Veg Out! Austin

Mother Egan's is a popular Irish pub on the west end of Sixth Street, a few blocks away from Book People and the enormous Whole Foods HQ. I'd been here once before with some friends, but I'd not had a chance to try their food until earlier tonight at the Democracy for Texas meeting.

Their menu is standard pub fare along with a few Irish items. Apparently, anything can be made Irish by adding "Mother's" to the title as shown by items like Mother's Wings and Mother's Nachos. There are a number of vegetarian items in the appetizers section, generally consisting of tortilla chips with various toppings or cheese in various states.

For dinner, I had their garden burger with provolone cheese ($6.95). It was fairly good with a standard Gardenburger™ patty, fresh lettuce, pickles, tomato, and onion, and ketchup, spicy mustard, and mayo on the side. It came with a side of steak fries that I really liked, served wide and thick with a light coating of seasoning salt, but you could get potato chips or a side salad instead.

Their online menu also lists an onion mushroom melt sandwich, but I didn't see it on the printed menu. They've also got a few vegetarian desserts, but even though it's meat-free, I think I'd be cautious about deep-fried Mars bars.

The outside patio was nice on a crisp spring day, and the interior is setup with lots of booths that can handle about six really friendly people. If you want interesting veggie bar food, I'd go to Dog & Duck instead, but their efforts are appreciated.