Tag Archives: Wheatsville

REJOICE! Red Rabbit Doughnuts have become Wheatsville Doughnuts & they are better than ever!

For a moment, we thought we had entered the darkest timeline. Red Rabbit, our beloved vegan anarchist doughnut making collective that had taken the town by storm, announced they were ceasing production.

I didn’t cry.

I just kept buying their doughnuts from Wheatsville until they were all gone filling my belly with delicious sadness. We were all shocked. The doughnuts are universally beloved and they seemed to be growing and adding gluten free options. The atxvegan community was freaking out. Everyone was upset. There were rumblings that the 12th Street Bakery and Fat Cats Organic Coffee And Dessert occasionally had doughnut on the menu and we learned that Portland’s infamous Voodoo Doughnuts was opening on dirty sixth…but none of that was what I wanted. The Red Rabbit Doughnuts are perfect and since they sell them at Wheatsville (and I got to Wheatsville at least once a day) they are incredibly convenient. We started to hear rumors that it might not be the end.

An inside source let me know that Red Rabbit was turning over their recipes to our beloved Food Co-op and training the bakery staff on how to make them perfectly. Today Wheatsville sent me a box and I want to assure you that the doughnuts are as good as they always were, maybe even better? Maybe I just missed them? But biting into it was like tasting piece of heaven on earth. My co-worker tried the apple fritter and her day went from dreary to dreamy.

Starting tomorrow, October 10th, glazed, chocolate iced, maple pecan, apple fritter, and bite sized donut holes will be available at both Wheatsville locations. They have also assured me that gluten free doughnuts are on the way in the future and that our luscious cream filled varieties will eventually be back too. What a wonderful turn of events. I love Austin Texas.

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Sweet Ritual Ice Cream now available at Wheatsville!

I’ve been looking at this picture while listening to Explosions in the Sky and it seems rather apropos. Austin really makes magic happen sometimes.

Since the new Wheatsville south opened I’ve been going there, on average, once a day because not only do I love Wheatsville, but also it’s right on my path to just about anywhere in town. It is just damn convenient to pick up either groceries for dinner or bagels for breakfast or whatever else my heart desires.

And what my heart often desires is ice cream. I’ve gone through phases with almost every vegan brand but they almost always have the same standard flavors more or less: chocolate, mint, vanilla, whatever. As an ice cream lover it can get pretty boring. Meanwhile I follow Sweet Ritual on instagram and see their unique and ever changing flavors and then I think about driving all the way up to Hyde Park. I thought I was having a constant battle between my laziness, lack of superfluous income, and knowledge that ice cream is probably not something my body really needs at it’s current state.

And now I realize that, really, laziness was the only thing getting in the way of Sweet Ritual and me. As soon as I saw they started carrying the new pints at Wheatsville south yesterday I headed there as soon as I left my office. It’s true that I was especially excited to try the new flavor “Sweetsville Malt Cookie Dough” made with a new flavor of Celeste’s Best but when I saw the other flavors I had a hard time deciding (toasted coconut! ).  I had to try the special flavor. I could hardly wait to get home and unite the container with my friend the spoon. The whole household was in love (well we didn’t let crazy Willow try it, she does not need sugar) but everyone else expressed happiness in their own unique ways, me closing my eyes, Dan going to the store to get more ice cream, Dinger grunting in appreciation for his bite for ten minutes.

It’s good stuff.

It will be available at the Guadalupe Wheatsville soon and you can also get pints at the Flag Store by Sweet Ritual and the Juiceland in Oak Hill.

 

Thanksgiving is coming it’s practically here!

I say it every year but I’m saying it again: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I am especially looking forward to this one, I want nothing more than to hunker down with a tasty feast that will last me the whole weekend. This year we don’t even have anyone coming over so I can wear pajamas all day. I also love all the pre-Thanksgiving meals up to the big day. Now, it’s become tradition to go to Mr. Natural the night before and then Wheatsville has been having Wednesday Thanksgiving on the hot bar for weeks.

Wheatsville Wednesday Hot Bar

Meanwhile on another end of town, Counter Culture has had their fabulous Thanksgiving sandwich on the specials menu last week and Sue has promised more fun stuff in the days leading up to the holiday.

If you are looking to purchase meals for Thanksgiving Day the Happy Vegan Baker has a whole array of items to choose from to create a 100% hassle free feast. She does pot pies or stuffed acorn squash for the main course so I bet it would be perfect for GFers and E2. Inge’s whole menu can be made with accommodations for dietary restrictions. She also has Pumpkin Cheesecake and Maple Pecan Pie! 

Mr. Natural and Wheatsville will also sell you whatever you need, they both have extensive vegan menus to chose from. This Saturday, the 17th. Wheatsville is doing their sampler. If you have never tried it before you should go. Last year I bought a couple of side dishes from them and it was fabulous.

I got my vegan pie, though, from Capital City Bakery and this year they are selling pumpkin, chocolate cream, and sweet potato pecan. Since last years was so fabulous I am getting another one this year. They sell them both in pie size and in mini pie size and we have had a hard time deciding which one to get. Last year, the pumpkin was perfect but I know everyone loves her chocolate cream and sweet potato pecan. Decisions decisions.

Capital City Bakery Pumpkin Pie

I tried the gardein roast last night and it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either so I think I’m going to stick with a homemade roast this year. Here is my menu so far but it is subject to change

PPK Seitan Roast stuffed with shitakes and leeks
Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Miso Glazed Brussels Sprouts
Diner Dressing (we loved the recipe from Vegan Diner last year)
Sage Gravy (also from Vegan Diner)
Cranberry Orange Almond relish (from Wheatsville)
Pumpkin Pie for dessert from Capital City But I might get two pies.

I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

Wheatsville has Thanksgiving on the hot bar every Wednesday

And I can’t not go.

Earlier today I got invited to the staff Thanksgiving meal they do every year. Your choice of turkey or ham. I was so annoyed until I remembered that it was Wednesday and all through October Wheatsville is doing thanksgiving on the hot bar and they are donating a portion of the sales to the capital area food bank. So if you don’t go you are missing out and you are kind of a jerk. All the sides are vegan and they always have roasted tofurkey too. I promised myself I wouldn’t eat too much before I went. I stood at the hot bar and looked at the food and said “self, don’t eat too much.

But there was dressing, and mashed potatoes, tofurkey with stuffing, their amazing cranberry almond dressing, mushroom gravy, spicy greens, and mac and cheese. I couldn’t say no to any of it.

Now I need a nap.

South Austin Vegan Brunch Guide- a rebuttal

The other day The Lonestar Plate wrote a guide about the best brunches in Austin. I started to comment about this and that because I felt like Molly’s criteria for best brunch isn’t the same as mine and we have such different opinions about something so important. Luckily, I have my own blog where I can ramble on about my favorite brunch spots with my favorite pictures.

My criteria is this: I don’t want to wait to sit forever and brunch can’t end at some absurdly early hour. I love that Wheatsville runs their hot bar with biscuits and gravy and tofu scramble all the live long day on Sunday. I actually end up there quite a bit because sometimes I don’t truly get my act together until around 3. It’s a tough life! Whole Foods is kind of the opposite of mellow wonderful Wheatsville. Breakfast taco service ends at 1pm on the weekends and the store is always buzzing in a beehive-like panic. But I adore their breakfast taco, even though it is totally inconsistent and sometimes doused with turmeric, when it’s on it is my favorite taco in town so I will occasionally brave the crowd…or more likely send someone to get tacos for me!They have other stuff too, they recently reformulated the donuts but I am still not impressed and they have a bagel bar with all sorts of vegan toppings but it seems to always close before I get there. They used to serve all kinds of good specials at the vegan bar but now that they are on the health kick it isn’t as appealing to me. So tacos it is and I don’t mind one bit.

One place I do love for healthy food is the recently opened Juicebox. For months I have been enjoying the Green Monster Smoothie (broccoli, peanut butter, coconut water, banana and spinach how are you so good?) but recently they expanded the smoothie menu and it is a lot harder to choose. So far I love the “Buisness Time” (cold pressed coffee, coconut water, cacao, and banana) even more than the Tropicalia (mango, banana, pineapple, lemon, kale, and spirulina) probably because tropical smoothies in Hawaii are still fresh in my memory. They also have vegan soup options from the Soup Peddler but so far I have been disappointed. I don’t know people refuse to make creamy vegan soups like corn chowder or potato leek, it really isn’t a sacrifice to use non dairy milk! I promise.

Another place I frequent is La Flor, and not just ’cause I live so close by. This place has the best tortillas I have ever had. Both the flour and especially the corn are just another level of amazingness. They are almost like a crepe and so fresh and delicious that no other taco can compare. The Spanish speaking proprietors of the trailer have assured me several times of an absence of lard in the refried beans and they are just delicious and similar to the fabulous recipe that I make at home. I finish off my taco with their steamy potatoes, nopales, and spicy green sauce and I am in cielo.

I was so excited when I found out Summermoon was selling Red Rabbit Donuts. I am desperately in love these deep fried morsels of wonder even though they don’t have any cream filled varieties. I am so glad to have a spot close to my house where I can pick them up. They probably have a location close to you too. I wish I could eat them every day.

Another coffee shop on South First has probably the greatest vegan breakfast empanadas in the world. The Fair Bean works magic with their flakey buttery crust surrounding perfectly seasoned breakfast sausage and soft potatoes. I don’t know why it isn’t one of the most popular vegan spots in town but I wish you all would check it out. Believe me on this! Maybe it is because they run out of vegan empanadas sometimes or maybe they are just too close to Bouldin Creek that not enough folks seem to give them a shot? They also have fantastic lattes, the best in town and red roobis lattes, a Roto de vegan, fantastic and giant chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. And eveyone that works there is really nice. And the owner is Brazilian. So go. I don’t work for them I just want them to always be there.Of course there is a reason that everyone goes to Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse. It probably has my favorite brunch in town. I love their unique baked tofu scramble in both the omlettes or the tacos. The Rennedict was truly a step above it for me. All that delicious tofu scramble covered in hollindaise and the best tofu bacon I have ever had make me want to cry because I go there all the time and this picture you see is the only time I have ever gotten to try it. They stop serving it at 11 or whenever they run out. And they always run out. So if you are one of those people that gets up and goes for a nice run and then needs a hearty breakfast by 8am check it out. I’ll be in bed drinking coffee and thinking about how much I hate you.

Although it isn’t paticularly vegan friendly I do end up at Polvo’s quite a bit and eat about a million chips with their delicious trio of salsa’s and escabeche while sucking down their giant Michelda. By the the time I get my food I’m not even hungry (stupid awesome chips and salsa) but their breakfast tacos are pretty good and they have lots of options. The trick is to go to the very  back middle bottom page of the menu to see your options. The staff is notoriously unhelpful but if they aren’t busy and you can get across veganism to them they sometime will make you really good food off the menu. If you don’t want a battle just be prepared to order a breakfast taco and say “really no egg” about seven times to get the point across. Curra’s over on Oltorf has better vegan options but they always seem to have a long wait so I never go.

Mr. Natural is another place with inconvenient brunch hours but worth checking out on a Saturday for sure. Mexican Breakfast is probably my favorite thing about life in Austin and this cafeteria does it right, if you weren’t impressed by lunch or dinner give their breakfast a shot. And then try lunch again on a different day. The menu has tons of stuff that can be easily veganized like this Mexican pancake. It is just a pile of potatoes, a fresh tortilla, and vegan chorizo covered in Ranchero sauce but they make every aspect of it in house so every ingredient is done to perfection. I love the Tofu Migas and the breakfast tacos (with no lettuce) as well but they also have vegan Belgin Waffles, acai bowls, cinnamon toast and ice cream sundaes! And vegan tres leches but that’s another story.

Just down the street from Mr. Natural, and at 4 other locations in town, is the very popular Kerbey Lane Cafe which is one of those places that is great for vegetarians and really not worth the hour wait on Sundays for vegans. The pancakes are much better than they used to be now that they don’t try to do vegan and gluten free and I love that they bring you margarine without asking. But, the rest of the vegan platter is kind of a disaster. The tofu scramble is either way over-spiced or not spiced at all and it really doesn’t go with pancake and maple syrup at all. Then there is the utter disaster that they call soysage. Thier soysage is the reason people throw rocks at vegan kids at school. It is exactly what the people who refuse to try your cooking think of when they hear “fake meat”. Maybe that sounds harsh but I really think nasty vegan food does more of a disservice to veganism than having no food at all. The really sad part is that vegan sausage is so easy to make or buy! It is probably the truest meat analogue there is after chick patties. I wish they would just get rid of the scramble and the sausage and serve the pancake with fakin’ bacon and homefries.Another disappointment, but for the opposite reason is Snack Bar on South Congress. They used to have these fantastic vegan migas, pictured above but then they got a new chef and took them on the menu. Before that, they had tempeh bacon and vegan waffles but they got a new chef and took them off the menu. They contacted me the other day to say they reformulated the vegan arepas and they are really good now but I think I’m afraid that I will go and love them and then they will take them off the menu. At least their cocktails are delicious and the patio remains one of the cutest in town.

For me, only two north spots make the cut because I am a southie for sure but I have to mention Counter Culture because pretty much whenever they have brunch (they only do it some Sunday’s so follow them on F*c*book) I have to go. French toast is usually the main attraction but I love the tempeh bacon, biscuits and gravy, and almost everything I have had there. I dream of Sue opening a restaurant in South Austin that has brunch every day. Finally, Sunflower Vietnamese restaurant should not be missed. I regret all the years I was too lazy to drive all the way up to research or 183 or whatever the hell crazy road this little Vietnamese restaurant is on because I missed out. The Vietnamese crêpe (or Bánh Xèo) is stuffed with mushrooms and and sprouts and all the traditional Vietnamese elements. The crepe is made out of rice flour and coconut milk and is probably even gluten free. It is by far the best vegan crepe I have ever had. I highly recommended you check it out.

So that is my brunch guide. If you disagree fee free to comment or, better yet, make one yourself! I love reading about vegan food in Austin.

 

Sunny Days in Texas: Popcorn Tofu Po’Boy

Have you ever seen such and amazing looking sandwich in your life?

If you’ve got a better one… let’s hang out because I want to try it! The popcorn tofu po’boy from Wheatsville co-op here in Austin Texas is kind of legendary. You can ask just about any deep fried vegan in town what they recommend on a trip to Austin and probably every single one of them will tell you that the nooch-battered tofu on a fresh roll with the veggies of your choice and surrounded by the homemade creamy cashew tamari dressing is about as good as it gets.

With the Sunny Days in Texas zine you don’t have to travel all the way to Austin to try one (though you still should).  All you have to do is find a roll and then make the recipes for both the popcorn tofu and the cashew tamari dressing, which are both in the zine and cover with whatever will make you feel good about yourself. The recipes are the actual coveted Wheatsville originals so they are both to make a restaurant quantity of the ingredients. I haven’t perfected either one on my own yet (I have been busy!) but I can tell you that going with your gut works better than trying to do a straight math conversion.

Eat tofu! Help Animals!

Every post this month for Veganmofo will be celebrating the recipes in the zine Sunny Days in Texas, a fundraiser cookzine to help Sunny Day Farms Animal Sanctuary.

VeganMoFo- I already miss summer cooking

In Texas it is hot in the summer. Maybe some of you haven’t ever even really experienced what “hot” can be. The warmest day in Portland is maybe 90 degrees when here in Austin 90 degrees means you wear long sleeves at night! This summer we finally got a grill off Craig’s List and could cook without heating up the whole house although it was still impossible to cook without sweating. Unfortunately, since I was in charge of cooking that meant I was not in charge of the fire which led to this.

I had lot of fun making Susan’s Ribz several different times

The smoked Tempeh from the Veganomicon & Creole Style Black Eyed Peas was really good. Using fresh black-eyed peas is so great. They are just so creamy and delectable.

In Texas there is no type of food more important than BBQ and I feel like as a vegan you can appreciate BBQ sauce more when their isn’t a bunch of fat and gristle in the way

Baked BBQ Tofu with sweet corn and collards

BBQ Black-Eyed Peas wrapped in Collard Greens

and a BBQ Seitan Sandwich from Whole Foods because sometimes it is really nice to go into a freezing cold grocery store and have some vegans cook for you!

We also eat a lot of Mexican inspired Dishes here in Austin. I made these tacos one night when I wanted something quick and easy

And I made Phish Tacos using the fish stick recipe from Vegan Lunch Box (a great recipe) and a Beet & Jicama slaw

And the delicious Pasta De La California with an heirloom tomato Serbain salad. Who would have thought that Avocado could literally be added to any dish and make it better.

Also another Southern style dish. I don’t know how they do it but the tofu at our co-op is so good that you would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t like it.

Southern Fried Tofu from Wheatsville Co-op with Black Eyed Peas

From this photo essay I have really learned that I need to get some different plates if I am going to be a food blogger! I can’t believe all the things I didn’t cook when I had the chance; I never once made Watermelon Gazpacho or Tomato Pie. I guess I will have to wait for next year. But now we get to move onto the most fun cooking of all HOLIDAY COOKIN!