Matt,
It used to be prostitution was legal in Nevada, but NOT LEGAL in the city limits of Las Vegas. Has that changed?

By the way, I have a couple beautiful lamb chops in the fridge...

Dave, you're right. You have to get your cab driver to drop you off at the whorehouse for free (he takes commission), wait for you, then drive you back into town. For clarity, I am not speaking from experience. But I understand that's the way it goes.

We met one entrepreneurial cab driver (after asking him to drop us at the Star Trek Experience, bizarrely, or perhaps not bizarrely at all), who was more than happy to facilitate such an arrangement.

So while it's not legal in Vegas, prostitution is rife there, because it's legal a mile or two down the road.

by the way, i heard beer is not vegan. so sad for your british ass.

It's a good job I intend only to drink neat gin, as always.

Virtually every beer made in America is vegan.

Actually, many beers are vegan.
http://veganconnection.com/veganbeer.htm

And Matt, you're never going to make it if you eat rice and celery. Come on, we (vegans) eat better than that!

If you like Chinese, head to Vegetarian House right inside the Chinatown gates for some kickass Orange Chicken*, Kung-Pao Chicken*, or spring rolls.

Veganopolis has some great sandwiches, too.

But seriously, there's more to eat than rice and celery.

But seriously, there's more to eat than rice and celery.

Yeah, but then what will Matt have to whine about?

Actually, Scott, you punk, I'm not whining. I just didn't have anything else in the fridge.

Brad Buckner has also been kind enough to donate some tofu, which should see me through until I can get to the grocery store later. And thanks, Hula, for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

Enjoy Matt! It's "the Best Tofu in PDX" (see post of the same name from Friday)

Hope it doesn't make you too gay (or gayer than you already are being British and all).

Yikes you're going the rice/pasta/tofu route? You're going to be in a world of pain. That route is almost as bad as going 'junk food vegan'.

Look, do yourself a favor and make a run to People's Co-op, Food Front, Food Fight or even New Season. I'm sure you'll find someone at any of those stores who will steer you in the right direction on some good things to stock up on.

Here's a crib sheet of some stuff to snag that will make life easier. (And it's totally tofu free)

Breakfast - Van's Waffles. Vegan and awesome. Most Cereals and Soy Milk, Almond Milk or Rice Milk. If you want to go out - Cup and Saucer has a great vegan scramble and great vegan pancakes.

Lunch - Amy's makes a ton of good pop in the microwave frozen lunches. Also Vegan Chili is a good option. As are soups. If you want to go out the aforementioned Veganopolis is a great place for lunch also Blossoming Lotus. Also vegan sushi can be had almost anywhere in town.

Dinner: Grab some vegan strips (fake chicken or beef) from the grocery store with some veggies and do a stir fry. It's hard to mess it up and it's very easy to do. Or do vegan pizza, get pre-made dough, sauce and toppings, just skip the cheese. If you want pizza out - Bella Faccia has the best Vegan pizza in town. Kelga Kafe has kick ass vegan Indian and Nichola's vegan mezza is fantastic. Also most Thai places around town have good veg options... Like Thai Peacock (just ask to hold the fish sauce).

Late night snack - Voodoo Doughuts has vegan doughnuts!

The best thing you can do is get yourself a good vegan cookbook (Go to Herbivore for a good selection... it's a good mea culpa for your piece near their ad). Suggested ones - Peanut Butter Planet (best vegan book for a non-vegan), How it all Vegan, and Vegan Planet.

Being vegan isn't about white rice, pasta and Tofu. You can actually eat quite well Vegan and totally avoid Tofu.

Kudos to you Matt. Your willingness to live a lifestyle that is not typically your own shows courage and self confidence.

I don't have to be a vegan, I'm native american.

Pitsibetu taibo, haaaaaaaa.

ahahahahaha.

You can't be vegan just by not eating animals. But if you took the time to educate yourself you would know that diet is only a part of being vegan, but I guess you missed that when you where busy murdering that sheep.

damn all-or-nothing hippies. lighten up, life is short. especially if you are a sheep.

I use magic to turn sheep into more useful things

Like poop!

I don't know if you read my previous comment - about being vegan being not just about what you eat with extensive links to things to watch, read, etc. But I hope you did. And I will stay tuned, because I really hope that you will end up at least watching "Earthlings" by the end of this.

Btw - breakfast - Go buy some instant oatmeal at People's and some fruit and some nuts or maybe make some vegan pancakes from any one of the million vegan cookbooks out there or buy some fakin' bacon. Breakfast is about nourishment - not rice and celery for pete's sake.

And being a vegan is about being prepared - not starting with an empty fridge. We're like Girl Scouts that way. We bring our own cookies and everything.

In other words, don't be a martyr - go to People's ask some peoples there (ha ha - I kill me) what to buy and stock that fridge! Or eat out. Hell, if you're doing this still on Friday afternoon/evening, I'd spring for your goddamn dinner myself at the Red and Black, cause I live in the neighborhood.(jenhowell77@gmail.com)Plus, I own "Earthlings". You can watch it with real, live vegans. It's a real invitation, so feel free to take me up on it if you like.

Good luck and remember - Real Vegans aren't Martyrs. Real Vegans Eat Tofu Quiche for breakfast.

Prostitution is NOT legal in Clark County, but is legal elsewhere in the state.

(All those flyers people were handing out are not for the legal brothels, the closest of which are in Nye County. And if you have any money and seem clean and not drunk, you will get solicited.)

Wikipedia Is Your Friend.

And I agree with Ben in comment 14, and not with Matt Davis Sucks in comment 13. 13 seeks to turn veganism (which I'm neutral toward) into a cult. And Veganopolis SUCKS. Don't go there.

Aaron, thanks for clearing that up. What do you expect, that I might actually RESEARCH the situation?! The impression everybody gave me in Vegas was, it's legal. Perhaps that's the problem of having such a complex law—people just bypass it with a summary.

Vegan for a week. Hmmmmm. I guess it's a story anyway. I've been vegan for years and the beginning was a process, not something easily done in one week. After being an omnivore my entire life, the change took some time. Dropping animal products out of my diet was the easiest part in some ways. Trying to avoid all animal products and our society's attitude towards non-humans was much more difficult.

Anyway, I wish I knew you were going vegan before now. I was a very accomplished cook before going vegan and continue to make unbelievably great food. I could have had you over for some meals! And I could have told you where to eat. My diet is much more varied now, I've lost fat and put on muscle mass, dropped my cholesterol significantly and have inspired others to go vegan. That didn't take a week. So I hope that you really go vegan (not just eating no animal products for a week) for the long haul. Then you would REALLY have something to write about.

By the way, do eat at Blossoming Lotus, Bay Leaf, Proper Eats, Kalga Kafe, Persian House and Nicholas Restaurant. Try the tofu scramble or potato hash at Bijou Cafe if you are looking for a very filling breakfast. If you're looking for a healthier and lighter breakfast, try anything at Blossoming Lotus. Avoid the meat analogs - you can't really make vegetables taste like meat any more than you can make a steak taste like broccoli. Vegan food isn't about trying to eat something similar to meat, fish, dairy and eggs - it's about enjoying the hundreds of non-animal foods out there.

Veganism is also about being aware that your food and product choices affect your health and the health of the planet. Animal agriculture damages the environment, turns the oceans into one big toilet that is no longer able to cleanse itself, destroys non-human lives and hurts humans by increasing heart disease, obesity and cancer. It's really much more involved than just what isn't consumed. It's about living a life that causes the least amount of harm - to humans, non-humans and the earth.

And this is coming from someone who used to think vegetarians were crazy. If I could see the light, anyone who opens their eyes can too.

I second what realvegan has to say. And - I reiterate my offer to pay for a dinner at Red and Black and offer a showing of "Earthlings" at my house on Friday or another weekend day. I can only do this on the weekend, because I am a student and I work.

And I'm not some crazy person - people actually pay me to take care of their children. Let me know - offers good Friday-Sunday. jenhowell77@gmail.com

On the subject of beer being vegan, unless you take issue with fossils of small sea and lake creatures mixed with chalky, 21-million year old algae (diatomaceous earth, used for filtering out yeast and clarifying the beer) then BridgePort Ales are fine. It doesn't end up in the finished product, but is used in the process. Maybe it's just me, but consuming something that passed through the skeletal remains of something from the Miocene Period shouldn't create many moral dilemmas. And if this talk of fossils in brewing troubles you, please be assured that industrial Kieselguhr for food and beverage has been ground to powder, sterilized, and calcined at 8-9 times the temperature of boiling water. Cheers!

A note about the Bijou Cafe: unless they have changed it, the tofu scramble and the hash are not vegan, as they contain "clarified butter." The waitress informed me of this maybe 2 years ago and I haven't been back. For breakfast, Blossoming Lotus and Paradox are good bets.

About the Bijou - you have to ask them to use oil instead. Of course, this requires a bit of trust. You can't go wrong at the all-vegan establishments or the mostly vegan establishments. Paradox is certainly a good bet for a filling breakfast.

For day two, go here:

http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2007/01/being_a_vegan_day_two_pardoning_the_ethiopian_bees.php

Oh Matt.

I'd like to see you remain vegan after this week once you're around things like cheeseburgers and pepperoni pizza again. When your whole family looks at you like you're a freakin weirdo on holidays because you're not munching on the turkey and cheese tray. When you're turning down homemade cookies and fudge at Christmas time, or when you stop buying wool socks, leather shoes, down comforters/favorite hair products(whatever!). When you can stop doing those things, (not because you didn't like them) but because you've decided on giving up your control over defenseless creatures, then you'll actually know something about veganism, and will really have something to write about. Until then, your week long "sacrifice" isn't proving anything, nor is it educational.

But I would be up to reading about the above experiences if you decide to get serious.

I will be honest, veganism (can be) a long hard road. So yes, maybe we do get a little high-horseish from time to time. But it's only because we've been trying to live in a world where people do whatever the hell they want and disregard the fact that we're trying to make the world a more peaceful, less human-dominated place to live. And if they don't disregard it, they ridicule, patronize, and disrespect our views.

Believe me, who would choose this lifestyle unless we REALLY believed in it? It's not really that convenient outside of places like Portland, that's for sure.

I think that's why businesses dropped their ads and that may be why they won't have dialogue with you. It's not that they don't think dialogue is good, they just don't think you're getting it.