Chocolate Fish

As I've mentioned before, I don't spend much time in the local coffeehouses because I don't drink coffee. Once I find out that a coffeehouse has started offering vegan baked goods, though, it suddenly appears on my radar.


That's what happened over the weekend when I saw on social media that Conscious Creamery's vegan donuts are now being offered at Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters. I've been a big fan of Conscious Creamery's vegan gelato for a long time, and I was thrilled when they started making vegan baked goods as well. So I took a drive over to Chocolate Fish in East Sacramento yesterday morning to  get my Conscious Creamery fix.


Sure enough, there was a glass cake plate on display with two kinds of Conscious Creamery donuts. I bought one of each for a deliciously sweet breakfast.

For those of you who go to coffeehouses for the coffee, Chocolate Fish offers two different non-dairy milk substitutes -- soy and almond.

Chocolate Fish has two different locations, both serving Conscious Creamery donuts. The location I visited is at 4749 Folsom Boulevard. It's open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The other location is at 3rd and Q Street, and it's open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Their phone number is 916-451-5181, and their website address is http://www.chocolatefishcoffee.com/.

Bangkok Garden Thai Cuisine

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Greta and I tried to go to lunch at Tuk Tuk in Natomas, but we were surprised to discover that the restaurant had closed. Fortunately, Greta knew of another Thai restaurant just a short drive away, Bangkok Garden.


The first thing I noticed on Bangkok Garden's menu was the notation at the bottom of each page that read, "Vegan options available. Ask your server." The dish I wanted was the eggplant plate, so I made sure to order it with no fish sauce and with tofu added. It was a delicious combination of eggplant, tofu, bell pepper, and basil sautéed in coconut milk and chili paste.

I was in the area again a few days ago, so I stopped in for lunch. This time, I decided to try one of their curries. I asked the server if the curries contained fish sauce, and she said they did, but could be made without it. So I ordered the green curry with tofu added, a tasty mixture of bell pepper, bamboo shoots, green beans, zucchini, carrots, cabbage, tofu, and basil in a green curry coconut milk sauce.

Bangkok Garden is located at 3230 Arena Boulevard and their phone number is 916-263-9600. Their website address is http://www.bangkok-gardenthaicuisine.com/Blank.html and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/bangkokgardenthaicuisine/. The restaurant is open for lunch daily from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and for dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Sacramento Vegan is taking the week off

Blogging will resume next weekend.

Barnes & Noble Kitchen

Two of my very favorite things to do are to look for new vegan food and to shop for books. So you can imagine my delight when I found out that a new Barnes & Noble bookstore had opened in Folsom late last year, and it had a restaurant right there in the store.

My friend Michele and I drove up to Folsom last week to check it out. The café was hidden behind a coffee bar that we saw as soon as we walked in the door.

The menu wasn't extensive, but it had a few items that were either vegan or easily veganizable. Michele and I ordered the guacamole and chips appetizer to share. The guacamole was full of nice, big chunks of avocado, and it had enough spice to give it a little kick.

Next, I ordered the chopped vegetable salad, which needed a couple of modifications. I asked the server to omit the feta cheese, and substitute apple cider vinaigrette for the green goddess dressing listed on the menu. What the menu didn't say is that half of a hard-boiled egg also comes with the salad, so if you order this dish, you'll want to ask them to leave off the egg. The salad itself was delicious and very colorful. I loved the vegetables the chef chose -- purple cauliflower, beets, green beans, broccoli, bell pepper, carrots, avocado, and greens, with pepitas tossed in for garnish.

Barnes & Noble Kitchen is located at 280 Palladio Parkway, Building 913, and their phone number is 916-984-4407. Their website address is http://barnesandnoblekitchen.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/The-Kitchen-at-Barnes-Noble-1247165598670382/. The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.