Moby backs vegan cocktail bar in New York

The avant-garde musician Moby has teamed up with a vegan entrepreneur to open a revamped version of Ladybird – a vegan cocktail bar and restaurant – in New York’s east village.

Moby

Called Ladybird, the bar is owned by restaurateur Ravi DeRossi, who is working to convert all 15 of his restaurants and bars into animal-free vegan businesses, with Ladybird previously located at a smaller site in Greenwich Village.

Having brought Moby on board as an investor, DeRossi has relocated the restaurant to a bigger site in the east village, which opened this week, according to New York’s Eater.com.

Moby, best known for his 1999 and 2002 albums ’18’ and ‘Play’ has been a vegan since 1987, is an outspoken animal rights activist and has already invested in several vegan restaurants across the US, including Little Pine in Los Angeles.

“I’ve been vegan for 30 years, and promoting animal rights is my life’s work,” the artist said in a statement.

“Luckily not everything involving the promotion of animal rights and veganism has to be grim and tough; sometimes one of the best ways of promoting plant based eating is by serving people wonderful food in a beautiful space.”

Billing itself as a “vegetable bar”, Ladybird’s menu was devised with the help of Chef Derrick Styczek, formerly a chef at the now closed Michelin-starred NY restaurant Etats-Unis.

Options include Brussels sprouts with endive, apple, quinoa, and a soy-truffle vinaigrette; kale with pickled daikon, radish, puffed rice, and black garlic; and a breaded and fried eggplant with tomato sauce, basil, and vegan ricotta.

Cocktails come from Jane Danger (Mother of Pearl, Cienfuegos) and Alla Lapushchik (Post Office Whiskey Bar and OTB). All the drinks will incorporate vegetables too, via juice or garnishes.

DeRossi is also behind the newly opened Coup bar in New York, which donates a portion of its earnings to organisations in danger of losing their funding from the Trump administration.