I can’t believe Doggie Style has been open for a year now and I haven’t blogged about it yet! It has certainly become one of my favorite spots when I want to indulge in childhood favorites. This wonderful trailer over by Bananarchy at the Live Oak trailer park on South First got a lot of support from the get go with their kickstarter campaign getting vegans in town super excited for some homemade hot dogs. Even though I grew up in Chicagoland standard hot dog toppings have never been my favorite so when I read about the Jon Stewart Dog (Russian Dressing and Sauerkraut) or the Chicago Dog (mustard, pickle, relish, peppers, tomato, celery salt) I filed it away as a place to check out the next time I’m with a hot dog lover. Lucky for me, as a good blogger, I also started following them on instagram and saw their weekly specials pop up that were like calls directly to the weakest most self-indulgent part of my soul. Yes my primal cravings involve french fries and free beer (every Sunday). And tater tots.

One Hot Dog I couldn’t resist was the Totchos Dog which was topped with fried tater tots, white sausage gravy, golden cheddar, and jalapeños. You could also get it just as an old-fashioned pie of totchos. This is a hot dog that dreams are made of.

Another day I went nuts over the similar Poutine Dog (mushroom gravy, cheese curds, and french fries). With a side of fries.

On a different trip I planned to share these chili fries with friends. But then my friends were late and I Homer Simpsoned the whole bowl. I have no self-control at Doggie Style. They are the closest thing to Chicago Diner-style food we have here in Austin.

If you want to try them out but don’t want to go alone Vegan Drinks is having a meet-up there July 7 at 8 PM - 11 PM

And if you want to eat an excessive amount of hot dogs, or watch people try, the Hot Dog Eating contest on the 4th of July!

So follow them on instagram or facebook and see what you can’t resist, here are a few other recent posts from them:

The Buffalo Cauliflower Dog

The Flyin’ Hawaiian dog

The Donald

The Cherry Bomb

And just last week they had a cheeseburger dog. Who knows what’s next?

In Austin we have five seasons: fall, winter, spring, summer, and TEXAS SUMMER. The latter is always in caps. It’s the extra season that people who live elsewhere don’t really understand. In some ways it’s more akin to the blizzards of the north because during TEXAS SUMMER you don’t want to go outside unless you are completely prepared for the elements (sunscreen, hats, deodorant) and it can be hard to motivate to get out of the sweet feel of air conditioning. If you are going to go brave the out-of-doors there are only certain places that are worthwhile; patios with misters and margaritas, Barton Springs, and Lake Travis. In the past, the latter was not very vegan friendly but times they are changing and now after a dip in the lake or a boat ride you can head over to the ever-expanding Oasis complex and find an all vegan ice cream shop: Vicecreme.

I hadn’t been to the Oasis in a few years, and even back then it was an epic restaurant. Now it’s grown to be a Disneyland-style shopping experience with all sorts of coffee shops, bars, and restaurants. We parked in the Oasis lot and took a golf cart over to the ice cream shop, because really why not? Then wandered around just a little bit until we found the storefront.

The inside is very minimalist and modern with tasteful vegan art and lots of natural light and succulents. The menu includes sundaes with toppings like doughnuts and marshmallows, open-faced ice cream sandwiches (so you don’t squeeze out melty ice cream all over your hand), shakes, scoops, oreo cones, brownie sundaes, and banana splits. They make their own soft-serve, chocolate and “banilla” banana-based vanilla. The

Additionally, the case has six flavors of hard packed Nadamoo which will rotate by the season. I had my favorite Snickerdoodle but I also saw Chocolate Peanut Butter, Birthday Cake, Cherry Fudge Brownie, Java Chip, and Mint Chip.

They also have some eco-friendly items for sale that donate profits to animal shelters and marine life including Sand Cloud towels and bottles, Pura Vida bracelets, and Sydney Hale candles.

I topped my scoop with a doughnut and peanut butter sauce but Wes and Jessica went for a little bit of everything with their banana split.

So next time your out at the lake check it out and support these awesome vegans!