Eat More Plants
El Paso food trailer spices up Austin with vegan Mexican street food
Spider House is spinning quite a web for lovers of vegan cuisine. Over the past few years, the campus coffee shop and bar has welcomed veggie- and vegan-centric restaurants such as Arlo's, Always Hungry, and even the 100-percent plant-based Milky Way Shakes.
The latest to join the veggie fam is Lick It Up, an El Paso food trailer opening its first Austin location on August 21. The kitchen dishes out Mexican plant-based street food, such as burritos, tacos, flautas, and gorditas, offering diners a choice of plant-based proteins like mushroom chorizo and vegan adobada.
Lick It Up's menu also offers funky twists on classic bar food, such as "carne asada" fries and nachos, both of which are topped with seitan, a soy-less protein made with chickpea flour.
“My team and I have been looking to bring a touch of our good comfort food from our home in El Paso to Austin for quite some time now," said Edgar Delfin, founder of Lick It Up, in a release. “And I’d like to build a strong community in this city as we have done back at home.”
In building that community, Lick It Up tapped longtime Austin vegan chef Rolando Garza to lead operations at the new trailer. (Garza's no stranger to Spider House; his vegan truck Cool Beans used to be parked outside.)
"Garza has proved ... that he is committed and passionate about continuing to cook plant-based foods while [tying] his Mexican heritage to every dish," the restaurant said.
Garza does have quite a legacy to maintain here in Austin. Founded in 2017 as a food truck, Lick It Up has already opened a brick-and-mortar in downtown El Paso and has also been featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Austin diners will have the opportunity to try it for themselves when the trailer opens later this month at 2908 Fruth St. Once operational, Lick It Up will be open daily from noon to 8 pm.