Demo's Greek Food

Two of the things I generally love most about Greek restaurants are their variety and their low prices. Typically, one can pick and choose from a large number of classic Greek delicacies - hummus, baba ganouj, spanakopita, dolmas, etc. - to build a custom plate of delicious and varied food for little money.
Unfortunately, Demo's disappointed on both counts. Although they offer two vegetarian sandwiches - a falafel sandwich and a salad sandwich - I chose the meze plate, which was as close as I could get to the type of plates I have grown accustomed to at other Greek restaurants. The meze plate included spanakopita, tiropita (filo stuffed with feta), dolmas, and kalamata olives. In terms of composition, the plate included too much grease and crunch that was not offset by anything creamy (like hummus or tzatziki sauce, which cost $2.00 extra), so eating it was something of a greasy chore. Moreover, I watched the server get the spanakopita and tiropita out of the freezer after I placed my order. I could reheat frozen spanakopita from the grocery store for less money and an equivalent experience. The food was lackluster and unappealing, and I did not finish my plate (a very rare occurrence for me).
For $8.25 I expect more variety and better flavors than Demo's offered, and it's unlikely that I will return.

Demo's Greek Food
2501 N. St. Mary's St
San Antonio, Texas

Quick Hit: Hometown Vegetarian Cafe

Hometown Cafe is Houston's answer to Austin's Veggie Heaven, although with better ambiance and service. (Although Hometown Cafe loses points for not having Protein 2000). They serve a number of revamped traditional Chinese dishes, such as sweet and sour veggie pork and eggless eggrolls. My partner was adventurous and tried the veggie fried eel, which was incredibly tasty and, from what I'm told, approximated the taste of the real thing. Because I am only occasionally in Houston, I will not be able to sample everything from the menu as quickly as I would like. However, on future trips to Houston I plan to make Hometown Cafe a staple of my Houston dining experience.

Hometown Vegetarian Cafe
9888 Bellaire Blvd # 106
Houston, TX 77036

Quick Hit: India Palace San Antonio

The first time I went to India Palace in San Antonio, I was really turned off because the dining room smelled like sewage. I was convinced to try it again by a friend who said the food is great and the restaurant isn't usually so pungent. On the second visit, the dining room smelled just fine and the food was quite decent. It was not the best Indian buffet I've ever tried, but it is worthy to be placed in my regular rotation of Indian restaurants.

India Palace San Antonio
8440 Fredericksburg Rd.
San Antonio, Texas

Green

Green is San Antonio's only all-vegetarian restaurant. It's a little surprising that I waited so long to go.
The menu offers an impressive array of classic dishes cleverly remodeled into veggie-friendly meals. I chose to try a dish that I always loved when I ate meat, the Sesame Chickin. Although it wasn't exactly like its sweet, sticky estranged parent, this rebel child was no less delicious. It consisted of fried wheat protein strips topped with a savory sesame mushroom sauce. It was a creative reinterpretation, and now I can perhaps forget about the original Chinese buffet fare. Green allows a choice of sides with the meals, and I chose the sweet potato fries and a waldorf salad, which was the vegetable of the day. The available sides can be somewhat incongruous with the dishes on the menu, but when onion rings and sweet potato fries are involved, I am loathe to complain.
After a grueling decision-making process in which he pitted the sweet potato gnocchi (which appears to have been removed from the online menu) against the popcorn tofu po'boy, my partner chose the po'boy (perhaps a provident choice?). The size of the po'boy, a hoagie stuffed with popcorn tofu, spinach, tomato, and bell pepper, was somewhat unmanageable. However, as it often does in my world, the taste compensated, although Travis indicated that he would have liked to try the meal as a salad instead of a sandwich. The popcorn tofu and the chipotle mayo were the highlights of the dish.
I am looking forward to visiting Green again. I am intrigued by their many uses of tofu and wheat protein, and looking forward to trying again the dishes from my past, like their reuben and buffalo tofu fingers.

Green
1017 North Flores
San Antonio, Texas

Zuzu

Zuzu's claim to fame is that its traditional Mexican offerings are made fresh and by hand each day, without lard or chicken stock. Accordingly, the food is delicious, although their purportedly healthy dishes tasted anything but. Granted, my choice of their queso-smothered rice, bean, and cheese chimichanga probably wasn't the dish they were referring to when they said they served healthy Mexican food. I managed to push visions of my arteries aside and enjoyed this amazingly decadent meal. I tried to exercise restraint in my choice of sides and ordered the simple and tasty green salad and their corn relish, which tasted too much like canned corn for me to enjoy. My partner had the sunrise breakfast burrito, filled with eggs, black beans, mozzarella, and grilled vegetables. His burrito certainly rivaled my chimichanga, in addition to the perfect combination of breakfast burrito elements, the dish had a vague curry taste which made it especially interesting. Zuzu claims to have the best flan in Austin, which we were unable to try after our huge lunches. But after our great experience, we will certainly be back to test this claim.

Zuzu
5770 N. Mopac
Austin, Texas

6317 Bee Cave
Austin, Texas

Galaxy Cafe and Zocalo Cafe

I should have really included these sister restaurants on my list of Austin favorites. I visit each quite a bit and they never disappoint. They are locally owned, conveniently located (for me, anyway), and offer a large array of vegetarian entrees and sides.

Let's start with Galaxy.
Galaxy Cafe serves a variety of casual dining fare, including sandwiches, wraps, and salads. Everything I have eaten there is remarkably tasty, especially the hot veggie wrap and the fresh mozzarella sandwich, to which I always add avocado. Each dish is served with your choice of side, and I am particularly fond of their pesto pasta salad and macaroni and cheese, which, with its creamy melted American cheese and gooey strands of cheddar, is truly the best mac and cheese I have had.

In a town of plentiful Tex Mex, Zocalo Cafe's fresh, light Mexican food stands out as a unique and appealing alternative. Zocalo offers a a number of vegetarian options at such low prices that it makes their queso mixta and tres leches cake difficult to pass up. The last time I went, I ordered the tostada salad, a bed of green leaf lettuce resting above a tostada and refried black beans, topped with avocado, queso fresco, and cilantro. The chipotle lime dressing infuses the salad with a delightful hint of lime. I also particularly enjoy the vegetarian torta, a sandwich filled with black beans, avocado, and queso fresco. Zocalo is housed in the former location of both West Lynn Cafe and Cosmic Cafe, two doomed former favorites of mine that never seemed to have any other customers. Zocalo, however, does not seem destined to the same fate.

Galaxy Cafe
1000 West Lynn
Austin, Texas

9911 Brodie Lane
Austin, Texas

Zocalo Cafe
1110 West Lynn
Austin, Texas

Houston VegLove Special

My partner's family lives in Houston, so I typically spend a good deal of time there during breaks from school. One of the things I look forward to the most about visiting Houston is revisiting some of its awesome restaurants and discovering new favorites. During this visit, I did a little of both.

Here's the rundown:

1. Dry Creek
I insisted my partner take me here on my first night in Houston for one reason: The Shroom, Dry Creek's portabello sandwich. A grilled portabello cap topped with goat cheese, roasted red pepper and arugula housed in delicious foccacia spread with basil mayonnaise. Although the portabello is ostensibly the Shroom's main feature, the goat cheese elevates it to an out of this world taste. I typically substitute onion rings for the fries, you know, for health reasons. I can't think of many meals more delicious. If you are a stickler for excellent service, Dry Creek may disappoint. The waitstaff is friendly but not exactly timely. However, if you are willing to wait for it, Dry Creek will whip you up a damn good meal.

2. Madras Pavillion
Madras Pavillion is actually a chain with locations in both Austin and San Antonio, neither of which I have been able to find. So whenever I'm in Houston, I hit up this South Indian restaurant. For lunch, they serve a buffet that differs somewhat from the typical Indian buffet fare (which generally features North Indian food), but also includes familiar dishes such as saag paneer. They also bring out dosas with the buffet - large crepes filled with vegetables, their specialty. You can also get a wide variety of dosas for dinner, along with some North and South Indian favorites. Madras Pavillion is also all-vegetarian, making it all the more appealing.

3. Brasil
Brasil is both a coffee shop and a cafe, lending it a chill atmosphere. In spite of its name, their menu is not Brazilian, although some dishes are perhaps Brazilian-inspired. I usually order the heart of palm sandwich on ciabatta. - hearts of palm and swiss cheese smothered in a tangy sauce. I have always been a fan of heart of palm, but rarely find it in restaurants. On my last visit, I tried the seasoned goat cheese in olive oil as an appetizer. The olive oil was still sizzling when we were served, which was an exciting addition to a delicious dish.

4. Fadi's
Fadi's is a family favorite of my partner, and we enjoyed a great meal with his parents during my visit. It is a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cafeteria style restaurant that offers both a vegetarian sampler, in which they pile your plate high with a variety of veggies, and vegetarian side dish plates that allow you to choose your sides. I had the latter and chose baba ganouj, eggplant, mixed sauteed vegetables, and falafel. Each dish was amazingly flavorful in its own right, and they combined very well. Be prepared to get a lot of food when you visit Fadi's - I had to relinquish part of mine to my partner and his brother because it was too much for me.

5. Mission Burrito
Although I like Freebird's, I have long believed that Chipotle was the single best burrito chain. I recently discovered a rival to Chipotle's claim - Mission Burrito. Mission Burrito only has two locations, both in Houston, so it's not exactly a chain, but it's set up in the same style as Freebird's and Chipotle - offering customized burritos. Not only are their burritos as delicious as Chipotle's, Mission Burrito offers a wider variety of toppings than does Chipotle. For example, I filled my burrito with mushrooms, spinach, fresh corn, and cilantro ranch sauce in addition to the usual rice, black beans, cheese, and pico de gallo. My biggest complaint about Mission Burrito is that they do not have locations in Austin or San Antonio, so I will have to wait awhile before I can go again.

6. Rita's Cafe
Rita's Cafe is a hole-in-the-wall Lebanese restaurant that we visited based on its distinction of being voted as the Best Middle Eastern Restaurant in Houston by the Houston Press. They definitely lived up to their reputation. Particular standout dishes included their olive hummus and tahini tabouli.