Shine

Shine has been open in the Mansion Flats neighborhood for a few years. I used to check the menu from time to time to see if there were any vegan items, but never found much.


Then I saw a couple of things online that made me take another look. First, I read that Shine was going to start offering baked goods from Sugar Plum Vegan. Next, I saw a picture of their hummus sandwich, and it looked great. I found out that Shine has new owners, one of whom is vegan, so the restaurant has suddenly become very vegan-friendly, offering sandwiches, salads, soups, and small plates.


I headed over for lunch last week and ordered the Veggie-Hummus Sandwich, consisting of house-made hummus, shredded carrots, sliced cucumber, greens, avocado, and vegan mayonnaise on organic whole wheat bread, served with an organic side salad. I really, really enjoyed that sandwich! I don't know what made it taste so good. Was it the filling, which was a little bit tangy? Or the fresh, crisp vegetables? Maybe it was the delicious bread. Whatever it was, I left the restaurant thinking that the Veggie-Hummus Sandwich had just become my new favorite lunch item.

But then I went back a few days later and ordered the vegan Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese Sandwich. I don't think I've had a grilled cheese sandwich since I went vegan more than eleven years ago, so I was very excited to try this one, made with Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti, spinach, and sliced tomatoes on sourdough bread. It was fabulous! So now I'll have a dilemma about what to order every time I go back.

I had Kombucha Kulture's excellent kombucha on tap for both meals, and I ended each lunch with a delicious Sugar Plum Vegan Peanut Butter Creamie, a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with a creamy peanut butter filling. Yum!

Samples of Shine's vegan chocolate almond smoothie were handed out to the restaurant's customers during my first visit. It was very tasty. They have several other vegan smoothies on their menu as well.


Shine is located at 1400 E Street, and their phone number is 916-551-1400. Their website address is http://shinesac.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/shinesacramento. The restaurant is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday and Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. They have live music a few nights a week.