Photo taken by Cooper and Juliette.This week, February 20th – 26th there is a special vegan menu created in partnership with Riverdel Cheese shop hosted at Citrico. They took classic Mexican recipes and used vegan cheese from the Riverdel Cheese shop.  I am fortunate to be able to take advantage of the robust amount of vegan food options that Brooklyn has to offer. In particular I always have my eye out for vegan cheese because of my allergy to Casein.

Photo taken by Cooper and Juliette.

I have struggled with a casein allergy for most of my life and I have completely cut it out of my diet for 3 years now. Since casein is a protein found in milk, I can’t eat cheese, which is in almost everything on an Mexican food menu.  My casein allergy is nothing like lactose intolerance which affects the gastrointestinal tract.  If I eat milk, yogurt or cheese my lips will swell and my throat closes.

I ordered a three course vegan meal that I will probably be thinking about for weeks. I usually can’t ordered these options at other Mexican restaurants and I have to tell you that everything was delicious.

Esquites: Mexican Corn – Vegan Menu

Photo taken by Cooper and Juliette.The first course I ordered was a classic Mexican street food snack called Esquites. This is one of my all time favorite appetizers, and I haven’t had it in a very long time. Generally, it is prepared by boiling fresh corn in water and then it is sautéed in butter, onions, chiles and salt. It came to the table in an adorable small pot, topped with lime juice, chile powder, vegan chipotle mayo and vegan queso.

Mushroom Taco with Vegan Queso

Mushroom Taco from the vegan menuThe mushroom taco was by far my favorite dish. This taco had a very balanced umami flavor profile and had a meaty and creamy texture.  The mushrooms were perfectly sautéed in a pasilla salsa and were topped with vegan crema and queso. I could have eaten two more of these.

Mole Enchilada with Squash Blossoms and Vegan Crema

Mole Enchilada from the vegan menuMy main entree was three enchiladas filled with squash blossoms and topped with a classic mole sauce and vegan crema. The mole sauce in this dish is customarily made using a mole poblano pepper. Depending on the amount of fruit and chili pepper added, a mole sauce can be characteristically bitter and smokey. The vegan crema was a perfect paring for these enchiladas.

Photo taken by Cooper and Juliette.Cooper and I were able to take advantage of Citrico’s happy hour (Goes till 8:00pm) and both ordered some very strong and tart margaritas to go with our meal. Cooper ordered blue corn tortilla fish tacos. It isn’t vegan but it is tasty and pretty.Photo taken by Cooper and Juliette.