On Sunday, we woke up with great excitement, looking forward to traveling to Ithaca for the Farm Sanctuary Walk for Farm Animals.
We signed in, grabbed our signs, and set off.
Just like last year, we were joined by this cow...
... and this chicken.
Unfortunately, our walk route did not go through the crowded Ithaca Commons mall, but that didn't matter.
We got to see cool stuff like this anyway.
It was a small group, but it felt good to walk around, hand out pamphlets, and have cars honk in support and passers-by join in. I noticed a few of the same participants from last year, especially some of the cute and enthusiastic kids.
Afterward, we headed to the ABC cafe for some brunch. Over a hot organic coffee (Daiku) and a homemade (and very strong) soy chai latte (me),
We listened to some folk music and waited for our food. (No, I promise you the guitar player is NOT flipping us the bird! He was really nice- and vegan too! He's just changing chords, ok?)
I ordered the tofu scramble with spinach, mushrooms, and red peppers with a side of home fries. Sometimes, I'm afraid to order tofu scramble, because it is not very good unless it is made really well, but this was made extraordinarily well. Lovely spices, lovely veggies, lovely flavor.
Daiku ordered one of the day's specials, vegan French toast. Again, we were afraid that it wouldn't live up to our snooty expectations, but it was excellent. Fluffy, sweet, with just a hint of cinnamon, and the little dishes of maple syrup and Earth Balance so you could add as little or as much as you want. The portions at the ABC were awesome and insane. Lovely!
The brunch was really enjoyable, and hit the spot after a long morning. On the way out, I snapped this photo- this is what I want to see in all restaurant kitchens- big boxes of vegan egg replacer!
We couldn't leave Ithaca without visiting my mothership, a.k.a. the Greenstar Co-op. Look at these local "crazy giant squash" on display! Aren't they beautiful? To give a sense of the size of the biggest ones, let me just tell you that the little green pumpkin in front was huge.
I love the market and picked up a whole bunch of fun bulk items to bring home, but I saw one thing that disappointed me a little. I'd never seen these Annie's brand bottles before. Don't you think it's in really bad taste to put a scallion-chewing cow on your "steak marinade" and cute little cows and chickens on your BBQ sauce? Blegh- I certainly wouldn't buy this, and Daiku gave his omni opinion that it was a total turn-off for him, too. Bad move, Annie's.
Restaurant Information: the ABC Cafe, 306 Stewart Ave., Ithaca, (607) 277-4770
Market Information: Greenstar Co-op, 701 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca, (607) 273-9392
Coming up soon, a post about an... interesting talk given by Alice Waters and Judy Wicks about their take on sustainable food reform and "revolution"...
One year ago today (almost): on 10 October 2006, I blogged about last year's Farm Sanctuary Walk!
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30 comments:
that plateful of french toast is killing me. just sayin'.
The walk looked like fun. I am always happy to see small kids involved in those types of things. And I understand about being apprehensive about ordering tofu scramble, I can't count the number of times I've recieved a plate of nasty dry tofu and vegetables with just turmeric powder and no other spices. Its like "come on! I can do better than this!!".
Crazy giant squash! Sounds like a fun co-op. That is disappointing about Annie's labels; I didn't think I'd soon see that brand belonging on the SuicideFood blog.
I am so with you on food packaging showing animals on them. It totally grosses me out. What a turn off even if you aren't a vegetarian!
Hee hee! I love the cow and chicken. Good for you for getting out there, lady! The scrambler sounds like the perfect reward :)
Sounds like a fun day--love the gargantuan boxes of egg replacer.
And I love the look of determination on your face in the photo. Thanks for representin'!
(I feel a bit bad that I couldn't do the walk this year.)
oh my god, that french toast looks so yummy!
also, what's up with the Annie's bottles? the marketing department dropped the ball there.
Wow, that French toast looks amazing - huge too!
There is so much to say and applaud about your post, but the thing that's sticking out to me is the Amy's labelling - I've never noticed that before! How bizarre for a vegetarian company, to boot.
wow, kudos to you, Bazu, for participating in the Walk for Farm Animals - I wish I could have attended the walk in my own city (curse conflicting schedules!) The photos you took are incredible!
mmm, the ABC Cafe sounds like a great place to dine - I'm loving that french toast!! wow!!
You're so cute! I wish I could do this walk.. next year let me know :-P That cafe looks great. Oh man.. that french toast.. *drool*
Great pics!
Fun post, Bazu. You're such an inspiration in so many ways...
And a big thank YOU for stopping by my blog. i've been away from this place for a while taking care of "things"... so thank you for not forgetting me :) and thank you for your kind words about Heidi.
Big hugs,
K
I'm glad the walk went well- I love that their were kids there too!
Your brunch looks fantastic!
All I have to say about food labeling featuring serene & happy cows & chickens is that it really angers me. Those poor animals are far from happy & serene when they are in tortured in factory farms & the slaughterhouse. Maybe it is to assuage the guilt & reinforces the omni subconscious that it is OKAY to torture animals for food. GRRRR.
Looks like you guys had a great and successful time.
Yum that soy chai looks excellent- and a perfect accompaniment to the tofu scramble
Ooooh I want one of those winter squash!
Wow that food! I'm glad the walk went well. And again, wow, that food! I'd kill for some of that french toast. No, don't try me, I will seriously kill for it. Really!
I'm glad the walk went well. Looks like lots of fun.
Your breakfasts are making me insanely hungry!!! The French Toast looks killer.
I know what you mean about the labels. I once saw an ad in the paper for some chicken breasts that showed a picture of a prepared chicken breast on a plate, framed like a gallery painting. And who was viewing this great work of art? Why a live chicken, of course! How ridiculous is that?
Is that French toast from an entire loaf of French bread - it's huge! I love the display of pumpkins. Glad you enjoyed the Walk!
Looks like that walk was great fun!
Mmm, that would be my kind of tofu scramble- not skimpy on the veggies, especially spinach :)
I can't imagine how enormous those squash must be!
I thought the same thing when I saw those Annie's sauces. Made me sad.
Yum! I love the ABC cafe but I haven't tried their french toast. Up for a road trip any time soon? LOL
Good lord almighty! That french toast is the motherload! I am literally drooling right now.
The advertising department over at Annie's should definitely consult the public before putting smiling cows on a steak marinade bottle. I don't get it - the cow WANTS you to buy the marinade that will soon be used to flavor his hind end? Ridiculous! (-: Glad to see you had fun in Ithaca!
That looks like a great walk, I would love to wear the cow and chicken costumes :)
I didn't realise his finger until pointed out hahaha!
Those scrambled tofu and bread I could do with some now, they really look great and healthy!
Yea I must admit too, those marinades are a real turn off, but that's good, maybe someone will think about their food when they see them.
I miss Greenstar!!!
And ABC--how easy is it have EB on hand for bagels, etc? ABC always does and every cafe should!
Cute walking companions (the cow and chicken!). And I wish I lived near that cafe!
You people bitching about the god damned labels on products are morons and give vegetarians / vegans a bad name. Who the hell cares what's on the label when it's a vegan product and it can be used on stuff other than meat obviously... I buy that stuff and plenty of stuff from Annie's and I'm a vegetarian. I'm sure when god or whoever he is assesses the situation he's not going to send Annie to eternal damnation for putting a happy cow on a vegan product just cause the rest of the world is fucked up. Grow some balls and quit whining about stupid shit you probably accidentally ate a meat product while you were complaining cause you weren't paying attention to anything but the pictures.
Wow, Cody Hobbs, what a thought-provoking and obscene comment, thanks!
Obviously, noone is saying that Annie's is the worst company in the world, and in fact every vegan appreciates vegan products, whatever form they happen to come in. However, I do believe that the photos on the labels are in extremely bad taste, and the thought of someone looking at a drawing of a happy cow while they smother a piece of dead cow with BBQ sauce is a tad disjunctive, to say the least.
cody, i think you missed the point. you need to calm down, sir. and it's incredibly sexist to tell a woman to grow balls. that was just straight-up rude.
nice pictures, bazu. ithaca is a beautiful town. i'm glad you got to participate in the walk.
I find it ironic that the angry, one-paragraph ranter told YOU to quit whining about "stupid shit." Uhm.....hahaha!!! :)
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