Guero's Taco Bar has a VEGAN MENU, Vegan Austin TX

Sometimes, juuuust sometimes, non-vegan restaurants surprise you. When we were walking along South Congress in Austin, TX, we decided to check out Guero's Taco Bar for a few reasons: they had drinks, they had chips, and they had outdoor seating. Well, to our surprise, they also had a VEGAN MENU! And you know as well as I do: few things taste as good as something vegan when you least expect it.

That's the look on my face when I'm trying to figure out if a place has vegan options

Take Food for Lovers Queso. I like it; I like it just fine. But as unexpected vegan nacho cheese at an omni restaurant when you expect nothing?  Phenomenal!

 

I also had one of their soy taquitos al pastor: "authentic with a vegan friendly twist- soy chorizo on a corn tortilla chiquita, topped with chopped onion, cilantro, and pineapple." I'll admit that it sounded much more spectacular than it was in reality, but....

there was also a salsa bar! So, I did not go hungry.

Which was good, because: margaritas.

Highly recommend if you're nearby.

We drove/walked around the surrounding area afterward while we waited for nightfall.

Spied these vegan donuts with a disgraceful 225% vegan tax in Whole Foods.

Visited this hot sauce shop where I was too disappointed to buy anything when the hot sauce featuring vegan Maker's Mark was decidedly non-vegan.

Giggled at some cute kitsch.

Scowled at some nonsense. #stoptellingwomentosmile

Admired a non-vegan cupcake airstream (the cupcake was spinning).

Perused our adorable vegan guide to Austin:

And, of course, listened to music.
This is as good a time as any to say, please don't photograph musicians/entertainers without making a contribution. They are there for your entertainment, but also to make a living!

The pooch snoozing in the back was in the guitar case at one point: extra cuteness!

All this up until it was time for the bats! It's hard to capture the enormity of the South Congress Bridge bat population in a photograph; each pale line in the sky is one of MANY Mexico free-tailed bats taking their nightly insect feeding.

Stay tuned for much more on Texas! Little by little I'll get to everything...

Organic Vegan Gluten-Free Natura Wine

It's not every day someone sends me wine to review, but that's just what the generous folks at Natura Wine did a few weeks ago and it arrived with perfect timing to imbibe poolside.

 

Knowing how infuriating it can be to source vegan wines, I'm always on the lookout for brands I can gravitate to as go-to selections. When I find one that I like, I generally keep a case on hand for guests and gifting. Natura makes vegan wine that comes from organically farmed, estate vineyards in some of the most renowned wine-growing valleys of Chile and it's also gluten-free.

 

To save you the trouble, I went ahead and checked them out on Barnivore: vegan-friendly indeed! There are nine varieties available from Natura; they sent their cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc Chilean wine.

 

VM pretty much wrestled me for them, but I managed a few mouthfuls before she got out her straw.

The pear-ish hue of the sauvignon blanc made it look particularly refreshing and it was subtly fruity without being sweet. I wanted to make it into sangria or at least a spritzer, but VM would not allow it under any circumstances; she is much more of a purist than I when it comes to wine.

The cabernet sauvignon was pure ruby: subtle berry notes with a full body that was screaming for a hearty marinara dish with which to pair.

This is just a sampling of the options- what Natura calls "varietels," on offer; they also make a merlot, carmenere, chardonnay, pinot noir, and malbec: all gluten-free wines. Head to Naturawines.com to find out more!

I promise you that 89 was only interested in the pretzels that lay just beyond the wine.