Delicious and Nutritious

5 Austin restaurants where eating healthy is anything but boring

One of the first places in town to utilize fresh, locally sourced ingredients, Eastside Cafe is healthy and affordable.

Eastside Cafe Facebook

Okay, you’ve made your resolution to start eating healthy in 2016, but you’re worried that it will mean bland entrees that taste like cardboard served in stark minimalist surroundings. Have no fear for you are living in Austin — one of the best foodie destinations — and there are literally dozens of restaurants where you can eat healthy and have a memorable dining experience to boot.

We’ve chosen our top five spots to enjoy a healthy, unforgettable meal, so whatever your price point, location, or choice of atmosphere we’ve got you covered. Here’s to your well-being and bon appetit.

Casa de Luz
Going to Casa de Luz is an experience — you never know who might be sitting next to you at one of the communal tables. Enter through a palm-lined courtyard to find a magical spot that is not only a restaurant but also a community center. The macrobiotic menu focuses on dark leafy greens and beans and is all organic, vegan, and gluten-free. Delicious and reasonably priced, Casa de Luz is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the menu changes daily.

Eastside Cafe
Housed in a charming Craftsman-style bungalow located close to the University of Texas campus, this restaurant stands out as one of the first that utilized fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Eastside Cafe also has its own vegetable garden, so you can’t get a fresher salad anywhere in town. In business for 27 years, the cafe serves a seasonal menu with vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan options. Don’t miss the jalapeño cornbread and signature soups. Brunch, lunch, and dinner feature daily chef’s specials.

Elaine’s, located next door and named for Chef Elaine Martin, is a more casual dining spot where you can indulge in some of the best homemade pies in Austin — and not feel too guilty about it after your healthy meal from Eastside Cafe. Elaine’s also has a carry-out option.

Koriente
The minute you walk into this small Korean restaurant you feel right at home and know you are in for a treat. With no MSG, the Asian-inspired menu features local offerings made from scratch and there are plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options to choose from. Healthy, fast, friendly, and affordable Asian comfort food served in a cozy setting downtown — what more could you ask for?

Bouldin Creek Cafe
With too many accolades and best of lists to mention, Bouldin Creek was one of the first restaurants to truly embrace the vegetarian and vegan movement. The food impresses and satisfies even the most die-hard meat lovers in any group. It’s also known for its coffee selection and knowledgeable baristas, as well as its creative cocktails for happy hour.

On January 24, the restaurant will hold its monthly Bazaar Brunch from 10 am to 3 pm which features local artists and craftsmen showing their wares on the lawn while you get to sip mimosas and mingle. It is also a dog-friendly event.

qui
For a more upscale experience check out qui, the restaurant named for one of Austin’s rock-star chefs. You may know him as the winner of Top Chef and the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in the Southwest award, but the real achievement of Paul Qui’s storied career is his creative tasting menu, which features as many as 20 offerings daily. You can customize your experience by making reservations for a group, and each tasting can include select beverage pairings. A complete vegetarian menu is offered featuring creative and offbeat selections such as parsnip panna cotta. While it may be pricey, it is an experience guaranteed to be memorable.

If your budget is not unlimited, you can scope out the cuisine by visiting Pulutan, the intimate bar at qui, and feast on small bar bites and signature cocktails.

The creative tasting menu at qui offers the opportunity to eat healthy while dining out.

Qui/Facebook

The creative tasting menu at qui offers the opportunity to eat healthy while dining out.

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Cat's Out of the Bag

Classic Austin dive bar Mean Eyed Cat opens new Driftwood outpost

Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

There ain't no grave can hold Austinites down when it's time to break in this new dive bar.

An Austin bar with a lot of personality has its eye on a new location. The Mean Eyed Cat is opening in Driftwood on Thursday, November 21.

This Johnny Cash-inspired bar has certainly always had the country aesthetic: the weathered wood, the live oak-shaded picnic tables, the black-and-white photos on the wall, and even the occasional taxidermy specimen. The same rustic vibes continue in Driftwood at 8750 W RR 150, Bldg. 100, according to a short press release.

Mean Eyed Cat Bar Driftwood interior This new bar already looks like it's been collecting antiques for decades.Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

Good luck getting there on Google Maps. Right now, it drops a pin at the intersection of Ranch to Market Road 150 and Elder Hill Road. However, it appears to be next to Mad Rooster's Liquor Store — we can see the side of the building through the window and the same road signs. We've reached out to a spokesperson to get the proper directions.

The Austin original has been around since 2004, and this offshoot is only its second location. The promises "the same laid-back, offbeat charm that made the original bar an icon."

Mean Eyed Cat Bar Driftwood interior What's a dive bar without a pool table?Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

Before the Austin location was a bar, it was a chainsaw repair shop that was aptly featured in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Chris Marsh was who converted it to a watering hole and Christened it the Mean Eyed Cat, and he later sold it to current owners Matt Luckie, Max Moreland, and Jed Thompson, placing it in a lineage that also includes Lavaca Street Bar & Grill, Sign Bar, Lala’s Little Nugget, and more locally beloved staples and oddities.

All the proper references are there in Driftwood, including several saw blades on the wall, Johnny Cash memorabilia, and lyrics on every available surface, including a picnic table that ominously says "HURT." First and foremost on the menu are whiskeys and classic cocktails, keeping things as simple as anyone would expect at a dive bar.

Mean Eyed Cat Bar Driftwood patio A spacious patio takes advantage of the Hill Country surroundings.Photo courtesy of the Mean Eyed Cat

Despite the relatively remote location, commenters on Instagram have already spotted people inside and started chomping at the bit. It sounds like opening day will be a lively affair.

The Mean Eyed Cat in Driftwood will be open Mondays through Thursdays from 2 pm to 2 am, and Fridays through Sundays from noon to 2 am. Happy hour will be weekdays from 4-7 pm.

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