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Moosewood Restaurant
Downtown, DeWitt Mall, of course.
607-273-9610 Daily Menu
Prices: Lunches $5-$8, Dinners $10-$15
http://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/
Posted on: 10/3/99
Moosewood is a fairly high profile restaurant in Ithaca terms, given that it is probably one of the few things that newcomers know about the town before arriving. There are three types of people when it comes to Moosewood: those who fear it for its vegetarian leanings, those who oppose it for not being "vegetarian enough," and those who simply enjoy high quality food.
Prior to visiting Moosewood, we would have classified ourselves as the first type -- knowing of its strong reputation, but wary of a meatless meal. Many visits later, we've graduated, quite sated, into category three (we needn't speak further about category two).
Moosewood offers a small printed menu focused mainly on salads and drinkables, neither of which should be quickly dismissed -- the Mediterranean salad (especially with the feta-garlic dressing) quickly become a favorite here, and for $5 makes a fresh, filling lunch. The somewhat trendier "Italian sodas" (syrup and seltzer, true) are delicious although, as usual with these types of drinks, you could probably make a gallon at home for the same $1.50.
The main feature at Moosewood is their daily menu which, not unlike a high school cafeteria, rotates to match their ingredient inventory. Quite unlike a cafeteria, though, Moosewood is impressively consistent in their mastery of using fresh and available ingredients. Ultimately, this is what won us -- otherwise quite carnivorous -- over. Lunches are the real bargain here, quite a bit less costly than dinner for a similar meal. Typically, 3-4 main entrees are offered, detailed on the various chalkboards. We tend to avoid the seitan offerings, mostly because we find imitating meat a more foul act than skipping it altogether, but there has always been something to please this palate. Special nods to the soups, which are deep with flavor, an accomplishment that we as home cooks envy.
Perhaps it is easy to confuse "vegetarian" with "low fat" -- Moosewood does not make this conflation. They use generous amounts of cheeses and similar fats where appropriate, which is not to say that the food is heavy in a McDonalds sort of way, but that it does not lack body or heft despite its lack of animal.
On that note, don't skip the desserts, which is actually a noteworthy comment because we rarely sample desserts when eating out. There are two absolute celebrities here: first, the line of Dennis' homemade ice cream. Dennis is an ice cream master -- a God, in fact -- whose powers extend well into the realm of sorbet, as well. The blueberry sorbet was a transforming experience on our first try, similar for the chocolate-raspberry ice cream. Until recently he has also sold at the Ithaca Farmer's Market, but age and health are catching up, and personal appearances have been limited. Fortunately, he is still able to provide is handywork to Moosewood, the only place it is currently available regularly. In addition, or in combination to, Dennis' ice cream, the Moosewood brownie was a surprise discovery. It looks nothing like what this brownie-fiend wants from a brownie -- it is short and squat, without any of the traditional tell-tale "sink into me" hither. No matter, looks have nothing to do with it ... this slim little wafer of a brownie defies physics, with an intense chocolate bite that would seem to require more raw chocolate than there is brownie.
Moosewood is not a conventional restaurant, and this may be off-putting to some. While the service seems fine, one is waited on by whomever is ready at the moment, meaning your order taker may be a different person than who brings the food to the table than who picks up the bill. Service ("tip") is calculated into the bill. Dress is very much on the crunchy granola side of the spectrum, but you can of course dress however you prefer. Unlike criticisms of the past, the facility itself is very clean and spacious (apparently this was not always so, pre-renovation era) and appropriately decorated given the Moosewood image.
There is a small bar/cafe/waiting
area beside the dining area where you can sit for desserts or other simple
fare, albeit amidst Moosewood's venerable and successful self-franchising
paraphanelia. The t-shirts and cookbooks may seem a bit Disney-esque,
but the food is excellent and if selling shirts help them continue to
make great food, so be it.
