Specifications on Freebirds Burrito

Freebirds Burrito

A couple of important notes for Freebirds Burrito - the barbecue sauce has anchovies in it, and the poblano sauce/relish is sweetened with honey. Both Spanish and Cilantro Lime Rices are vegan, as well as all three types of beans (pinto, black, and refried). Also, I believe the wheat tortillas are not vegan (though I'm not positive on this), but the spinach, red pepper, and corn are vegan for sure.

RESTAURANT REVIEW - Mamacita's - New Braunfels, TX

Mamacita's
505 Business IH-35
North New Braunfels, TX
(830) 620-6565
Sun - Thurs: 11am - 9:30pm
Fri - Sat: 11am - 10pm
For other locations, see their website.

All this week, I'm office-sitting for my brother and cousin in New Braunfels, TX. So far, I've been bringing my own lunch to work (a sandwich made with Tofurky deli slices, Daiya cheese shreds, avocado, and Asian chili sauce with a side of fruit). Today, however, I had to get up extra early to go with my parents, grandmother, and 3 year old nephew to the Snake Farm and Petting Zoo.




My family was going to Mamacita's for lunch, and my mother said she'd bring me lunch after they'd eaten. I gave her my to-go container, and headed to the office.

Around 1:15, my mother appeared with a giant bag (given to her by Mamacita's, but reusable, like a shopping bag) filled with food. The restaurant had used my to-go container for the fajitas proper (onions, peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms), and given me disposable containers for rice & beans, pico de gallo & guacamole, salsa, tortillas, and chips. Now, the tortillas were simply wrapped in foil, which is a good way of transporting them, and the chips were presented in a plastic bag designed to go into the microwave (pretty smart). I kind of wish they'd just put the rice and beans in with the fajitas, though - I'd rather save a container than keep all my food absolutely separate.


Chips not shown. Also, I accidentally left my bamboo fork at the house, so I'm eating fajitas with chopsticks. Don't judge.

For some odd reason, fajitas don't show up at all on Mamacita's online menu. However, they are certainly on the menu at the New Braunfels location. I've been informed that both the refried and charro beans are vegan, as is the rice, so the only things vegans will have to avoid is the cheese and sour cream (and they'll give you extra guacamole instead if you ask for it).

Mamacita's flour tortillas are some of the best I've ever eaten. They're made in-house, and come to the table (or the desk!) pillowy, hot, and fresh.




If you eat in the restaurant, the waiter will bring out chips and dipping sauces. The salsa rojo is tasty with a fair amount of heat, but stay away from the green sauce - it looks like it's made with avocado but actually has sour cream and other dairy in it, as well as some odd green coloring.

I'm not sure what other vegan options one might find besides the fajitas, though I would assume some of the enchiladas might possibly be made vegan with the right sauce and omission of cheese. I love the fajitas so much, I've never checked.

Sweet Ritual - Brownie Addendum

I just realized I had some pictures from Sweet Ritual that I haven't posted yet! Their brownie sundae gives the sundaes in their handmade waffle cones a run for their money.

RESTAURANT REVIEW - Eastside Cafe, Austin, TX

Eastside Cafe
2113 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722
(512) 476-5858


Last week, a friend took me to Eastside Cafe. I was a tiny bit skeptical about the possibility of vegan options, but my friend told me they had a vegan menu, so I decided to give it a go. It turns out that their vegan menu is just 4 things from their regular menu with qualifiers in parentheses "(order without cheese or sour cream)".



Be warned, though, there are a few errors - I ordered the veggie enchiladas, which were advertised with three choices of sauces. One of those sauces is the suiza sauce, which is not vegan. I got mine with the verde sauce.



The enchiladas were actually pretty good for being cheeseless. I would love for Eastside Cafe to start carrying Daiya cheese, but that may not happen any time soon.

There were also no vegan desert options, though the server suggested we could go across the street to Thunderbird Coffee (formerly Clementine Coffee) for vegan deserts.

Overall, it's nice to know that there's something vegans can eat if they find themselves at Eastside Cafe. However, if you're craving enchiladas, I'd suggest a trip to Mother's Cafe instead.

Mac Daddy - Veganomicon

A while back, Tim and I decided we wanted mac & cheese. Searching through our various cookbooks, we came up with "Mac Daddy" from the Veganomicon.



This is some seriously tasty food. We used pieces of lasagna noodles instead of macaroni, used the vegan Ricotta that we'd just picked up in place of the handmade ricotta (another reason for picking this recipe!), and topped the whole thing with Panko breadcrumbs, but otherwise, we just went with the original.



So. Freaking. Good.

Man, now I want mac & cheese again...

Immaculate Baking Company

I found this lovely display at a local HEB the other day -



The cinnamon rolls, biscuits, and crescent rolls are all vegan! I bought some cinnamon rolls and made them. Wow - tasty!



My boyfriend Tim bought a couple cans of the crescent rolls (WAY healthier than the Pillsbury rolls) to make his last batch of curry puffs. (I'll post his recipe next week.) Everyone agreed that they were actually better with the I.B.C. crescent rolls!

Bouldin Creek Coffee House - Austin, TX

I reviewed Bouldin Creek a couple of years ago, and it's still just as yummy as ever. I always have a hard time deciding what to get, but it's really hard to pass up the tofu scramble and blueberry cornbread -


I got spinach with it, so it's healthy, right? I also got cold brewed iced coffee with chocolate syrup.

For desert, my friend and I decided to go with an almond espresso brownie. This was some seriously fabulous chocolate -




Here's some other shots of Bouldin Creek Coffee House -





The same yummy tofu scramble with two tamales, tortillas, and salsa.