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!

“So, you’re vegetarian?  Why not vegan?”

“I love cheese.”

I have heard that reply many times.   In fact,I said the same thing until I realized the connections cheese and dairy have on the animal cruelty angle as well as what you’re actually eating.  Even vegans like something melted on their sandwich.

“I’ve tried those fake cheeses, they don’t melt like the real thing.”

I know where you’re coming from.  Nothing worse than expecting cheesy goo and getting mealy gunk.  So, finding some truly dairy-free cheese singles the image of gooey sandwiches fill my head, but the thought of a mealy texture overshadows it.  I tried Galaxy Nutritional Foods Rice Vegan as opposed to the typical soy cheeses that are available.  It is available in both block-style and singles, I have a few packs of the latter, Pepper Jack, Cheddar and American flavors, to give a try.  Of course the test that first comes to mind, where the cheese should run and hold firm two slices of bread would be the perfect grilled cheese, and it works great for that.  Even adding a few slices of fresh out of the garden tomato and gluing it all together, it makes one of my favorite sandwiches.

But a grilled cheese? That’s too easy.  We need more layers to meld, more flavors to lend it’s own taste to.  Patty melt, that’s should do the trick.  And besides, I love patty melts and it has been a long time since I indulged in greasy goodness.

So, let’s see, we have some tasty grilled onions a few pieces of fresh rye and some veggie burger patties mashed as flat as possible, it works great, trust me.  But, what is a patty melt without the melt?  Two slices of Rice Vegan American should work (Sorry, no Swiss available).  Rice Vegan seems to do the trick, it does need a bit longer to melt as traditional cheese but the melty goodness can be attained and the flavor is good, no mealiness.   The only thing you don’t have with Rice Vegan is that stringiness when you pull two pieces apart, but the flavor is there and the ability to hold all of those layers together is there.

Also, I have found many non-dairy cheeses contain casein to lend the ability to melt.  I don’t understand the point of making a soy or almond cheese and then adding a dairy ingredient to it.  If you can’t make it truly dairy-free then why bother?  Rice Vegan is dairy free and contains no casein, yet still has the ability to melt.

Of all of the single serving cheese substitutes I have tried, Rice Vegan comes out on top.  It melts well and tastes excellent.  Compared to traditional cheese it has half a gram of saturated fat as compared to Kraft Singles, which contains 2.5 grams per slice! If you still have a cheese craving Rice Vegan can fill the void.

I don’t do many product reviews here but thought it was time for one.  I have been eying GardenBurger’s Gourmet GardenSteaks for  awhile now and decided to give them a shot.  At $5.99 for two it wasn’t an easy choice but I thought maybe they’re worth it.  Now anyone who reads this blog or know me otherwise knows veggie burgers are my junk food.  I usually down two of them once, sometimes twice if I’m feeling edgy, a week.   Served up with a heaping side of tater tots or a couple baked potatoes they are quite pleasing.  I decided to go along with the tropical vibe the box said I would encounter with these particular patties I would have a fried plantain with them and since I had a fesh pineapple handy that was in need of being devoured I should cook up a couple slices of it along side as well.

These are pretty hefty patties and I thought twice about having both but decided to not go hungry and threw both in the pan along with a slice of pineapple for each.  I am not a directions follower, that “cook 6 minutes each side and serve” crap is worthless.   Good things come to those who wait and I cook a veggie burger for no less than 45 minutes, on low, flipping about every 5 minutes.  I know you may think that’s burning them but no, that’s getting some amazing flavor from a patty.  I would be changing nothing in my cooking regiment with these.  I brought them to a good sizzle, turned down the heat to low and checked back every few minutes.  I served them up with the aforementioned plantain and on two fresh, homemade buns with lettuce and tomato.  They have a good texture and aren’t very mushy.  I could taste the chunks of ginger and noticed large flakes of coconut.  I did, however, find them to be a bit on the sweet side and decided to forgo the sliced pineapple since it lent only more sweetness.  Still, a bit sweet for me as a veggie burger.  If I did try these again I would add a bit of heat with some peppers instead of the pineapple slices and use mustard instead of the Vegenaise I typically use.

Two of these at a time are a bit much but I toughed my way through them both, and the fried plantain, which is always a tasty treat.  Next time I’ll be spreading the box over a couple nights.

I saw two other varieties when I bought these, a black bean and a Tuscan flavor.  The Tuscan is not vegan, the Hula is.  I am unsure about the veganess of the Black Bean variety but if it is it will be tried next.