A local restaurant is making waves by blending tradition with innovation.

It's not only serving up beloved Mexican dishes, but it's doing so with a planet-based twist.

Located in the heart of downtown McAllen, Maria Cruz Cuisine is redefining what it means to serve traditional Mexican dishes, all while being completely vegan.

"Our slogan is we turn any carnivore into a believer, and that's exactly what we do," Maria Cruz Cuisine Owner Ingrid Monserrat said.

Monserrat opened Maria Cruz Cuisine in 2021, giving the Rio Grande Valley more plant-based options.

"We did this to showcase, basically, that you can turn any dish into a vegan dish, and it's going to taste exactly the same, delicious flavors, but in a more whole food base matter," Monserrat said. "A lot of people come, and they have no idea what they're eating and then once they try it, let's say it's a dad and a daughter, the daughter is like oh you just ate a hundred percent vegan and the dad is like what!"

These dishes are not only inspired by flavors of southern Mexico, they're also family recipes.

"Maria Cruz is my grandmother's name, so it comes from my ancestors. Whatever her grandma taught her, to her mom, to her, to my mom, to me...it's very important to keep our flavors running through our family," Monserrat said.

Eight years ago, Monserrat adopted a vegan lifestyle herself. She says it helped improve her overall health.

"The Valley is very high when it comes to high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, so it's very important to me to bring that to my community because it's something that helped me," Monserrat said.

From tacos to breakfast options, each dish is modified to substitute traditional ingredients with plant-based alternatives.

"So instead of using regular animal protein such as chicken, meat, fish, we use soy, we use TVP which is textured vegetable protein basically a dried version of soy that you have to rehydrate...you add the flavors to it. We also use a lot of tofu, satin which is a gluten-based flour that you turn into shreds...we also use Tempe," Monserrat said.

Monserrat's dedication has made Maria Cruz Cuisine a local favorite and a destination for those craving authentic Mexican food with a vegan twist. 

"I always believe that if you serve something that is really good, really high quality, people will go no matter where you're at. We're very lucky that we've always had our community's support," Monserrat said.

Maria Cruz Cuisine, made in the 956.