Who Needs a Drive-Through? Austin Has Drive-Up Service

We may not have every vegan convenience there is to have, but Austin is about as close at it gets. San Antonio has their Earth Burger with its drive-through. Austin has the Vegan Nom and the Vegan Yacht with drive-up service. http://instagram.com/p/syO7j7sTnH/

Vegan Taco Update: Taco 'Bout It Closes; Vegan Nom Relocating

Taco 'Bout It has closed. This is a message on the business's Facebook page today: "A time sensitive opportunity presented itself recently and a hard decision to retire Taco 'Bout It has been made. Thank you for having faith in my business, your constant encouragement, and above all your friendship. Peace!" That means Austin is down to one vegan taco stand, Vegan Nom, which is also in a state of flux. They are in the process of moving from the Buzz Mill back to their old location on North Loop. This change was sudden this weekend, so I imagine some kind of fallout occurred with the Buzz Mill. While I love having Vegan Nom closer, I am saddened for the people in South Austin who got used to their presence. There is no word about the second trailer they have been planning on opening for months now, but I wouldn't doubt they will have South Austin in mind when they do.

Not Holding Back with This Vegan Birthday Cake

OK, this cake I baked for my son's fourth birthday may not look so great. I guess I didn't blend the powdered sugar in well enough and probably did not add enough of it to make it as thick as it should have been for the outer chocolate icing. That said, however, I think I'm breaking some decadence laws with this one. I used the devil's food cupcake recipe from Betty's Gone Vegan, Isa's coconut icing recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance as the middle filling, and a slightly modified chocolate icing recipe from Joy of Vegan Baking (I added coconut milk to tie in the flavors). I did not hold back on sugar or fat, but I used mostly whole wheat pastry flour with about a 1/3 cup of oatmeal flour. I also used a little apple sauce and apple cider vinegar, in addition to a liberal amount of baking soda. It did come out fluffy but also really rich. That is OK. It is not normally how we would prepare something, but since this was a birthday celebration, I thought I'd have a little fun. He definitely burned off any calories he consumed on his new bike. Total amount of Earth Balance used: 1 1/2 cups.

If You Can Only Get One Vegan Thing in Austin ...

This is the Three Amigos Loco from Vegan Nom. Notice, it has a corn tortilla in this picture. It is better with the flour tortilla, as the filling does not have to compete in flavor with tortilla.

Vegan Nom is the absolutely the vegan prize in Austin. I've tried just about everything they have made, but I have missed out on a few of their specials. My two all-time favorite tacos are the Local Tex-Mex (with no cheese but avocado added) and the off-menu item (once a special) of Three Amigos made Loco (but no cheese). I'm absolutely bonkers about their chipotle salsa. I've petitioned them to turn it into a soup without much luck so far. Every time I order, they ask, "Is this, Andrew." Yes, you've got me. My son once played a game repeatedly for a while, pretending to make phone calls to Vegan Nom, asking for two tacos with no cheese but with avocado. It was hilarious. Unfortunately, I live in North Austin, and since Vegan Nom moved to the Buzz Mill and next to an actual smoking BBQ meat pit (really unpleasant) south of Town Lake, I have not been able to go as often. They have a second trailer and say they will reopen on North Loop, but time will tell where they end up. I would not mind if they end up farther north than the centrally located North Loop. But if I could only get one vegan meal in Austin, I would get my favorite tacos from Vegan Nom.