Last weekend my best friend Ely (who I hadn’t seen in 2 years!) came to visit and we drove to Dallas to go to ComicCon to meet James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We’re both huge Buffy fans and were beyond excited to meet Spike and Cordy!
While we were in Dallas, I wanted to try out some vegan restaurants as well, and we ended up going to three: V Eats, Spiral Diner, and Be Raw (thanks for the recommendations Molly!)
What I ate (Vegan/gf)
V Eats
The first place we tried was V Eats, a nice restaurant in Trinity Groves near our Air B&B. We ordered an appetizer trio with chips and mango salsa (pictured), potato based queso, and guacamole. All three were good but our favorite was the mango salsa. Ely also ordered fried pickles, and they ended up being her favorite part of the meal (I didn’t try any because they weren’t gluten free.)
For our main courses I got a gluten free lasagna, which I was excited about because I don’t think I’ve been to a restaurant that offers vegan/gf lasagna before, and it was delicious. Ely ordered a Fried Chick-Non Sandwich with buffalo sauce and fries and wasn’t very impressed with it (fyi she’s not vegan)–I didn’t get to try it either because it wasn’t gluten free.
We wanted to get cheesecake for dessert, but decided against it because we didn’t want the flavor of the week (Key Lime.) I was also disappointed because I had my heart set on trying the sushi I’d seen on their website, but it was a seasonal item, and they didn’t have it. Overall I enjoyed V Eats, but in my opinion it was a little over-priced.
Spiral Diner
Spiral Diner was our favorite restaurant that we tried in Dallas–we both love diners, and I love breakfast, so we were excited to try it. We had to wait a little while because this place is popular, but it was worth it. I ordered Viva Las Migas (tofu scramble mixed with black beans, corn, tomatoes, bacun bits, zucchini, and salsa, topped with avocado, sour cream, and cilantro, and served with corn tortillas) and home fries, and Ely ordered the Big Kahuna Burger (grilled pineapple, homemade bacun, BBQ sauce, grilled onions, cheese, lettuce, pickled jalapenos and mayo on a toasted sesame seed bun.)
The migas were tasty and filling, and Ely said her burger was “so bomb,” and the portions were big, which we appreciated. I had leftovers since I ordered home fries as well (I forgot to take a picture, but it was a big plate). We also got desserts to go–she got a slice of blueberry pie, and I got a gf peanut butter cup, both of which were delicious. We both got super cute matching Spiral Diner mugs as well!
Be Raw
We stopped at Be Raw on Saturday after ComicCon for some much needed refueling. I got the Bliss Burger, Ely got the Supermodel Salad, and we both tried juices. We weren’t big fans of the juices–they seemed a little watery and flavorless (maybe because they make them in the morning/most were sold out), but I was surprised by how good my burger was considering it was raw, and I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. It was also very filling, and I ended up taking half to go. Overall I was pleasantly surprised with my first raw vegan restaurant experience and would definitely go back.
Dallas ComicCon
The highlight of our Dallas ComicCon experience was definitely meeting James Marsters–especially because Ely showed him her Buffy tattoo, and he said it’s beautiful and took a video of her for his Facebook video!
I met James at Dallas ComicCon in 2014 too (so basically we were old friends haha), so I was a little less nervous, but it was juts as exciting!
Selfie at Spiral Diner
We also met Charisma Carpenter, and she was adorable as expected. The first thing she said when we walked up was “I love your lipstick! What is it?” We told her it’s ColourPop but didn’t know the color, and she asked if I had it with me. We took it out out my purse, but the name had rubbed off, but later I looked online, and I think it’s Mars. Maybe I should tweet at her about it lol. Then she took a selfie with us, and it was fabulous.
We were also hoping to meet Milo Ventimiglia from Gilmore Girls, but his line was full the whole time we were there and Alan Tudyk from Firefly, but he wasn’t doing selfies (just autographs). We were also planning on meeting Faith (Eliza Dushku) too, but she cancelled. Still, meeting Spike and Cordy was definitely enough for us, and Ely also met Tim Curry.
Next time we’d probably go all weekend if possible or at least Friday too so we could have more time to wait in lines to meet people and look around at the vendors–we saw a lot of amazing stuff, but it was impossible to see everything in one day. When I went on Friday in 2014, it was way less crowded, which was nice. It was really crowded this time, and I felt a little anxious, especially towards the end when I was tired and hungry.
I wish I had some advice to give about eating vegan at ComicCon, but we didn’t stop to eat or drink anything the whole time we were there! And I didn’t last time I went either, even though I wasn’t vegan–there’s so much to do, and I get so excited that I forget to eat. The lines at the drink stands were super long too, so we didn’t bother. Maybe I’ll have more to report next time.
Haul
There were so many amazing artists with booths at ComicCon, but not very many had anything from my fave shows (Buffy/True Blood/Veronica Mars.) I did find this sweet Buffy print from Jerry Pesce that I like to call Lisa Frank Buffy (though it’s obviously not by Lisa Frank lol.) Ely and I also both got this Joss Whedon book at the Half Price Books booth (on sale for $6!), and I got Angel and Spike action figures (on sale for $3 each!)
I also found the coolest Veronica Mars print by Jason Palmer Studios, but they were out of the matte paper, so I ordered it online instead, and it should be here soon. My office is painted grey for photo editing purposes, but I’ve been wanting to give it more personality and can’t wait to put these up! The last item in the photo is my Buffy pin–I actually got one for me and one for Ely before ComicCon so we could wear them there, but I wanted to mention it for any Buffy fans out there. It’s by Matt Simas Art, and it’s gorgeous!
Have you been to Dallas ComicCon or tried any vegan restaurants in Dallas? Let me know in the comments!