Editor’s note: We get it. It can be difficult to keep up with the fast pace of Austin’s restaurant and bar scene. We have you covered with our regular roundup of essential food news.

Openings

One of Austin's favorite vegan restaurants, the Vegan Nom, is bringing even more noms to the North Loop neighborhood with Double Trouble, a "love child" with Barrett’s Coffee. The vegan taco joint and bar (103 E. North Loop Blvd.) is in its soft launch stage, officially opening on June 30. But until then, there will be Friday parties. From 3 pm to midnight, these weekly welcome wagons will include $5 tacos, drink specials all night, frozen palomas, and free IPAs by The Brewtorium while they last. Visitors can also enjoy music and hula hooping on the patio — good vibes, only. Right now, it's open every day from 7 am to midnight.

Seafood restaurant Truluck's, now at a swanky new space at 300 Colorado St, is just about ready for its first visitors. On June 16, the new location welcomes guests old and new to witness the upgrades: a two-level dining space with skyline views, a more technologically advanced kitchen, and a more modern atmosphere overall. Even the light and sound system is technologically elevated, according to a release. Reserve on OpenTable.

Other news and notes

I had as little an inkling as you did that this column would one day include a victory over raw milk, but here we are with the Texas Farmers' Market (TFM). After much lobbying, TFM convinced lawmakers to allow preorders for raw milk at markets, and now it's actually available from Ash Acres Dairy Farm. Some other vendors are also joining the fray at the Mueller and Lakeline markets with unrelated but exciting additions: "'New York-ish' bagels from David Doughies, chai from Open Eye Beverage Co., and artisanal ice cream from Lotus Creamery," "vegan cheese from Peace Cheese, [vegetables from] Southern Star Farms & Events Center," a release lists.

La Condesa is not the kind of place where you'd expect to see $3 tacos, but thank goodness for happy hour. The new weekday special from 5-6 pm also offers cocktails half off, and the restaurant claims "one of the largest mezcal and tequila offerings in town." The four discounted tacos to choose from are cachete (beef cheek) with avocado and cucumber; carnitas with avocado and tomatillo salsa; pollo with salsa verde, onion, and cilantro; and hongos (mushrooms) with black beans and chimichurri. They're available exclusively at the bar, and on a walk-up basis.

Going out for African food could mean any number of cuisines and styles, but this Juneteenth weekend, a big handful of them are all going to be in one place. On June 18, Armadillo Den is hosting the Diaspora Food Festival, highlighting dishes with African American, Afro-Latin, Afro-Colombian, Jamaican, and Haitian influence, among others. Fans of the Latin Food Festival are likely to enjoy this event by the same organizers. RSVP for the free event at ourlatincity.com.

Move over, beer flights; vegan affogato flights are spreading their wings at Gati, the vegan ice cream and coffee shop. The "sister bakery" to Thai Fresh, this ice cream shop offers some of the city's most unique flavors, but with subtlety and seriousness — only when the situation calls for it. (Try the refreshing pandan with the coconut ash.) A summer solstice party on June 21 celebrates the launch of these matches made in vegan heaven with a pop-up market, live music, and savory snacks like spicy fried chicken sandwiches and pad Thai. Check Instagram for more details.

We already briefly mentioned a new menu for Geraldine's, the rooftop restaurant at Hotel Van Zandt, but there are more exciting goings-on up there as the summer progresses. A new four-part guest chef series invites lauded chefs from around the world to collaborate with the Geraldine's team on eight-course meals, kicking off on June 21. First up is Chef Atzin Santos formerly of El Bulli in Spain, who now specializes in Mexican haute cuisine. Reserve ($125) on OpenTable.

If an upscale THC-dosed dinner sounds like it'll get you through the week, look no further than Store House Market + Eatery, about half an hour from Austin in Bastrop. Chef Sonya Cote, also known for her work at Hillside Farmacy and Eden East is teaming up with Calibrate Wellness (created in part by Nic Yanes of Juniper and Uncle Nicky’s) for a multi-course delta-8-infused meal including blue crab claws and Gulf Coast redfish. The whole meal will deliver 20 grams of delta-8 — that's a lot, if you don't take it regularly, so pace yourself. Reserve ($135) on Tock.

  

Photo courtesy of Double Trouble

The Vegan Nom and Barrett’s Coffee teamed up to create Double Trouble, now in a soft-open stage.