Luna 61
by Mary Leonard

Luna 61, an eclectic organic vegetarian restaurant is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year in its new location at 55 Broadway, Tivoli. The wonderful warm atmosphere is the same, but there's a little more space to move around in and a beautiful blue stone patio out front, while inside the room looks bright and cheerful and is hung with colorful paintings on glass. Peter and Debra serve seasonal and organic food influenced by various ethnicities, using as many local vegetables and fruits as possible. Debra and Peter like to support local farms, including Hearty Roots Farm in Tivoli, local Feather Ridge eggs, and Coach Farm cheese, to make their dishes exceptionally delicious.

What's different? Well, for one thing, brunch is back. Oldtimers may remember the very popular brunch from Debra's Paradox Café... which was in the very same location to which Luna has moved. Luna is serving it on Sundays from 10am to 5pm. I, for one, hope they'll be offering my favorites, "Eggs McDeb" and huevos rancheros.

Peter expresses a special interest in Thai cuisine including spicy noodles and scallion pancakes on the menu for starters, as well as the Pad Thai, Coconut Curry Stir-fry and Noodle Pot for the entrees. The Maisel family spent time in Key West Florida, so the Cuban influence is also apparent. I would love to try the Havana Joe Tofu Rojo, not just for the name, but because the description lured me, "Corn tortilla topped with fresh mozzarella, sautéed tofu, red cabbage, spinach and carrots served with rice and beans, salsa and roasted potatoes." Luna's prices are moderate and their groupies travel as far as an hour, because it is difficult to find a restaurant devoted to vegetarian cooking and also serving organic wines and beers.

I also noticed they had a kid's menu for children 12 and under. My friend Marie, her husband, and son Asker are frequent visitors of Luna; I can picture Asker being very happy with the tofu and noodles. In fact, I may have to join them, since my husband, a beef lover, said "no way" when I asked him to join me for dinner. My dream is to begin a meal with the futomaki, a vegetarian sushi roll, with a scallion pancake and some spicy noodles, and then order a bottle of organic wine from the very descriptive and reasonably priced list: a Frey Cabernet, billed as dark cherry with ripe berry flavors and a hint of eucalyptus, or the Badger Estate Syrah, from "an estate planted on a steep slope in a bed of volcanic ash." Imagine sipping this wine with those starters!

In addition to wine, Luna also serves great organic beers, from Wolaver's to St.Peter's English Ale. Luna also serves delicious fresh juice cocktails, as well as assorted Boylan teas, organic coffee and espresso drinks.

Maybe I could convince my husband to go to Luna 61 for a beer and a falafel — two very familiar things — or for Sunday brunch, especially when he sees the vegan chocolate fudge cake on the dessert menu, made with spelt flour and rich Belgian chocolate fudge filling and frosting. Myself, I'd be tempted by either the banana cream pie or a vegan fruit crumble. Debra does all the baking but learned how to cook from Peter who is a graduate of a natural gourmet cooking school in New York City.

Reading and experimenting with local ingredients, Peter and Debra have found their own style and menu. When I asked them if they would do it again, they both said yes, but Peter added that the children might have wished their parents had been able to take more time off. But when Peter talked about how the local farmers come in summer with their produce and when Debra described the beauty of the plate — a purply red cabbage placed next to the black sea vegetable, arame — I knew that this was a marriage made in a kitchen.

Luna accepts credit cards and reservations are advised for weekends. 55 Broadway, Tivoli. 845-758-0061