We complained for years that we couldn't get the type of taco we were looking for in Austin. Chris was convinced that if he put my mom in a food truck, she'd make a fortune selling her tacos. Lucky for my mom, our friends introduced us to Pueblo Viejo (a sweet little trailer in the East Side Trailer Park). We leave the tacos to them. Before ordering at a Mexican restaurant, you need to know a few things. Is there lard (manteca) in the beans or tortillas? Is the yellow rice made with chicken broth or other animal products like butter? Once you're in the clear, it's safest to order items you can clearly identify. Tacos are simple. Our standby is beans, potatoes and avocado on a corn tortilla. A little salsa and this is a seriously delicious taco.

It's really cool that Pueblo Viejo is super vegan friendly. Even cooler that you can order the Tiko Taco as-is and it's already vegan. No having to say "no cheese" or "no meat". The Tiko Taco is beans, potato and avocado. They're around $2.50 and EASILY the best taco in Austin. I take you seriously if your corn tortilla is doubled. It's what the small family owned taquierias have done forever. Sometimes a corn tortilla breaks and what's better than another one to save it.

Everything's perfect. Like I said, best taco in Austin. Affordable. Satisfying. Their salsa will blow your mind. Their hottest salsa is really really spicy. It coats your entire mouth and lips with spice and you can't escape it. If heat isn't your thing, they have a couple different mild salsas. Their verde specifically is super good.

This place has the best hours. They're open everyday. Most days they're open til 3:00 AM, the rest of the week they are open until midnight. They're also open early from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM each day and reopening at 6:00 PM until midnight.

Remember to stop by the store for beer before you visit. It's BYOB.

La Condesa is the restaurant below Malverde. We love their take on Mexican street food. They are super vegan friendly and Chef Rene and his team are insane.

Above is the vegan platter we shared. Microgreen with pepitas, grilled artichoke and truffle olive oil, huitlacoche and mushrooms on masa and tomatoes with basil over corn sauce.

In the back right, you can see the three salsas they make. They are so delicious. One of the salsas has apple in it. We can never get enough.

In the back left, you can peek at some of the infused flavored salts they mix for their cocktails. Lots of them are spicy and go well with their spicy drinks.

My favorite is the Alma Blanca. (habanero infused tequila, ginger, agave nectar, pineapple juice, fresh corn with a hibiscus infused salt rim)

Here's the passion fruit spiced mango margarita:

Check this place out if you live here or visit!

Image courtesy of prometheussprings.com

Chris and I love the people behind this company as much as we love their products. Their elixirs are amazing (and vegan!). Each flavor is spicy and totally unique--you'll be hooked.

Image courtesy of prometheussprings.com

From their website: "The company derives its name from Prometheus, the fearless Greek titan and champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence. He is credited with stealing fire from Zeus and giving it to mortal man, for the benefit of humanity. Inspired by this story, it is with this same passion and vision that the team continues its tireless efforts to help us all rediscover the fire of capsaicin for the advancement of all."

Image courtesy of prometheussprings.com

Their drinks are impressive. I really love their flavor pairings. Citrus Cayenne, Pomegranate Black Pepper, Mango Chili and more. My favorite is Pomegranate Black Pepper. It's even better over ice or mixed into a cocktail. It's great when you have a cold, or when you're feeling better than ever. You'll definitely see these drinks at our next party.

Speaking of parties, here are some mixology tips from their website:

http://www.prometheussprings.com/category/mixology/

This summer, Chris and I grew vegetables on our balcony. We had basil, mint, sweet pepper, tomatoes and jalapeños. The jalapeño plant loved the sun, drank lots of water and produced super fat jalapeños. It even survived neglect during our weekend away. In the summer. In fact, when we came back we found that some of the jalapeños had turned red and wrinkled. The red peppers were sweet and hot. We realized that an aged jalapeño is red with lines; and those red jalapeños are the spiciest.

The plant eventually died. At least now I know which kind of jalapeño to grab at the grocery store. If I'm making vegan bahn mi or something served with raw jalapeños; I'll grab a bright green chile. It won't be too intensely spicy. For salsa, red is the way to go.

I was so sick a couple of weeks ago. My brain felt like tofu floating in water. I couldn't breathe, smell or swallow. Chris and I stopped by Juiceland (formerly Daily Juice) after winning a twitter trivia question and receiving $25 gift card. I was miserable and asked if they had anything spicy to make me feel better. The girl said if I wanted to really knock out a cold, I should try the Medicine Man.

Today, we stopped by Juiceland with some friends
(clockwise: Chris, Erika, Rachel, Me)

The Medicine Man is a 2 oz shot of lemon, ginger, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, beet, turmeric, oreganol and habanero. It's pretty intense. Maybe the most spicy thing I've ever had? It's super delicious and it does the trick. One 2 oz shot, made me feel so much better.

Spicy foods/capsaicin/chiles are amazing. It can make you euphoric, offer pain relief and fight inflammation. This month, for the Vegan Month of Food, I'm sharing everything I know about the chiles I grew up eating. To me, it's not worth it unless you sweat a little. The Medicine Man shot was a tasty way to get a quick fix of my favorite pepper, the habanero.