Vegan and vegetarian taco options have proliferated lately, but one restaurant new to the scene aims to keep it puro San Antonio, which means making its own corn and flour tortillas and keeping kale out of its fillings.
Plantaqueria — which focuses on vegan renditions of classic taqueria fare — opened in downtown San Antonio about two weeks ago. The business grew out of home cook Sofia Renteria’s Instagram account, on which she shared recipes for vegan Tex-Mex specialties.
“It’s a concept that I always wanted to do, but I didn’t think of myself as someone that could actually do it,” Renteria told the Current. “I had started an Instagram page for vegan recipes, and after a few local requests, I decided to offer vegan tamales one weekend. After that, it just kind of snowballed into what it is now.”
Opening a taqueria in San Antonio isn’t for the faint of heart. Allegiances run deep, standards are high, and if the tortillas aren’t made in-house, failure isn’t far off.
“Our approach is to imitate tacos that you’d find in a typical taqueria, so no, we don’t put kale on our tacos,” Renteria said. “We look for plant-based ingredients that can look similar to their meat alternative.”
Plantaqueria’s La Macha, for example, is filled with jackfruit machacado, pico de gallo and a vegan egg scramble.
And, yes, Plantaqueria makes its tortillas in-house, and they’re free of lard and other animal products. The restaurant additionally offers some gluten-free menu items.
“We also prefer items that have a neutral flavor so that we can inject those meaty flavors into the plant-based proteins,” Renteria added. “If you present someone with something that looks like a taco they’re used to eating, they’ll be more likely to give it a try, which is the hardest step for getting people to try plant-based [food].”
Plantaqueria also offers more than breakfast. Its lunch menu includes items such as mini tacos, charro beans and tortas. Renteria said she expects to add other items in comings weeks, among them quesadillas, nachos, elotes and birria tacos.
Plantaqueria is open Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
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This article appears in Mar 8-21, 2023.