In 2007, when the owners of Moosewood Restaurant announced they would be opening a satellite café in Anabel Taylor Hall, Cornellians rejoiced at having another healthy on-the-go food option. While the boisterous, vibrant café may seem out of place next to its neighbors—the campus religious offices—it has drawn crowds of students, faculty, and staff during its lunch-only hours, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Curious to see how the Moosewood in Anabel Taylor compared to its older sibling—which is still run by a collective of nineteen people in its original site at the Dewitt Mall downtown—I headed over to see for myself. After I walked through the massive wooden doors and down the long stone hallways, I found that the new café’s décor is similar to that of the original, with flowers and vegetables adorning the walls and tables. The biggest difference between the two Moosewoods is the menu. At the downtown restaurant, the menu changes daily as the collective members create new dishes and rotate among the thousands of recipes from their famed cookbooks. The café features a fixed menu of favorites such as hummus salad, Moroccan stew, and mushroom barley soup.
I opted for the caprese lavash, a simple sandwich of fresh mozzarella and vibrant red tomatoes with a bit of basil. It has an affordable $5.50 price tag, and I was quite pleased after my first bite, when I was treated to an onslaught of flavors and textures—from the creamy, melting cheese, to the juicy tomatoes and the crispy tortilla wrap. As good as Moosewood’s new outpost is, the only question I have to ask is: when are they going to start serving dinner?
— Zak Failla