February
1995
The Satya Interview:
Angel Moreno Segura
The Visionary Proprietor of Caravan of Dreams
By Laurie Jordan
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Caravan of Dreams, an intriguing vegetarian
bistro and meeting place, is located on an obscure corner of East 6th
Street between First Avenue and Avenue A in Manhattan. Decorated with
Spanish mosaics and a spiritual mural depicting the elements (water,
fire, air, and earth) there are also paintings of trees, animals, the
sky and nature depicted by local artists. The eclectic ambiance includes
live music, a juice bar, and classes which encompass Shiatsu, Swedish
or Aromatherapy massage, Hatha Yoga classes, palmistry workshops, and
belly-dancing.
I met with the restaurant’s owner Angel Moreno Segura on an unseasonably
warm November afternoon. We sat sipping herbal tea while soaking up
the sun as it trickled through opened French windows. The soft-spoken
and unassuming 45 year-old native of Madrid, Spain spoke of his life
philosophy and the concept of this restaurant, which opened three years
ago. Although he is 25 year veteran of the restaurant business, he has
some progressive ideas about running this East Village eatery.
Angel is a dedicated observer of Sufism, a branch of Islam which addresses
questions of existence with poetry, purity, mysticism, music, and dance.
He believes strongly in the healing qualities of fresh squeezed juices,
herbology, holistic medicine, and a pure and simple vegan fare.
LJ: Where did you learn about juicing and vegetarian cooking?
AMS: My father was into juicing in the 1950s. Not too
many people were doing it at this time. I had read many books and I
found contradictions regarding food combining so I decided to follow
my own intuition considering these different ideas. My favorite foods
are pure, light, and simple, like brown rice and steamed vegetables.
In Sufism, there is a tendency to get pure in food, mind, and body.
The food here is lighter than at other vegetarian restaurants like Angelika’s
Kitchen for instance.
LJ: What were the deciding factors in turning to a vegan diet?
AMS: I opened my first restaurant with my brother’s
help when I was 19 years old. After traveling throughout the world,
seeing so much suffering, and being involved in various businesses,
I was thinking about what to do next, and what not to do. At that time,
I worked for two years at Angelika’s Herbs on 9th Street and First
Avenue. These are the best herbs for quality and variety. I was searching
for something more spiritual and became a vegetarian in those years.
I was looking for a place for myself, a kind of healing place, for well-being,
for having fun and for improving the quality of life.
I took time to be quiet and think about what I would do next. Finally
I found this place. I started thinking about the menu, and came up with
the idea of international cuisine. But the most important part was organic
and vegetarian dishes. I thought it would be easy to convert to a vegetarian
menu because many countries consume primarily vegetarian foods. If a
recipe traditionally had meat in it, I would take the meat out and see
how it tasted. Then I would substitute vegan ingredients like tempeh
or seitan.
LJ: Did you notice a difference in your general health, and
energy level when you began eating this way?
AMS: Definitely. I became more sensitive and noticed
anything that was not good for me. I’m getting simpler and simpler
with diet. A bowl of long-grain brown rice with a touch of soy ginger
lemon dressing and a tablespoon of roasted sesame seeds is good and
gives me enough energy and vitamins.
LJ: Do you have a food guru you especially like to follow?
AMS: Not really. For myself personally it is different
than for the public. People are looking for protein, tempeh, seitan.
But mainly I stick with the basics, vegetables, good grains, like millet,
quinoa, and brown rice.
LJ: Do you have a favorite recipe? Will you share it with us?
AMS: It is a Spanish dish called Potaje Madrileno made
with garbanzo beans, well cooked spinach and paprika. The recipe is
in Health Map.
LJ: How would you recommend carnivores modify their diets?
If they are interested in learning more about following a vegetarian
life-style how should they begin?
AMS: They must fall in love with the idea of becoming
a vegetarian. The intellect first — and then with that energy
they will be able to counteract all the inconveniences. The process
of becoming a vegetarian should be gradual, cutting down the meat intake
up to one or two times a week and then once a day, until you can plan
daily meals around the vegetarian life-style. It is important to understand
food combining. One should know that rich foods like red meat and dairy
products cause too much acidity in the blood. The idea of alkalinity
and acidity is very important since many nutritionists say one of the
main causes of illness is excess acidity in the blood. Bad food emotions,
and foods like coffee and chocolate will also cause excess acidity to
happen. So you want to eliminate these foods from a vegetarian diet.
It is so important, the pH balance between alkalinity and acidity. Grains
such as buckwheat, millet and quinoa alkalize the blood. Eat an orange
with your teeth. The white stuff inside the skin is especially healthful.
To alkalize the blood I end up making my own health drink. It is a combination
of oat bran, wheat germ, lecithin, algae, spirulina, organic apple juice
and fruits in season. There is a book I recommend called Alkalize or
Die by Dr. Theodore A. Baroody.
LJ: I know at one time oat bran was considered a panacea for
all health problems. How do you respond to that?
AMS: It helps, but it must be understood that we deplete
our other sources with pollution, fluorescent lights (instead of natural
light and Vitamin D), tobacco, alcohol, stress, tension, the whole life
style. We need to account for our choices. Do we use organic produce
and super foods which can be purchased from any health food store? Foods
such as spirulina, wheat germ, and lecithin. Oat bran helps in combination
with other good habits. A vegetarian is looking for purity, feeling
lighter, feeling food. Putting heavy things in me (i.e. meat and dairy)
would make me feel heavy, weighed down, and sluggish.
LJ: What were some of your goals when you opened up this restaurant?
AMS: My basic philosophy is to strive for balance.
My goals were to improve my life-style and help others do the same.
That is why we have exercise classes for the body, great music for the
spirit, and good teachers to encourage positive thinking. This place
is not meant for gluttony. The kitchen is humble, meant more for covering
needs and going back to basics. So much happens here, more than I imagined.
LJ: Overall, everything sounds so positive. Let me veer off
track for a moment. What was your biggest mistake in this business venture?
AMS: Getting caught up in the bureaucracy. I started
with a budget much less than was required. $160,000 for a half million
dollar project. I only had one third of the funds required. I should
have had more backers. Every day it was automatically $100 in rent.
The operating costs, bills, rent, and electricity produced a lot of
stress in me, and I suffered, instead of giving it time. There is a
right time and moment for everything that happens. You can’t rush
or force things. It takes four or five years in this business just to
break even. Organic produce is a luxury. It is a big expense. Also “No
smoking” meant that we lost a lot of clients. But now people like
that. It just had to settle in. Balance.
LJ: What is the best thing that came about from this project?
AMS: To have these wonderful ideas and see them happen
and meeting so many good people. Maybe I don’t have to set down
any more restaurants in this lifetime. Maybe in the next life.
LJ: Well, Angel, we’re certainly grateful that you set
down Caravan of Dreams in this lifetime.
Laurie Jordan is a long time advocate of animal
rights and vegetarianism.
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