The Art of Business > edited by Josh Ripps

The Ethics of Eating: Vagabond Cafe
photo by Roy Gumpel

While working in a local health food store, Marissa Rantinella and April Daly were often asked, “Where can I find vegan food?” The two women were always had the same answer: “Nowhere”.

In November of last year, along with friend Jake Landrau, they opened the Vagabond Cafe in New Paltz, the mid-Hudson Valley’s only 100 percent vegan restaurant. Situated on Main Street in a location that has seen the recent demise of a series of restaurants, the Vagabond shows signs of enduring.

Landrau, Rantinella, and Daly are very open about where their food comes from. The three of them are working members of the High Falls Food Co-Op. They give their compost to and get their produce from the Huguenot Street Farm in New Paltz, an organic community supported agriculture farm that sells shares to the community. “The three of us are passionate about the vegan lifestyle.” Becoming vegan is nothing to take lightly. Vegetarians come in all varieties. Some people consider themselves vegetarians and simply don’t eat red meat. Still others eschew all meat and fish but still eat dairy and eggs. Vegans, however, eat absolutely no animal products. And there are animal products where we least expect it. Jell-O, for example, is made with gelatin, which is made from the boiled bones, skins, and tendons of animals. Those french fries from McDonald’s, which they have until recently toted as vegetarian, well, they are flavored with beef fat. The fast food giant is, as a result of a lawsuit settlement, to pay over ten million dollars in damages to various vegetarian and religious groups. On the other hand, Vagabond’s food is totally animal-free.

“We wanted it to be like eating at your friend’s house,” said Landrau of the Vagabond. As we spoke, a young woman in a hooded sweatshirt came in to place a to-go order. She leaned over the counter. “Hi Jake,” she called. Turning around, she waved to the man at the table behind her, “How’s it going, Carl?” It seemed as if everyone in the restaurant was on first name basis. “People who don’t even know each other start talking and having discussions,” said Jake. The high tables, stools lining the walls, close quarters, and the self-serve and clean-up-after-yourself policies, all suggest informality. The Vagabond, solely through word of mouth, has become a community meeting point. The patrons are “mostly college students and locals,” said Jake. A young woman at the table behind him piped in, “mostly freaks and weirdoes.” According to its owners people have heard of the restaurant as far away as Texas and Colorado and then come in to tell the tale. Lacking the money for advertising, they’ve had to count on the vegan grapevine. Daly, Rantinella, and Landrau showed much forethought in choosing the name. “We thought Vagabond captured the town, people just passing through.”

People aren’t just passing through though. They are stopping at the Vagabond in droves to get a taste of the vegan fare. “A lot of people assume that vegan food is not decadent,” said Rantinella. “Our worst nightmare is a skinny vegan.” Well, with the Vagabond in town, no one is going to starve. And how do they make vegan food taste good? Essentially, the key to good vegan cooking is the key to all good cooking. “Just being creative with spices,” Landrau says, is the secret. Their menu offers pancakes to sandwiches and stir-frys. In fact, their menu is so large that ordering can be difficult. But in the Vagabond you can always count on the other customers for advice. “Try the bacon,” one patron advised me (really Fakin’ Bacon). Another asked, “Have you had the pancakes yet?”

Don’t forget dessert. “We’ve been making crazy sweets,” said Daly. “We’ve been pretty innovative here.” If you want to get a taste of one of Jake’s famous cookies, you’ve got to be quick. Jake can hardly keep up with the demand. He spent six months crafting the recipe. Customers never buy just one. In fact, as I spoke with Rantinella, Landrau, and Daly, after they’d switched the closed sign to face outward, a desperate woman came in. “I need two cookies. I can give you exact change,” she pleaded.

To the owners of the Vagabond, being vegan is more than simply not eating animal products. It’s a lifestyle. From where their trash goes to the earth friendly soap in the café’s bathroom, the three proprietors think not only about their responsibilities as business owners, but also their responsibilities as people who share the earth with other species. Their chosen professions show a continued awareness of their relationship with the community, as well. April Daly is a social worker for homeless families and Marissa Rantinella teaches high school English.

One of the gems of the Vagabond is the box on the left wall, labeled “info library.” The box contains what Landrau refers to as leftist ideas, or “radical politics.” A diverse collection of clippings, from politics to veganism, the box offers everything from reading material to conversation starters. Thumbing through, I unearth clippings from the Republican and an issue of Tri-County Woman. On more than one occasion Landrau recalls someone coming in and simply reading. He doesn’t seem to mind.

Landrau first became interested in veganism mostly because of animal rights issues and later environmental and health reasons furthered his commitment. “We opened this place so that people would see that they had other options. If we make vegan food more accessible, I think people will eat it more.” Clearly the Vagabond offers new culinary options to residents of the Hudson Valley.

—Kendra Aber-Ferri

The Vagabond Cafe is located on 72 Main Street, New Paltz. It is open Thursday through Tuesday from 11am-7pm. For further information, including catering, call the The Vagabond Cafe at 255-0816.