Mother's Cafe

(originally posted 9/28/06)

Ah Mother's. One of the vegetarian/vegan staples of Austin. There's so much to choose from, you'll have a hard time deciding what to get. The menu contains salads, Mexican food, Italian food, stir-fries, and sandwiches. If you get there before 3:00 on the weekends, you can order from their brunch menu. Each day has a different special and two different soups: one of the soups is vegan and the other is vegetarian.

The restaurant is split into an indoor and garden section. I usually try to sit in the garden section because you get to eat surrounded by plants and the soothing sounds from the fountain, which contains humongous goldfish. Sometimes, usually in the evenings, a man plays the harp in the garden section.

Normally, I order a garden patch salad and the vegan soup of the day. Mother's makes the most awesome salad dressing: cashew tamari. It's so good that in all the times I've eaten there, I haven't bothered to try their other dressings. If I'm in the mood for something more substantial--or if I don't like the soup of the day--I like to get the bueno burger, which truly is bueno. The barbecue tofu burger is also good. It consists of two slabs of tofu marinated in barbecue sauce and topped with fresh veggies. The buns are homemade and are very tasty. Probably my all-time favorite is the sloppy momma joe--like a sloppy joe, only vegetarian. The only bad thing about it is it's only offered during lunch on weekdays.

I rarely go to Mother's during brunch time, so I haven't had too much of their breakfast-y foods. I can vouch for their banana pancakes, which are vegan and delicious. Their soysage patty is okay, but I've had better.

Saving room for dessert is imperative. In fact, what I choose for dinner at Mother's often depends on what I plan on having for dessert. They have mocha chocolate cake, blueberry pie, apple pie, and chocolate pie for the vegans. For vegetarians there's carrot cake, cheese cake, and amy's ice cream. The chocolate cake is amazing! And it's filling, so plan on having a light dinner or taking some home (or just eat it no matter how full you are). I also love the blueberry and apple pies. Get the server to heat up your piece; it's totally worth the extra wait.

Mother's Cafe is located at 43rd and Duval in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Click here to go to their website.