Boon Boon Cafe

I had lunch at Boon Boon Cafe with my son Zack yesterday, and I can't stop thinking about how much I enjoyed the food. The cuisine is mostly Thai, but they offer some items from other cultures too, such as Indian samosas, Korean chicken wings, and spaghetti and meatballs (really!).

On the Boon Boon Cafe website, there is a vegetarian menu, although they don't have a separate vegetarian menu in the actual restaurant. What their restaurant menu says is that vegetarian substitutes are available. If you know in advance that you'll be going to Boon Boon Cafe, you may want to print out the vegetarian menu and take it with you.

I asked about fish sauce in their curries and was told that all of them contain fish sauce except the yellow curry. So instead of curry, I decided to order the Prik Khing Chicken, with tofu substituted for the chicken. In addition to the tofu, this dish consisted of green beans, onions, bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli in a sauce of dry red chili paste, served with white rice. It was outstanding! The vegetables were fresh and the chili sauce was full of flavor and just spicy enough. The serving was huge, so I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch soon. There are so many things I want to try on the Boon Boon Cafe menu that I'm sure it's destined to become one of my favorite restaurants.

Boon Boon Cafe is located at 3022 Stockton Boulevard, at the corner of Broadway and Stockton. Their phone number is 916-456-4647, and their website address is http://boonbooncafe.50webs.com/index.htm. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8:30 p.m. (Don't go today, though -- the restaurant is closed for Memorial Day.)

Meatless Mondays at Wicked 'Wich

Vegans in Sacramento will be happy to know that Wicked 'Wich has begun parking its mobile food truck near 19th and P streets at lunchtime on Mondays. And in observance of Meatless Monday, all of their menu items that day are vegan. I stopped by last Monday and found the 'Wich on Wheels parked in a lot next to the building where Never Felt Better Vegan Shop is located. A crowd gathered quickly while the truck set up and while the day's menu was written on the whiteboard. The menu for the day included:

• Wicked Vegan Burger, served on a rosemary focaccia roll
• No Egg Salad Sandwich, served on sliced Italian
• Spring Rolls
• Mac & Cheese, topped with gluten-free bacon bits
• BBQ Tofu Burger
• Fried Tofu, with housemade peanut sauce
• Portabella 'wich
• BBQ Tofu 'wich
• Vegan Burger 'wich

I ordered the BBQ Tofu 'wich, served on sliced Italian bread and piled high with vegan Provolone cheese, slaw, and seasoned fries. I think Wicked 'Wich is the only food vendor I know of that puts the fries on the actual sandwich, rather than on the side, and it makes for a very interesting lunch. The sandwich is huge, so unless you're a big eater, you may want to share with a friend.

The 'Wich on Wheels will be parked near the Never Felt Better Vegan Shop at 1910 P Street on Mondays from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. for the foreseeable future. More information about Wicked 'Wich is available on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wichonwheels.

Of course, visiting Wicked 'Wich on Mondays gives you the perfect opportunity to stop in at the Never Felt Better Vegan Shop too, where you can find a variety of food items, as well as eco-friendly crafts and accessories. I usually pick up a package of delicious tamales from Mother Earth's Baked Goods when I'm there. I currently have a package of black bean, salsa, and potato tamales with nutritional yeast that I'm looking forward to trying. More information about Never Felt Better Vegan Shop is available on their website at http://neverfeltbettervegan.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=2.

Bows and Arrows Cafe

Last week, I attended a blogger meet-up organized by Sacramento Connect, a blogger network created by the Sacramento Bee. It was held at Bows and Arrows, a small women's clothing boutique that has a cafe in the back of the store. Naturally, I checked the menu to see if there were any vegan items. Happily, there were a few.

There are three vegan appetizers on the current menu: Spiced Popcorn, Olive on Olive, which consists of green olives dressed in black tapenade, and Seasonal Salsa and Chips. The seasonal salsa was made with strawberries and jicama.

Two of the sandwiches can easily be made vegan by leaving off the cheese. The one I tried was the Mushroom Reuben, which consisted of sliced sautéed mushrooms, kraut, and sauce, served on a grilled walnut bread. It was very tasty, and I especially liked the bread. It came with a side of soup or salad, so I ordered the vegan Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup, which was spicy and quite good.

The other sandwich that can be made vegan if ordered without cheese is the Chili Cheese Carrot Dog, which is described on the menu as including a marinated carrot, veggie chili, pickled onion, and sweet potato chip bits. Quite an unusual combination!

Dessert at the Bows and Arrows Cafe is a variety of popsicles in such interesting flavors as kaffir lime and avocado or hibiscus mint grape. Most of the popsicles listed on the menu when I was there were vegan, but not all, so you'll want to check with the server.

I was impressed with the creativity of the menu, and will definitely go back again. They have a very nice patio, if you're looking to dine al fresco.

Bows and Arrows is located at 1815 19th Street. Their phone number is 916-822-5668, and their website address is http://www.bowscollective.com/cafe.html. The cafe is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

The Trouble with Foie Gras

At what point can the process used to produce or gather food be considered so cruel as to warrant a ban on that process? As a vegan, I've made the decision that I'm not comfortable with the use of any animal products in my diet. But many non-vegans have also drawn a line in the sand with respect to certain cruel and inhumane food production practices.

One that comes to mind is the uproar caused by the knowledge that veal calves spend their entire lives confined in tiny crates. In California, this led to the passage of Proposition 2 in 2008, which will prohibit, beginning January 1, 2015, the confinement of veal calves in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs. Proposition 2 also includes provisions to require more humane confinement of egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs. This measure was approved by an astonishing 63.5 percent of California voters in the November 4, 2008, election. Clearly, the voters, the vast majority of whom are not vegan, were not comfortable with the idea that the animals that ended up on their dinner table did so after a life of misery and suffering.

Another example is the horrific practice of shark finning, in which sharks are caught and their fins are sliced off, then the sharks are thrown back into the ocean alive to either drown or be killed by predators. The purpose of this incredibly cruel act is to meet the demand for shark fin soup. But last year, the California Legislature decided to end this practice, not only for humane reasons, but because of declines in shark populations. By enacting Assembly Bill 376, the Legislature and the Governor banned the possession or sale of shark fins beginning January 1, 2013.

Several years ago, the Legislature addressed another cruel and inhumane practice -- shoving tubes down the throats of geese and ducks and force-feeding them enormous quantities of food in order to enlarge their livers. These enlarged livers are then used to make foie gras, which is a liver paste that is considered a delicacy among the elite who can afford the $50 per pound cost. Not surprisingly, "foie gras" means "fat liver" in French.

In 2004, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1520, which bans the practice of force-feeding geese and other birds for the purpose of enlarging their livers, and prohibits the sale of foie gras or any other product if it was made by force-feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging its liver. The author of the bill, former Senate President pro Tempore John Burton, delayed the effective date of the bill until July 1, 2012, in order to allow time for foie gras producers to find a more humane way to fatten the birds' livers.

However, now that the ban is less than two months away, and no one seems to have worked very diligently in the meantime to find a new way to produce foie gras, chefs throughout the state have apparently gone into meltdown and are begging the Legislature to repeal the ban. An organization calling itself the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards (CHEFS) collected signatures of one hundred chefs on a petition that was delivered to Speaker of the Assembly John Perez asking that the ban be overturned and standards for the production of foie gras be established instead. They seem to believe that it is possible to humanely shove a tube down the throat of a goose and force-feed it corn mash until its liver is ten times its normal size. Who knew? Sacramento area chefs who signed this petition are:

Pajo Bruich, Lounge ON20, Sacramento
Molly Hawks, Hawks Restaurant, Granite Bay
Patrick Mulvaney, Mulvaney's B&L, Sacramento
Randall Selland, Selland Family Restaurants, Sacramento
Michael Thiemann, Ella Dining Room and Bar, Sacramento
Noah Zonca, The Kitchen, Sacramento

Fortunately, former Senator John Burton, the Humane Society, and other animal welfare advocates immediately mobilized opposition to the petition, which culminated in an announcement by Speaker Perez and Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg that the Legislature has more important issues to deal with than revisiting the ban on foie gras. Another victory for animals and the people who care about them!

The Green Boheme

One day last week, I had an overwhelming urge to eat lunch at a restaurant where I wouldn't have to think about which menu options were vegan and which were not. So I drove over to Del Paso Boulevard and settled in at the Green Boheme, a small cheerful cafe that serves gluten-free raw vegan food.

The French Toast sounded really good, made from sweet bread with coconut yoghurt and applesauce, but I wasn't in the mood for breakfast. So I ordered the Wedge Salad that was listed on their specials board. It was excellent, consisting of lettuce, sprouts, tomato, avocado, radish, and vegan versions of bacon, feta, and ranch dressing. I ate every bite.

I ordered Horchata to drink, a beverage usually made from rice and milk. The tasty Green Boheme version had the consistency of a milkshake, with ingredients including Brazil nuts, banana, vanilla, coconut water, cinnamon, dates, and chia seeds.

Although the Horchata was quite good, I would rather have had a lighter drink, especially the Mate-LimeAde or Mate-LemonAde. But here is my one caveat for vegans dining at the Green Boheme. Even though the menu is almost completely vegan, they do use honey in some of their drinks, including the ones that I wanted to order. So be sure to check the ingredients listed on the menu if you want to avoid honey.

For dessert, I ordered a Chai Spice Macaroon, described on the menu as "Coconutty heaven with hints of cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and a touch of cardamom." I can definitely vouch for the "heaven" part. I'll be sure to order that again on a future trip to the Green Boheme.

In addition to serving wonderful raw vegan food in their cafe, the folks at the Green Boheme offer classes and pre-paid food plans. The Green Boheme is located at 1825 Del Paso Boulevard, between Arden and El Camino. Their phone number is 916-920-4278, and their website address is http://thegreenboheme2.blogspot.com/. The cafe is open Monday through Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Cupcakes for Earth Day

Yesterday was Earth Day, and as all vegans know, one of the best ways to contribute to the health of the planet is to minimize or eliminate the consumption of meat and dairy products. Raising animals for food requires huge amounts of fossil fuels, which then release massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The consumption of dairy products harms the environment too, since all those dairy cows produce millions of pounds of manure, which end up in cesspools that pollute our groundwater supplies.

So how does a vegan celebrate Earth Day? I'm glad you asked! In honor of Earth Day, I attended the 1000 Vegan Cupcakes for Charity Challenge at the Tower Bridge Bistro at the Embassy Suites in Old Sacramento. Eleven different bakers or bakeries made cupcakes for the event, which will benefit three charities: the Sacramento Tree Foundation, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Center for Land-Based Learning. The cupcakes were judged by a panel of celebrity judges, including the Humane Society's Jennifer Fearing, Dr. Don Forrester from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the Sacramento Tree Foundation's Ray Tretheway, Gina Garcia from Yoga in the Park and Yoga Across America, and author and vegan chef Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, who was there signing copies of her books, including The Joy of Vegan Baking.

The bakeries that participated were Sugar Plum Vegan Bakery, Bicycle Bakery, Sweet Stuff Cakery, Vanilla Bean Gourmet Bakery, Busy Bees Cupcakery, Baagan Vegan Cafe, Live Food Academy, Sun Flour Baking Company, Capitol Garage, Tower Bridge Bistro, and Whole Foods Market. It wasn't possible to try all of the beautifully-prepared cupcakes that were available at this event, but I sampled a few.

The Sangria cupcake made by Sugar Plum Vegan Bakery was incredible, very light and moist. I tried the Orange Creamsicle cupcake from Vanilla Bean Gourmet Bakery, which was also light and delicious. The Peanut Butter Cup from Sweet Stuff Cakery combined a chocolate cupcake with a fluffy peanut butter frosting, an unbeatable combination. The Tower Bridge Bistro's Chocolate Macadamia Nut cupcake was excellent, with a dark chocolate cupcake and a light and creamy chocolate frosting. One of the more unusual cupcakes was the Indian Masala cupcake made by Baagan Vegan Cafe, which combined some very interesting ingredients, such as a gluten-free flour blend, coconut oil, tamarind, Indian spices, and pistachios, into a very tasty dessert.

As a bonus attraction, Here's the Scoop! brought an ice cream cart to the event and passed out free samples of their fabulous vegan ice cream. I'm a huge fan of their Very Cherry Chip vegan ice cream, but I decided to try something new. I had one of their Blueberry vegan ice cream bonbons, and it was sensational.

In recognition of the fact that this event took place on Earth Day, there were several placards lying on a table in the center of the room that offered facts and figures about the problems caused by meat consumption. One placard that especially caught my eye said that it takes over 5,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, and it quoted John Robbins, author of The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and the World, as saying, "In California today, you may save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you would by not showering for six entire months."

If you're not a vegan, maybe Earth Day is a good time to think about consuming fewer animal products. Even if you don't believe that you could ever embrace a strictly vegan diet, maybe you could think about going vegan one day a week, or at least eating a vegan meal once in awhile. It may be easier than you think, especially now that it's starting to feel like salad weather.

Kudos to Bethany Davis and the folks at Sacramento Vegan Challenge for organizing this fun event. I hope it becomes an annual Earth Day celebration.

Ten22

My husband and I had a very nice dinner at Ten22 in Old Sacramento recently. I sent a message to the restaurant beforehand to ask if they had any vegan menu options and received a quick response from the restaurant's marketing assistant. She listed several items that are vegan or can be made vegan.

I started with the fresh and delicious Crispy Organic Granny Smith Apples and Romaine Salad, which I'd had on a previous visit to Ten22. In addition to the apples and Romaine, this salad includes walnuts and dried cranberries, and it's dressed with a cider vinaigrette. Normally, it also includes blue cheese, so you'll need to ask your server to omit the cheese.

For my entree, I ordered the Organic Vegetables with Pesto Pasta. Since pesto generally includes Parmesan cheese, I was surprised to see this dish on the list of vegan items. I was told that the chef can prepare pesto with or without the cheese, so make sure to let your server know that you are vegan and don't want cheese in your food. The plate of pasta I received appeared to have some basil chopped up in it, although I don't think I'd go so far as to call it a pesto sauce. Still, it was very good.

The other items available for vegans are the Chickpea Hummus in the Starters section of the menu, the Organic Simple Greens in the Gifts from the Garden section, the Seasonal Vegetable and Fresh Mozzarella Pizza (if ordered without the cheese) in the From the Brick Oven section, the Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Stew in the Large Plates section, and the Roasted Fingerlings and the Vegetable "Ratatouille" (if ordered without butter) in the Sides section.

Ten22 is located at 1022 Second Street in Old Sacramento. Their phone number is 916-441-2211, and their website address is http://ten22oldsac.com/. They are open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.