Eating out

Vegan & Vegetarian Food Carts in Austin #SXSW

Thanks for the Free Vegetarian Sandwiches at Short Bus during #SXSW 2011

Being that this is my second year that I will be assisting SXSW (South by Southwest) I am preparing a bit more before arriving into all the SXSW madness.

My first time as SXSW I was vegetarian so I was consuming dairy products. Most establishments offer multiple vegetarian options and even most SXSW parties have vegetarian friendly snack food or options where you can eat for free.

For the last few months I have made a few changes into my lifestyle and stopped consuming Dairy. So this year I have a different challenge and that is finding vegan options at #SXSW.

Austin Food Carts Site and Mobile/IOS App

Creating my SXSW Guide post for my blog I ran into the Austin Food site and found that they have a mobile app.

Looking into the App I was happy to find two categories with Vegan and Vegetarian friendly food trucks.

App in iTunes Store

I will be definitely using the app during SXSW and try to make my way around the event.

At the moment there are 22 options listed as vegetarian and 14 options as Vegan.

Feel free to download the App and make it easy on yourself when you are in Austin.

Vegan

Vegetarian (including list above)

Bufalo Bob’s Chalupa Wagon

Conscious Cravings

Hoover’s Soular Food Trailer

Sun Farm Kitchen

T.N.M. Gyros

Any other suggestions that are not listed here please feel free to share?

Is it Really Vegetarian?

Just because its labeled vegetarian it does not mean it is.

One of the things I need to be careful with as a vegetarian when I eat out is the process that my meals go through.

I have on various occasions stopped visiting establishments because they claim to have vegetarian options on the menu to later contaminate their food by using animal by-product to season their food.

Process, Process, Process

Just because it says vegetarian it does not mean it is. The fact that a plate’s ingredients do not contain meat or animal products does not make it vegetarian. The process in which the meal is prepared is critical.

For example, local fast food restaurants like El Meson have various vegetarian options but they still cook them on the same grill that non-vegetarian options where cooked on. So the grease and other residue end up in your meal.

Ask Questions and Observe

As an ex full time IT and Operational auditor, I can tell you that the best way to make sure your meal is being prepared vegetarian is to observe those that are preparing it. If you ask questions and don’t get the right answers, there is a high probability that the vegetarian meal is not properly prepared.

If you feel that your meal is not going to be prepared vegetarian, please let them know why and on many occasions, at good places like Pino’s Restaurant, they will make sure to meet your dietary and vegetarian needs. If you perceive resistance in changing the way they prepare it, your best bet is leaving the establishment.

If more vegetarians were vocal about why we are leaving establishments because we are not being accomodated, the management at restaurants would realize that they can either win loyal customers or lose them for life. If they are not willing to tweak the preparation of meals for you, don’t support or refer customers to them.

What approach do you take when you are at a food establishment and you see they don’t have an idea on adequate vegetarian food preparation?

Do you stay and suck it up or leave?

Any tips?

Photo credit by fiskfisk