It has been a busy two weeks, with 14 full days of non stop company. We will do this in bulk format since there was so much eating out. It has actually been a pretty mediocre 2 weeks of food, the food scene kept amazing our guests with it's quantity, then disappointing with the quality. Here goes,
Hickory Street
First on the list of disappointments is Hickory Street. We have tried to go here a couple of times are were met with rude workers telling us, without words, that the restaurant is closing early. When we finally made it inside with Shannon's family it was pretty lame. It looked like a crappy pizza buffet place. The buffets are nowhere near as good as they sound. Shannon's dad couldn't even eat the soup because it was so gross. The best things of the night, luckily, was the black bean burger and the vegan wrap. The olive tapenade on the wrap was delicious and the hummus and veggies were complimentary but scarce. The server said the wrap came with a salad topped with corn salsa so Shannon did not order fries but the "salad" ended up being 3 spinach leaves and some corn kernels on top. However when she complained the server heard and brought a bigger salad. Miguel thought the black bean burger was a little sweet for his liking but the fries and chips were definitely favorites. Sadly, the rest of the family even complained about the ice cream tasting funny. Perhaps the cheap prices make more sense now? Sit outside and don't order a bar and it should be fine, not good.
UPDATE: We went there again to use our other groupon, we sat outside, which was nice. It took us 2 hours to get 3 appetizers, some drinks, and the bill. The service was so slow. We won't be back.. not that good.
Less Recommendish
http://www.hickorystreet.com/index.php?p=1_2_Menu
Guero's
Just a note, they still did not have vegan queso. They claim there is not enough interest for them to order more and we wonder how you gauge interest in something we can't even order because it's always sold out. The guacamole was still old tasting so maybe that's just how it is? The Chalupas ala Celeste are amazing, renewing our hope in Guero's just enough to try it again.
Still Recommended
The Oasis
We came here as a touristy activity, to watch the sunset and because we had a groupon. We had to sit inside because of the crowd but the view was really nice outside. The chips and salsa were great but we were starving so that could be the reason. Miguel was the only person who liked his food, he ordered the veggie burger. It was a black bean burger that was for some reason reminiscent of good quality taco bell. Shannon ordered the soup because it was supposed to be vegan but when it came out light green with white streaks of sour cream on top, she sent it back. The french fries were bad. We won't be back, we will head over to Billy's Brew and Que or Soleil for our next touristy visit to this location.
Not Recommended
Kerbey Lane
Just a quick note, the vegan queso is delicious here! We may have agreed it's better than any we've tried before, even the non-vegans were fooled. It was more cheesy than any other and came with salsa, so it was a pretty big small. The vegan pumpkin pancakes are still the bomb. The veggie burger was not all that great.
Still Recommended
Enoteca
We had been hearing great things about this place so when our party wanted Italian we knew right where to point them. This place is great for everyone because they have vegan pasta, gluten free pasta, and a huge selection of vegetarian dishes. The atmosphere was great inside and out and the bar was full of the good stuff. Miguel ordered the avocado panini and it was not very good, likely because the cheese added something important to the flavor. Shannon ordered the funghi tagliatelle but with vegan noodles. They were able to add in the truffle flavor without the creme so that was nice. However the pasta was lacking in a lot of flavor, there was too much olive oil and not enough garlic or other spices. It was also a tiny portion, not enough to share. All the non vegans ordered dishes from vegetarian to gluten free to meaty and loved it. The ravioli and the vegetarian version of the funghi pasta were reported to be the best. The french fries were amazingly good and the ketchup was homemade and wonderful. We may be back if this group wants to go again but probably not on our own.
Recommended
http://www.austinvespaio.com/enoteca/enoteca.html
Cafe Medici
The coffee here is horrible. The bakery selection is meek and the hours are not convenient. This is the Guadalupe location so maybe that's why? Won't be back, although they should get credit for carrying vegan cookies.
Not Recommended
Kick Butt Coffee
The coffee here was OK, not the best as seems to be a trend in Austin. The atmosphere was really cool and they also had vegan cookies. They seemed to have veg friendly options.
Recommendish
http://kickbuttcoffee.com/
Jo's
This was the SoCo location, once again OK coffee. We went twice and got an iced latte one time and hot coffee the next, both times we got the vegan chocolate chip muffin. For some reason it didn't seem all that great but all the non vegans that tried it said they were surprised it was so good. They apparently expected vegan food to be gross.. We want to try the bbq seitan sandwich here but the coffee never lures us in.
Recommended
http://www.joscoffee.com/congress/jossouthcongress.htm
Salt Lick BBQ / Wheatsville Coop
Yea this sounds weird but Shannon's work had a function at Salt Lick so we brought in Wheatsville to supplement. Make sense? OK. First off, Salt Lick is not as bad as it has been made out to be. They have vegetarian and vegan options upon request and they are actually really good. The vegan option was a vegetable creole on rice, mm. They accidently have vegan margarine and even the coleslaw and potato salad were made without mayo. Although the potato salad had bbq sauce in it, which contains anchovies. We brought along a popcorn tofu platter from the Wheatsville Coop, some dolmas from Tom's, some organic vegan bbq sauce, and 2 premade fruit trays. It was all just OK. The popcorn tofu impressed all the non vegans but both times we have tried it now, it tastes like a refrigerator. The strawberries and blueberries tasted dirty and old. The melon was great, the bbq sauce tasted funny. The dolmas were weird, they were sweet and had cinnamon, the other vegetarians liked them though. Obviously Salt Lick can't be recommended but the Coop is full of other vegan things to try so we;ll be back.
Recommended
http://wheatsville.coop/contacts.html
Papa John's
We had read that Papa John's was vegan when ordered without cheese so when Shannon's work ordered it for lunch she was excited. They even have the option of ordering a non-cheese pizza from the website. We ordered light sauce, and all the veggies and fruits except olives and banana peppers. The pizza was actually surprisingly good. The office ordered 2 this time since the last time a vegan pizza was ordered the non vegans ate it all. It would have been the case this time too since all the non-vegans agreed the vegan pizza was the best. The combination of so many veggies really made up for the lack of sauce. Good enough to eat again, if it's ordered by someone else.. but it's still a chain.
UPDATE: The office ordered vegan pizza again today and there were cheese sprinkles all over one pizza and we found ham on a couple slices of both pizzas!
Less Recommended
http://order.papajohns.com/index.html
Hickory Street
First on the list of disappointments is Hickory Street. We have tried to go here a couple of times are were met with rude workers telling us, without words, that the restaurant is closing early. When we finally made it inside with Shannon's family it was pretty lame. It looked like a crappy pizza buffet place. The buffets are nowhere near as good as they sound. Shannon's dad couldn't even eat the soup because it was so gross. The best things of the night, luckily, was the black bean burger and the vegan wrap. The olive tapenade on the wrap was delicious and the hummus and veggies were complimentary but scarce. The server said the wrap came with a salad topped with corn salsa so Shannon did not order fries but the "salad" ended up being 3 spinach leaves and some corn kernels on top. However when she complained the server heard and brought a bigger salad. Miguel thought the black bean burger was a little sweet for his liking but the fries and chips were definitely favorites. Sadly, the rest of the family even complained about the ice cream tasting funny. Perhaps the cheap prices make more sense now? Sit outside and don't order a bar and it should be fine, not good.
UPDATE: We went there again to use our other groupon, we sat outside, which was nice. It took us 2 hours to get 3 appetizers, some drinks, and the bill. The service was so slow. We won't be back.. not that good.
Less Recommendish
http://www.hickorystreet.com/index.php?p=1_2_Menu
Guero's
Just a note, they still did not have vegan queso. They claim there is not enough interest for them to order more and we wonder how you gauge interest in something we can't even order because it's always sold out. The guacamole was still old tasting so maybe that's just how it is? The Chalupas ala Celeste are amazing, renewing our hope in Guero's just enough to try it again.
Still Recommended
The Oasis
We came here as a touristy activity, to watch the sunset and because we had a groupon. We had to sit inside because of the crowd but the view was really nice outside. The chips and salsa were great but we were starving so that could be the reason. Miguel was the only person who liked his food, he ordered the veggie burger. It was a black bean burger that was for some reason reminiscent of good quality taco bell. Shannon ordered the soup because it was supposed to be vegan but when it came out light green with white streaks of sour cream on top, she sent it back. The french fries were bad. We won't be back, we will head over to Billy's Brew and Que or Soleil for our next touristy visit to this location.
Not Recommended
Kerbey Lane
Just a quick note, the vegan queso is delicious here! We may have agreed it's better than any we've tried before, even the non-vegans were fooled. It was more cheesy than any other and came with salsa, so it was a pretty big small. The vegan pumpkin pancakes are still the bomb. The veggie burger was not all that great.
Still Recommended
Enoteca
We had been hearing great things about this place so when our party wanted Italian we knew right where to point them. This place is great for everyone because they have vegan pasta, gluten free pasta, and a huge selection of vegetarian dishes. The atmosphere was great inside and out and the bar was full of the good stuff. Miguel ordered the avocado panini and it was not very good, likely because the cheese added something important to the flavor. Shannon ordered the funghi tagliatelle but with vegan noodles. They were able to add in the truffle flavor without the creme so that was nice. However the pasta was lacking in a lot of flavor, there was too much olive oil and not enough garlic or other spices. It was also a tiny portion, not enough to share. All the non vegans ordered dishes from vegetarian to gluten free to meaty and loved it. The ravioli and the vegetarian version of the funghi pasta were reported to be the best. The french fries were amazingly good and the ketchup was homemade and wonderful. We may be back if this group wants to go again but probably not on our own.
Recommended
http://www.austinvespaio.com/enoteca/enoteca.html
Cafe Medici
The coffee here is horrible. The bakery selection is meek and the hours are not convenient. This is the Guadalupe location so maybe that's why? Won't be back, although they should get credit for carrying vegan cookies.
Not Recommended
Kick Butt Coffee
The coffee here was OK, not the best as seems to be a trend in Austin. The atmosphere was really cool and they also had vegan cookies. They seemed to have veg friendly options.
Recommendish
http://kickbuttcoffee.com/
Jo's
This was the SoCo location, once again OK coffee. We went twice and got an iced latte one time and hot coffee the next, both times we got the vegan chocolate chip muffin. For some reason it didn't seem all that great but all the non vegans that tried it said they were surprised it was so good. They apparently expected vegan food to be gross.. We want to try the bbq seitan sandwich here but the coffee never lures us in.
Recommended
http://www.joscoffee.com/congress/jossouthcongress.htm
Salt Lick BBQ / Wheatsville Coop
Yea this sounds weird but Shannon's work had a function at Salt Lick so we brought in Wheatsville to supplement. Make sense? OK. First off, Salt Lick is not as bad as it has been made out to be. They have vegetarian and vegan options upon request and they are actually really good. The vegan option was a vegetable creole on rice, mm. They accidently have vegan margarine and even the coleslaw and potato salad were made without mayo. Although the potato salad had bbq sauce in it, which contains anchovies. We brought along a popcorn tofu platter from the Wheatsville Coop, some dolmas from Tom's, some organic vegan bbq sauce, and 2 premade fruit trays. It was all just OK. The popcorn tofu impressed all the non vegans but both times we have tried it now, it tastes like a refrigerator. The strawberries and blueberries tasted dirty and old. The melon was great, the bbq sauce tasted funny. The dolmas were weird, they were sweet and had cinnamon, the other vegetarians liked them though. Obviously Salt Lick can't be recommended but the Coop is full of other vegan things to try so we;ll be back.
Recommended
http://wheatsville.coop/contacts.html
Papa John's
We had read that Papa John's was vegan when ordered without cheese so when Shannon's work ordered it for lunch she was excited. They even have the option of ordering a non-cheese pizza from the website. We ordered light sauce, and all the veggies and fruits except olives and banana peppers. The pizza was actually surprisingly good. The office ordered 2 this time since the last time a vegan pizza was ordered the non vegans ate it all. It would have been the case this time too since all the non-vegans agreed the vegan pizza was the best. The combination of so many veggies really made up for the lack of sauce. Good enough to eat again, if it's ordered by someone else.. but it's still a chain.
UPDATE: The office ordered vegan pizza again today and there were cheese sprinkles all over one pizza and we found ham on a couple slices of both pizzas!
Less Recommended
http://order.papajohns.com/index.html
No comments:
Post a Comment