Austin...Finally

So I went to Austin, finally. And now, after way too long a break, I am blogging about it. Blame my ex-cold, the rainy weather, or my bank account...But I am now ready to get back to noshing.
So here are a few things we ate in the capitol of Texas:
ZEN: our first night at a hotel off South Congress, we found this groovy little place. The food's Japanese with a bit of cross-cultural pollination. Nothing's pricey, portions are huge, and there's lots to choose from. We liked our spicy seaweed salad, with mixed-in cranberries, carrot and cucumber. But beware: spicy is the word here. I got me a bowl with brown rice, a mushroom/carrot/cabbage/onion mix, and tofu...but the chili-garlic sauce was like napalm to my tender mouth. So I had to switch to teriyaki, and it was great. Seriously, they need to open one of these in S.F.
Next door to Zen is Amy's ice cream, by the way. JP got to know them real well. I had a banana sorbet there one day, and it was creamily delightful (without the cream).
Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse: a nice hippie kinda place to take your vegi jones on a hot day. I loved the Rasberry Sour (big glass of raspberry hibiscus iced tea mixed with lemonade), and the
vegan blueberry cornmeal cake, aka Oven Cake. Not quite as crazy about the tofu scramble alongside, which resembled chicken-fried tofu. But the place has a nice funky vibe and nicer-than-expected bathrooms!
Driskill Hotel: our friends were playing music in the bar of this gorgeous old hotel. I can recommend their rum cocktail AND their prawn cocktail (the latter came with both a traditional cocktail sauce topped with mango and a white gazpacho shot). We felt very fancy indeed, sipping drinks, dipping prawns and admiring the opulent surroundings.
Vespaio: let's just get this out of the way: the hostess is a beyatch. This place serves very good Italian food, and it appears to be more popular than anyplace in town. But when people are keeling over with hunger, and ask if their table right be ready soon since they've been there for about an hour, and she tells you EXACTLY how many minutes have elapsed since you walked in, well...Still, I enjoyed the spaghetti with tomato and eggplant, despite the overly generous mound of ricotta salata on top (half as much would have been fine). The Misticanza salad, with all sorts of greens, radishes, olives and vinaigrette, was good but seriously lacking in olives. And the bread was warm, fresh, and accompanied by a white bean puree. So go there but be ready for a wait. Maybe the hostess will have moved on to Denny's by then.
Cafe Medici: don't go to Jo's. I mean it: don't. Go to Medici. I cannot express in words how great their coffee is. We sat on their deck, drinking iced lattes and admiring the adorable Clarksville environs. This was S.F.-good coffee. I mean it, Ritual: Austin is catching up to you.
Counter Culture: I love this place, plain and simple. A very cool lady named Sue operates out of a vintage trailer, serving up yummy vegan treats like my Philly cheese-steak with the-best-seitan-EVER and cashew 'cheese' spread on a whole wheat roll. JP liked his apple and cheeze; we sat on a picnic bench nearby to get off our feet and out of the blazing sun.
Woodland: groovy hipster place on South Congress. The decor is beautiful and forest-centric. My salad (beets, greens, chickpeas and other things; they added avocado upon request) was a perfect dish on a hot night. The waiters all look like Mission boys with their plaid short-sleeved shirts and thoughtful facial hair.
Galaxy Cafe: just across from Medici, this is a nice down-homey diner with decent food. I had oatmeal and very good scrambled eggs. Their wraps looked pretty fine, I might add.
Hey Cupcake: one of the millions of food trucks in town, this place operates out of an old airstream trailer on South Congress. There is a daily vegan cupcake, and I was lucky enough to be there on chocolate cake with mint frosting day. That was one moaningly-good cupcake, and as a bonus, the dude who runs the place is really nice.
Daily Juice: this is the stuff! Great fresh juices and smoothies with no added anything. My Sure Thing smoothie was just apple juice, strawberries and banana, but it was so satisfying. JP's Marigold, with mango and peach, was also lovely...Another refreshing option when it's too hot to eat.
OK, well, that's all I got. Y'all get down there yourselves, eat at food trucks, hear live music and jump in a swimming hole. It's not really Texas; it's Austin.