Counter Culture began as a food trailer in 2009 and grew into a brick-and-mortar restaurant on East Cesar Chavez by 2012, building a following around scratch-made vegan comfort food before closing at the end of 2022. The team kept cooking in the meantime, running a smaller trailer menu of favorites like housemade BBQ seitan and gluten-free mac and cheeze out of a borrowed lot near the UT campus.
The restaurant is now rebuilding again, this time in Windsor Park, where a 1966 building is being reborn as a mid-century-inspired diner with a full bar and room for private events. Owner Susan Davis, who has spent over two decades working in plant-based cooking, still cooks in the kitchen herself.
The menu leans into hearty, from-scratch vegan versions of diner and deli classics: a BBQ seitan sandwich, a Philly-style seitan cheesesteak, a Reuben and tuna melt built on plant-based fillings, a grilled oyster mushroom plate, and cashew-based cheesecakes for dessert. Regulars describe a welcoming room and a staff that keeps them coming back.
The restaurant is now rebuilding again, this time in Windsor Park, where a 1966 building is being reborn as a mid-century-inspired diner with a full bar and room for private events. Owner Susan Davis, who has spent over two decades working in plant-based cooking, still cooks in the kitchen herself.
The menu leans into hearty, from-scratch vegan versions of diner and deli classics: a BBQ seitan sandwich, a Philly-style seitan cheesesteak, a Reuben and tuna melt built on plant-based fillings, a grilled oyster mushroom plate, and cashew-based cheesecakes for dessert. Regulars describe a welcoming room and a staff that keeps them coming back.