No Saying “Bacon” Allowed // Vegan, Earthy Simplicity

This week I met my daughter for dinner at Casa de Luz, a classic Austin staple in any vegan or food-conscious consumer’s restaurant arsenal. As I often mention, I keep to a mostly plant-based diet, and my daughter is 100% vegetarian, so we both love going to Casa de Luz: their menu is always vegan, organic, gluten-free, and delicious!

If you haven’t been before, upon arrival you’ll be first treated to beautiful landscaping, with greenery decorating a long walkway leading up to the front door. Inside, the lighting is kept dim, and strings of lights hang from the ceiling. The effect is soft and relaxing. Overall, the whole vibe of the restaurant is earthy and centered on wellness, with an Ayurvedic proverb painted above the entrance: “When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.” American healthcare system, take note.

Another special part of visiting Casa de Luz is that they serve only one meal at mealtimes, rotating with each day of the week. It might seem odd that you don’t get to choose what you eat from a menu of many choices, but the simplicity of it is actually a refreshing experience—one less thing to worry about in your day.

We helped ourselves to self-serve soup and salad as we waited for our meals to be brought out. The soup consisted of butternut squash, zucchini, and cabbage seasoned with cilantro, pepper, and tamari, a type of premium soy sauce made with extra soybeans. It was light but still flavorful, perfect as the autumn night dipped into the upper 60s (brrr!). The salad was mixed greens in a sunflower mint dressing. The greens were crisp and fresh, and even though there was a lot of dressing on them, the taste of it was rich and cool, not at all overwhelming.

When our meal was served, it was a plate of four items: brown rice topped with a parsley sauce, pinto beans, gorditas, and blanched greens under a layer of walnut dill sauce, plus a small amount of pickled radish. The rice and beans were pretty standard, but cooked well. It seemed like the blanched greens didn’t have any kind of added seasoning, but the walnut dill sauce really elevated them to a new level—the savory nuttiness was heavy and satisfying, almost creamy.

However, the gorditas were without a doubt the winner of the night. They were small corn tortilla pouches filled with mixed veggies, guacamole, pickled cabbage, and cilantro. Flavor-wise, most notable were the smooth, salted-just-right guacamole and tart vinegary punch from the pickled cabbage. We thought they were absolutely heavenly!

All in all, the meal was not overly filling but still full of flavor, and densely nutritious. You can even immediately feel your body break into a standing ovation for feeding it so well. The restaurant also offers an array of healthy dessert options ranging from puddings to fruit tarts, but we passed on those for the night. Since Casa de Luz is one of our favorites, we will definitely enjoy dessert during a future visit.

Casa de Luz is located at 1701 Toomey Rd, Austin, TX 78704. They operate Monday through Sunday from 830a to 7p. You can reach them at 512-576-2535.

If regular, easy access to this superbly healthy and tasty restaurant sounds great to you, look at THESE PROPERTIES  and call me at 512-577-5208 to set up a meeting.

Sonia Comisarenco ~ REALTOR®~ Team Price Real Estate

We Introduce Buyers to Sellers

PH ~ 512-577-5208 

Email ~ sonia@teamprice.com

Website ~ sonia.buyinginaustin.com 

You can also download my app to search for properties by texting 'Sonia' to 512-270-7326