Week Three of the Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge 2016 -- So Much Good Food!

There's just one more week left in this year's Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge, and there are still so many menus left to try! Here are the four restaurants I visited this past week.


Monday, I had lunch with my friend Greta at Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar. They regularly offer a wonderful variety of vegan options, but they've created two new dishes for the challenge.  I had the flavorful marinated tofu and grilled asparagus, with mushrooms, red onions, carrots, and cilantro in a soybean paste reduction sauce.  Their other Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge dish is caramelized tofu skewers.

I visited Metro Kitchen + Drinkery for lunch on Thursday and ordered from their Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge three-course, fixed-price menu.

I chose the spicy, but tasty, three bean local heirloom chili; the fabulous rainbow in the round, a salad consisting of pears, persimmons, pecans, walnuts, pomegranate seeds, pepitas, radicchio, and greens, served with a balsamic vinaigrette; and a very good pumpkin spiced apple pumpkin tart.

Friday, I stopped in for lunch at the Rind, which offered one of my very favorite items during last year's Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge, their Milano sandwich. This year's sandwich, the Impostor, is excellent as well. It's a grilled sandwich consisting of two house-made vegan cheeses -- a red bell pepper cashew cheese and a cilantro-jalapeño sunflower seed cheese -- crimini mushrooms, cucumbers, and mixed greens on sourdough. The chef is planning to offer this delicious dish next month too, so be sure to give it a try while it's available.

Finally, I had dinner Saturday night with my husband Phil at Saddle Rock Restaurant. Their three-course Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge wasn't written down -- the server just explained what was included when I ordered it. Since I can't remember everything she said, I'll just say that the pictures that follow are of a wonderful meal consisting of cauliflower chowder, acorn squash stuffed with wild rice and root vegetables, and fantastic chocolate cake.

I hope you're all enjoying the Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge as much as I am! I'm looking forward to eating my way through yet another week.