Almost two years ago I was waving a napkin in the air by the Pantheon in Rome, Italy that read “Have you seen my friend, Dana!?” Dana and I have been friends since Freshman year of college, and have had many amazing experiences together all over the world. I happened to be in Italy on a family vacation the same time she was heading into Rome to attend the Slow Food Convention in Turin. Dana and her sister, Kristen, had just finished up their first season of their restaurant called Origins Cafe. The philosophy of their cafe is that one must understand the importance of the origins of their food, by growing herbs and vegetables in their own backyard, and buying fresh ingredients from local farms as well. They are apart of a global movement to create a community that is clean for the planet, and good for our bodies! While in Italy, we ate dinner outside on the streets of Rome in a busy piazza and talked about the success of their first year in business. Dana explained to us that the community was really accepting to the idea of their cafe and they had a bright future and plans for the next season. She also told us about their Wednesday night dinners, celebrating the summer harvest. Each Wednesday they would have a musical guest….which is when my Dad’s ears popped up!

My Dad and Dana talked about how much fun it would be to have him play guitar one night at the cafe! (Side note, if my Dad has one regret in life…it would be that he did not become a rock star…). It seemed like a far off dream that if one day the stars aligned, we would all make it to the cafe and he would get his chance to shine on stage.

Two years later the cafe is busier than ever, and I got to make it to the east coast to Cooperstown, NY with my family to watch Dad and his best friends play guitar all night at Dana and Kristen’s cafe. The guests LOVED the music, and enjoyed a menu of a carrot and beet kale sale, udon noodles with broccoli and bok choy, and finished with a delicious strawberry watermelon mint sorbet! Those who stayed long enough got to see Dana hoola-hoop to Dad’s band late into the night. We had a great time and it was so nice seeing my friend’s business take off the way it has!

To learn more about Origins Cafe’s philosophies and their harvest dinners, please check out their website! www.celebrateorigins.com