When we think of vegan food, many picture kale smoothies and sad pizzas covered in nutritional yeast in place of cheese. However, depending on where you live, there are plenty of delicious vegan dishes that keep you from even missing meat in your life, from vegan tempeh BBQ to comfort food vegan meals like vegan mac n cheese. Based on a recent study by WalletHub, Austin is the best city in Texas for meat-free diets.
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Since October 1st is World Vegetarian Day and November 1st is World Vegan Day, WalletHub decided to report on 2021's Best Cities for Vegans & Vegetarians. The vegan and vegetarian lifestyle is on the rise in 2021, and fake meat products have become cheaper throughout the pandemic as more and more environment-conscious Americans jump on the bandwagon.
To rank the best places to be vegan, WalletHub used metrics like the cost of groceries, vegan stores per capita, the number of vegan restaurants, and more. They also looked at the overall affordability, diversity, accessibility, and quality of meatless products in each city.
Austin Is the Place to Be for Vegans
Unsurprisingly, the top five vegan-friendly cities on the list are Portland, Oregon; Orlando, Florida; Los Angeles, California; San Francisco, California; and Boise, Idaho. However, our very own Austin, Texas came in number 6, out of the 100 cities in the study! Austin beat out cities like Seattle, Washington; Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky; Oakland, California; and San Diego, California.
Austin did especially well in the ranking of farmers markets, juice & smoothie bars, cost of veggie groceries, and vegetable nurseries. They also have an impressive number of restaurants with vegan options and vegetarian options.
Anyone who's lived in or visited this Texas gem of a city has found that the vegan scene is full of delicious vegan eateries and tasty veg options. Some of the most popular spots for vegan eats is Mr. Natural, one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in the city, famous for their scrumptious vegan chocolate donuts.
For vegan cheese pizzas, Li'l Nonna's is the the place to go, and if you're craving tacos, Vegan Nom is the spot. Here's a list of the best vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Austin to find more. Austin is more than just a center of BBQ, Tex-Mex and live music; it's the best city for vegans in the state of Texas!
