House of Blues - Dallas

Yes, there are bites from the slider.  It looked too good.  Went to House of Blues so my wife could see Luke Bryan (no review on that).  Made reservations so we didn't have to stand outside in line with the masses, so had a Sam Adams beer (or three) and got some chips and hot sauce while I waited for my wife to arrive.  They were lacking in flavor, but filling I guess.

I didn't expect to find much tasty here for a main course, some fries or a salad maybe.  I was very pleased to see this on the menu - portabello sliders.  Described as two marinated portabello mushroom sliders, topped with smoked Gouda cheese, roma tomato and crispy field greens served on a brioche bun.  Well the brioche bun wasn't even an option so I didn't have to not order it, but I did, of course, have to request no Gouda.  I got a side of BBQ sauce and put the spicy pickles that came in the center dish on the sliders and they.were.GREAT.  My only regret was that I filled up on the chips and couldn't order another side of these.

Service was good, bill was not representative because we both had several adult beverages, which are way over-priced.  I like House of Blues (even though the booking guy is a pain in the backside when I am booking my band) - I am glad they have some food that is vegan-friendly.  

Mooyah Burgers - McKinney

Ahhh - finally a burger place that does it right for us vegans.  BWW had a great burger, but they also have a wider menu so you expect more options.  Mooyah is a burger joint that only sells a few other non-burger items, and those are on their kid's menu.  You go in, mark down what you want on your order form, and above is what you get.

For starters you'll see the iceberg lettuce wrap instead of bread.  I THINK their buns are safe, but this way I don't feel so bad about eating so many of the sweet potato fries (pictured).  And no, I did not eat ALL of those!  Can you believe that is a medium order of fries that 'serves 1-2'?  But boy are they good.  What I did eat all of was the burger, which I will order with all the free toppings they offer - lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, grilled onions, jalapenos, relish and mushrooms.  They also have an assortment of sauces - the BBQ is safe and they also have a buffalo wing sauce and others depending on your taste. 

So here is another similar issue to the one I posted in my Scotty's P's write-up - I saw a review elsewhere that complained they cook these on the same grill as the meat burgers and thus you are getting 'meat transfer'.  This might be a location by location issue.  I saw them scrape the grill before they cooked mine, and I take solace in the fact that I did not order meat and thus did not create more demand for said meat patties.  This is probably hard to police anywhere you go unless it is a vegan restaurant (which kinda defeats the purpose of the blog).

That said - great burger, very filling, truly a black bean patty so no concerns about dairy content and the iceberg version with small fries is under 600 calories.  This order plus a tea was around $11.  There are a lot of Mooyah burger locations now days, so pop up a location on your smartphone and check it out! 

Ruang Thai - Plano

So here is the Thai restaurant I really enjoy in Plano that was closed last week.  Thankfully it was only for the morning!  Ruang Thai always has exceptional service and a very nice variety of food to choose from, both vegan, vegetarian and otherwise.  While the owner's first language is not English, they understand my request for vegan entrees and have yet to disappoint.

The meal comes with complimentary soup - today's was Tom Gai (Thai coconut soup) and it was pretty tasty.  I still prefer the Miso at some establishments, but again I appreciate the vegan option.

My favorite dish here is the curry, and today I selected the Massamun curry with coconut milk, bell pepper, potato, onion and peanuts.  The peppers are crisp and the potatoes are fresh and not soggy.  It comes with the vegan egg roll and white rice pictured above.  The spice goes from one to five - I ordered the three and it had just the right kick for me.

The food comes out fast and hot, the service is excellent with each empty dish being cleared almost immediately and the tea staying full.  While they offered my coconut ice cream for dessert I did not accept nor ask if it was actually made from coconut milk or just coconut flavored.  With the drink and tax the meal came to right at $15.  Again, there are a lot of vegan options here and plenty of dishes that can be made vegan (without egg, etc).

From the flavor to the service to the price, this is definitely one of my favorite authentic Thai restaurants I have been to.