I love cupcakes. When I lived in LA I visited the legendary Sprinkles Cupcake store, only to be sorely disappointed by the dry cake and horrid sugar-jacket my teeth were wearing after consumption. After that, I wondered whether cupcakes could be as delicious as they were in my mind. Then I moved to Austin, and it seemed the cupcake stores that were so trendy in LA hadn’t moved this far east yet. I resigned myself to eating Tex-Mex and forgetting I ever knew such temptations as PinkBerry Yogurt or entire stores dedicated to little frosted treats.
Until recently. Suddenly, it seems there is a cupcake store on every corner, right next to the day spa on every corner. Which is right next the guy playing guitar on every corner. Anyways, over the last two weeks I’ve had the opportunity to try two (cupcakes, not musicians), and I’m here to report.
CupPrimo is a delightful cafe hidden next to my house in a very run down strip mall. There’s a Tex Mex place (of course), a hardware store, an Asian market, an Indian market, a Cajun deli and bubble tea shop that never seems to be open…and CupPrimo. Open for a little over a year, it’s a trendy coffee-shop cupcake bar and truly a hidden gem. I got there late in the day, but they still had some mini-cupcakes left, so I got three (I figured I should try various flavors instead of one full-sized cupcake). I took them to-go, and managed to eat all three before I hit my first stop light (what? I’m practicing for a cupcake eating contest!). The red velvet was tasty with a true cream-cheese frosting, the italian cream was delightful and nutty, and I’m sorry to say I can’t recall what the third one was, probably because I ate it without chewing. But it was good. CupPrimo is worth a visit if you’re in North Austin, and gets high marks for it’s bite sized treats with sugary frosting. (www.cupprimo.com)
If my cupcake dreams hadn’t already been fulfilled, just this weekend I was at a business fair at Costco and had the good fortune to be seated next to Polkadots Cupcake Factory. I was only able to try a sample sized portion of Lemon and Cream, but holy cow was it delicious. The billows of frosting had me worried for a moment, I thought it might be too sweet or too buttercreamy (like, for example, those sheet cakes from Costco) but it’s not at all. It’s just creamy and flavorful, and melts in your mouth. Even my husband liked it, and he does not like sweets at all. Also, it had to be the moistest cake I’ve ever had. It seems like there is some frosting or cream baked into the middle of the cupcake, but I can’t be sure as I didn’t have a whole one. Anyways, there’s not too much more I can say given my limited tasting, but I can tell you the taste lingered in my mouth for a long time and I felt satisfied, yet wanted more, all at the same time. I would definitely try Polkadots Cupcakes again, I only wish I lived closer! (http://www.polkadotscupcakefactory.com)
Vegan Friendly: not at all
Vegetarian Friendly: ****
Fish Friendly: n/a
Price: $
Service: n/a
Atmosphere: ****
You might be thinking: BB Rovers? What is that? Well, it’s the best little dive bar in Austin if you ask me. We had the good fortune of stumbling across this hidden neighborhood gem when we moved to North Austin. Tucked in the back of same shopping center as Mongolian Grill (183 and Oak Knoll), BB Rovers features over 200 different beers. Most of these beers are in bottles, but there are at least 10 on tap. We’ll get back to the beer later, but first, let’s talk about the food.
BB Rovers has a decent vegetarian selection- pizzas, pasta primavera, soups, salads, nachos and guacamole salad. Unfortunately, none of it is particularly good. On a recent visit we had the nachos which arrived as a plate of chips topped with cheese and some jalepenos. There were no beans. No pico, no nothing, really. It could possibly be the worst nachos I’ve ever had. The guac is equally as disappointing. It’s got the taste and texture of that pre-made guac you buy in the grocery store.
Chez Zee is one of those places that you can’t avoid hearing about. Winner of Austin Chronicle’s “Best Dessert” award, I had been wanting to check it out for quite some time. (I do love dessert!). Upon previewing the menu online I saw a large selection of octo-lovo vegetarian selections (salads, pizza, pastas and more), but not a whole lot for the vegan crowd. (View menu)
We arrived at Chez Zee on a Thursday night. It was pretty busy, but there was no wait. The restaurant is very “Austin weird” with a selection of random art work, christmas lights, knick-knacks and an odd collection of games.
We started off with the basil cheese torta, which sounded delicious, but in fact looked like something a kid would make when first learning how to cook. It consisted of cream cheese mixed with pesto which was sandwiched between layers of provolone cheese to create a lasagna like effect. The overall effect, though, was a processed cheese taste akin to cheese wiz. The torta was accompanied by some toasted bread chips that crumbled in your mouth like ash. We we surprised that they did not use the dinner bread with this dish, as their dinner bread was quite good- freshly baked and chewy on the inside with a nice crust. Although the dinner bread was pleasant, it was served with an “olive oil” that was flavored with smoked pepper and garlic. The smokey taste was oddly reminiscent of hot dogs, and upon reading the label we discovered that it is an olive oil and canola oil mix. Not exactly heart-healthy, and it explains their need to cover the oil flavor with the smokey flavor.
The Alamo Drafthouse Village has some great options for vegetarians. There’s salads, bean burgers, hummus, mexican, pizza, mac n’ cheese, fried goodies, plus a variety of drinks and desserts, all of which you can get while enjoying a film of your choice. (View Menu )
We’ve been here dozens of times, and I can tell you that the food can be divine one day and worthless the next. Consistency is an issue here.
On one visit, I tried the goat-cheese salad with panko-crusted goat cheese rounds, dried cherries and pine nuts. It was very good, and the warmed goat cheese was a welcome and filling topping. However, on a subsequent visit, the same dish was soaked in dressing and nearly impossible to eat. (One facet of the dining while watching a movie twist, is that you can’t really talk to your server about food issues, unless you want to miss part of the movie or disturb those around you). Read the rest of this entry »
North, located in the Domain, has been on the Austin scene for less than a year. A Fox Restaurant concept, North is their first Texan venture, having previously dominated the Arizona and Colorado dining scenes.
North offers contemporary Italian cuisine in a modern setting. The inside features table dining (no booths), while the patio is spacious an allows for people watching. The bar area is small, but usually hopping.
Vegetarians have several options for dinner here. North offers soups, salads, pizzas, pastas, risotto, polenta, artichoke and vegetable sides which are either offered vegetarian or can be made vegetarian. Although many entrees surpass the $20 mark, the meatless ones can be had for between $12-$16.
In a recent visit, we had the side of creamy polenta, which was had an amazing cheese and savory flavor, so much so, that it was difficult to believe that there is no chicken stock in it (there isn’t). However, for $6, the portion was meager.
Uchi is a sushi restaurant, but they have a handful of vegetarian options. The restaurant is owned by Tyson Cole, a young chef who has received a lifetime of accolades, and was recently a contestant on Food Network’s Iron Chef America where he battled Chef Masaharu Morimoto. He lost, but that’s generally what happens to those who battle Morimoto.
I wound up sitting at the sushi bar, which was both gross and cool. Gross, because I could smell the fish, but cool because I was able to watch the sushi chefs work, and they are very talented with their knives! I started off with a sake that said it had hints of papaya ($8). I didn’t taste any papaya, but it was good sake anyways.
My appetizer was tempura battered brie with apple chutney ($9). This was pretty decent, but I thought it would have been better with goat cheese. For my entree, I ordered off the seasonal menu, and had a surprisingly amazing slice of cauliflower ($13). That’s right, the only thing on my plate was a slice of cauliflower in a sauce. I was wary about ordering it, but my waitress convinced me that it delicious, and it was! It was slow roasted and topped with a golden raisin sauce and fennel pollen. It was also surprisingly filling.
