Tucked into a strip mall in Dallas is a traditional Mexican restaurant with a unique blackboard: "Now serving vegan cheese!" It also relates they have soy chorizo, too. The restaurant itself is mainstream omnivore and appears like any typical Mexican-American luncheon or dinner spot with casual ambience. But this restaurant is a bit more savvy about veganism than most.
Sol's Nieto offers a variety of vegan options
There are many vegan choices at Sol Nieto: enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos. The wait staff was very cordial and cooperative about listing all possibilities. The quesadillas were beautiful, colorful and evidently quite tasty from what my lunch companion reported. The enchiladas I ordered were very good and were served with a generous dose of vegan refried beans and vegan rice.
One of the best parts about patronizing Sol Nieto is that you can eat with a variety of choices while dining with traditional-diet pals. In my case, the omnivore that suggested this restaurant decided to give the vegan cheese a try, and was very enthusiastic about the quality and taste of the quesadillas. While I doubt he is going to convert to a vegan philosophy any time soon, I imagine he will return to Sol Nieto and their vegan fare, and it definitely improved his general attitude towards vegan food: after all, not only is it better for nonhuman animals, it is much healthier for the human variety, too.
Food for both vegans and omnivores at Sol's Nieto
Given a choice, I would prefer to support and patronize a totally vegan restaurant, such as Spiral Diner. But if you need another option for dining with non-vegan friends, this just might be one way to introduce them to vegan cuisine. I related to my lunch companion that I rarely eat the animal product substitutes, but did find them helpful during my transition phase. However, the enchiladas were quite enjoyable, with that delicious blend of spicy and comforting tastes and textures.
Unfortunately, Mercy for Animals left some literature that promoted vegetarianism, right next to the chalkboard touting veganism. It is my understanding that MFA was the reason Sol Nieto decided to offer vegan fare, but according to GoDairyFree, the restaurant recently switched to Daiya™ cheese and was already providing vegan fare. Unfortunately the day I dined there, the restaurant was pretty vacant, but that might have been due to timing - it was the Tuesday following the Labor Day weekend. Maybe with their new Daiya™ options, business will pick up. It is good that Sol's Nieto is promoting veganism; now if MFA would just follow suit.....
6434 E Mockingbird Ln # 101
Dallas, TX 75214-7008
(214) 826-5564
Open Mon-Thu 11am-2pm, 5pm-9pm; Fri 11am-2pm, 5pm-10pm; Sat 11:30am-10pm; Sun 12pm-9pm
Comments
Hey Barbara, as to your questioning MFA's role in bringing more vegan options to Sol's, I thought I could clarify any confusion you may have had on the topic.
I was actually in the restaurant accompanying Eddie Garza, MFA's restaurant outreach coordinator, the day he brought the first bag of Daiya cheese in for the kitchen to test (where we got to sample the very first ever vegan cheese quesadillas made by Sol's!). It was shortly after that visit that they agreed to carry Daiya on a permanent basis, and have since expanded those options with additional suggestions (like the Soyrizo).
While it's true that Sol's was already fairly vegan-friendly, it was through efforts of MFA workers such as Eddie Garza that influenced the expansion of those offerings. I'm looking forward to reading about more of their future contributions to the vegan restaurant scene in your blog. Thanks for sharing this news with your readers!
Hi Jamey! Thanks for taking the time to leave your comment. Someone had told me much the same, that MFA (via Eddie Garza) had suggested switching to the Daiya cheese. The omnivore that went with me really liked his vegan fare; I was surprised he decided to give it a try, because we have been to lunch before and he had not tried eating an entire vegan lunch.
Any time someone begins to think differently about veganism and eating plant-based foods is a chance to broaden their horizons!
Thanks for highlighting Sol’s Nieto Mexican Grill’s new, delicious vegan options. It’s encouraging to see that more and more restaurants are trying to cater to vegetarians and vegans. At the same time, I am puzzled by your comments on Mercy For Animals. Have you ever had a chance to open a Vegetarian Eating brochure or look through a Vegetarian Starter Kit? The health tips, product suggestions, recipes, and other information in Mercy For Animals’ literature promotes a completely vegan diet. MFA’s commitment to advocating veganism is actually one of the main reasons I support this organization.
If Mercy For Animals’ literature bothers you so much, why not be more consistent and avoid giving your money to veg-friendly restaurants that also serve meat?
Julie: I was not aware there would be literature left by MFA when I was invited to go to lunch. The person that was kind enough to take me to lunch selected the restaurant; they were not vegan. Yes, I have seen MFA literature and campaigns and take issues with them. That does not mean that I disparage the individuals and do appreciate anyone who cares about animals. But I also believe that supporting "happy meat" campaigns does more harm than good, as does supporting vegetarianism over veganism. I appreciate the skill MFA has in marketing and campaigning, but disagree with their approach to single issue campaigns and using the term vegetarian, if what they really support is veganism. What is it about my comments that puzzle you?
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