The Taste of Integrity

Karma Road

by Ilyse Simon and photographs by Amber S. Clark, February 25, 2008

The FedEx man sits at the counter eating a tofu scramble burrito dressed with vegan walnut pesto for the first stop of his day. He’s a three-time-a-day regular who comes in for an assortment of spicy, minty, or invigorating organic teas, a hearty lunch, late night snack, or smoothie for the road. Owners, partners, and cooks, Jenn and Seth Davis chat with him and know his taste preferences intimately. (Unlike me, he doesn’t like roasted red peppers on his salad.) Karma Road is an informal hangout spot, but the Davises are food purists. A vegan café, Karma Road is built on the pillars of fresh, organic, and local foods from the plant kingdom. It has a small, well-stocked deli case that calls out to vegetarians with recognizable ingredients like beans, tempeh, and whole grains. From organic mango, banana, and ginger smoothies, spicy soy cheese breakfast burritos, to homemade veggie burgers, the menu covers breakfast through dinner and all the snacks in between.

From the kitchens of the Natural Gourmet Cookery School to the galleys of Angelica Kitchen in Manhattan and a natural food cafè on Long Island, these chefs have cooked their way up to New Paltz, setting up shop in a light-filled space on Main Street across from the Water Street Market last February. The Davises’ passion is serving good, clean food in an environmentally sustainable way. “It’s important for people to make a statement that they are choosing a meal without any poison in it,” Seth says. There are no genetically modified organisms, no pesticide laden grapes, and no irradiated spices on the menu. “Ninety-eight percent of everything in the store is organic,” Seth says. “It makes for greater overhead, but we can’t put something in someone else’s body that we wouldn’t put in our own bodies.” Karma Road prides itself on sourcing high quality ingredients that are organic and local when possible. Seth says, “In the winter we source from organic vendors, but in May local produce starts coming in—with peppers, string beans, and kale. During the summer, our organic tomatoes are picked that morning and we use them that night. People can’t believe our kale salad is not cooked because it’s so tender. It’s picked that morning. Local cucumbers, apples, and lettuces are picked that morning and burst into your mouth. The fruit in our fruit is organic and just tastes better.”

What foodies, farmers, and restaurateurs know is that every decision has an environmental impact. Reducing erosion, preservation of ground water, and energy conservation are not on the menu, but each bite at Karma Road has that effect—just like a factory farmed burger and pesticide sprayed side salad contributes to erosion, pollution of ground water, and global warming. It is a political act to refuse to purchase and prepare genetically engineered foods, factory farmed meats, and pesticide-laden vegetables. Using organic foods grown with sustainable methods may be more expensive for the bottom line, but treats the earth with a gentle hand.
Karma Road’s philosophy means that there are no basics like egg salad or tuna sandwiches. It means that a piece of organic chocolate chip banana bread is $3.99. It also means that customers don’t have to worry if there’s genetically modified soy in their scramble and that vegans can eat without concern if there’s dairy in their veggie burger. And, I know that the celery in my tofu salad and the spinach in my curry is organic—important because both are in the top 10 for pesticide-containing foods. (Some research suggests that organic produce has a lower water content than its nonorganic counterpart. This results in a higher concentration of nutrients and stronger flavors which make the organically grown carrot taste better than a one grown with petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides.)

Conscientiousness extends past the pantry and kitchen and out to the front door. For example, the savory baked tofu, in-house roasted red pepper, and vegan pesto sandwich is served with a recycled paper napkin. The napkin sits atop a handsome table made locally from recycled wood. From the low —VOC paint on the walls to the energy efficient light bulbs, this pair has gone to an extreme to make their business concur with their politics.