Fresh Mexican-inspired food is always good.  It is even better when it is vegan.  I got the word yesterday that Taco Mamacita’s would be rolling out a new vegan menu this week and also a copy of the menu.  This happened around lunch time so where else should I head off to?

I was told the servers may not be aware of the new menu and to take it along.  After reading over the menu I was given I quickly realized that there were no vegan options and asked my server, Meredith,  if she knew of the vegan choices.  She told me she was also vegan and began showing me options on the menu by substituting and adding.  Then I asked if she knew of the new vegan menu to which I got a “No”, so I pulled out my Droid which I had the menu on and showed her.  Of course, being vegan also she was quite excited.

Vegan Tortilla Soup & Vegan Jerk Taco

Overall, it was a good lunch, fresh and healthy tasting. The only thing I would like to see improved from what I ordered would be some flavor added to the soup in the way of spice. I left still hungry though I was thoroughly impressed with the freshness of everything. My next visit I will try something else and see if leaving stuffed is possible.

Taco Mamacita's Vegan Menu (Click to view)

Taco Mamacita
1200 Villa Place
Nashville, TN
(615) 730-8552

If you are a raw foodie or aspiring to be a raw foodie there is an event coming up that might draw your interest. Laura Button of Journey to Bliss Raw Foods will be presenting a workshop at Whole Foods Market in Green Hills. Here’s your chance to shred the carrots, chop the kale and pulverize some beets as well as many other fresh raw veggies with one of the foremost authorities on raw foods. If you have tried any of the Journey To Bliss items before you know how delicious they are.

FREE Raw Foods Workshop
Sunday February 28th
2-3 pm Salud! Cooking School
Whole Foods Market Green Hills
4021 Hillsboro Pike
Nashville, TN 37215
615-440-5100
To register, email: brittany.conner@wholefoods.com

Making Food the Center of Your Life:
In this experiential workshop, we will learn a simple process for making
delicious food from fresh, raw, organic and ethically obtained
ingredients. This course will allow you to enjoy the bounty of each
season without the stress of following recipes. Just a few easy
techniques and you will be able to enjoy really nourishing, fast food.
We will learn why our food choices matter – for our individual health,
our communities, and our planet. Come hungry, and feast on the best food
on Earth.

Will you be attending the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus this weekend in Nashville?

UPDATED 2/18/10

Mellow Mushroom has long be heralded by vegans and vegetarians as one of the few places to munch on tempeh subs or get a tempeh or tofu topped pizza. Up to recently those pizzas and subs had to be cheeseless for vegans due to the casein in the soy cheese they used.   Now Mellow Mushroom is beginning to use casein-free vegan cheeses although the only locations in Tennessee are in Knoxville and Murfreesboro.

The following is a list of locations presently using casein-free soy cheese:

• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• Conyers, Georgia
• Carrollton, Georgia
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Durham, North Carolina
• Columbia, South Carolina
• Greenville, South Carolina
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Douglasville, Georgia
• Hiram, Georgia
• Northlake, Georgia
• Lexington, Kentucky
• Decatur, Georgia
• Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Charelston, South Carolina
• Austin, Texas

If your location does not carry the casein-free alternative they can be persuaded!  Just ask! If you do get vegan cheese at a location not listed above please let me know so I can add it to the list.

A new restaurant has popped up in the middle of what used to be restaurant central where Beethoven’s once resided in Coolsprings. Chuy’s serves the standard Tex-Mex in an ambiance that seems like TGI Friday’s crossed with Joe’s Crab Shack. This location is the first one outside of  Texas and has been met with extremely long wait times.

Upon first hearing of their opening I brushed it off thinking there would be nothing vegan, let alone vegetarian, on the menu as most Mexican restaurants fill their beans with meat stocks or lard and chicken stock is a common find in the rice. After a bit of research I found this is actually not the case at Chuy’s and there’s actually a decent selection for vegans and vegetarians.

Chuy’s Guacamole Tacos

Our first visit we had the Guacamole Tacos and Veggie Enchiladas. The only specification needed for the enchiladas and the tacos was no cheese. The ranchero sauce served on the enchiladas is vegan. You have a choice of Mexican or Green Chile Rice and Refried or Charro Beans, all vegan. The enchiladas, filled with squash, peppers and onions, were a little small but the sides made up for the lack of filling. They are wrapped in blue corn tortillas but I’m sure you can substitute any of the tortilla selections if you want. The Guacamole Tacos, choice of hard or soft, were larger than expected with two good scoops of guacamole in each shell and topped with lettuce and tomatoes they were quite filling. On our second trip we split these for a late snack.

The Nashville area already has its share of Mexican restaurants but few, if any, can make vegetarian selections, let alone vegan. (Don’t get me started on those Mexican restaurants that have a Vegetarian section on their menu with beans and rice listed that are chocked full of animal juice!)

As for the list of vegetarian and vegan choices at Chuy’s:

VEGETARIAN

Vegetarian Sauces

• Ranchero
• Tomatillo
• Deluxe Tomatillo
• Boom Boom

Appetizers

• Chips & Salsa
• Guacamole
• Nachos
• Special Nachos
• Cheese Quesadillas

Salads (all dressings are vegetarian)

• Guacamole Taco Salad
• Grilled Chicken Salad (no chicken)
• Mexi-Cobb Salad (no chicken)
• Dinner Salad

Sides

• Flour, Corn, Blue Corn, Wheat Tortillas
• Mexican Rice
• Green Chile Rice
• Refried Beans
• Charro Beans

Tacos, Sopapillas & Burritos

• Guacamole Tacos
• Bean & Cheese Tacos
• Bean & Cheese Burrito with above sauces
• Bean & Cheese Sopapilla with above sauces

Chile Rellenos & Enchiladas

• Cheese Chile Rellenos
• Veggie Enchiladas
• Cheese Enchiladas with above sauces

Combinations

• #3 Taco & Enchilada (sub vegetarian taco & enchilada)
• #4 Relleno & Enchilada (choose your own vegetarian options)
• #5 Chalupa & Enchilada (no chicken on chalupa, sub cheese for chicken enchilada)
• #6 Enchilada, Taco & Chalupa (sub vegetarian enchilada & taco, no chicken on chalupa)
• #7 Vegetarian Combo

Desserts

• All desserts are vegetarian but selections can vary by location so ask your server for options.

VEGAN

Vegan Sauces

• Ranchero
• Tomatillo

Appetizers

• Chips & Salsa
• Guacamole
• Nachos (no cheese)
• Special Nachos (no cheese)

Salads

• Guacamole Taco Salad (no cheese)
• Grilled Chicken Salad (no chicken)
• Mexi-Cobb Salad (no chicken or cheese)
• Dinner Salad
• Dressing: Cilantro Vinaigrette

Sides

• Flour, Corn, Blue Corn, Wheat Tortillas
• Mexican Rice
• Green Chile Rice
• Refried Beans
• Charro Beans

Tacos, Sopapillas, Burritos & Enchiladas

• Guacamole Tacos (no cheese)
• Bean Tacos (no cheese)
• Bean & Cheese Burrito (no cheese, with above sauces)
• Bean & Cheese Sopapilla (no cheese, with above sauces)
• Veggie Enchiladas (no cheese, with above sauces)

UPDATE 10/11/2013: I regularly request vegan option information from Chuy’s since this post is extremely popular.  With the last reply I received this veg menu from corporate.

UPDATE 3/3/2015: I have checked again with Chuy’s corporate and am told nothing has changed in preparation or ingredients in the original vegan/vegetarian menu as posted above. Eat on!