With the growing demographic of vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free eaters in Austin, local restaurants have to keep up with the change. Over time, Austin area restaurant owners are continuing to tailor their menus to more alternative eating styles.  

Story by Abby Morgan

“Vegetarianism and veganism have become so much more popular. I don’t get how it won’t be essential for restaurants,” local food blogger and Ph.D. Nutrition student, Annie Markowitz says. It’s true. Veggie patties are being added to menus and vegan restaurants are increasing in popularity. With all of these new vegetarian options, here are five veggie burgers close to the University of Texas at Austin that you should try.

Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural is a restaurant dedicated to serving fresh ingredients with a fully-stocked bakery ready to serve your sweet tooth. Try the Mr. Natural burger, a vegan option with a homemade soy patty. The vegetarian option, Burger Boss, includes the same ingredients but with cheese and avocado to satisfy the avocado lover in many of us. If that wasn’t enough, they also included a health foods section where you can buy the necessary ingredients to make your own Mr. Natural burger.

Mother’s Café

This popular vegetarian restaurant was awarded the title, “Best Veggie Burger in Austin” in 2004. The Bueno Burger offers a patty made of wheat, seeds, tofu and veggies. The downside of many veggie patties is their crumbly or soft tendency, but the finely mashed ingredients in this burger allow it to stay intact.

“I love this burger. It doesn’t fall apart and it has a different flavor than I expected,” first-time customer Judith Parker says.

Kick Drum

This hamburger food truck claims to have “simply the best burgers and fries.” It most recently added The Moon Burger with a portobello mushroom patty and brie cheese to its menu. They have a different type of cheese for each burger and are willing to switch upon request — a dream for any cheese lover. The truck temporarily closed due to construction but according to their Instagram page, they plan to be back in business by Mar. 11.

Hopdoddy

We’ve all heard of this restaurant, but you might not have known about their incredible black bean burger called La Bandita. This black bean and corn patty is made fresh on the premises every day and is becoming even more popular with their meat-eating customers.

“Our veggie burgers are very unique. The patties are made with fresh vegetables and are very well done… It’s a healthier option, so we see a lot of meat eaters try it out,” manager Regina Wood says.

Counter Culture

USA Today rated this vegan comfort food truck one of the “Top 10 Vegetarian Restaurants in Austin.” This unique, turquoise trailer only offers fresh ingredients sourced from local farms, while also promoting their environmentally-conscious take on food waste. Counter Culture offers a unique patty consisting of beets, mushrooms, walnuts, veggies and cashew cheese all sandwiched between two wheat or gluten-free buns.