What the World Needs Now Is Anarcha-Feminist Vegan Chocolates
Lagusta Yearwood gets comfortable with expansion, canned beans, and calling herself a writer
When I walk into Lagusta Yearwood’s New Paltz, New York cafe, Commissary! — an airy, sun-soaked space decorated in blonde wood and rainbow-colored, hand-lettered signs — Yearwood sits typing at a table near the door dressed in a black and white striped sweater, her shock of short black hair styled tall. When she stands to greet me with a gentle hug, I notice her dog Xoli, curled in a window seat and dressed the same way down to the little puff of fur atop his otherwise hairless head. My intention not to open with the clichéd description of my subject’s clothes frizzles to mist. It would be criminal not to start with this scene, serving, as it does, as both a tidy introduction to the Lagustaverse for those unfamiliar, and reassurance for those that follow along online that the world Yearwood presents on Instagram actually exists in real life, snappily-dressed Xoli and all.
Yearwood suggests we chat awhile first, then go pick up produce from some neighbourhood farms, then, if I want, I can watch her smoke tahini and seitan for tomorrow night’s ramen special. Um, I want.
