Austin Day Two

I think I made a mistake; I probably should have stayed in Austin.

If the weather alone isn’t enough to make you want to live in Austin, the beautiful people and amazing
food just puts you right over the edge. I have been looking at pictures of my trip and it makes me very
nostalgic. It also makes me hungry, but that’s another story.

I am going to take some liberties and break apart “Austin Day 2” into what is more like days 2-4.
There are so many great places to talk about, but I don’t want to be like Aunt Edna showing you slides
from her trip to Niagara Falls.

So, shall we?

Counter Culture

Austin is known for their food carts. There are quite a few of them around town and there are at least
three that are exclusively vegan. I really love the idea of a food cart; a basic menu, a couple of specials,
outdoor seating, and the ability to pick up and carry your restaurant to a new location. Awesome!

I only got the chance to eat at one food cart in Austin, but it was pretty amazing. It’s in the parking lot of a convenience store, which in itself is so punk rock I can’t even stand it. The owner, chef, and all around cool chick (Sue) was there and we chatted about all things vegan and Austin. I love meeting new vegans, especially adorable food cart vegans.

My friend Erica and I split three things at Counter Culture:

Red Lentil & Celery Root Loaf Sandwich (made from sweet potato, bread crumbs & spices served with
organic lettuce, tomato, ketchup & mustard)

Philly Seitan (w/ cashew cheese, onions, and pepper)

Raw Doughnut Hole / Brownie

All of it was excellent! Hard to believe such perfection can come out of a little truck in front of a
convenience store. I feel like I should open up a food truck. Do you think I can do that in cold and snowy Pittsburgh?

More vegan Austin, after the jump…

Wheatsville Co-op

I have a co-op in Pittsburgh that I frequent quite often. I feel like they should know be my name I am
there so much. So after lots of recommendations to try the Wheatsville Co-op in Austin, I added it to my list.

Wheatsville is a beautiful store. It was so bright, open, clean and the staff was all super nice. They have
a great café / deli in the back that serves up lots of vegan (and non vegan) food for all their hungry
shoppers.

I partook in a bit of the Austin nightlife (read: drank too many beers) the night before so I was in desperate need of some comfort food. Fortunately the Wheatsville Café did not disappoint!

Frito Pie

Popcorn Tofu

As it looks, Frito Pie is pretty much a bowl (box) full of love. Tempeh chili, nooch, jalapenos, oniona, all spread over some fritos. Delicious! The second is a Wheatsville exclusive and it’s one of the best versions of tofu I have ever had. It’s so popular it even has its own facebook page! It’s very reminiscent of a nugget and yeah, I loved it.

Beet’s Living Foods Café

If you read my post about my last trip to New York, you know I am intrigued by raw foodists. I think
vegans have to be a little clever when preparing food, but raw folks take clever to a whole new level.

Beet’s is a raw food café that serves up some unbelievable (and beautiful) raw food plates that would
make anyone think twice about what it means to follow a raw diet.

Guacamole & Chips

Pizza Rustica

Cha-lu-pas

Mocha Cheesecake

I am telling you, if I lived in Austin I have a feeling I would frequent Beet’s. The food was delicious and it just gave you this clean feeling after you were done eating. No joke, I really did have that feeling. It was a bit pricey, but it was worth it.

So if you are in Austin and want to try something even more unique than a vegan food truck, then make
sure to put Beet’s on your list.

Off to dream of food carts and raw mocha cheesecake. Cheers Austin!Tweet