Want healthy and delicious? Eden-A Vegan Café may be your place. The food is great, the people are great and, well, they took a chance on my art and I think that’s pretty great. Christian Pilosi, owner/chef/mastermind of this cozy restaurant took some time out of his busy day to sit with me and answer some questions that give insight into the importance veganism holds for him.
What city where you born?
“I was born right here in Scranton. I was actually born in Scranton hospital but grew up in Old Forge.”
What is your birth month and why do you think it is?
“July. I don’t know but I like it. I think I fit the characteristics of Cancer pretty well. Family, closeness.”
What’s fun or interesting about your family of origin?
“My youngest sibling is ten months younger than my own daughter. Also, my father who is still here is on his fifth fiancé and that’s pretty interesting!”
What’s something you’ve learned that you’ve had fun learning?
“Everything about vegan stuff, that’s for sure. Vegan cooking and everything about what brought me to become vegan which has been over the last 18 years.”
What brought you to become vegan?
“I came at it from an ethical standard. I worked at a small cat and dog shelter and when I was given my office, I cleaned out the filing cabinets and came across a PETA magazine, which I had never seen before. The first think I saw was a picture of a pile of dead foxes skinned for fur. Then, I started making the connection between the chicken I would be eating and my own dog and decided ‘I can’t do this anymore.’. First, I became vegetarian and, kind of like a birth, in nine months I was fully vegan.”
What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
“Listen to music. I prefer music to watching television.”
What keeps you up at night?
“To be honest, my own personality. It’s not that anything’s on my mind. I try to sleep in but it seems I just keep going.”
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “beautiful”?
“I don’t want to sound all hippy but…everything, I guess. The trees, the flowers, the mountains, the world. The natural world.”
What’s your special gift?
“I sort of have this everyman perspective. I can talk the same way and have a good, mutually respectful conversation with a lawyer or a guy digging ditches. A hunter or someone who’s been vegan for twenty years.”
If there was one thing you could tell the world…?
“Go Vegan! It means so much to so many different perspectives. For the animals and the environment and our own sustainability on this planet. It’s that important. If anything, do it for your own health.”
What is your passion in life?
“Definitely being vegan. And doing this, running a small business. I absolutely believe in it.”
What do you do to facilitate that passion everyday?
“It’s what I do. I talk to people every day, I speak to groups from grade school to college and from business to church groups. I love doing it. I’ve been on PA Live to promote it. I live for it.”
This is the question from my previous interview. ‘What have you done for yourself that would be a benefit for others?
“I grew up with a simple life. I’ve had the big house and a lot of money. Then, I’ve had it so I didn’t have as much. I’ve decided that living simply is a good thing. So, I would say I’ve learned that less can be great.”
What question would you want to ask the next person I interview?
“What do you think your individual role is in this life?”
I concluded the interview with a barbecue sandwich that was absolutely delicious. Much thanks to Christian and the gang at Eden-A Vegan Café.
And if you’d like to grab some terrific vegan food, Eden-A Vegan Café can be found at:
344 Adams Ave
Scranton, PA 18503
New Path Therapy 
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:00:50 +0000 To: vinsk38@msn.com