Bloody Mary, Full of Grace

Before I get into my latest food adventure, I have something stuck in my craw that I need to vent about. Over the past week, I have been under a bit of public attack. In a nutshell, I gave an honest answer to what I thought was a sincere question, which was "Is it hard for a meat eater to be married to a vegan?" I gave a nice, informative response and told the truth about my own situation, assuming that this would help to dispel some of the prevailing opinions that it would be a fucking nightmare for a meat eater to marry a vegan. Well, obviously, this blew up in my face, and I've been called everything from "a pain in the ass" to "delusional" to "selfish," mainly in response to the fact that my husband and I have a meat-free home... something he happily agreed to, long before we got married.

Admittedly, the people who have been insulting me and my marriage (although they have given my husband the backhanded complement of labeling him "a saint," for his willingness to treat his allegedly impossible wife with such kindness) are not enlightened people. They are mainstream in their ways of thinking and of going through life. The thought of not being able to go and eat complete garbage at chain fast food restaurants is completely unfathomable to them. And, more often than not, these people have had horrible marriages to mainstream women. Women that, sure, could go to any Applebee's or TGIFridays with them.... but women who are bad wives. Wives who have NEVER cooked dinner for their husbands. Wives who belittle their men. Wives who nag and nag, day in and day out. And it's stunning to me that I would be instantly written off as a "pain in the ass" and told to "hit the bricks" based on my meat-free house, whereas horrible harpies are not told to "hit the bricks" based on their ability to eat at Golden Corral.

Anyway..... just the latest attack in the life of a vegan. I'm sure the nice people who know me are shocked to hear about me being insulted in this way! And I'm also sure that all vegans have numerous tales about being insulted by close-minded, ignorant buffoons. Vegan friends, don't let the bastards grind you down!!

NOW BACK TO THE REAL BUSINESS OF THIS BLOG!!!

You may recall that, several weeks ago, I drank a vegan Bloody Mary. And, to my surprise, I rather liked it! However, this was a fancy cocktail from a trendy restaurant, and I couldn't help but wonder how I would like a traditional Bloody Mary. That is, a traditional Bloody Mary made vegan! ;-) Now, where would I go to get an Old School cocktail, made the way it would have been made in 1940?!? And where do they know me well enough that they would let me get away with me pulling a BYOVWS (Bring Your Own Vegan Worcestershire Sauce). Give you one guess!

 

 

 

As far as I'm concerned, THIS is the Happiest Place on Earth!

Musso and Frank is obviously the least trendy place in all of Los Angeles! I was invited to attend a little surprise party for one of their bartenders last night, so I took advantage of this occasion to bring along my little bottle of Worcestershire sauce and partake of a traditional Bloody Mary, expertly made by a man who was making Bloody Marys long before my parents even met!

I admit I was a little nervous, but I shouldn't have been! The Old School Bloody Mary Done Vegan was just fine! Dare I say, even better than the Trendy Vegan Bloody Mary?!? It was spicier than I was expecting it to be, but I was totally fine with that. I'm not saying I want to give up Manhattans and drink nothing but Bloody Marys from now on, but I do hope I have occasion to have one again, preferably at the proper time of day... the brunch hours. That seems like it would be a good idea!

Along came Mary!

 Yes, I have officially learned to Hail Bloody Mary. Mary is now mine! Only took 4 Bloody Marys over the course of 10 years to get here. ;-)