Cinco de Mayo 2019 at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

To celebrate this Cinco de Mayo I went to Chuy's Tex-Mex. This was my first time at Chuy's. The restaurant was bright, clean, loud, and decorated with an abundance of dog photography and weird dog themed art. There was a slight 1950's vibe created by the nacho bar built from a 1957 Chevy trunk, retro space-age Chuy's logo, mid-century styled seating, and Elvis painting.

I spoke with a very knowledgeable server about vegan options. I will present to you my meal and what I was told about the vegan foods available. First, let's admire this beautiful plate full of plant-based foods.

Veggie Enchiladas at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

This Veggie Enchilada meal included 2 roasted veggie enchiladas with refried beans and green chile rice with a small garnish of spinach, lettuce, pico de gallo, and jalapeno slices. I made it vegan by ordering it without cheese. This food was excellent in every possible way, except for the price. This was the best Tex-Mex food I've had in a while. The enchiladas were flavorful with a nice variety of textures. The ranchero sauce was rich and smooth. The veggies were fresh and slightly firm. The corn tortillas were soft with a slight stretch when pulled. Here's a detail of the enchilada with the top pulled off.

Veggie Enchiladas at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

The mostly blended beans tasted very fresh and clean. The rice was fresh with a nice chile flavor, a hint of lime, and a mild amount of heat.

Refried beans at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

Mexican rice at Chuy's in Huntsville AL

I added a side of salsa just to try it. The salsa tasted very fresh and natural. It was a bit watery with crisp chunks. The serrano pepper made it very hot! But the taste was excellent.

Salsa at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

Of course, I had to get a margarita for Cinco de Mayo. I chose the blackberry frozen margarita. It tasted great with a real fruit taste, but I didn't taste any alcohol in it, and the price was over $9! It was a refreshing drink, but anyone who wanted to get happy on this would only get a smile and would need to spend $30 more to even get a giggle.

Blackberry frozen margarita at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

Now for the vegan details starting with the bad news. The server told me that all fried foods share the same frying oil. So all crunchy fried items are contaminated with fish, chicken, shrimp, etc. Also, the flour tortillas are made in-house with whey, which is a milk derivative. So burritos, soft tacos on flour tortillas, and fajitas are not vegan.

Here's the really good news. The roasted veggies are vegan because they're cooked with a soy-based margarine, the soft blue and yellow corn tortillas are both vegan, both refried and charro beans are vegan, and both Mexican and Green Chile rices are vegan. That's a pretty good selection of vegan items!

Here's the meal recommendations for a vegan at Chuy's Tex-Mex:

• Vegetarian Soft Taco meal (yellow or blue corn tortillas) without cheese, plus your choice of any beans and any rice
• Veggie Enchilada meal (yellow or blue corn tortillas) without cheese, plus your choice of any beans and any rice
• Soft yellow or blue corn tortillas with salsa, pico de gallo, or guacamole as an appetizer

The quality of this meal was greater than expected. The number of vegan options impressed me, especially with the beans and rice, but I was disappointed that the chips were not something I would want to eat as a strict vegan. This meal did cost more than I would normally want to pay, but the freshness and quality of the food made it worth the price. Next time I'll skip the overpriced slushy and get tea. And there will be a next time. This meal was great!