Vegan Woodstock

I spent some time in the Catskill Mountains in New York last summer. The lush, wet, green forest surrounded our quaint bed and breakfast. The road to the house was twisty and green by day and pitch black at night. One of the the best parts of our trip was when it was blocked by a humungous black bear. It barely cared at all that we were there and seemed completely unthreatened by the Jeep we were in. After casually sauntering off, it disappeared into the shadows of the trees. The field adjacent to the house was frequently visited by deer, our room was shabby chic, and the pace was relaxed. This bed and breakfast didn't cater to vegans or vegetarians, but a local restaurant did.

The Garden Cafe is located on the main drag in Woodstock, pretty much right in the center of the action (which includes a bookstore, some hippy clothing stores that I walked past, and a small flea market). Downtown Woodstock is pretty tame. Some kids hung out in the little green area in front of the Garden Cafe, and some random old hippies roamed the evergreen surrounded street.

The lentil soup was satisfying, and the quesadillas were fun. The vegan cheese was stringy and drippy in a good way, and the vegan sour cream was a nice addition to the guac and salsa.

Being the avocado lover that I am, I couldn't resist it as a topping for my southwest black bean and roasted sweet potato burger. Good, healthy food that leaves you happy.

Of course, no vegan trip to the Woodstock area would be complete without a visit to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. The Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary is home to many cute and happy rescued farm animals.

My favorites were the goats. They were so cute!

The pigs were huge, sleepy, and happy.

The cows were big and serious. I guess being rescued from a veal crate can do that to a cow. My heart broke when I saw an empty veal crate on display on the farm. It's full on disgusting to think that people would force a baby cow into a tiny little crate to starve and later eat it. Elvis the Cow's story started that way, but ended happily. Overall, this was a really positive place. They offer guided tours and you can feed some of the animals. Bring shoes that can get muddy if you ever decide to visit.

A long weekend in Austin...

I recently spent some time in my favorite Texas city, Austin. While I could go to the Whole Foods breakfast taco bar every day, I also sampled the delicious food at Bouldin Creek, Hoboken Pie, and Mother's Cafe. Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse is one of my favorite places to eat in Austin. It's casual and easy with zero pretension. Check out my freakin' fabulous iced coffee (two shots of espresso with chocolate over ice):

I love the little ice chips. My homemade blueberry corn oven cake drizzled with agave and served with tofu scramble and fresh fruit was ridiculous. I'm drooling with the memory!

The Predictable Breakfast is a never-fail combination of tofu scramble, toast, and hash browns. I've eaten at Bouldin a bunch of times, and it never disappoints.

There is a hot dog stand near some of the bars in downtown Austin that serves vegan dogs (I believe they're tofurkey sausages). It is open really late and is a gift from the gods when you really need to eat and it's late. Hoboken Pie is located right down the street, and worth the trek for vegan pizza. Of course, I had to check this place out since I am from Jersey! They didn't have individual slices, but I was able to share a pie. Good stuff.

Mother's Cafe also never dissapoints. This time, I had the Bueno Burger (seeds, grains, tofu, and veggies) with vegan cheese and guacamole.

The Sloppy Joe's were enhanced by some vegan cheese.

Desserts are a must at Mother's Cafe. Check out their dessert menu:

We settled for the almond mocha torte and the blueberry pie.

Vegans eat well in Austin!