Plant-based Adventures: Houston, Texas

Food options: 4/5

Restaurants visited:
📍Hungry’s
📍Mo’ Better Brews
📍Local Foods
📍Sinfull Bakery
📍Cascabel
📍Bellagreen

For our mini anniversary celebration, we wanted to check off a city that had been on our short list for a while - Austin. We decided to start our food adventures in Houston and make it a road trip. There were endless restaurants to try, but the distance and our time were limited.

We touched down in Houston ready to eat and found our first meal close our hotel at Hungry’s. I appreciated that they had so many plant-based options on the menu, which made it hard for me to pick one thing. I ordered the crispy eggplant tacos that were bursting with flavor and had a good mix of textures.

We liked the ambiance and decided to return the next day for happy hour with some family who live in the area. While I don’t drink often, I appreciate appetizer specials. The cashew queso had some of my favorite things - something cheesy, something salty, and lots of savory goodness.

Crispy Eggplant Tacos - Homemade avocado tortilla, cabbage slaw, guacamole, vegan chipotle aioli, housemade pickling, Cuban black beans

Cashew Queso - Homemade cashew queso, poblano peppers, homestyle crisps & tortilla chips

If you’re a breakfast person, Mo’ Better Brews is a must visit spot in Houston. The menu was loaded with vegan options, so it was actually difficult to choose one thing. So, the sampler options were perfect. I picked the Shrooms & Grits Flight - chik'n fried shrooms with hot honey, cajun remoulade, and cajun cream sauce. My husband picked the Pancake Flight - strawberry cheesecake, peach cobbler, and pecan pie pancakes. It really was the best of sweet and savory flavors.

Shrooms & Grits Flight

Pancake Flight

Local Foods was a great spot for an evening meal while sitting outside catching up with family. The menu had something for everyone and clearly highlighted allergy info, which made it easy to order. With a seeded quinoa patty, I was intrigued by the good karma burger and ordered with a side of Old Bay potato chips and dill pickle spears. I followed my tasty sandwich, with a vegan carrot cupcake for dessert.

Good Karma Burger - Housemade Seeded Quinoa Patty, Pickled Taqueria Vegetable, Tomato, Vegan Aioli, Shredded Romaine, Ciabatta

Carrot Cupcake - Carrot spice cake with vanilla “buttercream” icing

We started the next morning with a stop by an all-vegan bakery, Sinfull Bakery. We wanted to try everything! But we controlled ourselves and only ordered a few things including a homemade pop tarts and cinnamon bun. Of course, we ordered cookies for snacks later that day, too. We didn’t try any savory items, but we would be regulars for the baked goods alone if we lived nearby.

Cookies, pop tart, muffin, and cinnamon bun

While I was definitely indulging on this trip, I found my way to some greens, of course. We stopped by Bellagreen, and I ordered the most colorful salad. It made it so simple to eat the rainbow. This kale salad was bursting with flavor between the avocado lemon dressing and fresh mango & strawberries.

Oh Kale Yeah Salad with kale tossed in our avocado lemon dressing, tomatoes, red onions, mango, carrots & strawberries; topped with roasted pumpkin seeds

Cascabel was so good that we had to go twice! These were hands down some of the best tacos I’d ever had. We tried a little bit of this and that with the taco sampler, nachos, and a burrito. But the barbacoa (seasoned jackfruit) Birria tacos were what made us return. I haven’t figured out how to make consomé that even begins to compare to theirs. Sadly, they closed their doors in 2025, but they made a lasting impact on Mexican cuisine in Houston.

Taco Sampler, Nachos, and Birria Tacos

Beto’s Nachos w/ Mushrooms

Jackfruit Barbacoa Birria Tacos and Battered Cauliflower Burrito