Tasty, Stuff-Your-Belly Treats at Houston’s Healthy Vibrant

by Leean Vargas on May 21, 2021 in Food+Drink, Houston,
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The cool part about dining at Houston’s Vibrant is that you’re indulging in tasty, healthy food, so no need to feel guilty after your visit. 

Healthy at Vibrant means plant-rich food that tastes good and satisfies. Eating is equivalent to wellbeing and pleasure. At Vibrant, the menu details their ingredients, so you’ll know in detail what you’re eating.

Located close to Midtown Houston, Vibrant is surrounded by gorgeous greenery, so whether it’s a beautiful sunny day spent at the outdoor patio or a cloudy rainy day spent inside, either way you won’t be disappointed at the calming ambiance. Courtesy photo

Health Forward 

Located on Fairview Street, close to Midtown, this health-forward restaurant creates appetizing foods that are gluten-free, dairy free, refined sugar-free, corn-free, peanut-free —- basically a lot of frees! Bonus: Vibrant makes their bread, cheeses, crackers, milks, yogurt and sausage from scratch in-house daily; plus, they only use avocado, coconut, and extra olive oil. 

The happy hour chicken tacos are packed with red pepper, onion, poblano, lemon, smoked paprika and arugula, all on a house-made blue corn masa tortilla, and served with cucumber-habanero salsa and chipotle crema. Photo courtesy Vibrant

A Very Happy Hour Menu

Available everyday, 4-7pm, the happy hour menu includes items not yet available on the regular menu. I suggest starting with the Chicken Tacos, tasty, packed, and on a house-made blue corn masa tortilla. (If you’re not feeling chicken, you can always try the fish or mushroom tacos.) These tacos make a delightful, light meal that won’t feel heavy in your stomach. 

For The Table

The classic Charcuterie Board (pictured at top of article) comes with macadamia cashew cheese, homemade sausage, beet cured lox and jammy egg. You can’t go wrong ordering this classic for the table!

Enjoy an Iced Mocha on Vibrant’s open patio on a hot summer day. Photo courtesy Vibrant

HH Drinks

When it comes to happy hour drinks, the Garden Margarita is super boozy yet gratifying, so you’ll get your fix off just one. The Paloma is also a great choice; light orange and with a slice of grapefruit on the rim. Not feeling alcohol? Try the Vibrant Mocha (hot or iced), a lip smacking blend of house-made cacao syrup and almond cashew milk. Your choice on the shot of espresso.

Happy Hour Sweetness

Vibrant’s Delicious Donuts not only taste great, but they look amazing too. Tempting in two flavors, Coconut Caramel or Mango Cashew Cream, they’re very sweet and fluffy, and echo Vibrant’s signature blend. (You’ll have to order one for yourself to find out what it tastes like!) The best part about this dessert? Just like the entire Vibrant menu, you won’t have to feel guilty after eating it. So, indulge away, my friends. 

Vibrant’s delicious donuts are very sweet and fluffy, and taste like their signature blend. Photo courtesy Vibrant

All Day Menu

The light and flavorful Greens & Grain Bowl is filled with mixed greens, sprouted quinoa, fennel, broccolini and macadamia cashew cheese. The dressing?  Intriguingly, fennel pollen. Choose this salad as either starter or entree. 

Filled with mixed greens, sprouted quinoa, fennel, broccolini, macadamia cashew cheese, and with a fennel pollen dressing, the Greens & Grain Bowl is light and flavorful. Photo courtesy Vibrant

Star of the Show

The Green Smoothie was one of the stars of the show. Tasting like a dessert, it had a distinct chocolate-like flavor. Clearly, the smoothie doesn’t contain chocolate though, since it is filled with pineapple, spinach, kale, date, green apple, and almond butter. Come to find out, Vibrant makes their sweetness with dates and honey. I seriously could not get enough of this smoothie. It’s a go-to item I would continuously get if I lived in Houston. 

Vibrant’s Blue Masa Pancakes are topped with berry compote, seasonal berries, citrus-cardamom cashew cream, maple syrup and edible flowers. Courtesy photo

Must Have

While we’re on the sweet side of things, the Blue Masa Pancakes are a must-have. Your instagram feed will love them, and so will your stomach. There’s a savory sweet cinnamon flavor to them that reminded me of a churro. This is one of those dishes where you can’t go wrong with no matter what, there’s only right. Tip: The pancakes make the perfect pairing with the Green Smoothie. 

Vibrant’s delicious Summer Squash and Mushroom Pizza is topped with sunflower seed ricotta, pistachio pesto, squash ribbons, mixed mushrooms and microgreens. Courtesy photo

The flavorful Squash and Mushroom Pizza will easily become another favorite. Smokey and well seasoned, it’s not too oily nor caked with cheese, and the crust will please all the pizza crust lovers out there. 

Architecture

I love how open and airy the building is. The natural light streaming in from the windows combined with the neutral tones and wooden chairs make for a modern, yet simple and clean look. Vibrant is surrounded by gorgeous greenery, so whether it’s a beautiful sunny day spent at the outdoor patio or a cloudy rainy day spent inside, either way you won’t be disappointed at the calming ambiance.

A sun-soaked corner of the patio at Vibrant. This Midtown Houston eatery is open daily from 9am-7pm for dine-in and take away. Courtesy photo

Broad Appeal

All in all, Vibrant is the perfect foodie-healthy place to grab lunch and work during the day. Yes, a lot of health conscious people flock to this place, but someone like me (who isn’t so health conscious) will also find their taste buds beyond satisfied. Vibrant is unique in all aspects, considering they’re the only restaurant I know that has an Astrology page on their website! 

Any of these light meals will make you feel energized and with enough fuel to spend the rest of your day enjoying whatever Houston activity you choose to experience.

Vibrant: 1931 Fairview, Houston, TX 77019

Photo courtesy Vibrant

Cover: Charcuterie Board, photo courtesy Vibrant

Leean Vargas is an Editorial Assistant at Texas Lifestyle Magazine and an honors graduate of Texas State University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. She is a concert enthusiast who loves traveling, photography, good food, and discovering new hangout spots in her beloved city, Austin, Texas.