This past weekend, I attended the birthday celebration for my friend Rebecca Gilbert’s vegan lifestyle website, Yummy Plants, which turned 5.

It was held in a new bar/cafe/music gallery called Mixtape, which in addition to hosting the event provided some of the hors d’oeuvres and created specialty vegan cocktails. And if that doesn’t already sound like the makings of an amazing party, just wait because we’re not done yet; the proceeds benefited some of my favorite animal advocates like Hope Haven Farm Sanctuary, Justice for Animals, and Vegan Pittsburgh. Woohoo!

Mixtape is a long and narrow space with areas to lounge and standing tables to mingle. I got there after the party had kicked off, and there was a great turnout. Most people were chatting in the front seating area or squeezed in the back near the bar.

I headed straight for the food to make sure I got to try everything in case they ran out. There were green gazpacho shooters, an array of Treeline cheeses (one of my favorite vegan cheese brands) with crackers and crostini, Treeline caprese bites, Mixtape’s open-faced Tempeh-tations blts which were incredible, and Earth Balance popcorn and cheesy puffs. I sampled the foods lightly to make sure I had room for cake.

And, oh that cake. I was never much of a cake person. Even now that I’m vegan, I will opt for a long line of dessert foods before I even consider cake. Maybe it’s just that vegan baking has gotten so much better in the past couple years. Maybe I’m missing out on lots of vegan cakes? Maybe. All I know is that this Bella Christies cake was so good that I didn’t want to eat anything else ever again.

They also had mini chocolate coconut cream pies from Butterwood Bake Consortium (one of the coziest, cutest new storefronts to open in Lawrenceville) which all got snatched up before I made it to the cake table and So Delicious ice cream which I passed on since the cake was really sugary for me and I didn’t want a massive sugar headache later on.

My friend also got one of the specialty vegan cocktails, a martini called The Fix which had house cinnamon whiskey infused Irish cream, whipped vodka, frangelico, house peppermint mocha syrup, and soy cream with a raspberry garnish. It was a beautiful presentation, and the tiny sip I took gave way to a burst of flavorful complexities.

In addition to the stellar food, the company was amazing as well. I love being in a room filled with fellow vegans and vegan-friendlies! This world-wide vegan growth spurt is kind of the best thing ever.

Thanks to all the organizers of the party and a very happy 5 years to Yummy Plants!