I’ve completely updated the vegan guide for where to eat at SXSW 2014
First time at SXSW? Check out Mad Betty’s post How to Get Through SXSW
Interested in trailers in South Austin? The South Austin Foodie has a brand new guide
Vegetarian? Check out Aneelee who has picks for downtown, south, and the eastside.
It’s all happening.
There are a billion people here and it’s about to get even crazier when the music fest starts tomorrow.
Here’s what you need to know:
Vegan food can be found in every part of the city, I have a comprehensive list of every option I know of in Austin, a vegan Austin tour if you want to explore our many food options, a sxsw guide and a brand new late night guide in case you don’t want to be bothered and just need to eat now (or later). Don’t try and subsist on free beer you are bound to regret it.
Counter Culture will be open until midnight during the music fest, it’s an all vegan full service restaurant on the Eastside on Caesar Chavez. They are going to have music on friday and a St. Patricks day party Sunday.
Cheer Up Charlie’s is going to have day parties every day, this vegan bar also on the Eastside is home of Arlo’s which has the best veggie burger and tons of other treats at their adjoining trailer park.
Music Promoter Brooklyn Vegan will also have day parties every day with free vegan breakfast tacos from Pink Avocado Catering Company and free food for lover’s nachos!! and on Friday Mr. Natural will be giving away Food for Lovers Queso as well!
If you can’t make it out of downtown you can now try Sweet Ritual‘s ice cream at Counter Culture and in milkshakes at the Hideout right on congress. But if you are in Hyde Park they are going to have caramelized banana splits on special!
Most exciting to me is the Beagle Freedom Project’s benefit showcase. This is a cause that is very close to my heart because I live with two beagles and learned that they are the most common dog used in animal testing because they are so sweet. If that doesn’t break your heart I don’t know what will! The BFP rescues dogs that would have otherwise been killed when the experiment was over and finds them homes to live out the rest of their lives instead. Seeing these videos of beagles seeing the grass for the first time will make you want adopt beagles and give the project all of your money, and you should! They are going to have free parties every day at the Free Now Showcase so go and have fun!
I have been having a blast at the interactive and film conference so far. Highlights have included being inspired by the 100 year starship project, seeing Marcon Maron ask James Franco about General Hospital and then later seeing my friend chase the latter down an ally at 4am yelling “MR. FRANCO”, #tacos, getting my picture with LeVar Burton, and seeing a gigantic decal of grumpy cat glaring over the 6th street revelers. I learned that smiling almost instantly makes you happier physiologically from a scientist and that we don’t tell our children “the future can be better” anymore from an astronaut. I went to a panel about universal love where we were all instructed to concentrate on loving the person next to us and while i was doing that the person next to me left! Harsh! Right now I’m sucking down a free sweet tea vodka and writing this post on my phone (so south by) so i hope you were able to bear with me.
Over the weekend I was at the Fun Fun Fun fest, I had a great time! I saw so many great bands including
Dengue FeverCentromatic
Octopus Project (super awesome!)
I snuck in a sandwich because a vegan’s motto is (like the girl scouts) always be prepared but I needn’t have worried. There were lots of things to eat from stands selling vegan Jambalaya and rice and beans to an outpost from The Parlor selling vegan cheeze, sausage, and garlic spinach pizza.
They also had an awesome stand called McGovern’s Organics which is a company that delievers vegan and glueten free meals and pastries around town. I had one of the best brownies of my life! It was so good, they also had frozen chocolate covered bananas on a stick which was the perfect thing to eat on a hot day! What a good idea. Here is a bad picture, it got really dusty in the afternoon.So the festival was a lot of fun. I danced like crazy and had fun fun fun. I also think it is one of the greatest fests ever for people watching, so many punks, hardcore kids, and scenesters all wearing often poorly fitting and interesting outfits. The festival was about a thousand times better than Austin City Limits which I went to earlier this year. The bands were better, you could leave and go places and come back, there was parking everywhere, it wasn’t claustrophobic, there were no chair people (who set up a whole camping spot in front of the stage so that you can’t walk around), it was only 20 bucks, AND it was in a nicer park. And you can bring your puppy! I saw this one.
The next morning I went to Kerby Lane because I read on Vegans Rock Austin that they had changed their vegan breakfast platter. Its true! The new platter has baked tofu that is actually seasoned (unlike there old unpressed, over crumbled, unseasoned, watery tofu) with vegan pancakes and soysage. The latter could still use some work but I thought it was better than the inedible rock that I had the last time. The tofu was about a million times better and the pancakes were great. We even had terrific service. So score for Kerbey Lane, no longer will a breathe a heavy sigh when someone wants to go there.
Lazy Smurf's Guide 