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).

Vegg Omelet & Chocolate Peanut Butter Bacon Fauxnut Holes - From The Vegg Cookbook (and Bonus Taco Tuesday!)

In yesterday's post, April and the hedgehogs had decided to use April's brand new The Vegg Cookbook and Upton's Naturals Bacon Seitan to create some delicious food that would impress her omnivorous host, Duane. For the main course, April decided to go with Mimi Clark's Vegg Omelet (with seitan bacon and veggie filling) from page 15 of The Vegg Cookbook.

The hedgehogs helped April gather all the ingredients for the omelet.



April poured the Vegg/tofu mixture into the pan. The recipe had said to cook it for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges set. After 15 minutes, April's mixture was still kind of soupy.





She let it cook for about 20 minutes total, when it looked as if the top was starting to solidify a bit. She grabbed two wide spatulas, went to flip the omelet in half...



...and watched in dismay as it glooped partway over the veggies and bacon. She turned the heat up a little bit, and continued to cook the omelet for another 10 minutes or so. Unfortunately, April's finished omelet didn't really look like Mimi's finished omelet, so April slid her resulting half-set mixture into a loaf pan and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. The result was an omelet that, while not nearly as solid as a traditional omelet, still held together and tasted pretty good. Duane's review was that it had a "good flavor (not quite as egg-like as real eggs) and interesting texture." He wasn't fond of the cooked spinach (a fact which April will keep in mind for the upcoming Vegg Fritatta), but thought that the seitan bacon was "fantastic". April has a sneaking suspicion that, since she was using a propane stove, the heat wasn't high enough, and will try raising it the next time she makes the omelet.



For dessert, Duane had chosen Mina Azarnoush's Peanutbutter Bacon Chocolate Donuts from page 78 of The Vegg Cookbook (she has also posted the recipe here). Instead of buying a donut pan, April decided to use Duane's mini-muffin pan instead, resulting in Fauxnut Holes.



Instead of instant coffee, April used her existing canister of Cafix. She also used powdered peanut butter (PB2) for the glaze, and cut up cooked pieces of seitan bacon for the topping.

The fauxnuts cooked perfectly in the mini-muffin pan, but the glaze was VERY liquid-y. Buttercup suggested adding some arrowroot powder to thicken it, and Hedgie suggested putting that mixture into the freezer for a bit, but the glaze was still not thick enough. April ended up drizzling the glaze over the fauxnut holes on the plate instead of dunking each fauxnut hole into the glaze, and then sprinkling the bacon bits over the top.





April and Duane both loved the fauxnut holes. They were extra cocoa-y, and the crunch of the bacon was a great addition. Duane mentioned that some powdered ginger would taste good in the glaze, so next time, April will add ginger and use a bit less liquid, as well as cutting the bacon bits smaller so they're easier to eat.


BONUS PICTURE - since it's also Taco Tuesday, here's a picture of the tempeh soft taco April made for lunch. It has heirloom organic green tomatoes and salsa.

In Which Everything Goes Awry (RESTAURANT REVIEW - Crazy Cajun, Port Aransas, TX)

Something that April didn't mention in the last few blog posts was that, upon returning to Austin, she had a gall bladder attack every other day. The 3rd one was extra painful, and didn't stop after a couple of hours like all the rest did. After several hours of pain, she decided that a trip to the emergency room was in order. A couple of days later, the gall bladder was history, and April was discharged from the hospital. The doctor said that it would be a bad idea to try and fly back to Kansas and play at the faire, so April reluctantly agreed to take another week off. Her fiance had already planned a trip to the Texas coast with his friends, so April went along with them. If one is going to recuperate, the beach is a nice place to do so!



The downside of recuperation was that it hurt to laugh, breathing deeply was impossible, and occasional abdominal discomfort made things not so great. The upside was that, with no more pesky gall bladder, April could eat pretty much whatever she wanted. Her fiance, Tim, and all of their friends had rented Tim's family's condo in Port Aransas, so a full kitchen as well as community grills were at their disposal.

Tim started out the long weekend by making a ton of chalupas (one of April's favorites!) with Daiya cheese, refried beans, avocado, and Wheatsville's popcorn tofu.



The next day, a couple of their friends took turns grilling all sorts of things. April and Tim (the two vegans in the group) got grilled corn on the cob, veggie skewers, and grilled pineapple and strawberry skewers (delicious!)



For desert, there was Purely Decadent Chocolate Obsession and So Delicious Cookies 'n' Cream.



On the last day, everyone wanted to go eat at The Crazy Cajun, a place they had enjoyed on the last trip to the coast.

Crazy Cajun
303 E Beach Ave, Port Aransas, TX 78373


The hedgehogs have their own special spot in the car.

April was a bit worried about trying to eat at a seafood restaurant, but Tim assured her that there was something they could eat. Upon arriving, the hedgehogs explored the waiting room -



After a bit of a wait (accompanied by what may have been the Crazy Cajun himself - a guy with a fiddle and a harmonica), the group was seated.


For reference, thecrazycajun.com doesn't actually work.

The actual Crazy Cajun entree is a large bucket of corn, potatoes, and dead sea animals that gets dumped on the paper-covered table, while diners are given wooden mallets to crack open shells. April and Tim sat at one end of the table and did their best to ignore the carnage. The veggie option (which isn't on the menu) consists of a smaller bowl of just corn and potatoes. Make sure to tell the waiter that you don't want them cooked in butter.



The Crazy Cajun uses a spice mix that's actually quite spicy but very, very tasty. Tim bought a big bottle of it to take home.


The Blues Brothers in the window of The Crazy Cajun.

While April has almost no sense of smell, she has heard that The Crazy Cajun has a fairly strong fish smell (perhaps a rotten fish smell), so people with sensitive noses might want to find someplace else to go.

On The Road Again...

April's "day job" and alter-ego is Apryl Knight, mild-mannered musician, who plays music from many times and many lands on WAY too many instruments. Her main performance venues are Renaissance festivals and SCA events. On July 19, she began an almost two month tour that would start with two weeks of Pennsic, include her first ever trip to Canada (to visit a cousin and generally sight-see), and conclude with her first ever gig at GenCon.

To prepare for the trip, April's dehydrator went into almost constant use for three days. Sweet potato/yam chips, apple chips, beet chips, and carrot chips were made, as well as olive tapenade and spinach artichoke dip. Unfortunately, not many pictures were taken, but here's one of the sweet potatoes pre-dehydration, just after having gone through April's brand new mandoline slicer (seriously, this thing is AWESOME!) -



To make dehydrated dip, choose your favorite recipe (like this one for spinach artichoke dip), make the dip, and spread it thinly on your dehydrator trays. If you don't have the silicone tray liners, you can cut liners to fit your trays from parchment paper. Dehydrate until completely dry (about 8 hours, but if it's not completely dry, let it go longer), then put in a blender or food processor until completely pulverized. When you're ready to eat it, add just enough warm water to reconstitute, stir, and eat! April's favorite camping cookbook (which has instructions for many dehydrated dips) is Another Fork in the Trail: Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for the Backcountry.

After getting the van packed for the whole trip (So. Much. Stuff.), April and the hedgehogs prepared for the 24 hour drive.


"It's 1,396 miles to Slippery Rock, we got a full tank of gas, half a set of new tires, it's not dark...and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it."

A fabulous lunch awaited 3 hours later at Spiral Diner in Dallas. (For a review and TONS more pictures, check out previous posts here, here, here, here, and here.)



April had Bryan's Brutal Tacos, which were delicious, and grabbed one of her favorites, the Ate Layer Burrito, to have for dinner (as well as a brownie, because one does not simply leave Spiral Diner without a brownie).



April and the hedgehogs drove until somewhere past Nashville, TN, when they decided to stop for the night.

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.

Dr. Cow & Sheese Meltability Test

After yesterday's vegan cheese comparison post, I decided today that I'd see if they would melt. I'd tried to melt Sheese several years back, and it didn't work, but I decided to do it again now. You know, for SCIENCE.



Here's some Blue Sheese (over a Tofurkey sausage) that's been microwaved for 45 seconds. As you can see, it hasn't actually melted, but the thinner edges got quite soft.



Later, I tried some Blue Sheese and some Dr. Cow Cashew & Kale together, and microwaved them for a full minute. They made quite the interesting popping sounds, and when I took the plate out of the microwave, both cheeses were sizzling (the white stuff on the Dr. Cow was actual liquid-y sizzle-y stuff). However, they seem to have melted even less than the previous batch, and the tortilla also got kinda stiff and crunchy.

So, the verdict is still "no". Perhaps I'll try some in the oven on a tostada tomorrow, but I'm not promising anything.

RESTAURANT REVIEW - The Vegan Nom/Rockin' Vegan Tacos, Austin, TX

The Vegan Nom/Rockin' Vegan Tacos
120 East North Loop-B
Austin, Texas 78751
Tue-Wed: 7:00 am - 3:30 pm
Thu-Sat: 7:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sun: 7:00 am - 3:30 pm

Having finally got done with my 12 hour drive from Missouri, and having had a decent night's sleep, I talked my boyfriend into checking out The Vegan Nom, since I'd heard so many great things about it.




From their Facebook page - "First of its kind in Austin TEXAS, we are vegans who serve up Rockin Vegan Tacos featuring tex-mex breakfast tacos ALL DAY and our signature tacos, bomb nachos, handmade vegan chili con queso and our signature sauces: creamy salsa verde (hot), roasted smoky chipotle (med), and our fresh salsa la roja (mild).

All tacos are fresh and cooked to order. Fresh tasty food takes time. We do not serve any animal products with our tacos. 100% animal free kitchen and staff. We cook all are tacos with grapeseed and safflower oil."




The Jalisco and the Bean Diablo.


The Migas and the Grilled Avocado Reale

The Jalisco was my stand out favorite, with its faux chicken and flavorful spicy sauce. My boyfriend loved the Reale, saying it had a richer, fuller mix of flavors and that he liked the "avocadoness" of it. I liked the Bean Diablo, but it was quite spicy (too much so for my boyfriend), and we both liked the Migas, though he said it was a bit too "tofu-y". We also got chips and queso, which was creamy and delicious with quite a kick, and the large bag of chips was a great way to pick up all the taco droppings.

We used the Scoutmob deal and got our 4 fancy tacos with chips and queso for only $14. This was a great deal, and gave us money left to buy drinks at the convenience store on the property to go with the food.

I can't wait to go back and try some of the other offerings! Yay, vegan tacos!

Kale, Rice, Bean, & Tomato Wrap

This was something I made last week. Since I had a lot of brown rice and black beans, I decided to put them together with kale and tomato, sauté them in Earth Balance, and season them with a bit of garlic powder, ginger, and salt. Wrap them up in an Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain tortilla, and yum!