The Amazing Green Vegetarian- Vegan in San Antonio, TX

While we were in San Antonio we ate at Green Vegetarian more times than I can count. Green has three locations and they are all 100% vegetarian and kosher.

There are many noted vegan items on the menu, as well as a clear indication of what vegetarian items can be made vegan- most breakfast items and ALL meals on their non-breakfast menu. Their desserts are all vegan by default. Not too shabby!

 

I had been forewarned that it was an amazing place, but I'm not sure that I was prepared for the very first thing that I saw upon entering. I am a dessert professional, but this all vegan line-up really caught me off-guard.

As if all that wasn't enough, when I looked up there were TWINKIES! How was I supposed to concentrate on a menu of savory food when there were twinkies mere feet away- in danger of selling out?

Not to mention Hostess as far as the eye could see...

Our first meal here was breakfast, during which tables receive complimentary biscuits. It took me a minute to figure out that they contained fennel seeds; is that a southern thing? Totally unexpected!

Since breakfast tacos were my new thing, I ordered the recommended Migas (gf): tomatoes, onions, bell peppers & corn tortilla chips scrambled with tofu and served with refried beans, breakfast tots, and corn tortillas. It was a fine and hardy start to what was going to be a marathon of eating at Green in the coming days. Also, TOTS!

On the way out I noticed something I hadn't seen previously: snowball cupcakes! I was taken back to my youth where racks of colorful snowballs spun jovially in the supermarket.

They even had lemon meringue! I'm not particularly in to lemon meringue, but look at those elusive vegan peaks! But, I digress.

 

I managed to resist these impressive offerings in order to hold true to my original choices; a twinkie and a "Hostess Who?" came with me as takeout for lunch. This is a true story; everyone else got protein salads (gf): kale, fresh spinach, chickpeas, quinoa tabouli, flaxseed, pecan hummus, carrots, tomato, avocado, and roasted tofu.

Suckers!

When we returned for dinner (yes, really) the first thing we chose to share were fried pickles: panko breaded, deep fried, kosher dill pickle spears.

Despite this non-committal expression, they were the hit of the table.

As I embarked upon my third meal of the day from Green, I had a chance to appreciate the aesthetic of the space. Lots of fun and inventive repurposing; it took us a few minutes to place that this wall installation was made up of vintage light fixtures.

Also lots of adorable chalk work.

 

 

Just a beautiful and inviting atmosphere over all.

 

For my entree, Cece's Stir Fry (gf): an epic mix of popcorn tofu, broccoli, bell pepper, celery and carrots. Served with chia seed brown rice and kale salad. I could not have made a better choice; my dish was the envy of many in our large group.

Oh and guess what?

 

Vanilla soft-serve cones for dessert? Don't mind if I do.

Also, while 89 wasn't traveling with me, check it out:

Another lunch consisted of grilled cheese and tomato: toasted multi-grain bread with basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

I had tomato soup on the side because that's how ya do.

And, on my final meal of the trip, the sweet potato pancakes with blueberries.

In parting, I left a card on their community board so everyone would know I'd been there.

If you're in Texas, it's certainly not to be missed. I think I did a pretty good job of researching all aspects of the menu for you.

Senõr Veggie: Vegan in San Antonio, TX

So, our second stop in San Antonio was the reason for our whole trip. BUT, I'm not ready to share it just yet. In fact, I'm getting verklempt just thinking about it, so I'll skip ahead to our next meal(s): Senõr Veggie.

We were lucky enough to attend an afternoon event catered by Senõr Veggie, so we got to try a host of their extraordinarily fresh and flavorful menu items. Who even remembers what was on the buffet? I do; it's what I do: baba ganoush, hummus, grilled lavash, antipasto, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, and quinoa salad.

But enough about all that savory yum; the baklava was really my main course. It was OUTSTANDING.

We all enjoyed everything so much so that we agreed it was prudent to visit Senõr Veggie in person for dinner that same night.

 

It was a much larger space than I'd anticipated; the atmosphere was friendly, informal, and laid back.

 

 
agua fresca:

Appetizers first:
Lettuce wraps with crispy tofu, veggies, sprouts. The best! Truly succulent tofu paired well with crisp veggies.

Poblano corn fritters with chipotle mayo. In addition to breakfast tacos, fritters were in abundance in Texas.

Sweet potato wedgies with curry ketchup. You can never go wrong with fries.

I couldn't make a dinner decision, so I shared with a pal.
Portabella Fajitas with peppers, onions, brown rice, black beans, tortillas. Smoky!!

Buffalo tofu Po Boy with house mayo, lettuce, pickles, and shoestring fries.

This feast was followed by an extraordinary sadness when we found out they were out of baklava. You'd have thought we'd eaten enough of it earlier in the day, but you can't really define "enough" when it comes to Senõr Veggie baklava.

Later that night we did a little site-seeing on foot.
How can I write about San Antonio without the requisite photo of The Alamo? I can't.

As if the anti-Obama ramblings of the guards weren't cringe-worthy enough, here's Hello Kitty: Texas style that I found in one of the tourist shops down the block.

And this? This is armadillo milk.

Because why shouldn't we find more animals to milk?

Oh, right. Not your mom, not your milk!

This frog with a plant afro more than made up for any unpleasantness. More vegan Texas coming soon!

Twin Sisters: Vegan in San Antonio, TX

So, last year (you read that right) I had the amazing opportunity to visit San Antonio (and Austin), Texas for a very special reason. Because I am a lazy blogger who is consistently behind on things that are very important, I haven't told you about any of it! Since this was our first stop in San Antonio, let's start here with Twin Sisters Bakery & Cafe.

I've never been to Texas before (or since), but I spent so much time thinking about how adamant Susan Sarandon was about bypassing Texas in Thelma & Louise, that I never gave much thought as to what I was most likely to find in the state: breakfast tacos!!!

The (vegan) options were:

tofu chorizo, sweet potato, avocado, brown rice, tofu, black beans, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos, potatoes, peppers, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, mushrooms, garlic, pico de gallo

Because I'd just arrived in Texas I showed some short-lived restraint. I chose what I expected would be two small tacos with two ingredients each, both on a "healthy whole wheat flour taco" and served with complimentary salsa, of course.

The first: the recomended tofu chorizo with avocado. I'm vegan; I don't know what chorizo tastes like, but slap some avocado on just about anything and you've got a winner!

The other: potatoes with jalapenos. Please note that when you order fresh jalapeno in Texas, they are not messing around. This was easily a half of a giant jalapeno: seeds included. This is how you jalapeno, folks. The Northeast could take a lesson!

I'm no slouch in the eating department, but this was a pretty large meal to start the day with. First meal of day one and I was already winning.

If you look closely you might spy some amazing animal activists that might give you a hint as to where I was headed.

So, stay tuned as I pepper my regularly, "scheduled" programming with posts about this exciting trip; you won't want to miss any of it: particularly the denouement.