A few of Austin's hidden vegan gems

Austin has several vegetarian and vegan restaurants, which will be covered in detail in future posts.  Here are a few vegan-friendly gems that might not be as well known as Mother's Cafe, Casa de Luz and the Bouldin Creek Coffehouse:

The food menu at The Steeping Room is small, but offers several vegan items under each heading - including my personal favorite, vegan currant scones.  They even offer an organic tofu scramble on their Sunday brunch menu.  Located in The Domain, they have both indoor and outdoor seating.

Closer to downtown and the campus area is Jade Leaves Tea House.  Their website doesn't currently show their menu, but on my visit there I found that approximately half of the menu items were vegan, or easily made vegan.  Everything I tried was delicious, but the star of the meal was a buffalo-style tofu appetizer.  One word of advice - go when you have plenty of time.  The staff  was friendly and knowledgeable, but somewhat slow.

In retrospect, it seems a natural fit, but I was extremely surprised to find a wonderful little food counter at the Whole Foods flagship store on Lamar.  Located next to the produce section, the menu is entirely vegan, and about half the items are raw vegan.  The menu changes every few months, and includes selections such as seitan gyros and raw vegan "cheese" cake.

For a more upscale dining experience, I recently discovered The Shoreline Grill has a vegetarian menu with approximately half of the selections marked as vegan - and not just the usual grilled vegetable or pasta dish either.  With such delectable delights as a potato wrapped sushi roll appetizer, and a pan roasted tofu entree, The Shoreline Grill offers unique and creative vegan cuisine in a beautiful setting.