Vibrant

"Whether you just ran a 5K around Memorial Park or need to stare existentially at some greenery, go to Vibrant, Houston’s secret garden restaurant. The all-day cafe next to Memorial Park’s Running Trails Center offers a panoramic view of native gardens, bright and wholesome food, and is usually full of runners sweating through expensive activewear. Vibrant embraces Houston’s scenery and reinforces the fact that, yes, we do have nature here. Check some emails over an iced chai and a crisp watercress salad with shredded chicken and bits of pickled apple worth scavenging for. Or, grab a seat on the patio with a stacked plate of savory masa pancakes hiding under a dollop of whipped cream and feel yourself slowly falling into a state of nature-induced calm. And while everything here tastes good and looks even better, the counter-service staff can be a little forgetful, and the prices are a bit steep for a casual cafe. Like a tiny $14 chia seed bowl that might feel like a prank. Just consider the nature therapy part of the price. photo credit: Liz Silva photo credit: Liz Silva photo credit: Liz Silva photo credit: Liz Silva Food Rundown photo credit: Liz Silva Coffee And Tea Vibrant doesn’t offer dairy milk, but does make rich and creamy cashew milk for all coffee and tea drinks. Like the warm-spiced turmeric latte with cinnamon and honey or the chocolate milk concoction called a “cacao potion” with adaptogenic chug mushrooms. photo credit: Liz Silva Masa Pancakes These sweet and savory pancakes taste of corn and what we assume is pure happiness. Topped with a lot of fruit and even more cashew cream, these pancakes are perfect to split. photo credit: Liz Silva Breakfast Tacos While Vibrant’s egg tacos still have a little grease, as any good breakfast taco should, the addition of microgreens, jalapeño salsa, and avocado makes this taco a tasty egg salad. Add on sauteed mushrooms for an even more earthy flavor. photo credit: Liz Silva Watercress Salad Maybe it’s weird to wax poetic about a simple watercress salad with tart vinaigrette and pickled apples, but wax we shall. Every bite is tart, crunchy, and sweet. It’s the perfect foil for a sweet dish or a refreshing bite on a hot day. photo credit: Liz Silva Sweet Potato Hash Vibrant’s hash is a classic, savory breakfast dish of sauteed sweet potatoes, fried eggs, and cheese. Only this cheese is made with cashews, making everything a bit nutty. If you love to add a lot of extra salsa to food, get this." - Chelsea Thomas

"Vibrant’s second location has the best view in town. The all-day breakfast and lunch cafe located at Memorial Park’s Running Trails Center opens into a vaulted patio surrounded by colorful native wildflowers and thickets of trees. Similar to the original location, Vibrant serves dairy-, gluten-, and refined sugar-free food like crisp watercress salads with dijon and fluffy masa pancakes with floof of cashew foam and fruit preserves so good you won’t even miss the gluten-full kind. If you long to be nature-adjacent or want to sip bone broth or a turmeric latte between trail runs or jogging over Houston’s only land bridge, then bask in Vibrant’s glow." - gianni greene, chelsea thomas