SVCC 2018 -- Mayahuel

My friend Bonnie and I got together for lunch today at Mayahuel, a downtown restaurant offering particularly creative vegan dishes for the Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge. Before I even began deciding what to order, I had to laugh at these words of wisdom printed at the top of the menu:

                                  Vegans are like your parents,

                                  First you hate them

                                  Then you become them

                                  and realise they were

                                  right all along :)

Having had a good chuckle, I turned my attention to the food. I thought about ordering just the two appetizers – potato tacos and spicy lentil soup – but thought I should try something a little more unusual. They were out of the huitlacoche enchiladas, which sounded really good (mushrooms, black beans, and corn wrapped in blue corn tortillas and served in a huitlacoche sauce), so the server recommended the pistacio spicy mole sauce. I love pistachios, so I decided to give it a try. This dish consisted of sliced portobello mushrooms sautéed in a pistachio mole sauce, with just a touch of serrano pepper. It was served with a pyramid of white rice. I had never had anything like this before, and I really enjoyed this rich, creamy entrée.

Since we were celebrating a birthday, the server brought out a small piece of their vegan chocolate ganache cake, topped with a birthday sparkler. It was delectable – everything you could want in a chocolate cake!

Mayahuel is located at 1200 K Street, and their phone number is 916-441-7200. Their website address is http://experiencemayahuel.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/MayahuelSacramento/. The restaurant is open Monday through Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.