Vegan food in Ithaca, NY

[Gibbonboy]

I know several people make regular trips to Farm Sanctuary, and we're headed there in the spring, and we have friends who live near Ithaca, and would like to have a nice dinner out. Anyone have recommendations for a vegan or vegan-friendly restaurant in Ithaca? I searched the forums and found only one post from 2002 that specifically mentions names.

Ithaca is under 2 hrs from here anyway, would be a nice shopping trip- my wife was there 2 weeks ago, but was unsure where to eat and just ended up returning home with her friend and making veggie curry. I understand that there are some good outdoor stores there also, and that Ithaca is supposedly one of the most "vegan-friendly" cities on the east coast.

[feline01]

Never been but here (http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/new_york/ithaca/index.html) are the Happy Cow listings for Ithica. Moosewood is pretty famous but I remember hearing somewhere that it wasn't particularly vegan-friendly.

[Gibbonboy]

very cool- I didn't know about Happy Cow! Thanks a bunch!

[xmysticprincessx]

haha, youre going to make me want to go to ithaca!
they have sooo many good vegan-friendly restaurants.
the health food store, green star, is really really nice. its probably the best health food store i have ever been to. (however, the new lexington co-op in buffalo, ny is a very close 2nd.) they have an amazing selection of vegan stuff that is sometimes more difficult to find elsewhere. plus, they have a little deli area and everything is clearly labeled. they have some really good little vegan cakes.
our favorite place to eat in ithaca is short stop sub shop. i dont know what street its on, but its a few streets away from green star. its kinda a pain to get there since there's lots of one way streets. they have an absolutely amazing sietan sub. we always get the grand slam. 9you may want to stop at green star 1st to get some veganaise as short stop doesnt have any.) they have pretty much whatever sub toppings you'd like. last time we checked (which was awhile ago), their wheat rolls had honey in them. shortstop doesnt have any tables, so you have to eat your sub on the benches outside or take it somewhere else. its well worth it though.
we went to moosewood last summer. i forgot what my husband and i had, but both were really good. moosewood isnt entirely vegan. i think their menu changes every day. there were at least a few vegan options on the menu on the saturday we went. (the quarts of moosewood soup that you may see in your HFS or natural foods section of your grocery store is made by this restaurant.) they had a nice atmosphere and were very acomodating with our group (about 10 of us, plus 2 little ones).
we also visited a coffee shop that had lots of vegan goodies. we had just eaten at moosewood, so we just got dessert but they also have an entree of the day and there's always a vegan one. i dont remember the name of this coffee shop, but its in the strip with all the shops. i think it was within walking distance of moosewood.
i'm probably forgetting a ton of places since i havent been to ithaca for almost a year. (DH and his friends go more often than i do.) pretty much the whole city is vegan friendly. you wont have to explain what you do or dont eat.
ask at green star for some more restaurant recommendations.have fun!

[vegma]

Originally posted by xmysticprincessx
...pretty much the whole city is vegan friendly. you wont have to explain what you do or dont eat...

Oh my, how nice! I can't even imagine! :)

[Jamie Wilson]

We lived in rochester for 5 years and loved ithaca, if you're going to the farm sanctuary first they will give you a list, complete with descriptions, of all the veggie-friendly restaurants in the area. And if you're ever up in Rochester, check out Lori's Natural Foods and the Paradigm Cafe-- I miss them!!!!! Great vegan food!

[Cherie]

FS will give you a list of vegan-friendly restaurants. I recommend the Mexican place in Ithaca; it even has vegan dessert and awesome veggie tacos (no TVP or other "weird" crumbles).

:)