Restaurant mixes flavors, showcases healthy options

Snack Bar on South Congress Avenue serves full meals, not snacks, but the restaurant is surely the place to go to fulfill whatever size appetite.

The restaurant, which opened around ACL Festival weekend, is still in an experimental phase with its hours. Currently open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Snack Bar won’t open for dinner until the day after Thanksgiving.

But, the early hours aren’t something to mind. Their menu seems to fit those in the breakfast, brunch or lunch crowd.

Snack Bar’s design is very chic, yet still vintage. Walking into the restaurant, there is a classic diner bar, reminiscent of something one would see in a small, old town with men drinking black coffee and discussing war stories. Much of the inside is green, perhaps a symbol of its environmentally conscious standards.

The menu is vast, and reading it is somewhat torturous. Having to choose between items such as salmon with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, shrimp and grits, a BLT or a biscuit smothered in vegan tempeh gravy is indeed very difficult.

I chose to go with the green chile chicken pozole soup ($4) and Andrea’s OMG avocado-stuffed veggie bean patty with vinaigrette slaw ($8). 

The soup, chunky and full of vegetables and chicken, was very good, but certainly not out of this world. It was very similar to chicken soup with some added spice — nothing extraordinary — but certainly something that works for those who love chicken soup. It was also spicy enough to clear your sinuses with one sip.

The entree Andrea’s OMG veggie bean burger indeed lived up to its name. The patty was thick and full of mouthwatering flavors, with the best part being in its center. Biting into the burger, the loaded avocado middle provided a delicious touch to the dish. Additional toppings available on the burgers include items such as sauteed mushrooms, grilled pineapple, roasted red pepper, jalapeño, bacon and many other items priced at 50 cents each.

The vinaigrette slaw was the perfect crunch to accompany the velvety smoothness of the burger, which was served on a wheat bun with either potato straws, tortilla chips or more vinaigrette slaw.

As stated on their menu, Snack Bar makes every effort to serve dishes that accommodate a variety of dietary needs and adhere to the quality Austinites have come to expect. Many of the items on the menu are prepared vegan, gluten-free and are local and organic.

Snack Bar takes risks in experimenting with so many flavors, textures and varieties of cuisine, but the risk pays off.
 

Comments

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above: