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News & ArtsTuesday, November 17, 2009
City / Chow Chaco Canyon Cafe: Seattle's Most Ironically Named Organic Vegan Emporium
Posted by David Schmader on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 12:33 PM
- Ashley Robinson
In this week's paper, I write about Seattle's Chaco Canyon Cafe, the 90% organic/100% vegetarian utopia, the aims of which are laid out plainly on the menu:
"We respect our planet, our community, our people and ourselves. We create simple, beautiful, and excellent quality food from fresh, organic local and seasonal ingredients in a warm and welcoming environment. We positively encourage our community by setting an environmentally sound example in every aspect of our café."
And then there's the Chaco Canyon Cafe's name, the irony of which was brought to my attention by Stranger commenters:
It cracks me up—Chaco Canyon, Kokopelli imagery, etc with all the veggie types. Although it's a bit controversial, there is some evidence of cannibalism down there in the ol' ancient southwest. I doubt if we'll see that on the menu at the Chaco Canyon Cafe. Don't co-opt without doing your homework!
Posted by Gusto F
Actually, cannibalism is my first association with "Chaco Canyon" too. But it occurs to me that if you're eating "long pig" you're not eating what most people (or at least veggies?) consider "animals," so maybe it can still qualify as vegan fare? It's not going to be organic, but arguably you are at least helping the planet. Next up: the Soylent Green Bistro. With weekend Donner Parties. (All you can eat!)
Posted by Wandergeist
Here's what turns up with a Google search for "Chaco Canyon cannibalism." Maybe the Chaco Canyon Cafe folks chose the name as a cautionary reference?
1
the name confused me greatly being from seattle and living in new mexico, where chaco canyon really is. why do they call it chaco canyon?
3
Honestly, the name is the focus of this SLOG? There is a restaurant with wonderful, unique food options in a warm and inviting space and the focus has been on the name. If the cafe was called "Elephant Tissue Emporium" I would give you kudos for the point Mr. Schmader but that is not the case. This short article has made me tired!
4
@3- The food is insanely overpriced and boring, the service is shoddy, the atmosphere cafeteria-esque. They're doing the place a favor by talking about its stupid name.
6
Now that I think of it, cannibalism is kind of the ultimate in recycling. Maybe that's what they were going for.
7
Also! Hattie's Hat? NO HAT! Ballet? NO DANCING! Bimbo's? NOT OWNED BY A BABY AT ALL! Cyber Dogs? WTF?
The list goes on but I think we can all agree there is no point in eating out when you're so very likely to not get what you think you're getting.
The list goes on but I think we can all agree there is no point in eating out when you're so very likely to not get what you think you're getting.
8
OUCH. chaco is an incredible place full of people, ideas and fun that envy any work(play)place around!
10
OED: bimbo, slang (orig. U.S.). [It., = little child, baby; cf. BAMBINO.]
I mean after all, if Chaco Canyon = cannibalism because there were cannibals there 1,500 years ago, then the deifnition of "bimbo" we should use is the oldest, most remote, most obscure one we can find.
I mean after all, if Chaco Canyon = cannibalism because there were cannibals there 1,500 years ago, then the deifnition of "bimbo" we should use is the oldest, most remote, most obscure one we can find.
11
the biggest cannibalism is using native images and place references to identify themselves as friendly to the "earth"
12
It's a blog. It's the perfect place to write about something like the name of a restaurant. Chillax.
14
@1 I know right, there is this street right next to Chaco Canyon Cafe called "Brooklyn" too....I was like, THIS ISN'T NYC. and THEN i went over to capitol hill later and was suddenly shocked to find myself on BROADWAY.......I was all like ZOMG....I am so confused where I am in the world!!!!
I think we should start a crusade, you and me, and make sure every street, business & city name in this country is unique....are ya with me?
I think we should start a crusade, you and me, and make sure every street, business & city name in this country is unique....are ya with me?
15
Sorry to get all anthropological but as Gusto F. noted the cannibalism theory is controversial to say the least. If you do that Google search you'll see most of the articles cite one guy, Turner. He gets lots of press because people like to read about cannibalism. I've been to Chaco twice and the first things I think of are astronomy, math, and architecture. This was an impressive civilization. Very cool place to visit.
16
My wife and I used to laugh about that place's name every time we went past it. The Chaco cannibalism phenomenon has been extensively documented in a book called "Man Corn" (which is the English translation of the name of an actual Aztec dish - they were well known to practice cannibalism and the author speculated that there were Aztecs at Chaco) which came out 10 years ago and was the subject of a New Yorker article. We thought it would be great to ask if they had Man Corn on the menu. Never did, unfortunately.
18
For everyone mentioning that it's a bit expensive... are you not paying attention? Read the article and see if you can figure out why their food is pricier than the dive cafe near your house on Capitol Hill. You're also likely musing:
1. "Why is the produce at Whole Foods so much more expensive than Safeway's? What a rip-off!"
2. "Why would I pay $7 for a burger at Red Mill when I could get 4 cheeseburgers at Dick's for that much?"
3. "What kind of chump would shop anywhere but Wal-Mart?"
If you want to fill your body with cheap crap, there's 10,000 places you can do that in Seattle. Enjoy.
1. "Why is the produce at Whole Foods so much more expensive than Safeway's? What a rip-off!"
2. "Why would I pay $7 for a burger at Red Mill when I could get 4 cheeseburgers at Dick's for that much?"
3. "What kind of chump would shop anywhere but Wal-Mart?"
If you want to fill your body with cheap crap, there's 10,000 places you can do that in Seattle. Enjoy.
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