Sustainable Concept Brings Farm-fresh, (Mostly) Healthy Fare to South Austin

While salad-centric spots tend to draw midday crowds, Vinaigrette elevates the leafy fare to dinnertime status as well. The farm-to-table concept began in Santa Fe in 2008, and both its original and Albuquerque locations use organic produce from owner Erin Wade’s 10-acre farm in Nambe, New Mexico.

True to form, its new Austin-based iteration will get much of its produce from a nearby farm in Bastrop. The sustainable restaurant has plenty of natural light and features an approximately 500-year-old live oak tree on the patio.

Order the crunchy black bean kale nachos as an appetizer, and toast to your health with a spicy turmeric mimosa. For your main course, try the Eat Your Peas salad with chicken, which satisfies with savory bacon shards, sauteed mushrooms, sweet green peas, and Asiago cheese.

Another great option is The Omega salad with shrimp, accented with ceviche-like ingredients such as tomato, avocado, bell pepper, red onion, and cilantro. The salads can be topped with a variety of proteins, from grilled flank steak to seared diver scallops, making them filling enough for lunch or dinner.

While everything tastes fresh and delicious, diners should be forewarned that the restaurant’s healthy ethos does not mean that everything is low-calorie or diet-friendly. (After all, kale nachos and turmeric mimosas are still nachos and mimosas.) But even the indulgences have a nutritious element, so if you’re going to splurge, you might as well do it with farm-fresh ingredients in a hip environment.

Go to article