BMP (Buffalo Music Players) BREAKING EPISODE: Edgy Veggie

The two sisters of Edgy Veggie came aboard the BMP podcast to talk about upcoming gigs for their vegan foodtruck. They talked about their culinary journey and their dream of coming to Buffalo (they spent some time in NYC) with a new menu for the area.

They will be at the Big Bite Buffalo Veg Fest in Delaware Park on Aug. 30.

BMP Sponsors are:

Captain Tom & the Hooligans

BUFFALO CREATIVE WORKSHOP

MAMMOTH CANNABIS

SHIANNE WAXING STUDIO

Theme for the Shianne Waxing Studio Commercial was Conducted & Composed by Philip Milman

Members of Pentimento could not be reached to clear the clip of "Small Talk for Strangers" played on the BMP podcast.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Okay, everybody gotta to be quite honest. I'm gonna be there on the plug. Um make a look at if you're rocking and do it I sure can I've never focused all so I've got the upper hand. If your rogue can do it, I sure can I've never focused all so I got the upper hands to be a bee pocket.

unknown 1:11

It's the BMP pocket.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

This just then a double scoop of bad news. Man, life just isn't letting up. I feel like the walls are closing in, and I don't have a way to stop it. I wish there was somewhere I could go. Some place where I could just get away from everything. And just be creative.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

There is a creative workshop. Who said that? I heard you're playing all the duty to help you. Okay in the Great Arrow building on Elwood Avenue. Use our space, our art supplies and equipment to your heart's content. Let us hope you be back less and feel centered again.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Wow, that sounds great. I'll check it out.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Always remember if the world has your creative spirits in a rudd, come to the Buffalo Creative Workshop for a pick me up. More about Buffalo Creative Workshop can be found at Buffalo.creativeWorkshop on Instagram.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Alright guys, this is Max from the BMP Podcast, and today I have Edgy Veggie. Please introduce yourselves, guys.

SPEAKER_06 2:32

Hi, I'm Jamie. I'm one half of Edgy Veggie. I'm the younger sister. But you have to start like that. And I'm Sarah.

SPEAKER_05 2:39

I am the other half of Veggie Veggie, and I guess I'm the older sister.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Got you. So which one is the veggie and which one is the edgy?

SPEAKER_06 2:46

Oh, that's a good question. I think I used to be edgy. Now I'm mellowed out in my proper age. I don't know. We're probably a little above each, I would say. Okay. Heavier on the veggie now.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Gotcha, gotcha, Iggy. So, like, um, let's just jump right into it. What um what made you guys want to make a uh like a vegan food product?

SPEAKER_06 3:10

Well, so you start with I became a vegetarian in high school. And at that time, it would have been like 2006 to 2010. Yeah. There was not a lot of vegetarian or vegan food options in Buffalo. And that's also kind of what started my culinary journey, is because I had to essentially learn how to cook for myself because my parents were like, we support you, but we're not making dinner.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

We support you, we won't feed you.

SPEAKER_06 3:36

Yeah, you're on your own, you gotta figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

I got you.

SPEAKER_06 3:39

So that was kind of a pivotal turning point for me because not only was it like a change in diet, but I think that's when I really branched into the culinary world and realized that was something that I was passionate about and something that potentially down the line could be a career and turned out to be a career for me. And um Sarah and I both lived in New York City for a while and cooked in different restaurants there. And the plan was always to come back to Buffalo and open something because we knew there was a need here for vegan/slash vegetarian food.

SPEAKER_05 4:10

Yeah, I had a little bit of a different start, I would say. I didn't um become vegetarian until much later. Actually, I just kind of copied Jamie because it just kind of made sense. Um my background actually is not culinary at all. I actually I went to undergrad for music business. Actually, um, so that's how I ended up in New York City. Um in the meantime, Jamie was like just direct path following like the culinary um, she went to school for culinary and restaurant management, and then I just kind of changed my career. Like I it I didn't feel like fulfilled in that um in that like line of work, so I decided to switch. And I actually was like, you know what, Jamie's doing really good in the culinary world, so I'm gonna switch too. Um, but what I actually went for was pastry. Okay. So I went to uh pastry school in New York City, it doesn't exist anymore, it was the International Culinary Center. Um, but then after that I worked in restaurants and then Jamie joined me in New York City. We lived together, so then I was like, you know what? I guess I'll just be vegetarian.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

She became a vegetarian. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 5:16

I was like, I'll cook you dinner. I was like, I'll cook dinner for both of us, I'll meal prep, but I'm not cooking meat. So that's when she became a vegetarian. Yep. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 5:24

So then, yeah, just uh living and working in New York for like almost 10 years, and then we both moved back to Buffalo together. We're both um born and raised Buffalo, New York, and then yeah, that's how we got started. Started the truck.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Gotcha. What's uh what's your origin story for turning uh vegetarian? Since I already know your reason.

SPEAKER_06 5:42

So I watched a PETA video in high school. One of my friends showed me, and it was like very much like an intense, like they're murdering the animals and bloody and gory, and I was like watching it. I was like, oh god, I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I could do it anymore. And then I started doing like my own research and you know, learning about factory farming and like the terrible conditions, not only for the animals, but also the workers and like all of that. I was like, I can't, I just can't do it anymore. So I cut out beef and pork first, that was easy for me. Chicken was hard. I mean, we're in the land of the chicken, we're in the land of the chicken weddings.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

And it's one of the best protein sources. Yeah, I do.

SPEAKER_06 6:22

Yeah, so then I slowly cut out chicken and then that's it. So I don't know, it's been probably like 16 years now. It's been a good chunk of my life.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Have both of you kind of become sort of like pariahs in your friend group since you guys don't eat chicken wings and stuff? They're just like, oh, I guess we'll hang out with that.

SPEAKER_06 6:40

Like whenever I try to do um dinner with my friends, I have like a group of high school friends that we meet like every month for dinner. They're always like, Well, look at the menu, make sure you can eat something.

unknown 6:50

I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Passive aggressive and delicious.

SPEAKER_03 6:55

That's true.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Nice. So um you guys both worked as chefs in New York. How that must have been really like um trial by fire. That must have been really intense. Yeah, it was. Can you talk about like how the intensity of that type of stuff kind of prepared you for this? Like, I'm sure this is very hard too, but I bet that the stuff you guys had to do in New York was way harder.

SPEAKER_06 7:18

Yeah, for sure. I think your I mean, your first job was. My first job was very intense. I started right out of culinary school, just moved to the city. I was there for like less than a month, and actually landed one of my dream jobs. And it was at a place um Lower East Side called Dirt Candy. And I started as a prep cook. Okay. And it was it was just so much work. It was like making bread, it was It's a vegetarian vegan restaurant.

SPEAKER_05 7:47

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_06 7:47

She does um like a tasting menu, and you can either do a full vegetarian tasting menu or a full vegan menu. Um, so it was just like a lot of prep. You just get thrown right into it, like barely knew how to hold a knife.

SPEAKER_05 8:00

She would come home and she'd be like, the bread didn't work out today, and she'd be like, I'm so upset, and I would feel so bad.

SPEAKER_06 8:06

And again, it's like you go into culinary school, you have like a base of the knowledge, but it's so different than the real world.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Yeah, because you're actually using it.

SPEAKER_06 8:14

You're actually using it, and like, especially with bread, everything's temperamental. It could be like a hot day like this where your stuff overproofs so quick, or it's like you finally figure out all your little proofing windows and you get it down, and then all of a sudden now you're in winter and everything's going slower now, and then you gotta like reteach yourself. But um, it was a lot, and it was it was hard work, and the chef was very strict, and she had like intense timelines that like you had to meet, so it was like some days you're prepping and you wanted to take your lunch break, but you couldn't, so you just like prep through it, and then the nighttime line would come in, and they they're the ones that would like actually cook for the service, and you would set them up, and then they'd be like, Oh, well, why isn't this done? And you wanted to be like, Well, why can't you do it? And like you'd have to go and you're like you're packed up, you're like, right here you leave, you're like, Okay, okay, I'll help you, and then like you do it too. So it was like that was a lot. But um, I mean you grow from it, you learn. Yeah, you get now. I know how to make bread.

SPEAKER_03 9:09

It's a good skill to have. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 9:11

And then from there I left and went to a different restaurant called Nick's, which was in Greenwich Village, and that was a one-star Michelin restaurant. So that was a different level. Because now you're like extreme fine dining, where like every little detail has to be perfect. Like, it's very much like the tweezer food, like you see, where it's like you're putting like one leaf on the street. Like, have you seen the bear? Yeah, yeah, it's that. It's like and the chefs yelling at you, and that time I was actually a line cook. So now you're coming in later in the day, you're setting up your station, and then you're cooking through dinner service, and then you're breaking down late at night, and then you're going home. So it was like a completely different schedule because before I was up at like four in the morning, and now you're like going into work at like three p.m. and you're leaving at like 12 o'clock after you clean and break down and all that. And that job I actually stayed at for a while, and I was able to work my way up, and I was a sous chef there. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

So I became a highest low, right?

SPEAKER_06 10:05

Almost. You have like the executive chef would be ahead of you, so you're like the little helper. But you're still you're still like a manager. Yeah. So that was a very good learning experience. That gave me some management experience because you know you have so many different personalities you're working with, and doing the ordering, making sure stuff's coming in. Oh my gosh, we didn't order enough of this, and then you're running down the street to go buy something at Whole Foods, and like the hiring and the hiring. The firing, the firing. I had to fire one of our dishwashers, and he was not happy about it. And you know, like nobody ever is when they get fired. And he goes, he's like, respectfully, ma'am, I want to talk to the head chef who was a male, and I was like, Well, he's gonna say the same thing to you. Like, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

It was two-level rejection.

SPEAKER_06 10:51

Yeah, it's like he's gonna say the same thing to you, so good luck. But that was that was a tough job. That was also stressful. That one, the chef, like the executive chef who owned the restaurant group and owned the restaurant, he was like never around, and he'd like show up like once maybe every six months and be like change the menu, and then so now you're doing like recipe testing and menu testing, like in between trying to do all the normal things, and it was just that got to be too much. Yeah, that was a lot.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_06 11:18

And then eventually I ended up working with Sarah. Yeah, yeah. Because she was the pastry chef at a restaurant called the Dutch in Soho, and after COVID, Nick's closed because the fine dining didn't really translate to like takeout meals, and you know, like they tried to pivot during the pandemic, during the pandemic, but it didn't really work out, so they unfortunately closed, so then I didn't have a job, and Sarah hired me, which was so funny. So I hired you. I started to work in savory on the line there, and then eventually she needed help in pastry, so I moved over to pastry and worked with Sarah and learned pastry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Gotcha. Have you guys always been like close? Like, have you guys always done a long time?

SPEAKER_05 11:58

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_05 12:00

We're only a year apart, so yeah, that helps for sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_05 12:04

It's been like a built-in best friend for our whole lives, and then a business partner.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Yeah, because usually there's like friction when you deal with like siblings and stuff. At least like in the how long have you guys been doing this together?

SPEAKER_06 12:17

Uh, fourth year. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

So you guys have graduated. You guys are like solid.

SPEAKER_06 12:22

Yeah, I like to think so. We almost know what we're doing now.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Just give it another four years.

SPEAKER_05 12:29

Alright.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

You'll get there.

SPEAKER_05 12:30

Yeah, we started in like spring, summer of 2023. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Um, so can you tell me like what uh how your menu has evolved and stuff, and like what what what specifically you guys want to bring? Because let's be honest, like a veganism doesn't have the best rep out here. So you're not wrong.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

So how do you guys kind of like uh try to battle the stigma?

SPEAKER_06 12:54

That's a good question, yeah. We try and make it approachable, that's why we chose sandwiches, because we're like that is easy to understand for everybody across the board. Yeah, right. And then we try and do like updated vegan versions of like deli classics. Like we do a Philly cheesesteak, but instead of steak, we use um mushrooms. Then our one sandwich is very popular. The KFC is a play on like a Korean fried chicken sandwich. Instead of chicken, we do tofu. So it's like taking sandwiches that people are familiar with and flavors that people are familiar with, but just vegan versions of that.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:29

And we like we always try and layer the flavors. Like we make our spice blends, we make our sauces, so like everything has flavor. Because I think that's like the biggest thing about vegan food is people like it's bland, it's rabbit food, it's rabbit food and salads, you know.

SPEAKER_05 13:43

So we're just season it, you can marry it. Yeah, you know, we can do all the things you do with meat.

SPEAKER_06 13:49

Like the um we do a play on a cobboy, but we use cauliflower. And instead of like shrimp or oysters, the cauliflower, we actually brine it in a um like a it's like a salt water solution with spices and seaweed. Okay. So you kind of get like that oceanic, like the funk, the like quote unquote fishy seafood flavor. So it's like it's also like manipulating ingredients to bring you back to those flavors that like you used to know and you used to eat.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

So you guys are kind of like scientists in a way.

SPEAKER_06 14:23

Yeah, in a way.

SPEAKER_05 14:24

Like little mad scientists, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_05 14:27

Yeah, one of our goals has always been from the beginning to like use actual vegetables or like use tofu in its original form versus like buying like the store-bought like impossible meat or beyond meat.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

I hear that's actually worse, like that's pretty bad for you.

SPEAKER_06 14:43

Actually, it I don't know, it probably is. Usually, like a lot of the vegan meat replacements, the sodium is like off the charts. Yeah, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah, that's how you get the the high pri the high blood pressure.

SPEAKER_04 15:00

Yeah, that's how we get there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

Have you guys um like can you tell me like the process it was to go for like a food truck instead of like a restaurant? Or are you guys building to maybe move into a restaurant soon?

SPEAKER_05 15:13

Yeah, we um one of our ideas was that the food truck would be like less overhead initially versus like either buying a restaurant or like jumping into a place and outfitting it with all the equipment and everything and then paying rent and all that. So that's why we went the food truck route because it was more of a just like straightforward like you buy the truck, you do the build-out. Um we actually worked with this company in Alden, New York. They're called JP Food Trucks. Okay, and we're so lucky that we have them in the area, by the way, because like most other food truck builders are like way out of state, far away from Canada. So, like, we we found the truck, it was just a big empty um Chevy box truck. We bought that, and then we went to JP Food Trucks, had them outfit it exactly how we wanted it. So, like we actually before we um before we moved ahead with it, we drew everything out in in a parking lot with chalk and like measured everything. Because we were still in the city at this point. So we measured like, okay, the the oven's gonna be this long. Like the sinks are gonna be kind of visualizing, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

You like storyboarded your dreams. Yeah, that's cool.

SPEAKER_05 16:26

Yeah, so we got that all made up and everything, and then we just could start. So we felt that it would be less money initially versus like a restaurant, so that's why we went with the food truck. And then we also have like more, seems like more flexibility as far as like scheduling and time, and we don't need um any employees right now. Like right now, it's just us and our mom. Yeah, shout out mom.

SPEAKER_06 16:50

Shout out mom, she's a volunteer unpaid, paid in tofu, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

And love, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 16:57

Yeah, exactly. And we also we were like a little uncertain being gone from Buffalo, coming back home. We didn't know what the response to vegan food would be. Like if people were ready for it, if people wanted it. So this also was a great way to like kind of test that market. And the response has been great. Yeah, people are into it.

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Gotcha, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 17:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Um, what do people generally say? Like, oh man, I never knew mushrooms could taste as good.

SPEAKER_06 17:20

Yeah, yeah, we get that a lot. Yeah, yeah. We um we had one guy when we would do Roswell downtown, he would come and he would buy the tofu sandwich for himself, and then he'd also buy one for his wife and take it home, and up until that point, he never had tofu in his life. Yeah, yeah. And then he would come by every single week, and he's like, This is just so good. Gotcha. We've also had the people come who I don't know if they just don't read the words on the page.

SPEAKER_05 17:45

Or what, but like we've had people be like, This is the best chicken I've ever had. And we're like, should we tell them it's not chicken?

SPEAKER_01 17:53

But they gotta use their critical thinking.

SPEAKER_05 17:57

Exactly. So yeah, the response has been really good. A lot of people are just like, wow, this is like the best sandwich I've ever had, and it's just cauliflower. Like, how do you do it?

SPEAKER_06 18:06

And then a lot of people who aren't strictly vegan or strictly vegetarian are into it too, which is great.

SPEAKER_05 18:11

Yeah, that's another thing. Like, we're not we're not the people who are like, you must be vegan. Like, we're not trying to force anybody or anything like that. Like, we're just we're trying to make it more approachable and like just so that everybody who wants to try it can try it.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Yeah, I think that that's probably like the biggest stigma with veganism is the whole like um uh nose in the air kind of attitude that it seems to have. Yeah, right. You know, so it's cool that you guys are showing like another side, like, no, right, yeah. It's good food, we're not pretentious, we've cut.

SPEAKER_06 18:42

Exactly. That's the that's the goal. And like if we win you over and you try tofu and you like it, and you get it from the truck, and then you're inspired to go home and make your own tofu, like that's a win, right?

SPEAKER_05 18:52

Or even like just do like a meatless Monday or something, you know, like for yourself. Like if everybody did like just a small little change like that, it would make a big difference.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_05 19:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

What um and what made you guys come up with the name Edgy Veggie?

SPEAKER_05 19:06

We were just, I don't know, we were just spitballing. Remember the pop-up I did? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 19:11

So I did a pop-up with my friend Joe when I was still in the city. Gotcha. And we um we called it edgy veggie. Sarah actually came up with a name. And then when we were opening the truck, we were thinking and we were like, we just couldn't come up with anything. And then she was like, again, she's like, what about edgy veggie? And I'm like, you know what? Yeah, what about edgy veggie?

SPEAKER_05 19:29

It runs. It's catchy. Because we were thinking also, like, um in memory of our grandma because she's she's like the one who she was like the cook of the family, like she would cook Thanksgiving all by herself, like you know, so she's the reason that we got into cooking really, so we were gonna call it Shirley's after her. But then we were like, you know what, maybe it needs like veggie in the name or something like that, so that people just like instantly think, like, oh, maybe it's a vegetarian place or maybe it's a vegan place, you know what I mean? So like that like word association. And it's catchy.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Yeah, you gotta have you gotta have that catchiness.

SPEAKER_05 20:08

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

So it sticks, yeah. Um, so we're getting to the part of the pod where I'm gonna ask you to name a um band or artist in the local Buffalo, New York area. Do you have somebody in mind?

SPEAKER_05 20:19

I do, actually. So I don't know if there's still a band or not. This was back when I was like in college, which is a long time ago. But there was a band from Buffalo called Pentimento, and they actually came to play in my college town, and I saw them live, and I was like, Oh my god, I'm from Buffalo too! Like it was great. So, yeah, they have a really good song. It's called Small Talk for Strangers.

SPEAKER_04 20:41

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_05 20:41

I'll give that a listen.

SPEAKER_04 20:42

Alright, here we go, guys.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

The bringer of life. The bringer of unimaginable joy, the cause of catastrophic destruction. Knowing that you have something so powerful, wouldn't you want the best to take care of it? Pardon me for saying this. I am just a humble announcer. But if I had a coochie, I'd probably They get it waxed at Cheyenne's Waxing Studio on 830 Elmwood Ave. You have power in between your legs. So why not have it taken care of by the best? Alright guys, and we're back. And uh so what's on the docket for you guys? What's coming up?

SPEAKER_05 22:21

Um, so we actually have a lot still coming up um for the rest of the summer and then also into the fall. We actually stay on the road usually until like the end of November. Um you guys can check out our schedule anytime. It's on street food streetfoodfinder.com. Um we also have our website and all of our social media which shows our schedule too. Um one cool thing that's coming up actually on August 30th is the Big Bite Uh Buffalo Veg Fest.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 23:01

Um so it'll actually be our first time in doing a veg fest, and we're really excited for that. It should be a good day. There's like all kinds of um vendors and speakers.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Where's it taking place?

SPEAKER_05 23:13

It's in Delaware Park.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Oh, okay, cool.

SPEAKER_05 23:15

Yep, at the Parkside Lodge.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Nice.

SPEAKER_05 23:18

Yeah, so we're excited for that. But then, yeah, lots of other opportunities to catch us. We're at the Kemor Farmers Market almost every Sunday for the rest of the summer. That's a good one. And then yeah, lots of other places.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_05 23:31

Different downtown lunches.

SPEAKER_06 23:33

We do Thursday in the square in front of City Hall.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

And you guys uh sometimes you're I saw one of your pictures, you're parked outside the Richardson, so I'm guessing.

SPEAKER_05 23:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Guys. Well, it's been a pleasure talking to you guys.

SPEAKER_03 23:52

You too. You do.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Um, I wish you the best in whatever you guys are continuing to do.

SPEAKER_03 23:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Um, this has been the BMP Podcast. Uh may the songs be with you guys. After a long day, it's hard to turn off. That's why I go to Mammoth Cannabis on 212 Ohio Street. Their stuff I have you laid out flatter than a mammoth foot. From flour to pre-roll, vaporizers to concentrate. You can rest assured that something big is waiting for you at Mammoth Dispensary. Just keep in mind, if you smell cereal from the General Mills factory nearby, they can't help you. You have to go home and get a bowl yourself. It's a dispensary, not an eatery after all. It's the BP podcast. If you are artists, no matter discipline, we'll help you out. Don't believe in gatekeeping, we all gotta eat, and this is our way of helping out. We try our best. So here we go. Like, why you got a podcast? Everybody got them. To be quite honest, I'm got a job. Living there, prospects like a one gon' rock. Thank Joe for the pot. I'm not designed for crime. I'm too pretty for present. But talking off the dome. I'm finna make a kill. If Joe Rogan can do it, I sure can. I've never fucked a stool, so I've got the upper hand. If Joe Rogan can do it, I sure can. I've never fucked a stool, so I've got the upper hand.

unknown 25:38

It's the B and B pocket.