Romeo's Italian Bar and Grill

We got a groupon for Romeo's and tried it out on a Sunday night.  It was freezing so we did not sit out on the patio but live music was inside so we probably would have stayed in anyway.  The wait was long and crowded and the music was country so we seemed to be missing the romantic part but again the patio is probably the romantic part?  Their first good mark came from their offering of St. Pauli's, a non-alcoholic beer.  Next, the server seemed to be knowledgeable about vegan options and general ingredients on their menu.  Third, they offer Diet Dr. Pepper, although they lose that mark since it was gross, their water is unfiltered so the ice tastes bad.  We started out with the bruschetta, the olive tapenade has parmesan so we got an extra garlic pod instead.  The bread was really good, the garlic pod was not good at all, the tomato artichoke relish was average.  They bring out a complimentary basket of rolls and an oil and herb plate for dipping, our server handmade ours so that it would be vegan.  The rolls were amazing, they were crusty and flaky on the outside and fluffy and warm on the inside, we preferred this over the appetizer we had to pay for!  Shannon ordered the capelinni pomodoro and Miguel ordered the tomato artichoke pizza, subtracting cheese and adding sun dried tomatoes and green olives.  They were both pretty good but not a really delicious flavor.. nothing special.  What we referred to as average italian food.  The pizza crust was weird and almost like a fluffy cracker.  The capellini was better.   When we ate all of this for leftovers, because those rolls filled us up, it was much better.  There is something about cold, day old pasta, it gets much more flavor.  We put some Daiya cheese on the pizza and some parmesan on the pasta, then baked them both.  Overall, this place was really expensive for such average food.   

Recommendish.
http://www.romeosrestaurants.com/menu.html

Southside Flying Pizza

Thanks to Urban Dealight, we ate at Southside Flying Pizza the other day for half off.  Reviews were mixed but we only read the bad ones which complained about delivery and customer service.  We ate in to avoid the first problem and would slightly agree with the second complaint.  They are very nonchalant, care free, the type of service that we prefer but that some may find offensive.  First off, we ordered the garlic knots which are vegan by accident as long as you tell them to lay off the parmesan.  Their margarine is vegan, so their new cinnamon knots are also vegan.. and delicious.  They were giving out free samples.  As for the pizza, they do not have vegan cheese but they will leave the cheese off for you.  The annoying part is that taking off cheese doesn't warrant a replacement topping.  You have to either order one of their pizzas without cheese or build your own and pay $1-$2 per topping, this means if you want sun dried tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes, it's gonna cost you.  None of the pizzas are loaded with veggies so we added some on, making our order go over our $20 limit.  The pizza itself was pretty good, sort of bland.  The sauce served with the garlic knots seemed to have much more flavor than the pizza sauce.  Another good thing, for us, they had cans of Diet Dr. Pepper so our meal was complete.  We ordered the athena pizza without cheese and added jalapenos, mushrooms, garlic (free), and herbs (free).  When we cooked up the left overs with Daiya mozzarella and vegan parmesan it was much better, so vegetarians might enjoy this pizza even better.  Lastly, Shannon liked the whole wheat crust but Miguel did not.

Recommended.
http://www.southsideflyingpizza.com/

Iggi's Texatarian

This place is amazing.  We were talking about the type of restaurant we would want to make because it seems like all the vegan places offer gluten free, weird healthy ingredients, and bland food.  We were thinking that just because someone is vegan doesn't mean they want their food sweetened with date paste or made with rice flour lol.  Nothing against health food, we eat it all the time, but once in a while we want a heaping plate of vegan fettuccine alfredo you know?  Anyways, Iggi's is the answer.  They offer vegan macaroni and cheese!  Vegan Queso!  Vegan nachos!  Vegan chili cheese dogs!  Heaven.  Most importantly it is all delicious.  The first time we went Miguel ordered the chili cheese dog with a side of macaroni and Shannon ordered the frito pie.  Both were amazing but we decided to switch because Miguel loves fritos and Shannon loves macaroni!  While we were waiting we ordered an appetizer of vegan queso, yum.  The next time we went we brought a non-vegan friend who ordered the macaroni and loved it.  Miguel ordered the cowboy nachos and Shannon ordered the chilimac.  Once again delicious.  The chili used in the chili mac and on the nachos is almost sweet though, we both prefer spicy so maybe the cowboy nachos (with black beans instead of chili) will be a better option for next time.  They also serve a slew of good sounding sandwiches, including a BBQ seitan, which they also have in platter form.  Both times we went we also got a cupcake from Peaches Magee at the adjacent trailer, they offer vegan cupcakes but it seems that no matter the flavor.. you get lemon flavored.  First we ordered raspberry with cream cheese frosting and it tasted like lemons.  The next time we ordered peanut butter, chocolate, banana, again lemons.  Also of mention, they cost $2 and are about as small as if you were to make them at home (not hey cupcake size).  The last time we went, we ate in Cheer Up Charlie's and it has a great atmosphere.  Also, they have 2 Kombucha flavors on tap so it is non-alcholic friendly!  They have some vegan chocolates for $3 on the counter and supposedly they serve vegan sandwiches but we have not seen sandwiches or a menu when we've gone there. 

Recommended.
http://iggistexatarian.com/

Toy Joy Cafe

How could we miss this?  Right by our house is a delicious vegan soft serve joint and we never even knew.  Anyways, this place has some amazing selection and it's all vegan friendly.  The soft serves of the day were vanilla and chai, we got the swirl with oreos on top.  They are vegan oreos and they have other vegan delights such as marshmallows, chocolate syrup and mint oreos.  Yay.  Besides just your standard swirl, they offer milkshakes (with almond, rice, soy or organic cow milk), bubble teas, and sundaes.  There are rumors that they will be moving out on their own in March so get there soon! 

RECOMMENDED
http://toyjoy.myshopify.com/pages/cafe

Whole Foods

Sure this is not a restaurant, but they do have food!  First off, it is awesome to just go to Whole Foods and have a bunch of delicious free samples.  As for buying food, the vegan chicken nuggets are to DIE for.  They taste better than any meaty nugget ever thought about tasting.  The vegan apple fritters taste like a delectable, high quality, funnel cake.  Delicately caramelized glaze and fluffy insides, although no apples.  Then the vegan coconut donut is also amazing with a hint of that funnel cake flavor and tasty cocnut, the inside of this one is even fluffier, mmmmm.  The big john, vegan chocolate chip cookie, was mm mm good.  The mocha chip oatmeal cookie was dry and not so good.  The vegan migas were quite good although very easy to make at home so it doesn't seem worth it to pay $7.99/lb.  The breakfast potatoes and black beans were good, in a standard sort of way.  Overall, Whole Foods makes up a great brunch for early risers.

Recommend
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

Bamboo Bistro

Urban Dealight had a deal for half off Bamboo Bistro so Miguel got 2 vouchers for his birthday.  We were a little skeptical at first because it looked like a really nice asian diner, which might hint at a chain.  It was not!  It is actually a 3 month old, family owned restaurant and it is amazing!  First off, they are very vegetarian and vegan friendly since they offer a bunch of noodle and entree dishes where you pick the "meat".  Even better, when we asked the server if any of their soup were vegan.. she knew the answer!  We realized how rare it is that people actually have a straight answer right away and this person knew the ingredients in each dish, further suggesting that everything is home made :)  Another postivie note is you could pick white, brown or fried rice with your meal at no extra charge.  We ordered the vegetarian egg roll (vegan) and the Thai soup, both were great.  The Thai soup had an interesting flavor because it was really spicy but had basil leaves and mushrooms to counteract the heat.  For our main courses, Shannon had the yellow curry tofu and Miguel had the szechuan tofu.  Both were amazing but the curry was over the top delicious.  Our favorite curry ever tastes just like this curry but has a more fluid consistency.  The szechuan tasted like a mild general tso's sauce and was a good balance for the curry since it can become to much at times.  None of the deserts were vegan and we had $3 left on our deal (cheap right?) so we ordered the general tso's tofu to take home.  We did try it in the car though and it was really good.  Not your typical general tso's sauce, it was soy sauce based.. but it will make a great breakfast.  Overall we would recommend this place to everyone!  Help a starting business out.

RECOMMENDED
http://www.bamboobistroonline.com/

Promise Pizza

For the new year, our resolution is to be vegan!  As it turns out there is not much you can't have, almost everything can be made vegan.  Miguel was really missing pizza so he was happy to find out that Promise Pizza serves a vegan pizza!  We drove a ways to get to the Promise Pizza near the Gateway Plaza but it was well worth it.  We ordered the Mediterranean pizza on whole wheat crust with garlic, olive oil, basil and herbs.. Miguel ordered olives on his half.  It is made with Daiya mozarella cheese which we have used and loved before because of its buttery flavor.  The pizza was amazing although next time we might ask them to mix the cheese up a little because it gets crispy sitting on top. 

Recommended
http://www.promisepizza.com/Promise_Pizza/Home.html