Embrace vegetarianism and join in on the Hug A Vegetarian Day events in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington DC, and Toronto! There will be hugs, vegan food, vegetarians and vegans, and other vegetarian enthusiasts.

For New York City, Hug A Vegetarian Day will be on Friday Sept 30th from 4 to 6pm ET. The location is TBA. RSVP here for updates.

I’ve pledged 100 HUGS. So, join me and share some hugs!

And since Peta2.com had this cute slideshow filled with adorable hugs, I couldn’t help it but post a picture too.

“Hugs Make The World A Better Place!”

When: Saturday, September 17th, 2011 from 12pm to 5pm
Where: Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Manhattan
How: Admission is free. Tasting tickets are $20 each and allows for up to four tastings at the festival.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the Food Bank For New York City.

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Afro-Punk is back with their 7th Annual Festival, August 27-28! The Afro-punk Festival features some of the biggest names in contemporary music with a stellar line up that includes Cee-Lo Green, Santigold, Janelle Monae, Fishbone, Jay Electronica, Toro Y Moi, Toshi Reagon , Ninjasonik, Cerebral Ballzy, Gordon Voidwell, Reggie Watts, Res, Joi, Rocky Business, Straight Line Stitch, and more! The festival also includes the Nike Battle For the Streets Skate and BMX Competition, a Harley-Davidson and Brooklyn Black custom bike show, and a large mural of over 300 skateboards, The Skate Artwall.

This year, the festival is also going to bring together 15 food trucks from all across New York City in their Afro-punk Bites and Beats Festival. Participating trucks including Cravings Truck, Desi Truck, Eddie’s Pizza, Frites N Meats, Green Pirate Juice / cody!!, Joyride Truck, Kelvin Natural Slush Co, Mexicue NY, Rickshaw Dumpling, schnizle and things, Taim Falafel, Two Pitas, Van Leeuwan, and Wooly’s Ice. Chef Marcellus Coleman, Executive Chef of Alias Restaurant in NYC, will also provide his eclectic contemporary American cuisine to the festival artists, athletes and VIP’s. That’s a weekend of great music and entertainment, filled with lots of tasty eats. Admission to the festival is FREE as well!

When: August 27-28th
Where: Commodore Barry Park, Brooklyn, NY
How: FREE

Check out the schedule of performances here

So, mark your calendars and stop by a 7-Eleven on Monday for your complimentary 7.11oz Slurpee drink. While you’re at it, grab a Birthday Donut too. I believe they’re like on promotion for 3 for $2. Or grab a hot dog since July is also National Hot Dog month.Meanwhile, let’s amuse ourselves with some fun facts on the Slurpee:

• Early prototypes for the Slurpee machine made use of an automobile air conditioning unit.
• When Slurpee first hit the market, it wasn’t self-serve. The machine was behind the counter and the clerk served the product to you.
• Sugar is the anti-freezing agent in most Slurpee drinks.
• American Slurpee is injected with air. Canadian Slurpee is not.
• Half of all Slurpee drinks are purchased between the hours of 4 and 11 p.m.
• In 2004, 7-Eleven created an edible Slurpee straw.
• Slurpee was “invented” when some sodas were put in a freezer to cool them down — and they became all slushy.
• The scientific name for BrainFreeze is Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia.
• Pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth is a known cure for brainfreeze.

Need an outfit? They’ve even provided a Cow Costume Kit, or you can get creative like them.

Locate a Chick-fil-A near you.

Enjoy international tastes from around the world at the Taste of Times Square on Monday June 6th!

One of New York City’s most mouth-watering outdoor food festivals.
Times Square’s top restaurants will be offering dishes from around the world, at the Crossroads of the World, at the 18th annual Taste of Times Square outdoor food and music festival.

Time: June 6, 2011 from 5 to 9 pm
Location: Times Square, Broadway Plazas, between 42nd and 47th Streets

There’s no admission fee for the food festival. “Taste” tickets are available for $1 each and most dishes range from $1-$5. Tickets are available for purchase at the food festival or in advance at the Times Square Visitor Center. Visit the website for more information.

The food festival sounds like a lot of fun! There’s 30+ participating restaurants offering a nice variety of cuisines. No dinner plans for Monday? Stop by Times Square.

Check out the list of participating restaurants:

• Angus McIndoe
• Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar
• B. Smith’s
• B.B. King Blues Club and Grill
• Blue Fin
• Brasserie 1605
• Brooklyn Diner
• Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
• Carmine’s Italian Restaurant
• Dave and Buster’s
• Dervish
• Gallagher’s Steak House
• Gingers at the Doubletree Guest Suites
• Hard Rock Cafe
• Havana Central
• John’s Pizzeria
• Junior’s Restaurant
• O’Lunney’s Times Square Pub
• Palm West Restaurant
• Planet Hollywood
• Pomaire
• R Lounge at Two Times Square
• Ruby Foo’s
• Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse
• Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen
• Shula’s American Steakhouse (Westin New York)
• St. Andrews Restaurant
• The Counter
• The Long Room
• The Stadium Grill at Bowlmor Lanes
• The View at the New York Marriott Marquis
• Toloache
• Village Pourhouse Restaurant Row
• Virgil’s Real Barbecue

(Photo by sidereal)

• Participating Dunkin Donuts restaurants nationwide will offer guests a FREE donut of their choice (while supplies last) with the purchase of a beverage.
• Also, Krispy Kreme will be giving each guest who visits a participating Krispy Kreme shop on June 3rd one FREE donut of any variety. No purchase is necessary.

So stop by a local Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme (or both), and enjoy a complimentary donut of your choice – perhaps a simple old fashioned donut, or a french cruller, or something glazed, or maybe a strawberry frosted with sprinkles on top! Enjoy!

About National Donut Day
National Donut Day was originally established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army as a fund raiser to help people in need during the Great Depression and to honor women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I. National Donut Day falls on the first Friday of June every year.

Bulgogi is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Korean BBQ. Bulgogi features thin slices of marinated meat that is grilled, or sometimes pan-fried, with sliced onions and garlic. The meat becomes super tender, juicy, and flavorful. It’s more commonly made with beef, but pork bulgogi can be just as delicious. Bulgogi can be served over rice or served in a wrap. A slice of lettuce or some kind of leafy vegetable is used to wrap the cooked meat along with rice, ban chan and hot pepper paste, perhaps.

Spicy Pork Bulgogi
Sliced pork marinated in a mixture of red pepper paste (Gochujang), chilli powder, corn syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger, onion, sake (cooking wine), served with a piece of lettuce and a tiny ball of rice.

So glad I had the chance to stop by on the last day of free food. In addition to the free lunches, they’ve also been awarding gift certificates to some lucky Twitter followers and free food participants. The other week, I received a $20 gift certificate for Bann Restaurant. Can’t wait to use it and I look forward to sharing my dining adventures afterwards.

There were a number of exhibitors tabling around the park, including free local food to enjoy and samples from food providers too. Whole Earth Bakery shared vegan pizza, cookies, and chocolate cake. Brooklyn’s V-Spot handed out their delectable empanadas. Sabra handed out samples of their classic hummus along with bags of Stacy’s twice baked pita chips. YisRoyal handed out samples of cookies made from their gourmet vegan cook dough. Raw Revolution gave samples of their organic live food bar.

Other exhibitors included various local organizations, animal-right groups, and more. Just to name few… Delicious TV was there promoting their Totally Vegetarian cooking show and cookbook. Actually, I’ve been a subscriber to their cooking podcast for quite a while. The each episode shares a recipe that is simple and entertaining. Radha Agrawal, creator of Super Sprowtz, shared with me her inspiration to educate children about food and nutrition through storytelling. The story books follow the action adventures of super-powered vegetables like Colby Carrot and Zach Zucchini (who were both in attendance at the event). The Farm Sanctuary’s Just Eats Tour van was present too. In celebrating their 25th anniversary, Farm Sanctuary’s president and co-founder Gene Baur is traveling across the country in his oldschool Volkswagen van “exploring the food, people and places sparkling a national awakening towards conscious consumption and respect for farm animals.” There was also a soapbox testimonial station, where attendees were encourage to share their stories and speak their minds about vegetarianism, veganism, etc.

The truck returned to Park Ave and 27th St last Thursday May 12. This time they were serving kimchi fried rice from Kun Jip Restaurant which is located in KoreaTown on 32rd St.

Ah, kimchi fried rice, another simple yet wonderful Korean comfort food. It brings me back memories from my college days. My Korean roommate used to put together the most satisfying kimchi fried rice with homemade kimchi, leftover short grain white rice, and any left over vegetables or meat he could find in the fridge. Occasionally, we’d find diced SPAM tossed inside the rice as well. And right before serving, he’d fry an egg, either sunny-side up or scrambled, and place it over the rice just like a blanket. It was awesome.

Kimchi Fried Rice
kimchi, cooked white rice, minced pork, onion, green onion, garlic, egg, vegetable oil, salt and pepper

The kimchi fried rice was available with or without pork and came with a side of seaweed salad.

Follow TasteofKoreaNYC on Twitter or check their Facebook page for any changes and location updates.