Luna's Cafe & Juice Bar

I stopped by for lunch at an old favorite last week, Luna's Cafe & Juice Bar, where the inimitable Art Luna has been blending fresh fruit licuados and providing a venue for local artists since 1983.  In addition to licuados and other specialty drinks, Luna's Cafe serves breakfast, sandwiches, salads, and soups.

Over the years, several vegan items have been added to the menu.  Luna's breakfast offerings include a create-your-own Tofu Scramble and Vegan French Toast.  The licuados are vegan if you order them with either an orange juice or soy milk base and request that the honey be left out.

For lunch, I ordered the Hummus Sandwich, which consists of homemade hummus, olives, avocado, tomato, and sprouts on your choice of bread.  Try it with the tasty sourdough wheat walnut bread!  There is also the Baked Tofu Sandwich, which is served with mustard, tomato, lettuce, and sprouts.  La Ventana looks as though it could easily be made vegan by asking that the cheese be left out of this sandwich, which includes zucchini, celery, carrots, sunflower seeds, tomato, and sprouts, served in pita bread with a choice of dressing.

All of the soups at Luna's -- lentil & rice, split pea, or frijoles de la olla -- are vegan if you order them without the cheese or bacon toppings.  Only one of the salads, the Garden Delight, appears to be vegan, but you may want to ask about the croutons. 

Several nights each week, Luna's offers a variety of entertainment:  jazz on Mondays, comedy on Wednesdays, poetry on Thursdays, and a mixed bag (flamenco, lectures, book readings) on other nights.  There is always original art on the walls, freshly brewed coffee in the pot, and a nice selection of beer and wine by the glass.

Luna's Cafe is located at 1414 16th Street, between N and O.  Their phone number is 916-441-3931, and their website address is http://www.lunascafe.com//.  Breakfast is served Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  Lunch is served until around 3:00 p.m., and then Luna's re-opens at 6:30 p.m. on the nights that entertainment is offered (check their website for their entertainment calendar).  Luna's is open on Saturdays from 7:00 p.m. to midnight, and it's closed on Sundays.