The Hilltop 5

The Hilltop Monday, September 20, 2010.

For years, eating and living healthy lives has been the trend. Now, you can exercise, eat right and still have your special treats to satisfy your sweet cravings. Sticky Fingers, a bakery that specializes in baking vegan desserts, has become one of the hottest and trendiest places near campus.

Doron Greenblatt Petersan, the founder of Sticky Fingers, has been

a vegan and animal activist for many years.

After moving to Washington in 2001, she decided to tackle the issue of the lack of deserts for vegan con-sumers and in 2002 opened the door to her bakery.

Located at 1370 Park Rd N.W., Sticky Fingers sells a bevy of deli-cious treats such as fudge brownies, moist vanilla cake and traditional cheesecake 100% free of eggs, dairy, lactose, and cholesterol. All food sold at Sticky Fingers is made with non-hydrogenated oils and 100% free of animal products.

“People are used to eating what

is comfortable but when people taste our treats they are shocked that they cannot tell the difference. Majority of our neighborhood’s residents us are not vegans or vegetarians but they frequent our shop a lot,” said Petersan.

“We make sure our treats are up to par and taste as good as other non-vegan products, the only differ-ence is they are healthier.”

Burkina Cooper, a senior at Archbishop Carroll High School and resident of the area, is not a veg-etarian or a vegan, but enjoyed her Sticky Bakery experience when she began high school.

“When I was a freshman, the bus my sister and I took rode past the bakery every day,” said Cooper.

“One day I was hungry and I just went in. I really liked it; I used to get lemon cookies. They’re really big.”

“It was different the way they present themselves. It was the first place I knew to make vegan prod-ucts and it’s really good.”

Sticky Fingers offers sweets and healthy entrees to satisfy all cravings, they’re most popular being cup-cakes.

Mara Kurlandsky, an employee at the bakery, says residents can’t get enough of the sugary cakes.

“Most people come in and get the cupcakes. They seem to really love the peanut butter cupcakes and the sweet and salty cupcakes,” said Kurlandsky.

Their onsite Café has free Wi-Fi connection while offering such items as chili hot dogs, vegan Asian-style chicken wraps, and nachos.

Sticky Fingers even provides weekend brunch until 2:30 p.m.

Rachel Harlich, a Columbia Heights resident, enjoys coming to Sticky Fingers for the food and at-mosphere.

“I started coming here about three years ago,” said Harlich, as she purchased a Chicken Cesar wrap from the bakery.

“You see a lot of the same peo-ple when you come in; there’s really a community feel to it.”

Harlich, who is also a vegetar-ian, likes the menu selection at the unique neighborhood eatery.

“A lot of my friends are vegan and vegetarian but I don’t come here just because it’s vegan. The food is really good,” Harlich said.

In 2006, Sticky Fingers was the winner of the Veggie Awards and since 2006, Sticky Fingers has been voted ‘Best Bakery’ in ‘the Best of D.C.’ section of the Washington City Paper; they were also honored as 2010’s Best Vegan Restaurant .

“I am extremely proud of be-ing voted Best Bakery. It means that out of all of the bakeries in D.C., vegan or not, we are the best,” said Doron.

“One of our most popular items is our Sticky Buns. It even got us fea-tured on the Food Network.”

Whether you want a sweet treat or want to grab a bite to eat and have a comfortable place to do your homework, Sticky Fingers is defi-nitely a place of interest.

Local Eatery Puts Vegan Twist on Tasty Treats

For many Americans, the idea of not eating any meat or dairy prod-ucts is far-fetched. For Torian Black, a senior history major from Ten-nessee, it is normal because he is a vegan.

Howard University students eat plenty of Wings Over Washington, Dandy’s, and food from The Pun-chout; however, few consider the many other healthier alternatives, or realize that a vegan diet is not as limited as people may think.

“I just really don’t think I could go cold turkey and just drop meat. I love to eat,” said Alisson Miller, a sophomore political science major from Colorado.

“I feel like I would just be hun-gry all the time if I couldn’t eat any meat.”

Black, who has been a vegan for a few years, feels differently. He does

not think humans are designed to eat animals or dairy.

“Many people of color are lac-tose intolerant. Dairy causes mucus to form in your body, which blocks your natural body functions,” said Black.

“Meats like pork or beef take a lot of energy to digest, causing you to become sleepy and they can cause high blood pressure.”

To some extent, Black is correct about consuming too much meat and dairy products.

However, when eaten in mod-eration, both meat and dairy can be beneficial to your body. Meat pro-duces protein and dairy produces calcium, and eating 7 grams of pro-tein for every 20 pounds you weigh is sufficient.

So, a person who weighs 150 pounds would need around 52 grams a day. In comparison, a 6 ounce lean hamburger has about 48 grams of protein, while a cup of yogurt has

about 12 grams. It would seem that a diet that

does not include foods most people are used to would be very limiting. However, there are many vegan-friendly eateries all over the district.

There are numerous places close to campus on Georgia Avenue, in-cluding Everlasting Life, Sankofa and Soul Vegetarian, which are tai-lored specifically for vegans.

“Most people think that you just have to limit yourself to tofu, but, there are so many things you can eat. I eat a lot of vegan spaghetti and burritos, and you can get cheese without lactose,” said Black.

Black posed a question to stu-dents who indulge in meat and dairy.

“Do you live to eat or eat to live?’ If you choose the latter, then that means putting foods in your body that will generate energy and good health.’”

Students in the City:I am a Vegan

byTasion KwamileleStaff Writer

Sticky Fingers Bakery, located in the heart of Columbia Heights, is an all vegan cafe that serves a bundle of tasty and healty treats from chili dogs to cupcakes.

by Chelsea BattleContributing Writer

Seen in the CityPhoto Courtesy of Maya Rhodan

Welcome to Shaw! At the intersection of Rhode Island and 7th Street local homeless have set up a tent community in a gated, abandoned lot. Residents of the lot have painted signs and posted tents marking the territory as their home.

- Written by Maya Rhodan, Metro Editor

Have YOU seen anything cool, interesting, or just plain strange some-where in the district? Snap a photo and submit it to the Metro! It can be featured online at thehilltoponline.com or in The Hilltop!

Bree Gant Photo Editor

“People are used to eating what is comfortable but when people taste our treats they are shocked that they cannot

tell the difference.”

- Doron Greenblatt Petersan,founders, Sticky Fingers

Sticky Fingers Bakeryis located at

1370 Park Rd N.W.Columbia Heights