Alamo Drafthouse New Vegan Menu - Austin, TX

I got a tweet the other day from the Alamo Drafthouse telling me that I was invited to a tasting for their new vegan menu (which will be available at the Village location only). This is awesome, and something I've been hoping for since I starting going to the Drafthouse 11 years ago.







The tacos were tasty, with crunchy tortilla chips in it, and slightly spicy salsa that complimented it nicely. The bruschetta was also good, with super creamy avocado and good flavors provided by the lemon vinaigrette and balsamic reduction. The samosa tasted fairly standard for samosas (delicious, in my opinion), and have my vote for the easiest thing on the new menu to eat in the dark). The cookie was warm and chewy, with a nice fruitiness from the cherries.

When the menu launches tomorrow, the bruschetta will be a full cup of avocado and tomato mixture, with crostini all around the edge of the plate.

Some of the other people at the tasting mentioned that a chocolate dessert would be quite welcome, and Trish, the chef, said that she'd had a hard time finding vegan chocolate at a good price point. We told her about the vegan chocolate chips in bulk at Wheatsville, and suggested that she contact some of the vegan bakers in town to get suggestions from them about where to buy. I also mentioned that I would love to see soy milk for the coffee drinks at all I the locations, and Trish said that she would make sure that it happened, since it should have been happening already (she said if it wasn't, it was an oversight).

RESTAURANT REVIEW - The Dojo, Austin, TX

Since April had an extra unplanned week in Austin to heal from her gall bladder surgery, she decided to make the most of it and eat some delicious food! She had heard all sorts of good things about The Dojo, so she and her friend Alloni took the hedgehogs out to see what all the fuss was about.

The Dojo
9070 Research Blvd., #305 Austin, TX 78757
Facebook page and Twitter page







April had heard that The Dojo was one of the handful of new restaurants in town with vegan ramen, and was excited to try some. What she didn't realize was exactly how many other vegan options there would be on the menu!







Deciding on just one thing each seemed an impossible task to both April and Alloni, so they decided to pick a lot of different dishes. (Leftovers are always good, and it seemed like a good time to celebrate April being to eat All The Food after the gall bladder removal.) The hedgehogs, of course, urged them to get as much as possible (hoping that they could grab a taste of everything.)



The Okonomiyaki Style Potatoes (vegan version) were quite tasty, though April and Alloni weren't expecting French fries. There were four or five different things on top of the potatoes with flavors that all blended together nicely.



The Beets And Avocado Tempura was your basic veggie tempura, but the tempura coating definitely took a backseat to the perfectly-done beets and avocado (not overly greasy or "too fried").



The Tofu Steak was the definite winner for Favorite Dish for both April and Alloni. A semi-firm, creamy tofu block was immersed in a thick, sweet soy sauce with mushrooms and ultra-thin noodles.



The Nasu Scrambled (Stir-fried eggplant and tofu in red chili sauce) was tasty, and April particularly liked the eggplant.



The Veggie Gyoza were very good, but perhaps a touch on the oily side.



The Shichirin Yaki Veggie Set, at $13, was April and Alloni's most expensive purchase. Lightly seasoned raw beets, portabello mushrooms, and shishito peppers are meant to be cooked over the small "table grill" to the diner's preferred doneness, and then dipped in one of the accompanying sauces. It tasted good, but Alloni and April decided that next time, they could buy veggies and cook them at home for less, and have more money to spend on the other inventive dishes from The Dojo.



Finally, for the lovely ramen! The Veggie Miso Ramen, with bean sprouts, nori, fried tofu, scallions, and corn, was definitely delicious, with a flavorful broth and excellently-done noodles.

After all that food (part of which went home as leftovers), neither April nor Alloni had room for dessert (though the hedgehogs both claimed to be ready for some). Both the Homemade Coconut Ice Cream and the Mochi Tempura are vegan, and will certainly be on the list of things to get on April's second visit to The Dojo. Buttercup wondered if the Vanilla Plum Wine Float (vanilla ice cream and plum wine) could be made vegan with the substitution of the vegan coconut ice cream, and Hedgie pointed out that the Dojo Parfait could probably be made vegan with the ice cream substitution and the omission of yogurt and Pocky.

Completely stuffed, April and the hedgehogs went home to prepare for their imminent flight back to Kansas!

Bonus Post! Taco Tuesday

Unfortunately, April is not participating in the Great Taco Cleanse of 2013, like so many of her fellow bloggers. However, she's doing her best to participate on the edges of this great movement, like celebrating Taco Tuesdays as best as she can while in Kansas.

Today for dinner, she made a delicious soft taco with Daiya pepperjack cheese and Upton's Naturals seitan bacon. April has tried tempeh bacon before, and thinks it tastes ok, but it's really not even close to actual bacon. Now, Upton's seitan bacon? Nirvana. Simple, unadulterated, crunchy, smoky, deliciousness. Just pan-fry each strip in a bit of coconut oil for about a minute on each side. (You'll perhaps notice that Hedgie and Buttercup aren't in either of these pictures. They stole a piece of seitan bacon and ran off with their prize!)






Back in Austin, Sweet Ritual is participating in the Taco Cleanse by making vegan Choco Tacos.

Post by Sweet Ritual.

April was super sad when she heard about it; she won't be back in Austin until mid-October. However, in an extreme demonstration of true love, her fiance, Tim, texted her a photo of what would be waiting for her in the freezer once she got home -



Yay! Now, to make the most of her remaining time in Kansas - perhaps Hedgie and Buttercup can tell her some entertaining stories? (Nope; looks like they're still nomming on the bacon!)

RESTAURANT REVIEWS - Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery & Aster's Ethiopian - Austin, TX

After a night in her very own bed, April (thrilled to be back in Austin) wanted to make her first ever visit to the Red Rabbit trailer. She'd had their donuts from Wheatsville before, but was super excited to try out some of the different things served at the trailer.

Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery
701 East 53rd Street, Austin, TX 78751 (Also, donuts can be found at many other Austin restaurants and stores)
Facebook page & Twitter page

The trailer is open Mon-Fri 7am-1pm & Sat 8am-2pm (or until sold out). Quite often, they sell out by 10 or 11 am, so get there early! All their food is vegan and never contains hydrogenated fats or high fructose corn syrup. They use organic and local ingredients.

Wheatsville carries Sugar Glazed, Chocolate Glazed, Maple Glazed with Walnuts, Coffee Glazed, Mexican Chocolate Glazed, and Vanilla Lavender donuts, as well as Raspberry Filled donuts and Apple Fritters (Tim's favorite). April has a difficult time picking a favorite, but tends to get the raspberry filled or maple glazed with walnuts. Since the trailer had lots of new donuts, April and Tim decided to get an Austin Cream Pie donut (vanilla glaze with chocolate pudding filling) and a Horchata Glazed donut.


The hedgehogs are ever hopeful for a taste.

They were both delectable! April is going to have an even harder time picking a favorite now.

For lunch, April and Tim met up with his mother (for her birthday!), aunt, and uncle, and introduced them to Ethiopian food.

Aster's Ethiopian
2804 S I-H 35, Austin, TX 78705
Facebook page

April has been to many Ethiopian restaurants all over the country, and Aster's is still her favorite. 50% of the menu is vegan, and each entrée comes with 2 side dishes (for lunch) or 3 side dishes (for dinner), so it's almost like getting a sampler platter. The actual veggie sampler platter comes with all 8 vegetarian dishes. April and Tim decided to split that, since everything is delicious.



One food note - the Azifa (cold lentil salad) says it will "have your taste buds leaping for joy" - that's code for "really freaking spicy". Also, Aster's is closed Mondays, so take that into account when planning your visit.

The Hedgehogs Are Back In Austin! (RESTAURANT REVIEWS - Thai Kitchen, Sweet Ritual, and Pho Thaison - Austin, TX)

Since April had a week free between the end of Gen Con and the beginning of the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, she decided to hop on a plane and head home to Austin to catch up with all her friends and loved ones, and to Eat All The Awesome Austin Vegan Food!

This was the hedgehogs' first time on a plane. They were very excited!







When April got back, her fiancé, Tim, took her to Thai Kitchen for lunch (they also needed groceries from Wheatsville, which is only a couple of buildings down the street, so it was very convenient.)

Thai Kitchen
3009 Guadalupe, Austin, TX 78745
Facebook page

April decided to branch out from her standard Musumun Tofu Curry, and went with Vegetables & Tofu with Red Curry - a bit different, and quite tasty!



For an appetizer, Tim and April split the Fried Tofu. The dipping sauce was delicious!



After all of the spicy curry, April and Tim decided that ice cream was a great idea, so they took the hedgehogs to Sweet Ritual.

Sweet Ritual
4500 Duval St Austin, TX 78751
Facebook page

Sweet Ritual is an all-vegan ice cream parlor that has recently added hard-pack ice cream in multiple flavors to their menu. April posted a review of them last year, as well as a Brownie Addendum.

Every time April goes to Sweet Ritual, she ends up getting amazingly complex sundaes, usually in a hand-made waffle cone (because everything's better in a cone!) This time, she got a scoop of Lady Gray (Earl Gray tea ice cream with rum-plumped cherries) and a scoop of Strawberry Jalepeño ice cream in a waffle cone, topped with salted caramel sauce and edible glitter.



After some grocery shopping and a nice walk, April and Tim decided that Thai food still sounded like a good idea, so they hit Pho Thaison for dinner.

Pho Thaison
2438 W Anderson Ln, Austin, TX (and other locations)
Facebook page

Buttercup spotted these stickers on a car in the parking lot. Hedgie wants to know how he can get some for himself.



Pho Thaison is one of many places in Austin where one can get vegan pho. April hasn't had all of them, nor has she had them close enough together to make a really good comparison. The pho at Pho Thaison is quite good, though. It's gluten-free, and has broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, baby bok choy, and sliced fried tofu.



Even though the pho is good, that's not the reason that April loves Pho Thaison. That reason would be the Vietnamese crepes. They're gluten-free, and are made of coconut rice batter, bean sprouts, herbs, leaf lettuce, mushrooms and tofu. They're delicious, but a bit messy; you cut off a piece of crepe and put it in a piece of lettuce (like a taco!), then dip it into the nuoc mam sauce.



That evening, April greatly enjoyed sleeping in her own bed, and looked forward to getting vegan donuts the next morning!
(Also, according to the Official Vegan MoFo Daily Themes and Blogging Prompts, it's a good idea to post a picture of a cat. Here's Tim's cat, Floyd, who is very happy April is home - )

RESTAURANT REVIEW - Roll On Sushi, Austin, TX

Roll On Sushi
5350 Burnet Rd., Ste. 2, Austin, TX, 78756
Facebook page

The day before April left for her tour, the hedgehogs decided that they wanted some sushi. Since everyone was raving about Roll On Sushi, they decided to see what all the fuss was about.

April started with some edamame "Roll On Style", which means seasoned. It was a very tasty starter!



Since she was about to head out on a long road trip with not a lot of vegan options, the hedgehogs convinced April to splurge and get both the Hippy Roll (inari, cucumber, avocado, asparagus, gobo, ume paste, taukwan, kampyo, sushi rice, and nori) -



and the Fruity Vegan (cucumber and tempura fried jalepeños topped with a strawberry and mango salsa).



Both rolls were very tasty, and April's looking forward to trying the Respect My Asparagah roll (asparagus, candied walnuts, goat cheese, sun dried tomato, sushi rice, and nori with a balsamic glaze) with avocado instead of the goat cheese.

RESTAURANT REVIEWS - Teji's, Round Rock, TX & Clay Pit, Austin, TX

Teji's
1205 Round Rock Ave #115, Round Rock, TX 78681
2100 B Guadalupe Street, Austin, 78705
Facebook page

Clay Pit
1601 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78701
Facebook page

While April has been to Clay Pit a few times in the past, Hedgie and Buttercup have never had the pleasure, and Teji's had been highly recommended, so they convinced her that it would be a good idea to have Indian food for lunch and dinner before her long tour started.

April had visited the new location of Teji's on Guadelupe once before, but hadn't tried the original. She met some friends there for lunch, and decided to try some stuffed fried Anahaim peppers, which were REALLY spicy (she ended up taking most of them home to eat with vegan sour cream). The peppers looked suspiciously like fried mice, which made Hedgie and Buttercup very worried.



Baigan Bharta has always been a favorite for April's, but the Stuffed Baigan ("Baby eggplant stuffed with Indian spices in thick tomato & onion gravy") looked amazing - and didn't disappoint!




One can never have enough Indian food, so April took the hedgehogs to have dinner with a friend at Clay Pit. One great thing about Clay Pit is that all of the vegan options are clearly marked on the menu.



April and her dining companion started out with some veggie samosas and a batata cham (potato patty) that were really delicious - crispy on the outside, savory smooth on the inside, with just the right amount of spice.



For a main dish, April tried something a little different - Vegetable Ayam ("garden fresh vegetables prepared with fresh garlic & herbs in delicious yellow goan curry.")



The Vegetable Ayam is definitely a new favorite!

RESTAURANT REVIEW - Sauced, Austin, TX (and, The Hedgehogs Have The Foodblog!)

Welcome to Vegan MoFo 2013! You may have noticed that April hasn't blogged since last December; her mascots, Hedgie and Buttercup, think that this is not acceptable, and are taking over the blog for the month of September. The hedgehogs have both been with April on her recent 2 month musical tour, and have so much to tell you about, so you can look forward to lots of traveling, lots of food, and lots of adorable hedgehog pictures!


Sauced
6001 N. Airport Blvd, Austin, Texas 78752 (Highland Mall)
Facebook page

Sauced was a bit taken aback to realize that they'd missed National Vegan Pizza Day on June 29, so they decided to celebrate from July 12-14 by offering pizza with vegan cheese, vegan meat analogs, and loads of veggies.



The first thing Hedgie and Buttercup noticed was that Sauced grew their own fresh basil for the pizzas, so they insisted on getting a picture with it.



April, her fiance Tim, and the hedgehogs were all thrilled about the way it tasted on the pizza along with the pickled veggies and the vegan cheese (which was Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet; the Daiya had run out). The crust was also good; somewhat thin but still pleasantly chewy, with a neat twisted edge.

From the Sauced Facebook page - "Every Wednesday and Saturday are vegan pizza days at Sauced. Along with our regular omnivore's menu, we offer vegan pizza BY THE SLICE! You don't have to order a whole pie to get exactly what you want. Try some of The Hearty Vegan Tempeh Sausage w/ Spinach and Garlic-Sauteed Mushrooms."