Vegan MoFo #18: Vegan Cafe - Third Ward, Houston, TX

I've heard people mention the Vegan Cafe at potluck in the past. It's located inside the SHAPE Center. I thought it was in the building on Almeda, but it's actually on Live Oak (just around the corner on Alabama). I've thought about going several times, but it was always after 7 so they were closed. I finally made it to the Almeda Shape Center before 7 and it wasn't the right location! Whoops. After that failed attempt, I found the correct location a few days later and they were sold out of food. The woman running the cafe sent me on my way with spice cake to cheer me up. After the second failed attempt, I called ahead to save two chili dogs so my friend and I could finally go to the Vegan Cafe. He had tried to go to the Almeda Shape Center once too, so we were both ready to find this place! I really liked that the veggie dogs were grilled and piled high with chili and toppings. There's also almond milk ice cream made in-house! The chocolate flavor is rich and my friend couldn't finish his scoop.

Sadly, the Vegan Cafe is closing on September 23rd. The owners are starting personal shopping and chef services and hoping to open a natural grocery store in the Third Ward. I hope they're successful! The Third Ward is reasonably close to me and I think the community would benefit from a successful, locally-owned business in that area.