Friday Night

New Paltz is a hippie college town across the river from us. Everyone here pronounces it "New Pawwwwlz," which is fun to say. We go there to stock up on incense and browse the cute little health food store. It's also the home of my favorite local restaurant, Rock Da Pasta.

According to their menu, they offer a vegan version of 85% of their dishes. They also have a lot of gluten-free options if that's something you're into. I know the name is goofy, and so is their method of naming all their pasta dishes after rock songs or musicians ("I'll have the Stevie Ray-violi, please") but I quickly got over that the moment I tasted the food!

On Friday, it was rainy and cold all day and, by dinnertime, I needed to get out of the house and do something, so it was a perfect occasion for dinner at RDP. We quickly got seated and I started out with a Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale. I took a picture of the glass in order to help me remember the name, and also because it had a cute seal on it.

This beer was gooooood. It wasn't like drinking pumpkin pie or anything. It was just a really tasty ale with the perfect little hint of spice.

Did I mention you can smell garlic half a block away as you approach this restaurant? And because the dining room is small and located directly next to the kitchen, you breathe in the heavy perfume of roasted garlic while waiting for your food and throughout your meal. I guess for some this might be a deterrent, but for me, it's practically an aphrodesiac.

I ordered the Hey Jude, which I've had numerous times: penne with mushrooms, onions and (tons of) garlic, in a vegan cream sauce, drizzled with balsamic and truffle oil. It came with a small salad and a giant slab of garlic bread.

Notice the enormous portion size, which means I'll be eating this again for lunch today. I'm already getting hungry just thinking about it.

Have a great weekend!