SXSW Vegan Guide

Are you getting excited for South By Southwest, aka the greatest festival in Austin Texas?
This year I will be hosting a discussion with the extremely talented and wonderful Laura Beck of Vegansaurus about activism on the internet at the SXSW Interactive conference. It is the first year I will be speaking at SXSW although I have been attending for many years so I am fired up and ready do it right. Last year I made a SXSW guide that turned into a guide of the whole city because a lot of people found it really helpful. If you are looking for my (totally subjective) favorite things, they are over here.

If you are new to the fest it can be kind of overwhelming so welcome to my smaller but more focused guide to my favorite spots that are convenient to the fest so you can figure out where to eat.

Breakfast. They say the breakfast taco is the most important taco of the day and I couldn’t agree more. My favorite spots are Whole Foods, Bouldin Creek, Mr. Natural, Polvos, Wheatsville, Taco Deli, La Flor, and the Cherrywood Coffeehouse. Tacos are probably the most bang for your buck food item as well.

If you aren’t feeling tacos check out The Daily Juice, The Juicebox, the hideout, Food 4 Fitness or Austin Java for smoothies and other items.

Movies at The Alamo Drafthouse. If you are going to be at the film portion you are going to spend a lot of time at the different Alamo movie theaters. The vegan situation has gotten better over there than in years past. There is now even a healthy option of a spaghetti squash pomodoro. Otherwise, the Kick Ass Tofu sandwich, the falafel plate, the hummus plate, the french fries, and some of the vegetarian pizzas can all be made vegan if you ask. The black bean burger unfortunately has egg. If you need popcorn your only option is to sneak in some green chile popcorn from Cornucopia but be careful you don’t want to get busted by a waiter.

Quick Lunch within walking distance of Sixth Street. Hoboken Pizza, Kebabalicious, Chi’Lantro BBQ, El Chilito, Joe’s Coffee, Leaf, Conscious Cravings (will be on 6th & Waller for the fest),The Vegan Yacht, Iggi’s Texatarian, Hot Dog King will all hook you up with delicious food for a nominal fee but check their sites because they aren’t all open every day.

Best Spots to pick up food or drinks to stick in your bag Honestly in a lot of situations this is going to be your best bet because shit is so crowded. Speaking of crowded don’t miss the downtown Whole Foods, it is the flagship store and there are a million different things to eat besides it being the best place to get prepared food. Even better eating then WF is Wheatsville Co-op which has an array of wonderful things like popcorn tofu po’boys, frito pie, and vegan mac and cheese. They also have lots of take away. If you are south of the river check out Thom’s Market.

Best places for Tex-Mex and Mexican Gueros has really good margaritas (make sure you get the vegan queso and ask for the vegan menu). Curra’s has some good items and awesome avocado margaritas. Mr. Natural Healthy style mexican food with two locations and no margaritas. The Vegan Yacht has a seitan quesadilla and frito burrito. El Sol y La Luna has vegan stuff too and it is right on 6th street.

Late Night Options- Kerbey Lane is a 24 hour diner that has locations all over town but there is often a long wait. Bouldin Creek is one of my favorite spots in town and open until midnight. Iggi’s Texatarian– behind the vegan bar Cheer Up Charlies, will be open late and has great late night food like mac and cheese. I love The Vegan Yacht which is close by on the east side and also the East Side King. Another fantastic trailer G’raj Mahal, is open late and has all Indian food. It’s the only trailer I know with waiters. Other possibilites; Hoboken Pizza, Hot Dog King, The Jackalope, El Sol y La Luna, Chi’Lantro BBQ, Kebabalicious, One Love Kitchen, Bennu Coffee, Karibu

I will add more round-ups as people ask for them so let me know if you have any questions @veganLazySmurf or in the comments.

UPDATE 3/8/2011, reader John made a google map of all the spots in the guide! Hooray!