Yoga for children; tai chi classes; Buddhist dog training; holistic workshops. This may sound more like the calendar for an enlightened community center than for a restaurant—and that’s exactly what Casa de Luz is. It just so happens to also have one of the best-loved vegan kitchens in the city. Certainly no one can deny the place’s beauty, which at night twinkles with strands of white lights and a lush, verdant courtyard; the airy communal dining room is filled with tinkling nature music.

From a daily changing prix-fixe menu, organic, macrobiotic, and/or gluten-free vegan dishes are made. The food is so clearly good for you that it kind of makes us fidget. One leaves feeling as if one’s insides have been scrubbed by a very clean cloth, and yet there are some very tasty sleights of hand coming from this kitchen. Rice may be adorned with the interesting crunch of seeds, and tamari is an omnipresent seasoning option. Casa de Luz does its best work with locally grown vegetables, like blanched collard greens or turmeric-dusted parsnips. Soups are always purely, simply delightful, like kabocha squash and cauliflower. Currently, the City of Austin, in its infinite wisdom, is threatening this beautiful place of peace with the insipid requirement to provide parking. How silly, considering that most of its patrons will, after dining, simply float away.