Serving as the end of our A to Z restaurant tour of Austin, the two-fer of Zombie Taco and Zucchini Kill ate the (tofu) brains of our multi-year culinary stumbling through the alphabet.
Zombie Taco is a fast-casual chain co-located with the hipster hotels of Moxy with outposts in Chicago, Louisville, and Austin. The words “chain,” “co-located,” and “fast-casual” don’t, quite frankensteinly, suggest good food, but the tacos were more than decent, conjuring the dark spirits of Torchy’s into inventive and colorful fare. Moxy is Marriott’s nod to the Instagram and TikTok elites of the Millenial, Gen Z, and Gen Y generations. Despite the lightninged-to-life-in-a-corporate-boardroom creation, Moxy and Zombie have set the hook with some great Insta-bait.
The Austin location has a 24/7 walk-up window with the counter and seats just inside amidst the hotel check-in and an ample bar. Out back is a private outdoor patio. We were there during off-hours but got to look at the look-at-me generation stop in for self-medication and pursed-lips posing as they stumbled to ACL for the afternoon.
We ordered a plate of tacos, including the Baja Style Fish (pico de gallo, romaine, guacamole, baja sauce; $5), Braised Brisket (chipotle ranch, guacamole, pickled red onion; $5), Spicy Quinoa and Cauliflower (Kale and apple slaw, charred corn, lime crema, cotija; $5), and Grilled Adobo BBQ Chicken (pickled red jalapeƱo, cabbage slaw, lime crema; $5). We also partook of a bar drink while enjoying a soundtrack of carefully-curated electronic-pulsing tunes. While the tacos alone wouldn’t pull us back (good, but not THAT good), we thoroughly enjoyed the full experience with the vibe, the full bar, and the anthropological observations of the younger generations. Based on that, we plan to duck in from time to time when we are in the area.
We then contrasted the corporate cool of Zombie with the weed-roots of the decidedly punk Zucchini Kill. Zucchini Kill is inspired by the riot-grrl progenitors Bikini Kill and slings vegan and gluten- and soy-free fare. Started by local goth punkers CeCe Moon and Jessica Freda, the Kill’s wares include mostly cupcakes but also cakes, cream coffins, cookies, dog treats, bread, and Baphomet greeting cards. And speaking of coffins, there are a bunch strewn about the food court and even a Hearst to make deliveries.
I tried the Peanut Butter Cup-Cake ($6) while The Bride ordered the special, the Strawberry Matcha Cupcake (~$6). Both were fantastic and, if offered blindfolded, we would not have been able to tell they were vegan (beyond the traditional “vegan crumble”). We also went home with a slice of Zucchini Bread ($4.5) because we had to.
Zucchini Kill is in a vegan food court, so you can make an outing of it with dinner and cake. The Kill has spiffier digs near campus at a second location in case coffins make you queasy.
Bone appetit!
Zombie Taco, 2552 Guadalupe Street, www.zombietacoaustin.com
Zucchini Kill, 701 E 53rd Street, www.zucchinikill.com
austin wanderlist 