Tagged: Capital City Bakery

Vegan News Bites

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“Vegan Week in Review” is now called “Vegan News Bites”!!! Same news, new and improved name. Enjoy the latest Red Hot Vegans News Bites!

Beyond Meat in the Jalisco Taco at The Vegan Nom- Have you heard about the magical new vegan chicken from Beyond Meat? Supposedly it’s such a good mimic, it even tricked Mark Bittman at the NY Times. Well, now you too can try it! Grab a jalisco taco at The Vegan Nom, and try your tastebuds at the latest vegan wondermeat. The Vegan Nom is the only place in town that has it for now, but something tells me it’s going to be everywhere very soon. [Edit: The Vegan Nom doesn't have a regular supplier for Beyond Meat: sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't.]

Capital City Bakery Trailer -  Did you catch the episode of Unique Sweets featuring Austin’s very own Capital City Bakery on the Cooking Channel? If not, catch one of the rerun episodes listed here. The episode featured an insanely delicious looking massive peanut butter cup. They are always available by special order, so order your very own to experience the magic.

- From the makers of La Condesa comes a new “modern Australian-style Thai” (?!?) restaurant on S. 1st called Sway. According to Crystal over at Vegan Explosion, Sway has a really vegan friendly menu, and a knowledgeable staff to boot. Considering how much I love La Condesa (and their secret vegan platter), I’m super excited to try Sway!

Vegan Nachos at Austin Java Tarrytown- Austin Java is trying out a new concept in Tarrytown with an all vegetarian restaurant. They had a few bumps along the road upon opening, but I’m hoping that we see great things from them going forward. If you have a chance to try them out, let me know what you think.

- Is it just me, or is there a new juice shop location opening up everyday? I can’t keep up. The latest addition is a new Juiceland location tucked away at Spider House off of Guadalupe near 29th. It’s the perfect location for all you UT students to grab a snack and hit the books.

Guac N Roll Menu- Guac and roll is the latest veg addition to Austin’s growing food truck scene. But this truck is a little different, because it actually moves! Not tied down to one location, you may be seeing this truck all over town. So far it looks like you can find them on the weekends at Dane’s Body shop and Frontier Bar, but stay tuned to twitter to see where they land next. The menu is mostly variations on a theme, with a selection of guacamoles that you won’t find anywhere else – like a Moroccan guac with hummus and raisins. If you’re into avocados (and who isn’t?), then this is a fun place to try.

- Tamale House East just added the fabulous Food for Lovers vegan queso to their menu! Grab a plate of purple corn vegan tamales to go with your queso, and you’ll have yourself a delicious meal!

- There’s a new mostly-raw restaurant up in Round Rock called Premier Raw. I’ve yet to check out a raw restaurant that isn’t vegan friendly, but this place’s menu baffles me. I don’t quite understand what a raw restaurant is doing up in Round Rock, nor what a “raw” restaurant is doing with real (aka – not veg) fish and chicken on their menu… but it certainly looks different. If nothing else, I want to check out the decor… “These natural building materials act to create a wonderful, high quality quantum resonance within the space – truly a mini-retreat as you dine!” That’s quite the statement to live up to. If I find anything vegan here, I’ll report back.

ATX Vegan Drinks at Cheer Up Charlie's- Love Arlo’s, but hate waiting to get food till 8pm? Great news, Arlo’s is now open at 6pm! Which for us fuddy-duddies, is a much more reasonable dinner hour. Enjoy your burgers, and get to bed early too! Grab one tonight during ATX Vegan Drinks at Cheer Up Charlie’s!

For the Love of Food Trailers

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Having spent the majority of my life in Pennsylvania, the concept of food trailers was foreign to me until I moved to Austin 2 years ago. Since then, I have grown to love food trailers for two reasons: 1) they offer aspiring business owners a goal more easily obtained than opening up a brick and mortar and 2) the low overhead cost of trailers keeps food prices affordable for patrons.

Although there has been an explosion of food trailers nationally in recent years, this type of business structure has a few unique requirements to ensure success. Agreeable weather, high population density, and a culture in favor of local business are needed to bring patrons to trailer windows. And Austin has all three to offer.

According to an article on KXAN, the City of Austin has over 1,600 mobile food establishments, but the exact number of trailers is unknown. AustinFoodCarts.com and FoodTrailersAustin.com profile several hundred trailers and their whereabouts in Austin.

Living in such a vegan-friendly town, many food trailers offer vegan and vegetarian fare, even if there’s only one option. While the gesture is much appreciated, today’s post is dedicated to those food trailers that are purely vegan or vegetarian.

Guide to Vegan and Vegetarian Food Trailers in Austin

North Austin

  • Portabello Burger and Veganized Mac and Cheeze from Good to GoGood to Go: This veggie burger joint is the newest all-vegetarian trailer in town. Located in the North Anderson Trailer Yard (NATY), Good to Go offers 5 types of burger patties with lots of different topping options including veganaise, Daiya cheese, hummus and soyrizo chili. Try a veganized mac and cheeze or a frito pie on the side.
  • Vegan Jalisco from The Vegan NomThe Vegan Nom: Austin’s first all-vegan taco trailer. Having opened only 6 months ago, the Vegan Nom has already carved quite a name for itself in the Austin vegan scene. I once heard someone proclaim, “What angel blessed us with the Vegan Nom?” I’m in total agreement. With homemade salsas and killer ingredient combinations, the Vegan Nom is not to be missed. I recommend starting with the Rockin Vegan Migas Taco.

HydePark/ University

  • Cinnamon Rolls from Capital City BakeryCapital City Bakery: This all-vegan bakery is one of the best/worst things that has ever happened to vegans in Austin. Go and try one of everything: cupcakes, mini pies, cinnamon rolls, whoopie pies, cookies, cookie sandwiches, brownies, cake slices, and mini bundt cakes!
  • Moses Falafel Trailer in the Longhorn Food CourtMoses Falafel: My fiance, who grew up in the middle east, has declared Moses Falafel to have the best falafel in town. And I agree. If you want to eat a falafel pita like a real Israeli, don’t order a side of fries. Rather, ask for your fries in your pita.

East Austin

  • Bac'n Cheezeburger from Arlo'sArlo’s: The bac’n cheeze burger at Arlo’s is hailed as one of the best veggie burgers not only in town, but possibly ever. Yes, it’s that good. Once you’ve sampled this delicious treat, try out one of the 7 other menu options Arlo’s has to offer–they are good, too!
  • Veganized Reuben from SchmaltzSchmaltz: Jewish deli style food options? Yes, please! Take a recommendation from Yelp and order the Seitan Pastrami Reuben. Just hold the swiss to make it vegan.
  • Breakfast Sandwich from The Vegan YachtVegan Yacht: One of the oldest vegan trailers in Austin, the Vegan Yacht serves up sandwiches, wraps and “freeto” pie in East Austin. As for what to try, just follow the website’s instructions: “Close your eyes, point, then order. It will be tasty.”

South Austin

  • The Gob from BananarchyBananarchy: I recently watched all three seasons of Arrested Development (thanks to Carrie) and therefore am in love with all of the fun TV show references on Banarachy’s menu. Try the Gob dipped in vegan chocolate. Don’t forget, there’s money in the banana stand.  
  • Vegan Fruitcup Trio from Mister FruitCupMister FruitCup: Looking for a healthy dessert? Head over to Mister FruitCup. Their varieties of fruit salads include herbs, chilies, nuts, vegan whipped cream and waffle crumbles. Check out Marie’s recent post on Mister FruitCup for more info.
  • Vegan Dosa from Nomad DosaNomad Dosa: This Airstream offers amazing, freshly made dosas (kind of like a crepe) filled with delicious Indian curries. Definitely try the mango lassi–it’s vegan!

Multiple Locations

  • Chimichurri Seitan Wrap and Hibiscus Tea from Conscious Cravings Conscious Cravings (University and South Austin): Hot wraps, cold salads, freshly made juices, and rosemary baked fries. Everything on the Conscious Cravings menu can be made vegan. My personal favorite: the pan-seared tofu.

 

So, what’s your favorite all-vegan or vegetarian food trailer?

Vegan Week in Review

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- The wait is over - in.gredients is now open, everyday from 8 am to 10 pm! Grab your reusable containers and head on down to 2610 Manor Road. First stop, weigh and label your containers. Second stop, shop & fill your containers. Third stop, select a charity you wish to benefit & weigh again (less container weight). You’re on your way knowing you’re eliminating package related waste, while supporting local businesses and farmers!

- Haven’t tried Biscuits and Groovy yet? Now is the perfect time to check it out. According to their Facebook page, they’ve extended their hours to 7 am – 5 pm on  weekdays (though actual hours may vary – see comments below). Biscuits and gravy not your thing? Try the “build-your-own” burrito from their lengthy list of awesome vegan ingredients such as tofu scramble, vegan sausage, and daiya cheese – at $4, it’s a steal.

- Kristen, owner/baker of Capital City Bakery, is celebrating her 26th birthday with a celebration benefiting homeless pets in Austin!  Stop by the shop at 1901 Rio Grande on August 16th (5 pm – 8 pm), where she’ll be donating 10% of her sales (and tips) to support Austin Pets Alive. Help Kristen meet her goal of $500 – and don’t forget to wish her a Happy Birthday!

- The annual Rally Against Ringling Brothers will be on Wednesday, August 22nd from 6 – 7:30 pm. Join Action for Animals for a legal, peaceful rally at the Erwin Center to protest Ringling Brothers Circus continued abuse of their animals.

- There’s an exciting new all-vegan menu up at Mister FruitCup featuring soy yogurt and vegan whipped cream! We hope you had a chance to use the Red Hot Vegans 20% discount last month – the discount continues this month – just mention Vegans Rock Austin.

- Save the day and shop away on Saturday, August 11th. On this one day, a bunch of vegan businesses are pulling together to donate 10% of sales to a 100 mile bike ride that hopes to raise $20,000 for 3 animal sanctuaries. All you have to do is shop with one of the businesses (either in person, or online) on August 11th, and part of your purchase will go to the fundraiser. Participating retailers are too numerous to mention, but are listed on the Sanctuary Century 10% Fundraiser Day Facebook page. This ride benefits: Out To Pasture Sanctuary, Hope Animal Sanctuary, and Chimp Sanctuary Northwest!

- There’s a new vegan burger option in town! Thanks to Lone Star Plate, we’ve learned that Flattop Burger (at Manor and Chicon) has vegan buns and Goodseed Organic hemp burger patties. Goodseed burgers are popping up all over town, which is a great thing, because these patties are super delicious and full of great ingredients!

 

The Last Couple of Weeks in Review

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It’s been forever and a day since we’ve put together a Week in Review post, so some of this might be old news – but heck – life happens, so here’s what’s been going on in Austin:

- Mr. Natural’s Vegan Ice Cream Happy Hour is back! From 3-6pm everyday in June, you can enjoy 2-for-1 vegan soft serve cones. There are only 8 more days left to enjoy this – so get on it!

- Austin’s scheduled for its very own Walk for Farm Animals fundraiser for Farm Sanctuary. It’s going to be at Pease Park on October 27th, but you can start raising money for this awesome cause now. Create a team, or do it solo – there’s no wrong way to raise money for farm animals! It’s an incredibly popular event all over the country, and I’m so happy to be able to join in, right here in Austin!

- Red Hot Vegans participated in a vegan food swap hosted by The Verdant Life. The box we sent was featured on St. Pete Vegan Food Swap. They totally dug the Food for Lovers queso we sent them – no surprise there!

- There will be two new Daily Juice locations opening up soon! One location is planned for Westlake and one for downtown. I happened upon the downtown location the other day, and now I’m super psyched for them to finally open their doors. I’m hoping for an expanded vegan food menu like the Hyde Park location – with awesome nachos and the like.

- Ice Cream Social, an adorable little ice cream trailer, has a bunch of different vegan options, the most interesting of which is avocado sorbet! Unfortunately, none of their topping options are vegan, but they’ve got plenty of other stuff like rotating sorbets and popsicles to cool down with on a hot day.

- Have you checked out The Vegan Nom lately? They practically have something new each week, like queso and cookies (great for dunking), and a vegan migas taco that is insane! I eat there way more often than I should admit to. Word to the wise: if you’re not into spicy food, just ask for it mild. Almost everything they make can be mildified - I should know, I’m the biggest spicy food baby around.

- Austin has its very own vegan nut cheese company called Nutty Cow. Who knew? Products haven’t hit the shelves yet, but I’m looking forward to trying them out, once they do.

- Vegan Pizza Day 2012 is coming up on Saturday, June 30th! We’re working on putting together an awesome party with Capital City Bakery! Stay tuned for party details and a rad Austin vegan pizza blog post.

 

Vegan Week in Review

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This week has been particularly full of announcements and openings! It’s an exciting time to be a vegan in Austin:

Red Rabbit Bakery Donuts at Wheatsville- Red Rabbit Bakery’s cinnamon-cardamon rolls, apple fritters, raspberry filled donuts, and cinnamon sugar donut holes are now available at Wheatsville Food Co-op!!! If you’ve had a chance to try these items at HOPE Farmer’s Market, then I bet you are just as stoked as I am to be able to get your hands on them at Wheatsville.

- Sagra, a vegan-friendly Italian restaurant, tweeted this week that they now have vegan homemade pistachio “cheese.” I’ve been looking for an excuse to try them out, and this sounds like the perfect opportunity – now I just have to wait till graduation week is over to be able to get a table.

Schmaltz Vegan Reuben- The old Counter Culture trailer found a new home on Cesar Chavez and San Marcos as the new all-vegetarian food cart Schmaltz. Their menu includes falafel and an awesome rueben (vegan if ordered without the cheese), and they offer a cute little grassy seating area tucked behind Domy Books, an adorable bookstore and art space.

- On Monday, May 21st, Moses Falafel will become the newest addition in the Longhorn Food Court (Downtown: 610 W. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd & Rio Grande Street). This makes the Longhorn Food Court the most vegan-friendly trailer lot in Austin, with Moses joining the likes of Conscious Cravings and the brand spankin’ new Capital City Bakery trailer (don’t forget about their Grand Opening Party tonight!)

Counter Culture Sign- Speaking of grand openings, after a successful soft opening, Counter Culture has announced their Grand Opening Party will be on Wednesday, May 30th at 6pm. Check out the Facebook invite, and come join the fun!

- On June 3rd, Sweet Ritual will be at Secret Society’s Summer Frolic! serving up hand-cranked earl grey ice cream with lavender waffle cones. Earl grey ice cream, people! EARL GREY!! My life is complete.  That is all.

Counter Culture Soft Opening!!!

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Counter Culture’s soft opening is this week! It’s cash only, the staff is still being trained, and some menu items are not available yet, but WOW, it’s awesome!

Their menu has a bunch of raw, gluten free, soy free and Engine 2 Diet approved items all clearly marked. I have no such restrictions, so I plan on working my way through the whole menu. I loved everything I tried, but my two favorites so far are the spicy baked artichoke dip, and the quiche. I could do a face plant into a bowl of artichoke dip, it’s that good. They also had a couple slices of cake available from Capital City Bakery, that were insane! I can’t wait until the full dessert menu is available.

Counter Culture will be open Thursday through Sunday this week, from 5pm to 10pm, at 2337 East Cesar Chavez at Clara. Remember that it’s a soft opening, and it’s CASH ONLY until they get their internet working (my husband forgot and had to hike four blocks to find a working ATM) – so be patient until they get all the kinks worked out. Let’s all give a warm welcome to the newest (and raddest), all-vegan brick and mortar restaurant in Austin!

Counter Culture Sign

Counter Culture Groupies, Kate and Jacob, with Counter Culture T-Shirts

Counter Culture Interior Seating

Counter Culture Exterior Seating

Spicy Baked Artichoke Dip

Tempeh Reuben with Pac Man Salad

Mac & Cheeze with Jalapeño Cornbread and Caesar Salad

Quiche of the Day with Cole Slaw and Texas Caviar

Lentil Loaf with Garlicky Greens and Jalapeño Corn Bread

Black Forest Cake from Capital City Bakery

Vegan Week in Review: Ch-ch-Changes!

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Ch-ch-Changes are a-happenin’ in the Austin vegan scene. This week has been full of announcements:

Plaid Cake- Capital City Bakery, an all-vegan bakery, has announced that they will be opening a trailer in the Longhorn Food Court (MLK & Rio Grande) next to Conscious Cravings, starting May 1st. Capital City Bakery goods will also be sold at Counter Culture, which should have a grand opening announcement of their own any day now. I’ve had a chance to try Capital City Bakery desserts on many occasions (including my husband’s Scottish themed, holiday nog flavored B-Day cake), and I can tell you that this this trailer is going to be the bestest, most awesomest thing to happen to Austin in a long time!

- New vegan food trailer, Vegan Nom, is opening soon on North Loop in Counter Culture’s old location. They’re set to have their launch party on Sunday, April 29th – the same day the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale is being held at MonkeyWrench Books, just a couple of stores down. Come on out and check out this new trailer, and grab some baked goods to raise money for Sunny Day Farms!

- Straight from the Community Impact Newspapers site, we’ve got new Tarka and Steeping Room locations to look forward to. The new Tarka is scheduled to open in May at 2525 W. Anderson Lane. The new Steeping Room will be located at 4400 N. Lamar Blvd, but there is no mention of a timeframe – let’s hope it’s soon, because The Steeping Room deserves so much more than the mall location it currently resides in.

- My favorite vegan bac’n cheezburger has found a new home at Cheer Up Charlies! Arlo’s signed a lease this week, and should be completing their move very soon. Vegan bar + vegan food cart = match made in heaven!

- Vegan Yacht has found a new home in the Soular Food Garden lot, on 12th and Waller, starting Tuesday, April 10th. They also promise a new menu to go with the new location, and service all day long – including vegan breakfast! I can’t wait to try their new stuff.

Vegan Pizza- More East Austin news: Did anyone know you could get vegan pizza at Via 313 Pizza on 6th and Waller? I sure didn’t. It’s Detroit style pizza (whatever that means), and they use Follow Your Heart, which already makes it stand out from the sea of Daiya pizzas here in Austin. There’s also new vegan options across the street at Fire & Soul – including the fried avocado and battered and fried vegan hot dog (fried in a dedicated veg fryer). You can also find Handshakes – the place with the amazing vegan shake options – in this same lot. They just moved here from the Cheer Up Charlie’s next door, and I’ve got it on good authority that they are planning a new larger, more vegan friendly menu. Oh, East 6th trailer food, how I do love thee!