The Best Vegan Food in TEXAS 🤠

Transcript

Brooklynne Palmer: Hey y'all, my name is Brooklynne and I'm a vegan medical student here in Dallas, Texas. I create content on Instagram, I'm a cat mom to two very fluffy rescue cats and I love to explore the different options Dallas has, in terms of vegan food.

Britty Hamby: Hey, I'm Britty, Executive Director of ATX Vegans. Today I'm going to show you three unique vegan spots in Austin to show you what it's like to be vegan in Texas. (cheerful music)

Brooklynne Palmer: So when people think of Texas cuisine, they often think of barbecue and more barbecue. And they really don't think we have so many vegan offers here, but we do! I think that's Dallas so special.

Now let's get started at Spiral Diner. When you think of the lone star state, you probably think of southern comfort food. Well, Spiral Diner puts a vegan twist on Texas home-style cuisine. With plant based burgers, the most insane nachos you've ever had, sandwiches, homemade ice cream, cookies, it really is a vegan staple in the DFW area.

So back in high school when I became vegan, I was living in the suburbs. There's no vegan restaurants. The Fort Worth location has a really special place in my heart because it was a first all-vegan restaurant I went to and no lie, y'all, my mom has a photo of me tearing up because I was just so blown away that I could order anything off the menu. So Spiral Diner is all over the DFW area. There one in the heart of Dallas, Fort Worth and in Denton. So anywhere you're at, you can go to Spiral Diner.

Okay y'all, I'm about to try the Big Stack. We got a side of bacon 2020, we got vegan bacon out here...Let's go! It's so good, y'all. Wow. You all see this? So this is the Spiral Big Stack, Y'all. We got a Beyond Burger patty, two of them, special Spiral sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, french fried onions on a buttered sesame bun.

So off the brunch menu, we have the Homer. You get two pancakes, tofu scramble and sausage. With your choice of blueberries, chocolate chips, or pecans in pancakes.

Parker Howard: My name is Parker Howard. I am the sous chef and I'm also the general manager of our commissary kitchen. Right now, we're sitting outside of Spiral Diner. We've been here since 2004. The original location was a lunch counter near downtown Fort Worth, and that opened in 2002.

Our mission is to serve the food that people enjoyed growing up but prove that vegan food can taste good and it can remind you of your childhood, and it's better for the environment, better for the animals, better for everyone.

Our goal at Spiral Diner, besides just serving great vegan food, is to be accommodating to everyone from all walks of life. We are against racism, homophobia, transphobia, we welcome everyone from everywhere here. And that goes for our customers, our employees, everyone. We try to be as inclusive as possible. That's the the mission statement that we carried eighteen years on.

Brooklynne Palmer: You can't to Texas without trying some kind of barbecue, Y'all. Look at that. I'm going to blend it with some mac and cheese, double dip it up. So this is the Hell's Half Acre plate. We got breaded soy chicken strips, cooked in their home-made barbecue sauce, cole slaw, mac and cheese, grilled broccoli, and a side of Texas toast. Their barbecue sauce is so flavorful. I absolutely, I want everything here. If y'all, ever come to Sprial, you have to get their nachos. They are basically famous in Dallas. Oh my God. There's so much flavor and it's massive. Okay y'all, if that doesn't convince you that we have phenomenal vegan food here in Dallas, I don't know what will. On to the next spot.

Britty Hamby: Possum Park is an all vegan food court in the north loop district of Austin. It's home to Bistro Vonish, where they serve elevated vegan cuisine. The menu makes it hard to choose just one thing, with po'boys, barbecues, seitan, hush puppies, and so much more.

Bistro Vonish is in good company. They are surrounded by other vegan businesses, like a vegan chicken sandwich truck, an all gluten-free vegan bakery, and even a West African vegan food truck.

We ordered the arepas, which are made with sweet potatoes and corn masa. They are topped with jalapeno jelly and really light vegan cream cheese. These are great mix of sweet and savory. The jalapeno jelly is really not as spicy as you think it's going to be. It's quite delicious.

Next, we have the barbecue seitan sandwich. It's made with house-made seitan, caramelized onions, house-made pickles, and it's covered in sauce. And on the side, we have a spring mix salad with the poppy seed dressing. You can really taste the applewood and the mosquite that they smoked the sage ham with, and the addition of cabbage is a really delightful crunch.

Chef Craig: Hi, my name is Chef Craig. I'm here as a chef-owner of Bistro Vonish right here in Austin, Texas. Bistro Vonish, our tag line is, "Elevated vegan cuisine." We like to take food that is familiar and classic and make it from scratch and make it something that really resonates for our modern vegan needs.

We get a lot of reactions of like, "Oh, this reminds me of how good it was to eat at grandma's house when I was a child." "Oh, this reminds me of something else I grew up with." Or we get the experience of, "I didn't know vegan food could taste this good. I would be vegan everyday if I could just eat vegan food like this." And that's really what we love to see here at Bistro Vonish's, food that is great no matter who you are or where you come from, just great food and we use vegan ingredients.

Britty Hamby: Last we have the Mousseline chocolate pie. It's made from silken tofu and lots of chocolate. It has the balance of being light while also being really rich. If you're a chocolate fan, this is the dessert you have to order. Austin's full of great vegan restaurants, but if you're into elevated vegan cuisine, and you want something truly unique, what Chef Craig is doing at Bistro Vonish makes it a must-stop for Austin.

Brooklynne Palmer: El Palote is a family owned and operated vegan Mexican restaurant here, in Pleasant Grove, Dallas. And I think it's a beautiful example of the integration of culture and veganism. If y'all have authentic Mexican food before, then you understand the care, quality and spices that go into every dish. El Palote sell good seasonal, a lot of traditional dishes such as, tacos, tamales, tortas and has a whole ray of baked goods done completely vegan without sacrificing any flavor.

Vegan tamales are pretty hard to come by, and that is why it's one of my favorite things to get at El Palote. They have a variety of things you can put on the inside. Let's try it out. The corn is so fresh and so delicious, y'all. You've got to try it out. So this it the flaurrito, and I think it's one of the most interesting things in the menu. It's actually three flautas put inside a burrito 'cuz, best of both worlds. Let's try it. Oh my gosh, ya'll. It has a little bit of a kick to it but I personally love that.

They have a wide variety of different types of meats, from al pastor to carnitas, and so much more. First I'm going to try their fajita meat. Okay, and don't judge me for being messy. Here goes nothing. So, the first thing you notice is the texture, y'all. It really is unlike any other vegan meat I've had before. And then next is the flavor. It has a little heat. It's not overwhelming, but super satisfying.

Lily Arias, Co-Owner of El Palote: (Spanish) How did I start? Well, really I started without knowing, because I didn't even know what "vegan" was. But I had to do it because of my husband's health. And that's how I started to take all my dishes into the vegan world, and make them healthier.

Aurelio Arias, Co-Owner of El Palote: (Spanish) Well, my testimony starts in the hospital. I had heart issues. I remember that when I got out of the hospital, the doctor gave me a diet to follow, and I followed it for three months. And then, after three months of following that diet, I was worse than when I had started that diet. Seeing my family, my kids, I was sad. I didn't want to die. I remembered that my wife bought a book three years before that. I started reading in the book about the blood's PH, what makes the blood alkaline or acid, and the diseases that we can have. And I started reading about the problems of meat consumption to the body. I got up quickly from the chair and said, "This is the last time I eat animal-based food." And today we have been eating vegan for almost eleven years.

Brooklynne Palmer: So I know the food looks amazing but honestly, ya'll, you can really taste the authentic Mexican flare in all the meals they make. On to the next one.

Britty Hamby: I'm here at Sweet Ritual, which makes dairy free ice cream in small batches, using artisanal ingredients.

Amelia Raley: My name's Amelia, and I'm one of the co-owners of Sweet Ritual, vegan ice cream in Austin, Texas. People's first reactions when they first come in to try the ice cream are, "Wow, you mean I don't have to just choose the lemon sorbet? I can have everything?" We have a lot of people who come in, and they are very grumpy that they got dragged to a vegan ice cream shop, and we give them one of our best sellers like, rocky road, or peanut butter cup or death metal by chocolate, and they walk out the door singing our praises, and they're now open to trying any and all vegan ice cream.

So Sweet Ritual has been open for eight years, and couple of years ago, we started getting phone calls from people in other parts of the country and other parts of the world saying, "We would really love to have a Sweet Ritual where we are. Can you franchise?" And our answer was, "No, but we'll teach you how to make ice cream." And so we've had over 75 people come through our Cool School ice cream school program, and at least 12 brick and mortars have opened up so far, of people coming in and taking our course.

So it's a week long course and they learn all the ins and outs of making vegan ice cream, serving vegan ice cream and running a business. One of the reasons we started a vegan ice cream shop was because when I first started eating vegan, I loved celebrating with ice cream, so it was a great way to celebrate an A on a report card, or go on a date. And when I gave up dairy, going to a grocery store and getting a pint of ice cream and eating it in the parking lot, just didn't feel like the same kind of pat-on-the-back that going to an ice cream shop would. So we decided to open more of like an old fashion ice cream shop, so that you could come here and celebrate the baseball wins, and celebrate a daddy-daughter dates. So we really wanted to be way more about community and then have a great product at the same time.

Britty Hamby: So I'm about to dig in to this banana split, totally customizable. You can put as many toppings on it as you want, up to four scoops of any flavor you want. I can't wait. We added Captain Crunch to it, which makes me feel like a little kid.

This is the Unicorn Chaser. It looks like a dream. It's floral and fruity, and it tastes just as good as it looks. If you appreciate ice cream or frozen desserts, you have got to make a stop at Sweet Ritual.

Brooklynne Palmer: So I just finished an amazing lunch at El Palote, with all the phenomenal flavorful offers they have, but I wanted to take a second to tell you all about Beets by Brooke. The food beat.

So, that is my Instagram platform and it's a creative and educational outlet for me to share everything that I learned through this journey as a vegan medical student. One of the things I try and do with this platform is to really integrate it to different part of my life, be it health, mindfulness, veganism, medicine and everything in between. I really like bringing things together and seeing new perspectives on how we can eat food differently, live differently, and just treat people better, and animals better.

I think one of the things that my platform brings to the social media world is how to navigate the medical world through the perspective of someone who is vegan and someone who is passionate about animals. I think one of the things that connects me to The Humane League is the idea of, "Do no harm." Isn't that something that Humane league is trying to share with their followers?

Britty Hamby: Before we hit dinner, we wanted to stop into Rabbit Food, the 100% vegan grocery store for Austin. They have vegan products from all over the world here. Anything from snacks to frozen foods to cheeses from all over the place. It's a one-stop shop for anything vegan food related. Everything from Fielder's corn dogs, to gochujang chicken wings, they have everything you can think of, including meals, read-to-go. Lot's of them. Very delicious looking stuff. They even have plant based jerky made, right here in Texas.

Brooklynne Palmer: V-Eats Modern Vegan is located in the Trinity Groves marketplace here in Dallas and feature amazing plant based food for everyday lifestyle. Their menu has a phenomenal range of dishes from chicken fried steak, to biscuits and gravy, and even craft cheeses they make here in-house. Their unique house made recipes recreates a texture and flavor of animal-based food, but without their cruelty. If y'all are looking for gourmet comfort vegan food, and an incredible view of the Dallas skyline, V-Eats is where it's at.

So if y'all know anything about Texas, you know that we take our State Fair very seriously. This is inspired by that. It is their State Fair Weather Sandwich. Exactly what it looks like, is what it tastes like and it is phenomenal!

So, those who might not be familiar with southern food, y'all might not have heard of a Frito pie before. It is chili, cheese and corn chips and it's going to be a little messy but let's get into it. Their chili here really is famous in Dallas, y'all. They're so much flavor, so much spice, and with the corn chip crunch, perfection.

If someone's never been to V-Eats, I really recommend getting something with oyster mushroom. This is a General Tso's chicknun, and it's one of my favorites. So their oyster mushrooms are super crispy on the outside, but chewy on the inside. I think it's a phenomenal texture.

So, I love the desserts they have here. This is their banana bread pudding. Oh my gosh, y'all. It is just swimming in deliciousness. It's so crispy, and the banana just smacks you in the face, but like, in the best of ways.

Britty Hamby: We're here Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve. And I'm so excited to chat with Amanda Waxman, the Social Media Coordinator at The Humane League.

Amanda Waxman: Hey, I've been following ATX Vegan for a long time, like, since I moved here. And I'm just consistently inspired by you know, the community you built of people in Austin. It's amazing how you, like, utilized these platforms. It's really great, and it really inspires me, and I think we have some common goals and common interest of like, trying to be inclusive and bring new people into our community. So can you tell me a little bit about ATX Vegan and like, how that all started?

Britty Hamby: Yeah, we started a few years ago. We first took over the existing vegan drinks event which is something that happens all over the US. And, we had so many people ask us to continue doing more events, that we decided we had to make it into a bigger thing. And so we developed programing that has encompassed more of the Austin community, and not so much just focused on vegans.

Our mission now, is to make veganism as fun and accessible in Austin as possible.

Amanda Waxman: I feel like it's so important for us to, like, be inclusive not just to like, we're not just reaching vegans but also people who might just be interested in it or aren't familiar in it. So, do you find, like, a lot of people who are just interested in plant-based eating or not familiar, come to your events?

Britty Hamby: Yeah, most of the people that come to our events are vegan, but they often bring non-vegans with them. And so, we found that a big part of our community outreach should always be to include non-vegans in our programming, and just kind of celebrate people who are interested in plant-based eating in general.

We even started an organization called Planted Society, based on the fact that we had so many non-vegans coming to our businesses, and we used that big community to encourage restaurants to have more vegan options. So since we started a couple years ago, we've gotten four restaurants to go vegan forever through our programming. And every time we veganize another restaurant, more restaurants come to the forefront and they say, "Hey, we want to know how we get these crowds, we want to know how we get your people to come into our restaurants." And the main way to do it, we found, is to make vegan food as delicious and beautiful as possible.

Well, it's great to be able to connect with someone who's also doing really important work in Austin. But now we have some dinner plans.

So I'm here for dinner at The Beer Plant. They are a vegan gastro pub. They combine craft beers, wines, and cocktails with an entirely plant-based menu. They have kimchi grilled cheese, hearts of palm crab cakes, and even chicken fried seitan.

If you're looking for something to sip on, Beer Plant has amazing hand-crafted cocktails, as well as, 40 beers and ciders on tap at the bar.

e ordered the hearts of palm crab cakes that come with this awesome salad of arugula and asparagus, with a tartar sauce on the side. This is something I get every time. It's a can't-miss menu item at the Beer Plant.

So we also got the herb roasted carrots, which are served on a bed of hummus, with chili oil, and they top it with pistachios. This is my first time having this and I'm completely blown away.

We got the banh mi sandwich, which has marinated seitan and mushroom paté, as well as, lots of fresh herbs and pickled vegetable. As a kid I used to get banh mi and something I really miss is the paté part of banh mi. And they put it on here, and it is very good.

Brooklynne Palmer: Thank you all, so much, for coming along with me today. I hope I helped bust any myth you all have about eating vegan in Texas. You can keep up with me at Beets by Brook and stay tune for more content like this from the Humane League.

Britty Hamby: If you want to keep up with what's going on in Austin, check out ATX Vegans and if you want to see the work we're doing with Planted, checkout Planted Society.

Brooklynne Palmer: Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. Okay, I got some practice ones in.

Britty Hamby: The menu makes it hard to choose just one thing, with po'boys, seitans...