GIVEAWAY: Vegan Tacos by Jason Wyrick
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED
I’m so excited that we are giving away a copy Jason Wyrick’s new book Vegan Tacos to one lucky US reader. Yesterday I did a detailed review on my blog but all you really need to know is that if you like tacos OR if you have never eaten tacos you need this book. There are plenty of substitutions for gluten free, soy free, engine-two, whole foods, or whatever diet you might be on too so it will work for anyone with access to Mexican ingredients.
Vegan Tacos covers everything from making your own tortillas, to grilling, steaming, stewing, or sauteing tacos, to making salsas, guacamoles, and even rounding of the meal with a delicious beverage and a shot of tequilla (no worm). There are dessert tacos, fusion tacos, authentic tacos, super healthy tacos, deep fried tacos, and my favorite, breakfast tacos. Jason will even teach you how to make melty Queso Oaxqaca and how to ferment your own Queso Fresco and give you tons of tips along the way.
If you would like to win a copy please have a US address and list an email that you check and answer me this question: Where was the best place you ever had vegan Mexican food? It doesn’t matter if it’s your favorite taco truck, on your last surfing trip to Baja or at your abuela’s table. Just tell me where you had it, what you had, and why it was so good. I’ll pick a winner on Monday.
73 thoughts on “GIVEAWAY: Vegan Tacos by Jason Wyrick”
Sage Bistro in LA. I loved their chilaquiles so much, I blogged about them. I had some a month ago and they were even better. They now serve them with mango salsa.
Oddly enough it was Chipotle and that was because I had traveled all day and was starving, and it totally hit the spot. It was a bowl with rice, beans, guac, salsa, veggies
There’s a new-ish Mexican Restaurant in town that is about 1/2 vegan, and their food is the BEST! They are called Mexico in Season, and the fact that they use seasonal, local produce is a big part of what makes them so great!
The only vegan restaurant in my city, Spiral Diner, serves the most amazing Nachos Supremos. They are heaped with cashew-based cheese and tons of beans and veggies. I love them so much, I buy them every time I go there!
Best vegan food (ANY KIND) has come from The Chicago Diner!!! Yummmmmm
The best vegan mexican food i had was made by myself at home…. jackfruit “carnitas” are the bomb!
In Santa Cruz (California) at Las Palmas – the Las Palmas veggie burrito (I think you have to order it without cheese & sour cream, but whatever). They put alfalfa sprouts on it, & their in-house hot sauce is THE BEST. The place is right near the boardwalk, too… Ugh I miss those burritos so much! So cheap, too.
(Portland is great for so many things, but Mexican food is not one of them :[ )
Omg. I love Las Palmas! I haven’t eaten there in an age. And now I’m drooling. It also get my vote for best vegan Mexican food. I need to get back there.
In my kitchen. The first time I made homemade tortillas. Never going back.
At my house! I made some black bean and sweet potato tacos on corm tortillas inspired by Happy Herbivore. I fell in love that night.
My house! I love making tamales and other Mexican food myself, because it is all so tasty and lovely.
As a child, though, I remember my mom taking me to a place called Casa Mia in San Diego quite a lot. I always got the cheese quesadilla, if I remember right. It was so good to me then. Wouldn’t want it now 😉
My sister’s. She likes to do a Mexican spread with build your own burittos when she has lots of company over but the thing that makes it so good is the guacamole. My sister makes the best guacamole in the world and no matter how much she makes, there is never enough. We polish off the whole bowl every time.
A chain restaurant in the northeast called Margaritas. It’s about as close to authentic as you can get here!
At home! It always tastes the best!
In my own kitchen, I’m afraid. I love making tacos, enchiladas and burritos. I would love the book!
I make the best guacamole in the world if I do say so myself. 🙂 Other than that, the best vegan Mexican I’ve had was at a street stand in Pasadena CA. Can’t remember the name because it was quite awhile ago. Mexican is my all-time favorite. Thanks for the giveaway!
Oh, a link, too! http://www.arturosdining.com/ Arturo’s in New Bern NC. Because it’s the most recent, and their fat source is olive oil! So yummy.
Tortuga’s Mexican Village
Princeton, NJ
Unbelievable!
Tortillas, beans, refried beans, best salsa ever, guacamole, mexican rice. Good amount of spice, but not too much. BYO. Excellent.
Gracias Madre in San Francisco, CA. My sister and I loved everything we tried. (I can’t remember the name of the appetizer, except that the mole was amazing.) The quesadilla was particularly good as well.
The best burrito I ever had was at a random taco truck I stopped at one time. The thing was only about $4 and must have weighed 5 lbs. OMG is was good!
As far as standard Mexican fare, I like the chile rellenos at Maria Elenas in Alviso, CA. It’s a little hole in the wall, but has the best food. The chile rellenos have lots of cheese and does not have the greasy taste some have.
Taqueria Los Gorditos in Portland!! They have an entire vegan menu, plus they hand make all of there tortillas right in front of you. SO GOOD!! Second place would easily go to Robo Taco (also in Portland), for their housemade soy chorizo tacos with little pieces of pineapple. I’m never moving away. Ever.
YAY TACOS. Hmm… the BEST vegan Mexican I’ve ever had… would have had to be at Papacitos in Brooklyn. Melisser, Jay Moh, and me and who else? went there after a book signing… DEEElish. Plus Karaoke! Part of what made it so great was the availability of vegan sour cream and cheese. But the drinking, karaoke, and company definitely contributed!
We get vegan burritos from Whole Foods! Made to order just the way we want it including Daiya cheese.
At work where my coworkers make super authentic dishes from their countries. The empanadas are always so good!
I love Minneapolis’s food truck gone dine-in World Street Kitchen. They blend Mexican food with Asian staples. Their vegan burritos consist of tofu which is marinated in some magical sauce before being fried to perfection. And then it has all of the “usual” burrito fillings, perfect rice and what they call secret sauce… It tastes fresh (I think cilantro and lemon) and comforting at the same time. the balance of the blending flavors is literal perfection.
Additionally, the brothers who opened the place are quite passionate. The manager one made sure to engage all customers. And the chef brother can be found in the food truck part of the deal, which visits concerts and events around town.. Making certain that most of my nights on the town have included the lovely burrito. They also have delicious bean sides, with bright orange very spicy.. Spices:)
I don’t have the chance to eat out a whole lot, so I’ll say the South-of-the-Border Potato Tacos I made for VeganMoFo 2012!
I feel like not a foodie saying this, but Chipotle is pretty damn awesome. It always tastes fresh and I want to marry their guac. And the sofritas rock.
I agree 100%! Very happy to see a big chain bust out those sofritas
el burrito express. i would seriously swim in a vat of their beans.
Manne’s in Onalaska, Wisconsin does a variety of dishes that can easily be vegan but the fajitas they make are amazing for some reason. Maybe it is the guac and salsa, or something about the way the veggies are fire grilled, but oh man…I could eat those forever.
This cookbook looks awesome! The vegan nachos with the vegan aioli at Water Course Foods in Denver are amazing! Excited to try more vegan Mexican in NYC! Any suggestions??
That taco truck in Georgetown in Seattle!
It may be a little predictable, but Gracias Madre in San Francisco. They were life changing. I came home and tried to recreate them right away! Such a sweet, sweet memory. I can still taste them!
I was on a liquid diet for two weeks after a surgery, and the first thing I ate afterwards was Qdoba’s Mexican Gumbo. It was heavenly.
I don’t eat out a lot. I have raw nachos from the ecopolitan and they were delicious. They were the best because they didnt make me feel greasy afterwards
Tacos we make and eat at home are my favorite. We make our own tortillas and lots of different stuff for the filling. Sitting at the kitchen table eating this deliciousness, with the cat on his blanket in between our chairs purring away, is pretty much heaven to me.
My favorite spot for mexican food is my house — love homemade tacos and enchiladas (and we don’t have to worry that they forgot to tell us about any animal ingredients). This book looks great. Thanks!
I haven’t had a lot of access to vegan Mexican food, but I think the best I’ve had is at a place here in Memphis called Babalu. They don’t have anything explicitly vegan on the menu (unless you count guac and pico), but they have veggie tacos that are easily veganizable, with summer squash, crimini mushrooms, radishes, corn, red onion, chipotle vinaigrette, and arugula on fresh blue corn tortillas. Super delicious. I’d love to have access to better vegan Mexican options, but in lieu of that I just need this book so I can make all the tacos I want for myself.
The best place I’ve ever had vegan Mexican so far was Los Gorditos in Portland, OR. I got the Empanadas Rellenas. The flavor was just so good, plus it’s rare for me to actually get mexican food with vegan cheese and chorizo, as It’s usually just “beans, no cheese” when I go out!
I honestly don’t remember the last time I had vegan Mexican food that was very good. We do have a place called Viva Taqueria. They do have some vegan options, and it’s inexpensive. The food is nothing to write home about though.
My home is the best place to eat Mexican food, because I’m eating with my best friend. Gracias Madre is also delicious.
At my house, my mom and I make some seriously yummy nachos 🙂
The best vegan Mexican food I’ve ever ever had was stuff I’ve made myself. But the best I’ve had out at a restaurant was at Pure Food and Wine in New York. The raw tacos were amazing!
The mission in san francisco! I am all about the tacos at el metate.
Hands down, the best place I’ve ever eaten Mexican food was at Gracias Madre in LA. In order to get more variety, my friend and I shared everything…except margaritas…quesadillas de calabaza (pumpkin quesadillas with creme and pumpkin seeds), gorditas, sweet potato flautas, and an amazing pumpkin cake for dessert. Everything had contrasting textures and uber fresh flavors, crispy tortillas, smooth fillings, fresh lettuce, hot beans, creamy avocado. And tequila. Can’t forget the tequila. I’m drooling just thinking about it. I wish I could’ve just had one of everything.
I found Mexico City to be surprisingly vegan friendly.
My favorite place I’ve ever had vegan tacos was at my good friend’s wedding a couple weeks ago ago… she and her husband had the wedding catered by Bel Air Cantina, a ridiculously yummy Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee.
Imagine tons of fun, friends, dancing, booze, and ALL YOU CAN EAT make your own tacos! Who doesn’t love free margaritas, beer, and all you can eat tacos?! And sharing that with people you love? Yes!
They had flour/corn tortillas, black bean spread, black bean and corn, pintos, verde salsa, pico, roasted smoky salsa, guacamole (yes!!!!), cilantro, tomato, and onion!!
Sure they were pretty typical ingredients… but you know those tacos where you don’t get enough guac? Or you order two and wish you had had a third? Or it’s a total imbalance of ingredients? Not here cause we got to make them ourselves! I swear my table went for more at least 4 times… 6PM dinner check, speeches/dance, 8PM taco refresher check, more dancing and drinking, 10PM taco refresher check, dance dance dance, 12PM kill taco bar as a table-unit, check check, and check.
Basically it was super fun and delicious. I like that combination.
Also, Bel Air has some bomb vegan tacos they serve in the restaurant… I love the Roasted veggie one with roasted potatoes, corn, onion, zucchini with jalapenos, and a drizzle of
avocado salsa. And the in-restaurant experience is fun, just not wedding fun.
🙂
Oops, I forgot the Mexican rice. They also had mexican rice for the tacos catered.
I just perfected my own cheezy rice enchilada recipe and it’s by far the best vegan Mexican food I’ve ever had! To be fair, my only real options here are Qdoba and Chipotle…
Tops was at Gracias Madre in San Franscisco.
I would have to say my mom’s kitchen. While we were growing up, she made miracles happen with very little money. She still hand makes tortillas and pours all her love in them. I have been spoiled by her tortillas, rice and beans and judge each Mexican restaurant I go to based on the standard she set.
The Steamed White Seitan and sweet potato tacos with the Cashew Crema from Viva Vegan. I made them here at home. Absolutely delicious!
Best vegan tacos I’ve ever had was made by me with jackfruit! But also love
Gracias Madre in LA, and for Raw Vegan tacos Seeds kitchen in Venice beach.
This is a VERY awesome way to spread awareness about Vegan Latino places!<3
– sincerely
Creestaaal
Hispanicvegansofig
Love this
It was actually last night at my dinner table! We had dear friends for dinner and I made the Crowd Pleasing Tex-Mex Casserole from the Oh She Glows cookbook. It was delicious and the good company made it even better.
Easiest question ever. Answer: RANCHOS COCINA in San Diego, Ca. The city is blessed with two locations –North Park and Ocean Beach. As it is my hometown, Ranchos is a destination spot I hit every time I’m in the city. Tamales, tacos, burritos…flapjacks. It’s all there. For those reading this comment, make sure to stop by one of the locations. They will not disappoint! ^_^
The thing that bums me out the most about being vegan is that I can’t eat a lot of authentic Mexican food, since even the beans & rice usually have chicken stock or lard in them, but the hole-in-the-wall taco joint is my favorite place to eat, in a perfect world. So the best place I ever got vegan tacos was definitely Quesadilla La Reina Del Sur in Chicago. An authentic Mexican joint that’s totally vegetarian?! It was heaven on earth. Vegan Horchata?! Seriously, I dream about that meal.
By far the best vegan Mexican food I have had is at El Indio in Gainesville, FL.
Maybe El Indio holds a special place in my heart because I went vegan in college and in the south, a good vegan meal can be hard to find. The Tempeh Burrito at El Indio is so good! They even source the tempeh locally.
Yum! Thanks for the chance to win!
Thanks for the giveaway! Goodness, I live in LA where vegan Mexican food abounds, so this is a really tough question. I guess I’ll have to say Gracias Madre for its commitment to organic, authentic vegan Mexican food.
I am digging Mi Mero Mole in Portland. Very vegan friendly & delicious! Tamale Boy is also a current fave! Best ever?? Still searching….
the best vegan mexican food i’ve ever had was a soyrizo and potato breakfast taco dish at my very best friend’s house in Phoenix (I rarely get to see her as I live in Boise). Waking up to that beautiful woman making me breakfast, pouring a cup of coffee and catching up with each other’s life over a plate full of her favorite food from her childhood, was the best morning ever – subsequently leading that breakfast to be one of the most memorable.
The original Taco Bus in Tampa, FL. 1 butternut squash taco and 1 tempeh taco, hold the cheese. SO DELICIOUS!!!
Gracias Madre! I’ve only eaten there once but can’t wait to go back.
I always like to make Mexican food at home, but I think my favorite is Tower 7 in Wilmington NC. Part of the reason it was so good was that I contacted them before I went about my vegan/allergy requirements and the woman who emailed me back was super helpful. She spelled out exactly what I could have and couldn’t including all the sauces & telling the waiter how to prepare certain things to fit my needs. I had delicious veggie fajitas with the best homemade tortillas I’ve ever had. Oh, and the homemade guac. I had enough fajita veggies leftover for another whole meal, so I ordered a few extra tortillas to go and had it again for lunch the next day.
My favorite place for Mexican food was this little hole in the wall in L.A.
I don’t remember the name of the place but the food was amazing!
There is a new restaurant in town called Mexican Radio. My friends hated it, but they had vegan options for everything and the vegan stuff was really good! Score! 🙂
Gracias Madre, in San Francisco
My favorite Mexican food was made by my grandmother when I was younger. 🙂 She used to make these flour tortillas that were SO good, we ate them hot off the griddle! They didn’t even need any toppings, they were delicious on their own. Nothing compares to freshly made flour tortillas and I’d love some inspiration for what to top my own homemade tortillas with!
El Chipotle (not the excellent chain, an indpendent place) in Soquel, California has a huge menu that’s super-vegan-freindly. The green veggie burrito is chock full of veggies and the spices are authentic and delicious. Can’t recommend this little joint highly enough.
Local place called Las Fincas. There’s one in my town that is “eh,” but the one a town over is AMAZING. Fresh made everything, love that place! Swansboro, NC
The best I had were at District Taco this past weekend in DC!