Mother's Cafe

I don't know why it took me so long to write up about Mother's, the long-standing vegetarian cafe in Austin's Hyde Park community. Perhaps it was an assumption that any vegetarian here in town would already know about this wonderful resource.

The interior of Mother's has three distinctive eating areas. First, there is a counter where you can grab a quick bite, with a view into their kitchen. Then, there is some interior seating, with a combination of tables and booths. Finally, there is the garden, a covered outdoor section (with heaters in the winter) featuring open tables, lots of plants, and often live music.

The food at Mother's has been consistently excellent. Every day, they have two choices of soups, with one being vegan. They also have some excellent salads, my favorite being the spinach salad with tamari dressing. Their collection on entrees includes a variety of enchiladas, a homemade garden burger, lasagna, tofu BBQ, mushroom stroganoff, and baked potatoes.

Mother's features filtered water at the tables, and I really like their iced herbal tea. They have an excellent collection of smoothies for dessert too. On the weekends, they feature a special brunch menu with a variety of egg and tofu dishes and piles of pancakes. ($10)