Pine Box Rock Shop Vegan Shop-Up

Greens are great, but sweets are sweet.  I finally had the opportunity to make it to the most recent Vegan Shop-up at Pine Box Rock Shop a couple of weekends ago and was not disappointed. 

For starters, I love Pine Box.  I'm not a bar person, but this vegan bar transcends bar-i-ness in my mind.

They make awesome Bloody Mary's (10 spice, please; thankyouverymuch) and adorn them with a veritable pickled jungle.

It's especially grand that my good friend, another fan of the Marys, does not like the garnish.  You might think this means that I double my pleasure, but in the past it has meant simply that I've not had to cry after inevitably dropping my own garnish on the floor amidst the excitement.

And besides the booze there is this fine furball: Spyder.

This is a very fast dog.

They also have fantastic salt & vinegar potato chips that I've never seen anywhere else: really good, thick, and not greasy.  It's true that I sometimes forget to share.

Ah yes, the Shop-up.  They do these from time to time to showcase local, vegan, business owners and their wares; this one was Valentine's-themed, which meant there was lots of chocolate and candy and sweets...amongst savory goodies (lest anyone feel left out).

The place was packed, so I didn't get a chance to investigate every offering.  But I did manage to get some new and old favorites.

Of course I went sweet, spending most of my loot with Gone Pie.

Go Nepie!

I'm a big fan of the coconut brownies, so who was I to resist the rocky road brownies?  Wow!  Gone Pie's infamous brownie with almonds and marshmallows baked in, then topped with more of the same, plus frosting and chocolate chips; need I say more?

Thanks for giving me a corner!

Having already given my stamp of approval to both the cherry almond chocolate cups and the peanut butter cups, it was my duty to investigate the newest Gone Pie cup offering:

the caramashew cups.

Cashew, coconut caramel?  Ladies and gentlemen, I have a new favorite.

Another great find at the Shop-up were the Black & Blanco sandcastle cookies.  The endearing folks were sampling three flavors of their twist on a traditional Morrocan cookie, but once I registered the word Marzipan, the other two ceased to exist. 

Soft and almondy, this is the perfect tea cookie.  Ok, I'd also suggest crumbling them on ice cream, but that's just me.  I learned later that besides being delicious, they consist of high-quality, healthy ingredients; they're so good that I never would have suspected.  You can buy them online, or at choice markets in NYC.

Lest you think I didn't imbibe, behold my awesome beverage.  Since a salty Mary would not have mixed well with all of the sweet sampling, I instead chose the significantly more appropriate Red Moco Cooler.

Thanks for holding my beverage, JD Gut!

"Kahlua, Bosco chocolate syrup, Grenadine and club soda. Served in a collin's with a teeny umbrella."; it was kind of like an alcoholic egg cream!  Not only was this drink fabulous, but it was assembled with just as much care and attention to detail as if I'd just opened the place (been there, done that) and they had all the time in the world to impress just me.  Thanks for being so swell, Pine Box.

For the record, I really do share!