I was invited to the Texas VegFest pre-party last night with ATX Vegan Drinks. Located at Cheer Up Charlies on trendy East 6th, this was undoubtedly where all the cool kids were. Cheer Up Charlies is a pleasant little dive with lots of outdoor seating, nice bartenders, and kombucha on tap.

The crowd was young, healthy and totally hipster, pretty typical of East 6th. I was surprised to see how many people traveled to Austin from far away for Texas VegFest. (Love Kale, Will Fly should be the motto of the festival.) They could have taken the easy route with the vegan drink selection, say gin and tonics. But they had a variety of special drinks with lots of fresh squeezed juices. I had one with tequila mixed with fresh pineapple, grapefruit, lemon and lime juices and it was ridiculous. So fresh!

People mingled, buzzed about the festival, and snacked on vegan treats from the surrounding food trucks, Me So Hungry, Handshakes, and Mac’n Food Truck. A raffle to win things like cookbooks, vegan restaurant gift certificates, and personal training sessions benefitted Compassion Over Killing (COK.) This nonprofit animal advocacy group focuses on farm animal cruelty and promotes vegetarian eating.

Daniela, Erica, and Marie

I spoke with Erica Meier, Executive Director for COK and she talked to me a little about the organization and their involvement with the festival. Based in DC, they are spreading across the country, Austin included, through volunteers and community outreach. By promoting the positive effects of a vegetarian diet, both health and environmental, Erica is hoping to make the issue of agricultural cruelty a mainstream concern. The important thing to know is that every person can make a difference in the what they choose to eat each day.

Backyard at Cheer Up Charlies

Texas VegFest is exactly the kind of event that belongs in Austin. To learn more about Austin’s vegan scene visit Red Hot Vegans.

When Zaggora recently had a Groupon for their Hot Pants, I bit the bullet and got a pair. The flares, actually.

Here’s what they look like:

Hot Pants

Capri Flares and Flares

They claim to help maximize workouts. Energy expenditure while working out is increased by 6%, and increased by 26% if worn the hour after exercise. Weight loss is 4x greater while wearing the pants, and core body temperature increases about 18%. Wow, that’s hot.

I impatiently waited for them to arrive in the mail from London, and they took a little over a week. (That’s faster than Sephora’s free shipping from Maryland.) The pants feel thick and similar to a wetsuit. They are tight, but not uncomfortably so, and very high waisted.

As I worked out I noticed they aren’t quiet pants. They make that rubbery/vinyl zip zip sound as you move. But once I starting moving, I didn’t even notice. I worked out like normal, paying special attention to drink extra water. I really heated up and sweat a lot. Like, so much sweat.

One thing I loved about the pants is the support they gave. I could push my squats and lunges further and deeper because my knees were protected. I wanted to take them off after the workout and shower right away, but I kept them on for the additional hour after. And then for a couple more hours. When I eventually took them off I realized how hot I’d been.

The pants need to be washed after wearing because they get so wet. And they can’t be put in the dryer, so I should have bought a second pair. But I’ll make it work for now while I test them out.

So will I lose two jean sizes in two weeks, like the website claims? Maybe. I’m sure a good deal of that is water weight. I’ll update you on my progress.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are my own. Mad Betty was not compensated for this review.

I’m a huge fan of this guy:

He’s helped so many people find the road to recovery, both celebrities and normals. Dr. Drew, I’m asking you to find Bobby Kristina. And Bobby Brown. Because I’m afraid we’re going to see the whole family die in 2012.

Did anyone else watch Switched at Birth? ABC Family isn’t one of my go-to stations (since Greek ended, that is) but when I saw a teaser for the show I had to check it out. I was hooked pretty quickly.

The title of the show gives away my surprise here, but the two main characters were switched at birth. *Gasp.* It comes to light when Bay discovers in school that she doesn’t have the same blood type as her parents.

Do schools actually ever do blood typing? Isn’t it a common plot that people find out they are adopted this way? We never did this in my school. Maybe I’m adopted. Mom? Dad? Can you confirm in the comments section please?

Anyway, we soon meet the other girl, Daphne. And the twist…she’s deaf. So in addition to the drama of the switch, there are communication barriers, at least at first.

Bay’s family is wealthy and she grew up wanting little. Her mom was a sweet, stay at home mom, her dad a professional baseball player, and she was close to her older brother. A perfect little life. No one questioned where she got her artistic abilities. Or why she was Puerto Rican.

Daphne grew up in a tougher situation. She lost her hearing at the age of three to meningitis, causing her dad to leave. Daphne and her mom, Regina, lived in a rough neighborhood and struggled for money. Also, Regina is a recovered alcoholic and a Puerto Rican artist. Hmmmm.

Bay’s family decides to let Regina and Daphne move into their guest house. The families experience all the normal things: anger, confusion, growing pains, mourning over missed years with their biological daughters, etc. In addition to that, there’s plenty of normal teenage dating drama. But what I really love about the show is how it slips into subtitles during the sign language portion. It’s such an elegant transition and I notice that there is always pleasant white noise in the background, like chirping birds or running water.

Groundbreaking deaf actress Marlee Matlin plays the mother of Daphne’s best friend, Emmett. She’s so effortless on screen and it’s nice to see her interacting with talented young deaf actors. As the only household name in deaf acting for so long, she must be thrilled to hep make that circle wider.

All of the characters are flawed, sympathetic and inherently good. The story moves rather quickly and changes often. ABC Family does their seasons in a weird way, so the final ten episodes will show later this year in “Volume 3.” You have plenty of time to catch up on the first two volumes and get on board.

Bye!

The quest for great pizza in Austin rages on. There’s a new place in South Austin, Mercury Pizza.

They opened in January and I’d heard they had a few kinks to work out, especially with their delivery. Hey, I’m not complaining. Delivery is a rare thing to come by in Austin, so take your time and work it out, Mercury.

The shop is in a little house and is adorably cool. Nice atmosphere, decor, location, etc.

So we picked up a plain pie, or as they call it, a Plain Jane. First impressions: nice size pie (big) fresh, hot, and well-priced.

This place has so much going for it. But sadly, they don’t know how to make pizza yet. This was such a bummer. The crust was too thick and full of bubbles. A bubble or two is okay, but this was an unacceptable amount and signifies that no one paid any attention to it while it cooked. The crust was also flavorless and floury. As Mr. Betty said, there was an excess of bones, but they weren’t tasty bones.

I think the sauce was okay. I’m not sure. There was so little that I could barely taste it. And the final nail in the coffin: an excessive amount of cheese. Making it almost inedible.

I’m really hoping that this is a technique problem and they eventually turn out some good pies. I’d be willing to try them again in six months or so. But for now I give them a C.

Mad Men is back, y’all. Last night was the start of the fifth season and as a result of our patient waiting, we were treated to two luxurious hours of Don Draper.

It’s 1966 and Don seems, dare I say…happy? He and Megan are married and living in an absolutely fabulous Manhattan apartment. He’s in love and doesn’t seem to care about work as much as he used to. Now everyone else at Sterling Cooper Draper Price seems overworked and miserable. Pete, Peggy, the secretaries who are pulling double duty are all snapping at each other. The polite office decorum days are over.

But the darkness within Don still lurks. When Megan throws him a swinging surprise birthday party for his fortieth birthday, he is less than thrilled. It turns out he has issues with his birthday and turning 40. But Megan is the life of the party and performs a racy Zou Bisou Bisou (Zoo Be Zoo Be Zoo) for Don’s birthday present. After the party, Don acted crabby and ungrateful. Ah, there’s the guy we know.

I think I’m really going to like Megan. She’s a lot more fun than Betty, who didn’t appear in the episode at all. Although Don did refer to Betty and her husband as Morticia and Lurch. Ha ha. BURN.

Joan had her baby and is on maternity leave. Her mother is staying with her to help with the baby. She’s also doing a great job of criticizing Joan and making her miserable. Mama, you gots to go.

Joan becomes so paranoid that she is no longer needed at work, she takes the baby there and cries in Lane’s office. Despite the fact that Lane has become a real creepster, he comforts Joan, assuring her the agency cannot survive with her. Whew.

Joan also runs into Roger in the office. Don’t forget, he is the father of her baby. He is complimentary of Joan and doesn’t give a fig about the baby. Roger was pretty jerkish for the whole episode. More so than usual.

I miss the excess and carefree feeling around the office when both the money and booze were flowing. But it couldn’t last forever, I guess. A competitive prank war between SCDP and Young & Rubicam promises to be interesting in the future.

I am soooo glad this show is back. It was a long 17 months. Did you watch the episode? What did you think?

The wait is over! The Hunger Games is finally here. Clearly, I’m not the only one who was dying to see it, as millions flooded to the theaters already. (I am writing this less than 24 hours after the movie came out.)

Since many of you may not have seen it yet, I won’t comment too much on the details. No spoilers. But I’m going to assume you’ve read the books or at least know the players. I fully expected the movie to kick ass…and it did. It stayed true to the book, and only omitted the things that weren’t completely necessary. The tone was serious with moments of levity.

In my opinion, the greatest victory was the casting. Jennifer Lawrence was perfect as Katniss Everdeen. Even though I saw it several times in the trailer, when she volunteered as tribute to save her sister at the reaping, tears sprung to my eyes. The moments of humanity and vulnerability were the best parts of the movie. And Lawrence gave the right balance between sensitive and strong. She effortlessly carried the movie.

Josh Hutcherson was great as Peeta: innocent, wholesome, and kind. Aw, Peeta, you are just too precious to live. Can I have some bread now?

Gale wasn’t featured much in the movie, so Liam Hemsworth didn’t leave much of an impression on me. He may be too handsome for this role. Or maybe I just don’t trust him because he dates Miley Cyrus.

Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson were fantastic as Effie and Haymitch. I think they made the characters more likable than they were in the books. Lenny Crabcakes Kravitz played a restrained and serious Cinna. And he looked good in gold eyeliner.

But the best performance, by far, was Stanley Tucci’s. He is quickly becoming my favorite actor, so I was thrilled to see him steal every scene he appeared in. Caesar Flickerman was a pleasant TV host in the books, but Tucci has elevated him to a hammy, charismatic, larger-than-life presence. Every person in my sold-out theater twittered with excitement when he appeared on screen. He was brilliant!

If there is a criticism to be made about The Hunger Games, it’s the cinematography. The first hour was a study in shaky close-ups. I felt myself longing to see past the faces to the scenery. It was like trying to watch a movie through a pin-hole. Gary Ross is not a master of quality camera work, but I hope we see that improve when he makes Catching Fire.

Overall, I found the movie highly enjoyable and I can’t wait for the sequels. Have you seen it yet? Leave me your rating in the comments section.

For a city with so many health conscious people, there is a surprisingly small number of salad places in Austin. That’s why Leaf is incredibly popular. When I stopped in for lunch recently, the line wrapped around the restaurant, but moved very quickly.

The decor in Leaf is green and homey.

They have a great selection of special salads, including this awesome looking Strawberry Fields.

But I wanted to make my own salad with lots of local ingredients. How cool is it that you can walk in and see what’s local?

The make-your-own-salad instructions said to pick a lettuce base, six ingredients and a homemade dressing for $7.79. You could add protein and avocado for a couple more bucks.

How did my salad and Diet Coke end up costing over $17? I’m not sure. I think they made a mistake, but I was too mesmerized by my big bowl of goodness to investigate.

It was a decent salad, but I had a few issues. For one, half an avocado is way too much. I ended up scraping lots of it out of the bowl because it was EVERYWHERE. I felt like I was eating a bowl of guacamole. There are worse things, I know.

One of my favorite things to put in a salad are chickpeas. But these were like little rocks. I like that they weren’t canned, but they needed to be soaked and cooked longer. I paid $17 for those chickpeas…they should have been perfect.

I’ll probably go back because I love a salad. But I’ll stick to ordering from their menu of salads to ensure I’m not overcharged again. If I want to create my own salad, I’ll do it from home.

Last weekend I saw Jeff, Who Lives at Home.

I’m a big fan of all three stars: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, and Susan Sarandon. I didn’t do much homework before the movie. I only knew that it was about Jeff (Segel) a 30-year old stoner who lives in his mom’s basement. I assumed it was going to be funny.

It was not.

Jeff is indeed a stoner who lives at home, but not a funny one. A realistic, sad one who is obsessed with the movie Signs. His older brother, Pat, (Helms) is also sad, sporting douchebag facial hair and a failing marriage. Sarandon plays their mother, who spends 95% of her time in the movie in a gray cubicle. And yes, she is also a sad character.

The movie takes place over one day, each character focused on their own story. Eventually they intertwine and come to a surprising crescendo. I thought the movie moved slowly and was visually drab. Not one I’d recommend seeing on the big screen, but worth a rental.

The Duplass brothers trademark quick zoom-ins were constant and distracting. Again, not pleasing on the big screen. I can’t say anything great or bad about the movie. It was just…meh. A decent story executed in a boring way.

Of course, I saw it at the Alamo Drafthouse, so it was still a fun night out.

This is the final installment of St. Patrick’s Day recipes. It’s good to finish off a hearty Irish meal with some fabulous dessert. This recipe for Chocolate Guiness Cake with Bailey’s Icing is an adaptation of an adaptation. Here we go.

Start by lining your cake pan with parchment paper. I made a layer cake, but you can use a springform pan or a sheet pan, whatever you want. Here’s an easy way to line your circular pans with parchment.

Fold a piece of parchment into quarters and then once again, as it you were making a snowflake. Line it up in the center of your pan and then cut to fit just inside the edge. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to keep your cake from sticking to the bottom. And this cake is really moist, so you absolutely need the parchment paper.

In a large saucepan, melt 10 oz of unsalted butter with a cup of Guinness. Then add the following and take it off heat and let come to room temperature.

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

It will look rich and chocolately at this point.

It won’t take the cocoa mixture long to cool. In a separate bowl beat together the following:

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 TB vanilla extract

Add it to the chocolate.

Now whisk together the dry ingredients before adding them to the chocolate:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Pour into cake pans and bake at 350° for about 50 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack. This cake is really dense and takes a long time to cool.

For the icing, mix 4 TB unsalted butter and 4 cups of sifted confectioners sugar. Add Bailey’s one tablespoon at a time until you reach a creamy consistency. Ice your cake and serve.

The Guinness and chocolate provided a rich, not overly sweet cake that I liked. Although it was so moist and dense it was difficult to ice. Large crumbs came off in the icing no matter how careful I was. From a presentation standpoint, I was not thrilled about that.

The real star was the icing. Butter, sugar, and Bailey’s are a dream combination. I think it would be a nice icing for a chocolate mocha cake or even some thin coffee cookies.