Sarah Lucas
Puppy Bowl IV
‘“I wanted to get a sense of who you wanted to speak with,” a publicist from Animal Planet said the other day in response to an interview request, “because, um, it’s all puppies.”’
It’s that time of year again…
Walter for President
I am so voting for this guy!
Our dinner on July 14 was at Which Wich? on the University of Oklahoma campus.
This is a small fast food joint. You order by picking a bag corresponding to the type of sandwich you want (ham, chicken, vegetarian, whatever), and mark which sandwich and toppings you want. You give this bag to the cashier, pay for your order, and the kitchen staff fills the bag with your sandwich.
Joe had a Cuban:
I had a Hummus and Bell Pepper wich:
Superior sandwiches, indeed. These were very tasty for fast food. The variety of toppings was impressive, and the bread was good and toasty.
While we were eating our wiches, I happened to look up and see that ESPN was showing a Rock Paper Scissors Championship. The players were taking the “sport” way too seriously – one guy even called it a spiritual experience. Of course, the winner won $50,000. That is just wrong!
Anyway, I would recommend this place. Maybe they could expand to Indy someday.
*Restaurants reviewed offer vegan food. They are not necessarily all-vegan.
The first full day of the road trip, we had lunch at Isadora’s Wonderful Things in Joplin, Missouri.
This place is a combination bead shop and coffee bar.
This place was full of wonderful things: the awesome food, great people and pretty beads, pendants and crystals. I couldn’t resist a beautiful chakra pendant I found.
The restaurant portion of this shop is all vegan (plus honey), unless you request milk in your drink. The menu is not super large, and the food is not prepared super fast. They focus on quality. The owners and locals are very friendly, and we chatted quite a bit with them. It was a great experience.
Joe had Gazpacho and an Orange Banana Shake
I had a Waffle and an Almond Date Shake
The gazpacho was garlicky and chunky and fresh. It came with a side of bread and olive oil. The waffle was topped with cashew butter, lots of blueberries, flaxseeds and maple syrup. Joe’s shake tasted like orange sherbet, and mine tasted very almondy.
I definitely recommend this place. It’s worth driving to Joplin just to eat here.
*Restaurants reviewed offer vegan food. They are not necessarily all-vegan.
Our first day out on our road trip, July 13, we ate at the Shangri-La Diner in St. Louis, Missouri. 
This is very hippy-dippy-trippy restaurant located in the Cherokee Historic District, a somewhat uppity (per Joe) antiques shopping area. The restaurant was run by a very punk-looking group – one chick had spiky white & green hair. Our server was a somewhat flaky kid wearing manpris and some hippy hat.
On to the food:
Joe: Tomato Bisque with Grilled Cheese
Sarah: Vegan Pulled Pork Sandwich with Corn on the Cob & Oven Fries
Both: Nachos, no cheese, sour cream on the side.
Both: Strawberry-Orange Juice (sorry, no picture)
Joe said the bisque was good, and the grilled cheese looked yum. The pulled pork was good. I’ve never had real pulled pork (as far as I remember), so I can’t say whether it tastes like the real thing. The sides were OK – not the sweetest corn I’ve ever had, but pretty decent. The nachos were very good; I even ate some guacamole even though avocado often makes me a little sick. I was OK. The juice was delicious.
I also got a dessert to go. It was a strawberry granola thing that tasted like strawberry crisp. Very tasty.
I would recommend this restaurant.
*Restaurants reviewed offer vegan food. They are not necessarily all-vegan.
I have food allergies that relegate me to a vegan diet with a preference for wheat-free meals. I can eat wheat occasionally, but not too often. When I learned of my allergies five years ago, I thought I’d never get to eat at a restaurant again. I mean, I live in Indy, not known for its vegan-type-people community, so there was no way I could get along. Well, luckily I was wrong, and there apparently are some vegans around. It’s taken some time, but I’ve found quite a good set of restaurants where I can eat.
- Thai One On. Great Thai food in Avon.
- Thai Cafe
- Jasmine Thai
- Pretty much any other Thai place
- Shalimar
- India Palace
- Udupi Cafe
- The Indian restaurant at 96th & Allisonville
- Three Sisters Cafe
- The Parthenon
- The little Mediterranean cafe south of Broad Ripple and the cafe next to it
- Baja Fresh
- Chipotles
- Qdoba
- Moe’s Southwestern Grill
- Viet Bistro
- WB Pizza. The owner’s wife is vegan, so they have a good selection of vegan options. Vegan garlic bread! Stromboli! Pizza!! Very tasty stuff.
- The Abbey. A large percentage of their menu is vegan – including dessert.
- PF Changs
- Olive Garden. A couple of decent pasta dishes.
- Cheesecake Factory. A few options and good drinks.
- Ruby Tuesday. Good salad bar.
- Subway. Of course.
- Chilis. The Chilis in Plainfield was one of the first places I found that would cater to me (’cause I’m so special). The servers were very considerate and careful when I told them of my allergies. For a while they would make me a veggie fajita that was really tasty. Unfortunately, their menu changed and they no longer carried the veggie mix (I don’t know if they have it back or not), but the black bean burger is also safe so I get that now.
There are probably others, but I can’t think of them now. I can usually get a some kind of salad at some places, but that’s usually no fun.
One area I avoid is hotel banquets. I’ve learned not to trust them…ever…no matter what they say. The reason for this is the Westin downtown, which nearly put me in the hospital after they served me a dish they assured me was vegan. I don’t like them. The Marriott handles it much better, but you still can’t be certain they’ll get it right. I don’t want to use my EpiPen, so I prefer not to take the risk at all.
Anyway, it just goes to show that even a non-hippy town like Indy still has good dining options for those of us who eat like hippies.
The world of the nonprofit organization is very complicated. Serving the community on usually very limited funding is quite enough, but the current Internal Revenue Code compounds this complexity with extensive and confusing regulations. The missions of these nonprofits can suffer as a result. The FairTax alleviates this burden.
Under the FairTax, the 34 pages of code that currently comprise Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code that defines tax exempt organizations is reduced to five sentences with a narrower, simpler definition. Nonprofits are no longer classified under one of 28 types of tax-exempt entities (under Section 501(c)) with different rules for each. A qualified nonprofit organization is a qualified nonprofit organization, and the rules are the same for all.
Donations to any nonprofit are tax exempt under the FairTax; whereas they are only exempt (deductible) when given to 501(c)(3) charitable, religious and educational organizations under the current laws. Donations to a 501(c)(4), such as FairTax.org, or other 501(c) nonprofit organizations are not deductible under current law.
Another very important change for nonprofits is that the FairTax repeals prohibitions on political activity. The nonprofit organization will no longer have to go through the significant trouble of setting up a sister organization to provide the lobbying efforts needed to further the company’s mission. The nonprofit will no longer have to worry about losing its tax status, and therefore much of its funding opportunity, if it chooses to become politically involved or support an organization that is, such as a business association.
The world of the nonprofit organization is very complicated, and will probably always be. There will always be funding concerns. There will always be need to figure out how to maximize resources to best fulfill the organizations mission. But under the FairTax, the Internal Revenue Code is no longer adding to the complexity. Nonprofit organizations and their benefactors will be free to focus on serving their communities however they deem most appropriate.
Support the FairTax
just a little…
You Are 56% Evil |
 You are evil, but you haven’t yet mastered the dark side.Fear not though – you are on your way to world domination. |
another disaster relief organization for pets: Noah’s Wish
Help our four-legged disaster victims, too: Humane Society Disaster Relief Fund – 2005
Donate here:
The Salvation Army National Headquarters
Here’s where I’ve been. Plus Toronto.
create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide
Support the FairTax
Americans for Fair Tax
nifty tool
And our state government is trying to force us into this backwards system…
End Daylight Saving Time
These are great products for web designers.
VisiBone
yes, I know. I’m a dork.
Boots that might fit me. Unfortunately, I can’t try them on to know how they look and feel — especially since the company is only in the UK.
DUO Womens Boots
Forget Libby’s recipe…
Bourbon, Pumpkin, and Spiced Pecan Tart
Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake
Apparently, the DNC thinks I like them. What did I ever do to give that impression?
