Vegan Girl Gets an Exclusive Look at VSPOT Cafe

by Melissa Brenner

Anyone trafficking the strip of restaurants and bars on Henderson has noticed the increasing activity in the space next to The Pearl Cup. VSPOT Café is now clearly marked on the windows, but not much more about the much anticipated restaurant was known until now.

I sat down with the Chef Toria Villareal to get the real story on what VSPOT Café is all about. VSPOT Café has a projected opening date of October 17th. The menu will be all vegan, but the emphasis will be on health. Sadly, we know a lot of the vegan fare in Dallas is not all that healthy. VSPOT plans to change that and give us all the tasty yet healthy vegan eats we can handle.   

What can you expect? Some of your favorite dishes intermixed with things you’ve been dreaming of but never thought you’d see in Dallas. Featured dishes will include Gnocchi in a garlic truffle cream sauce; Arugula Pasta served with basil-cilantro pesto, seasonal veggies and roasted garlic; Mushroom and Butternut Squash Risotto; Thai Curry Eggplant Stack; Asian Stir-Fry; Sushi (with a Longhorn Roll as a house specialty roll); Chili Rellenos; Tacos (including a “fish” taco) and Eggplant Parmesan with a wine reduction marinara, greens and polenta.

Four different pizzas will be offered with a gluten free crust. Yes, you read that right. You can now get a vegan pizza (that we hear will not be overly Daiya laden) on a gluten free crust.

Specials will be available and announced upon availability. Beginning in November you will be able to indulge your tamale fantasy. Personally, I am hoping that the tamales become a staple with the flavors changing seasonally.

There will be some raw items ala Bliss Raw Café  available at VSPOT Café. Coconut Kale Enchiladas (one of my absolute favorites) will be on the VSPOT menu for sure, along with the elixirs. To expand the drink options, six super-food smoothies, six fresh juice mixtures and kombucha on tap will be added.

Shots (noni, açai, fresh wheat grass, etc) and raw drinks (Chocolate Bliss, Hemp Horchata, and Minty Hemp) will on hand, too.

Now, let’s talk about the most exciting things to me… brunch, desserts and BYOB!

Brunch is the meal most lacking for vegans in the DFW area and apparently the hardest to get restaurants to commit to on a regular basis. As of the VSPOT opening, we’ll be able to have brunch and mimosas with dessert. Specialty brunch items will include waffles, biscuits and gravy, and crepes (I’ve got my fingers crossed for a vegan “nutella” crepe). Desserts will be on a rotating menu, but I was told that there will be a tiramisu available very soon. BYOB will be all the time, so bring your favorite bottle of vino and enjoy as you are perusing the new restaurant’s menu and trying to decide on what you’ll try first.

I’m reserving my table now, because I know there’s going to be a mad wait come the first Sunday service.

Make sure to stop by the Texas State Fair and see Chef Toria Villareal in action. She is the first vegan chef to be featured as a Celebrity Chef at the Texas State Fair in 2 years. The Celebrity Kitchen  is located in the Creative Arts Building. Toria will be cooking on Saturday, October 1^st at 6 pm. You will want to get some of her secret vegan cooking tips while you can. Once VSPOT opens she may not be able to make it out of the kitchen again.