Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge 2013 -- Capitol Garage

With such a short time frame for this year's Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge, it's hard to fit in dinner at all the different restaurants. So when I realized that Capitol Garage is one of the few participating restaurants serving the vegan menu at both lunch and dinner, I decided to head over there for lunch. I'm so glad I did!


The challenge menu at Capitol Garage offers pure comfort food. Amazingly, all of the dishes are oil-free. Each item on the menu can be ordered separately, or you can pay a fixed price for all three, which is what I did.


The first course was a generous serving of roasted tomato curry almond bisque. I loved the touch of curry in this dish, which added interest to a soup that might otherwise have seemed ordinary. You may want to avoid filling up on the toast that accompanies the soup, however, and save room for the enormous amount of food that comes with the next course.

The entrée was a mountain of delicious coconut chive mashed potatoes, topped with broccoli and maple pepper tofu, then drizzled with a warm carrot sauce. I rarely find vegan mashed potatoes that I like in restaurants, and I can't usually be bothered to make them myself, so these were a real treat. The broccoli was bright green and lightly cooked, just the way I like it, and I really enjoyed the tofu with carrot sauce. Actually, I loved everything about this dish!

Dessert was vanilla banana cake, spiced persimmon compote, and lemon pomegranate drizzle. I was a little worried when I saw the cake, as it gave the appearance of being dense and heavy. After the huge quantity of mashed potatoes I'd just eaten, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to eat more than a bite or two of the cake. But when I tried the first forkful, I was happy to discover that the cake was very light. It was so good that I ate almost the whole thing, even though I was pretty stuffed by then.

Capitol Garage is also serving a vegan brunch during the Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge, a butternut barley hash consisting of roasted butternut squash, barley, roasted tomatoes, peppers, onions and spinach.


Capitol Garage is located at 1500 K Street, and their phone number is 916-444-3633. Their website address is http://www.capitolgarage.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/capGarage. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.