Skip all the shaved ice and snow cone trucks. And if you pass the hometown favorite Amy's Ice Creams (Cold Stone Creamery minus the cloying corporate culture), or any errant fro-yo, keep on moving. The best summer sweet bites in Austin lurk a little farther afield, and happen to be, for the sake of this roundup, vegan.

Yes, summertime screams for dairy milk ice cream, but I prefer something lighter, a little less sweet, and a lot more rejuvenating in the languid Southern heat. So though they may be outrageously delicious, I'd also bypass certain crowd-pleasing trailer foods; namely, Gourdough's made-to-order doughnuts and the cake balls at Holy Cacao (get any of the homemade vegan chocolates—goji caramel, coconut macaroon—at Cheer Up Charlie's instead).

Two top-tier vegan eateries, Beets Living Foods Café and Borboleta Gourmet, home-make outstanding cookies, cake slices and vegan ice creams, but at frustratingly high prices. A similar story goes for the dessert case at the meditative macrobiotic mecca Casa de Luz. For something just as tasty, at half the price, try any of these six establishments.

Check out the photos in the slideshow »

Toy Joy

2900 Guadalupe Street, Austin TX 78705 (map); 512-320-0090
toyjoy.com

Thai Fresh

909 W. Mary Street, Austin TX 78704 (map); 512-494-6436
thai-fresh.com/

Veracruz All Natural

1704 E. Cesar Chavez, Austin TX 78702 (map); 512-963-1428
veracruzallnatural.com

GoodPop

1003 Barton Springs Rd, Austin TX 78704 (map); 512-775-1353
goodpops.com

Counter Culture

120 E N Loop, Austin TX 78751 (map)
countercultureaustin.com

Bananarchy

700 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin TX 78704 (map);
214-883-3473
bananarchy.net/blog

About the author: Blessed with a fast metabolism and currently based in Austin, Texas, Citizen Taco eats everywhere and reports on the good stuff.