakes topped with cookies are just some of the wonderful creations offered at Cinnamon Snail. 

At last, I finally experience the beloved buzzed about former food truck turned hit restaurant near Madison Square Garden-- the infamous Cinnamon Snail located at Pennsy. If one gets there early, they have goodies such as fresh outta the oven cinnamon rolls and glazed doughnuts.
I arrived around dinner time, anxious to eat something wonderful before a huge show opening in Chelsea, wanting to dine somewhere new. Cinnamon Snail-- a place I heard about through many vegan grapevines-- was only a thirty minute walk from my location (I was reading at the Mid-Manhattan Library like a true bonafide nerd). Hunger was ignited by titillating thought of yummy vegan comfort food. This provided pep in my step, pumping up the
The behind-the-counter ladies were nice, but a customer (obviously a frequent regular) made my smile wider. She recommended every single thing in sight, exclaiming that the lavender-pear turnover was her most favorite. From coconut coated to maple bacon to tempeh sandwiches, I must say that the menu made decisions a long and difficult process.
Still, I am happy with what my order and will likely return to try out the rest.
Cinnamon Snail is a yummy place, a vegan haven. The food alone is pure pleasure.

Doughnuts!

With choices like seitan tarts and raspberry and cheese danishes, I admit to having a difficult time choosing. With mouthwatering temptation resting behind the glass, teasing and tantalizing my overwhelming hunger, I simply just wanted to devour everything in sight like a human vacuum cleaner.  I wish everyone knew how amazing veganism can be, especially at a place like Cinnamon Snail. They're making delicious things happen.

Cute doughnuts meet cookies galore! I purchased one of these adorable piglet cookie doughnuts for a birthday girl! (Wow, she shares the day with the great Elijah Wood awesome!)

This is the Beastmode Burger Deluxe-- an exceptional, thick cut ancho chili seitan burger featuring jalapeño macaroni & cheese, arugula, smoked chili coconut bacon, and chipotle mayo on a grilled pretzel bun. Easily one the most incredible vegan burgers ever eaten in my life. Just downright amazing!

It was huge, spicy, and fulfilling on many, many levels. The seitan juicy, the mac n cheese firm, creamy, and oh so cheesy, and the warm pretzel bun soft and tender-- all components necessary for an out-of-this-world experience. The coconut bacon and arugula added a delightful bonus to this messy, delightful sandwich-- which was a challenge to eat due to massive, intimidating size. Still, hands down-- a terrific burger! I highly recommend. Funnily enough, I met another vegan who sat across from me-- also eating a Cinnamon Snail burger. She gave me a list of other nearby restaurants to try out. I was so thrilled to have met her! I can't wait to try out these new places and share with you all.

This is the tasty, sensational lemon curd doughnut.

Its crusty, sweet, and divine on the outside.

Yet inside is an oozing, delectable middle of luscious lemon curd-- all creamy and zesty-- the stuff of wonderful citrus dreams!

For a lovely morning after treat, I ate this incredibly flaky pink lady apple turnover.  The filling was a tasty combination of chopped apples, cinnamon, and other spices. It made for an absolutely splendid breakfast. 

Chickpea Salad Melts

Is there any ingredient more versatile than the grand ole chickpea? I believe not.
Chickpeas have now graduated from savory menu items like hummus, salads, gravies, and creams. Its excitingly all-the-current-vegan-rage aquafaba (chickpea water) is now a major factor for perfect vegan meringue. I cannot wait to test out the properties of this amazing information. It would be such a dream to make Mom the perfect lemon meringue cookies if possible. May is around the corner. I can think of no other scrumptiously perfect Mother's Day/birthday gift treat.
However, this post is the savory category for chickpeas.
I readily admit to eating chickpeas every other day-- in a variety of ways. It's fascinating how extra garlic here or a pinch of lemon juice there can shift a chickpea recipe. In this salad, instead of vegan mayo, which was supposed to be used to make that exceptional "tuna" flavored appeal, I substituted with Hilary's Ranch Chia Dressing (which I happen to love very much). End results were an incredibly tasty, chunky salad between two thin slices of bread, my favorite vegan cheese melting perfectly over the textured filling.
I have zero regrets about eating two.

Chickpea Salad Melts Ingredients and Preparation

1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped and diced
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoon Hilary's Ranch Chia Dressing
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
vegan cheese of your choosing (I chose Field Roast Chao Tomato Cayenne)

Break up the chickpeas in a blender or processer-- make sure the consistency is not too smooth, leave it a bit chunky.
Pour chickpea mass into a bowl.
Stir in celery, red onion, mayo, salt, lemon juice, Old Bay, and black pepper.
Spread on desired bread. (Here I've used some delicious 3 grain seeded bread).
Melt cheese via way stove top, microwave, or toaster oven. Or make a velvety cheese sauce to save yourself this glorious trouble.

Best of 2016: A Romantic Interlude Inside of Kerry James Marshall's Ebony Coated Oeuvre

"Vignette (Wishing Well)," acrylic and glitter on PVC panel, 2010.

Kerry James Marshall is one of my favorite painters in the world. No shadow of doubt exists when it comes to an ardor for someone whose mind and talents are greatly matched together.
In a methodical land of daring pitch black skinned figures adorned with fragrant bloom that one can almost smell in flared nostrils, a sentimental viewer finds profound seduction in subjects Marshall majestically paints. At Met Breuer, gracing walls with marvelous retrospective, arrests these compositions-- like glittering oyster pearls-- to the starry eyed visionary who dares to read between lines of pure, titillating insertion. For the stories told in every single piece shares and denotes a specific history, a stolen moment illustrating the African American experience. From romance stories to barber shops to renaissance artists, acrylic painted portrayals are sincere, poignant, and quite triumphant in their pursuits of revealing who we are, who we dare dream to be.

"Vignette IV," acrylic on PVC panel, 2005.

"Untitled (Vignette)," acrylic and glitter on PVC panel, 2012.

Close up.

Marshall works in a series way. Each section centers on different approaches to certain subject matter. For example, the Vignette groupings share intimate moments between black bodies in picturesque scenery, having a John Singleton's Boys In the Hood meets Poetic Justice vibe that enhances these pivotal moments between a man and woman. Black men are strong, chivalrous, and charming and black women are bold, tender, and sensual-- this makes a perfect, unquestionable balance. In sparkling, utterly endearing "Untitled (Vignette)," backs facing away, bodies melding together on grassy meadow, an afro pick in a flawless small afro, two glitter red hearts above heads, birds singing "la la la," a tire swing hanging on a love tree in the distance.  

"Untitled (Beach Towel)," acrylic on PVC panel, 2014.

While known for being a gifted painter, Marshall spread his wings into the comic realm, depicting African Americans as superheroes in their natural habitats. In his "Rythm Mastir" lightbox series, his signature graphic style easily translates into the realm of comic book aesthetic, sharp contrasting values and heartfelt narrative are featured on earth and the space cosmos. It is the artist's purpose to evaluate and dismantle the wrongs of popular culture. By giving blackness inclusivity, leading protagonists and antagonists have an authoritative unchallenged voice.

"Silence is Golden," acrylic on panel, 1986.

"Portrait of the Artist & a Vacuum," acrylic on paper, 1981.

"De Style," acrylic and collage on canvas, 1993.

It's admirable that most of Marshall's gigantic works are unstretched and unframed, pinned to walls in a rather bold demonstration of the artist's strong rationale and reasoning-- a rebellious form of anti-school traditionalism. This brazen manner translates in the work, this authenticity to stay true to self, to acknowledge a passionate inhibition that is as remarkable as it's undeniable.

"School of Beauty, School of Culture," acrylic and glitter on canvas, 2012.

Closeup.

Marshall takes on psychological conditions placed forth on marginalized bodies. Without sugar coating hard evident truths or sweeping cold facts underneath a painterly metaphor, since the days of being a student at Otis College of Art and Design and a Studio Museum Harlem fellow, he has always explored humanizing blackness in all its forms and condoning negative constraints meant to stigmatize and pigeonhole, creating large scale compositions that deliver powerful messages.

"Untitled (Studio)," acrylic on PVC panel, 2014.

"Untitled," acrylic on PVC panel, 2009.

"Untitled" painting series opens up splendorous spectator dreams of a historical past where period styled artists take up prestigious court, holding palettes in a rightful, dignified ownership, black women and black men wearing coiffed natural hair updos, mid-century clothing, and regal expressions. Marshall is seemingly inventing a past indication of black painters carving out their own niche, their own destiny as an art maker.

"Untitled (Painter)," acrylic on PVC panel, 2009.

"Untitled (Painter)," acrylic on PVC panel, 2008.

"Black Painting," acrylic on fiberglass, 2003-2006.

Before seeing inside "Black Painting," inner intuition knew what would be found without reading informative gallery label. This indescribable inkling struck moment eyes discovered the bed appearing out of thin air. Other objects arise at closer inspection. Black scrapped on black. Varying line weights defining a single room, a peaceful room before chaos and blood, before it becomes a grisly murder scene. Marshall was around 14 years old when young intelligent Black Panther Fred Hampton was killed by police in 1969. Marshall, who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before transporting to South Side Los Angeles now resides in Chicago-- a location not too far from where tragic homicide took place. Thus, it alludes to this great significant part of history that can never be forgotten.

"Still Life With Wedding Portrait," acrylic on PVC panel, 2015.

Mastry takes over two floors for good reason. Marshall's endless range is incredibly stunning to admire and behold, to awe and gawk, to take moments staring and breathing. He defines the true meaning of being a painter's painter, especially in terms of utilizing the color black and shifting interpretation of how black is perceived. Explorations entailing sienna, mahogany, chocolate, cocoa, and other brown skin tone hues are absent. Mars, ebony, tar, and the other black shades on demand as flesh. Undeniably beautiful, one cannot ever turn away from rare depiction-- gratifying art at its finest, most candid illustration. 
This can't miss retrospective is up at Met Breuer until January 29, 2017 and will be traveling to Los Angeles next. 

Just Desserts: Betty Lou's Cherry Pie Bar & So Delicious Cashew Milk Snickerdoodle Ice Cream

Betty Lou's have made a yummy treat!

Don't you just hate making returns without a receipt? Well, alas, that was me last night. I took my store credit "gift card" with small measure of joy and strolled through CVS's newest acquired snacks which excitedly included many vegan friendly treasures. Betty Lou's small non-GMO, vegan, gluten free fruit bars seemed to call out to me with catchy purple, a juicy illustration, and tagline-- "tastes like a piece of pie!" Naturally, I felt inclined to buy a couple.

My new favorite sweet thing.

I'm a fan of cherry flavored anything and Betty Lou's has crafted a better version of Fig Newtons. Gluten free flour blend (potato starch, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and tapioca starch) crust is truly crusty and flaky and generous proportion of filling in between has an exceptional tart goodness worthy of loving. Very glad to have found a yummy new treat!

The best ice cream ever.

Even in the dead of winter, I will cheat on hot chocolate and hot tea with an indulgent ice cream pint. A standout, in my humble opinion, ever since it debuted, is So Delicious's Cashew Milk Snickerdoodle-- the epitome of  Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman singing "Come What May." That irresistible duet delight of cinnamon and sugar makes snickerdoodles my absolute favorite cookie. To have that featured as tantalizing dough pieces in a creamy vanilla cashew milk base is something special. Cashew Milk ice cream is extremely amazing and addictive in every way. The sweet taste is rather affectionate. After all, cinnamon is as comforting as a warm knitted acrylic sweater.  Some would say that snickerdoodles are so simple, so ordinary. I say that snickerdoodles is the embodiment of bliss, especially when swirled in a wonderful ice cream.

FYI: If you're in Philadelphia, Shop Rite stores are selling all So Delicious ice cream varieties (that's cashew milk, almond milk, etc) for $3.59 (or $2.88 for four) and this can't miss deal is a total savings of almost $4 per pint. Take all the ice cream possible-- make those dreams come true.

Best of 2016: Mickalene, Her Muses, & The Dark Brown Girl

Trinity of alluring afros (ala Foxy Brown or Cleopatra style) resting on a sporadically patterned carpet, slick legs on fleek.

2016 was a great year for art.
A most memorable exhibit was at Chelsea's Aperture Foundation. Mickalene Thomas's Photographs -- now on current view at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore-- turned large space into a sensational glamour cosmos. Glossy, high resolution images of stylishly sophisticated women attached seamlessly to walls. These brazen, dolled up, dignified faces stared out at viewers, seeming to have escaped from Vogue or Cosmopolitan, gloss leggy figures embodied a sensuous grace among challenged patterns and hot pulp lights. The fiction couldn't be any more sweet and visceral, relying on interests in Blaxploitation films and Hudson River School artists.

Viewers are submerged into carefully maneuvered layout while framed works have that picture in picture context. This is the very set, with a 1970's - 1980's vibe, that many of her subjects are placed.

In particular, centralized installation in the middle of the gallery recreated what Thomas' photographs envisioned-- a homely environment appeased by trademark distinctive decoration. With its wall to wall wood paneling, warm, bright bulbs, and hardware floor, the breathe-in space feels rich and inviting, as though one could revel in browsing through the library shelf over a cup of tea and celebratory television whilst admiring bold, colored compositions discretely performing measured symmetry on the walls.   

Thomas sews most of these fabrics together, bringing a full blown fulfillment to pleasurable three dimensional experience.

Method to a seemingly DIY artsy madness--Thomas stitches varied fabrics together and layers these collage efforts on this found couch-- also repurposed with funky integrity.

Aesthetically, mitch match design should clash and burn.

Library includes Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," Alex Haley's "Roots," and Richard Wright's "Native Son."

The lampshade is a vessel of the light that emits triangular shaped brilliance from both ends, dawning on the desk's objects and the couch's yellow and brown floral arm.

Beautiful negatives.

The many faces of Sandra Bush.

The triptych honoring Sandra Bush, Thomas's fashion model mother is one of several pieces indebted to a wondrous alluring, empowered kind of beauty. This tragic, bittersweet homage is a poignant testament of a daughter's loving attachment, a relationship that would never fade regardless of time.

Another woman, legs crossed, sharply dressed, residing in Thomas's signature set.

Negress with Green Nails, 2005.

Facial closeup.

Nail closeup.

Green Negress with Green Nails is especially infectious, bursting with charm and innocence. Giddiness sensory overwhelms picture plane, the bright red opened mouth, sensuous and inviting, shows candid set of bright, smiling teeth. Sparkled shimmer of green eye shadow coated on eyelids plays along with long, curved nails, necklace, and the ribbed short sleeve blouse. Is there something alien, a little bit foreign about the woman in white barrettes dangling from two strand twists with big gold hoop earrings and an attractive Cheshire grin? Perhaps her otherworldliness comes from within and not necessarily from this highly florescent green hue. Vital cues piece together an affectionate narrative of this vibrant, centralized dark brown figure-- the demure way her hands are gingerly clasped, the captivated awe in her eyes staring out at the viewer, the childish gleam yet womanly curve.

A still from Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman happens to be a rhinestone collage of a photograph. Nicely done intimate documentary laced with so much love and art. Looping on a vintage color television of the installation space, one couldn't help but be thrilled to see this piece inside of the piece itself-- utterly genius!

Top 7 AfroVeganChick Posts of 2016

2016 was a strange 366 days of good and bad. I graduated from college for the third time with an MFA in studio art at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. On the local front, Dottie's Donuts and Tasty the vegan diner, opened their doors to us hungry vegans. I frequented other Philadelphia hotspots, explored NYC a few times (including having a grand ole time with my Toronto pal), and pit stopped to Paris and Amsterdam just getting to speak at the seventh Black Portraiture [s] Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Yet through all these wonderful moments and milestones, I lost a sweet, young, infectious sister that I never got to physically meet. It's still tough subject matter. I cope everyday with her loss. I want to cherish her memory and continue making her proud-- making art and writing everyday, always thinking about her tremendously positive spirit. It's constantly flowing through me, offering stagnant support and peaceful love.
Thus, these were the top most viewed blog posts of the year.

7.  Soulful Casual Dining at Nile Café

This little black owned Philadelphia hotspot in the Germantown area was definitely a delicious soul food dining experience.

6. Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

With love of Dottie's and Vegan Eats, I entered the doughnut foray with healthier, baked doughnuts with my favorite flavors of fall season-- apples with cinnamon.

5.  The Best Sweet Potato Pie in Philadelphia

Rekhati Bakes crowned my heart with their exceptional sweet potato pie.

4. Why?

No words except Rest in Peace, my dearest angel....

3. A Good Night's Sleep at Colored Girl's Museum

The Colored Girls Museum seemed to be this whimsical, historically built place birthed from deepest dreams.

2. Adventures in Rockland

I came to Maine for a doughnut themed art show, but came back with so much more-- a great little trip!

1. Fabiola Jean-Louis at Harlem School for the Arts

Fabiola Jean-Louis was my artistic find of the year. I cannot wait to see what comes next from this amazing artist!

Happy 5th Anniversary AfroVeganChick (Blog Post #500!)

Celebrating the big anniversary with guilty pleasures-- a Pacifica gift set (on sale at Ulta Beauty for half off), seeing "Fences" with friends at Roxy Theater, and dessert (white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and a soy milk Chestnut Praline Decaf Latte).

It's officially my fifth year and 500th published blog post. Two special milestones that wouldn't be possible without endless kindness from family, friends, and strangers in cyberverse. I couldn't be more appreciative of frequent blog visitors and commenters and simply cannot thank people enough for investing a smidgeon of time reading a vegan artist thoughts on food, beauty, and art.
This year I plan to continue challenging myself further, posting more innovative recipes, delightful eating out vegan adventures, and thoughtful reviews on the art scene. One of my eating goals is to incorporate Dr. Sebi's philosophies into my lifestyle, slowly breaking away from processed and into pure ingredients.
In the meantime, I will be posting art related articles about excellent visual arts shows from 2016-- Mickalene Thomas's Muse at Aperture Foundation, Studio Museum in Harlem's 2015-2016 Artists-in-Residence, and Kerry James Marshall's Mastry at Met Breuer (still up until January 29, 2017) as well as the top most read features. Also be on the lookout for deliciously new exciting recipes like hot chocolate chili and chickpea "tuna" melts-- dishes I'm uber thrilled to share.
Thank you all for the support. Let's make 2017 another great one!