1900 S. 1st Street, Austin, TX 78704
(512) 416-1601
Mon-Fri 7 AM-Midnight
Sat-Sun 9 AM-Midnight
Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse has long been one of my very favorite Austin restaurants. They have delicious coffee (and other drinks, both hot and not), a full menu of vegan (or easily made vegan) food, and great hours. Recently, they've moved just down the street to a larger location (right across the street from Sugar Mama's Bakeshop - score!) For people familiar with the old location of Bouldin Creek, there are some changes. Most notably, instead of waiting at the bar to order, you simply find a table, sit down, and someone will come over and take your order. There is also a *ton* more seating; the back room boasts 18 tables, 6 of which are next to wall-installed bench seating. The front room is cozy yet airy with a few tables, and the side patio has several tables as well.
The menu has some new additions as well. On this visit, I was really craving Bouldin Creek's amazing tofu scramble (my omni boyfriend, who doesn't even particularly care for tofu, constantly sneaks bites off my plate whenever he thinks I'm not looking.) I also had the desire to try something new. I found my answer in the Renedict, Bouldin Creek's version of eggs benedict. When ordered with tofu scramble instead of egg, it's completely vegan (even the hollandaise sauce!) The Renedict arrived looking gorgeous but a bit problematic. The two slices of cibatta bread were slightly stacked on each other, and the sauce and toppings were slathered across the entire thing. I finally decided to gingerly separate the two slices of bread and try to separate the toppings into halves. This is definitely fork food - with possibly a knife and a few napkins. As for the taste, it was sublime! The hollandaise sauce was creamy with a good flavor and playful hint of spiciness, the vegan bacon strips, tomato, and spinach all added nicely to the overall experience, and the tofu scramble was delectable as always.
As a side note - the internet was acting up quite a bit while I was there. I got a lot of "IP Error" messages and a few "You've used up all your time" messages, though it continued to work...sort of. I could load web pages...some of the time. My instant messenger client wouldn't connect at all. A fellow diner suggested that it might just be that there were a lot of people using it. The place *was* quite packed, at that. At noon on a Wednesday, there were only one or two empty tables.
So, to sum up - Bouldin Creek is not really the best place to go and hang out while surfing the net (though that might change at some point in the future). However, it's the perfect place to go for great vegan food, drinks, and to enjoy the atmosphere, chat with friends, or read.
"The Timmy" - veggie chorizo, organic red and black beans, shredded lettuce, and tomatoes, along with "The Neal" - sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and tofu scramble.
Vegan soy mocha (they also have yummy lavender mochas and Mexican mochas!)
Veggie Royale - homemade veggie burger patty served on toasted ciabatta bread with lettuce, red onion, roma tomato & BBQ sauce.
See more photos from Bouldin Creek (mostly the old location) in my Flickr stream.
