Counter Culture Food Trailer — Restaurant in Austin

OK FOOD BUT CRAPPY SERVICE. I really REALLY wanted to love this place. I am a vegan so I was ready to support this restaurant. The vibe we got from our waitress Jackie was extremely cold and snobby. My husband ordered the hibiscus tea and i had water since they don't have decaf coffee. When i asked if they had decaf she gave me a very curt "no". The hibiscus tea my husband ordered was VERY bitter. I could tell it was brewed really strong which is alright w/ me but not for most people. He told Jackie that it was really bitter and asked if he could have something different like the Lavender Lemonade. She said "well i'll have to still charge you and if i don't charge you it's coming out of my paycheck". SERIOUSLY!! That statement wouldn't even have been so bad had she not said it so rudely. We spoke very politely to her the whole time even after she was so rude. So there was no reason for her to have that attitude. We just said ok, we'll stick w/ water then. I have never been to a restaurant and been told that! I mean come on, how hard is it to make your customer happy by just simply saying "i'm sorry you didn't like it, let me get you something else." Especially when you pay $2.50 for a tea and it's not good. I seriously doubt that that is even true, but if it is, the owner of the establishment should re-consider their policy because that's not fair to the staff and it makes the customer service awful. Anyway, moving on. I really wanted to try the Jackfruit BBQ but they were all out of GF bread, which I understand is not their fault, apparently the lady they buy from had a kitchen fire. But with all the local and non-local GF bread available you might think they could get a back-up option just in case. O-well. I had the GF cashew mac n cheese. It was very good. The sides I chose were the quinoa raisen salad and potato salad. The potato salad was good but I did not care for the quinoa salad, kind of bland for me. My husband had the Lentil loaf which had good flavor but was served barely warm. He was not impressed w/ it. He also had the potato salad and a side green salad. Needless to say we will not be going back to be...

While I have been a vegetarian for most of my life, I am not a vegan, and I am an unabashed fan of all things dairy- cheese is my worst dietary Achilles' heel, and an existence without it is not something I want to contemplate. For this reason, vegan cuisine is not usually something I seek out, although I'm certainly always open to trying it out. I volunteered for Texas VegFest this past year, and one of the perks we received in exchange for our service was a catered "thank you" party at Counter Culture- an ideal way to try the restaurant, as I got to sample a little of each of their specialties. What I found was decisively hit-or-miss. I was most excited to try the "Mac & Cheeze," made with cashew sauce, which I'd been told was just as good as its non-vegan equivalent. Well, it wasn't horrible, but while the cashew sauce had a pleasantly creamy texture, the flavor was just a bit too bland to approximate real mac and cheese. The jackfruit enchiladas were better. The shredded jackfruit has a texture and flavor which is unique without being off-putting, and the sauce on top was rich and flavorful. The seitan sausage and sauerkraut appetizers and the vegan queso both suffer from the same problem- the flavor is good, but both have a texture which is dry and almost grainy. The biggest surprise at Counter Culture for me was also one of the simpler items on the menu: the Pac Man salad, a mix of kale, carrots, and chia seeds topped with a light garlic dressing which complemented the natural flavors of the vegetables, rather than overpowering it. This is an item I would come in specifically to order for lunch, if I was in the area. Counter Culture's brunch menu looked appealing, and I'd love to come in again specifically to try out the tofu rancheros or stuffed French toast. However, the lunch and dinner entree items just fell a little short for me to recommend this place. The litmus test for vegan and vegetarian dining is usually "would a carnivore like it too?" In that respect, I have to say Counter Culture doesn't live up to...

Gave it two stars for atmosphere and because the food is technically edible? I tried a gluten free pizza with apples, caramelized onions, cheeze, and some kinda fig jam. That was actually the best thing we got in my opinion, though if the crust was crispier all the way through that would have improved the texture as it got a bit soggy towards the middle. The cane sugar orange soda was alright as well but that's just canned stuff. We also tried the nachos (horrible, the fake chips, fake cheese etc just didn't hit the right combination of flavors) and the Jackfruit tacos (too many beans overwhelming the flavor and texture and taking away from the fruit itself). Lastly we got the coconut cream pie. The banana, again, completely overwhelmed the flavor, and the shredded coconut on top ruined the texture which otherwise might have actually been pretty good. The outside eating area is adorable and they allow dogs, which is chill. If you only eat vegan maybe this stuff tastes a lot better but compared to someplace like Bouldin Creek which is a) way more affordable and b) even the vegan stuff is crazy delicious, I'm not sure I see the point in spending the cash here as they are a little overpriced. They need to work on their menu more before it becomes a viable alternative to the large selection of other vegan/vegetarian...