Vegan In Upstate NY! New Paltz, Woodstock and a Lake George Wedding

I spent the past weekend with Bear travelling all over New York. A cousin was having a wedding in Lake George at Fort William Henry, so we decided to make a big adventure out of it.

The first stop we made was in New Paltz, where Bear went to school for a semester, way back in the day. I was amazed at what a cute town it was. The first stop we made, Lagusta's Luscious of course! The vegan chocolate shop is a must visit if you're in the area. The cute little shop is packed full of candy that is tasty and cruelty free. Our favorite? The Pig Out chocolate bar, which is the shop's take on the chocolate with bacon trend, only with smoked mushrooms and yuba. It's smokey and salty and sweet.

We then went on the Karma Road, a New Paltz cafe with a ton of vegan soups, sandwiches and smoothies to choose from. I got a vegan "blt" on multigrain bread, which came with a scoop or kale coleslaw. My sandwich was great but the shop was a bit crowded and chaotic.

Then it was on to Lake George! The town was a bit crazy and full of tourists this time of year, so we headed up to Glen Falls for lunch. We went to Raul's Mexican grill, where we had some great mushroom burritos with a spicy mole sauce. Also, the meal came with a massive serving of home made guacamole and chips for free.

The wedding was gorgeous, and as a bonus, the bride and groom made sure bear and I had plenty of tasty vegan food, even though the regular menu was more surf n turf. We got risotto, hummus, salad and a gorgeous veggie entree. And plenty of good drinks. The specialty cocktail of the evening was a blueberry mojito, pretty and tasty.

This cocktail was a amazing, fresh berries and mint make for great mojitos, which is just right for a Summer wedding. The toast was really warm and crunchy and all the toppings were fresh and good. 

They had a risotto bar! The chef was able to make two vegan risottos with veggie stock, roasted garlic, spinach and peppers. It was really good, the roasted garlic gave it a ton of flavor.

Our special entree was a phyllo dough pastry filled with spinach and mushrooms, served over rice with a tomato sauce. Really great effort on the part of the chef.

I also got a really interesting surprise at our table. I'm getting married soon, so this was my place card!

After the wedding it was time to head back home. This time we made a pit stop in Woodstock! We took a tour of the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary, which was really nice. As a vegan it was really nice to see all these heathy and happy animals that have been saved form the animal agriculture industry. We got to hang out with goats and sheep and cows and chickens and turkeys and ducks and cats and goats and rabbits and pigs. I had a lot of fun petting all the animals.

Bear had to scold some chickens who weren't sharing their food like good birds.

Then it was a late lunch at the Garden Cafe, which came recommended by the sanctuary. There was an honest to god drum circle going on outside the cafe, with a bunch of aging hippies dancing around. Dinner and a show? I got a baked tofu dish with a cashew cream sauce, and a peach crisp with soy ice cream for dessert. I love a good vegan desert.

The whole trip was amazing, and what made it even more fun was listening to some great podcasts on the drive. We caught up on Nightvale pretty early on in the trip and then started listening to a vegan podcast, Our Hen House. It's a fun show, and the hosts talk about a lot of interesting current events that relate to veganism and animal rights.

Overall it was a great trip and I was amazed at how much good food we got. I know people often say being vegan sounds hard, but this trip proved you can find a lot of great options if you look.