SVCC 2018 -- The Porch

My husband Phil and I had dinner tonight at the Porch, a restaurant that participates in the Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge every year. This restaurant is also vegan-friendly year-round, offering vegan options for brunch, lunch, and dinner.

The SVCC menu was dated October 3^rd – yesterday – so the food I had tonight may not be on the menu whenever you decide to go, but I’m going to tell you what I had anyhow!

For starters, I ordered the sweet chili cauliflower, cornmeal fried cauliflower florets in a sweet chili sauce. I thought this was an outstanding dish and I hope they keep it on the menu forever!

For my main course, I had the smoked tofu and beet meatballs. I know that sounds a little odd, but it was actually pretty good. The three meatballs were served on a bed of sautéed Swiss chard and mashed potatoes.

I was way too full for dessert, but I couldn’t pass up apple pie cake, and I’m really glad I didn’t. It was basically a spice cake with creamy frosting, topped with apple pie filling. Doesn’t get much better than that!

The Porch is located at 1815 K Street, and their phone number is 916-444-2423. Their website address is http://www.theporchrestaurantandbar.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/ThePorchRestaurant/. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The SVCC menu is not offered at lunchtime.  

SVCC 2018 -- Sexy Panda Truck

Thank goodness for the Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge! Without it, I don’t know when I might have found out about the Sexy Panda Truck, which is parked in a location on Arden Way that’s a little off the beaten path for me.

I drove over there for lunch today and had to decide what to order from a menu that was full of things I wanted to eat. Should I get tacos (Can’t Believe It’s Not Beef, Unchicken Bao, or We Harm No Fish)? How about the ImpossiBao or the Vegan Mac? Everything sounded so good! I finally decided on the Loaded Vegan Fries, and when they say “loaded,” they’re not kidding! I was presented with a huge serving of waffle fries, vegan macaroni, Impossible meat, cilantro slaw, bulgogi sauce, and vegan Panda sauce. There was so much food, in fact, that I couldn’t close the top of the to-go box until I’d eaten a good amount. I sat in my car and ate tasty bite after tasty bite until I couldn’t eat anymore. 

Since the Sexy Panda is a food truck, it won’t always be serving up all this vegan goodness in the same location. Right now, it’s at 998 Arden Way, which is at the corner of Evergreen and Arden, near the Harley-Davidson dealer. But you should probably follow their Facebook and Instagram pages so you can keep track of where they’ll be on any given day and during what hours. Whether they’re off the beaten path or not, they are definitely worth a visit!

SVCC 2018 -- Crocker Cafe

I had lunch with my friend Bonnie today, who wanted to go to the Crocker Café. That was fine with me, since Crocker Café is participating in this year’s Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge and I know their food is always good.

There doesn’t appear to be a separate Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge menu at Crocker Café – their vegan dishes are just incorporated into their regular menu. Their main vegan offerings appear to be tacos and cookies, so I ordered both.

The vegan tacos were filled with house-made vegan chorizo, house-made cashew cheese, and cabbage. Their vegan chorizo appeared to have a quinoa base. It was very flavorful and paired well with the creamy texture of the cashew cheese. I really enjoyed these tacos!

The cookies were on a platter near the cash register. Since they were small, I ordered two. Basically, they were like Russian tea cakes, little balls of baked dough covered in powdered sugar. I love Russian tea cakes, and these definitely did not disappoint!

The Crocker Café is inside the Crocker Art Museum at 216 O Street, and their phone number is 916-808-1865. You don’t need to pay the museum admission fee if you’re only planning to eat at the café and not expecting to visit the art exhibits. The café’s website address is https://www.crockerart.org/cafe, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/CrockerCafeBySupperClub/. Their counter service menu items are available Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

SVCC 2018 -- Revolution Wines

Today is the first of October, which means it’s also the first day of the annual Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge. Every October, local chefs create an array of scrumptious vegan menu items, which are available throughout the month. I look forward to this event every year!

The first thing I did for this year’s challenge was to print out a listing of all the participating restaurants. This list also indicates during which meals the special vegan dishes will be available. This year, there’s a special emphasis on brunch and dessert. Here’s a link to the list so you can print it out too: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nx3pjhRODuEw012bEEV1z2frXZrU5E8-8AM-iuF-eC8/edit.

A few of the participating restaurants have previewed on social media the dishes they’ll be offering this month, so I knew exactly where my first stop was going to be. The always vegan-friendly Revolution Wines shared a photo of the Impossible Stroganoff they had created, using Impossible Burger crumbles, and I couldn’t wait to try it. I stopped in for lunch today, and the stroganoff was every bit as good as I’d hoped it would be. All the vegan items are listed on Revolution Wines’ regular menu, and are clearly marked as vegan. I think the next time I'm there, I’ll try the sweet potatoes and chili.

I was actually too full for dessert, but I couldn’t pass up the Mexican chocolate cake, topped with blueberry compote. The cake was very good, and the blueberry compote was the perfect accompaniment. All the desserts at Revolution Wines are vegan, so if chocolate cake isn’t your thing, you might try the seasonal fruit crisp or the pumpkin cheesecake.

Revolution Wines is located at 2831 S Street, and their phone number is 916-444-7711. Their website address is http://rev.wine/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/revolutionwines/?ref=br_rs. They are open Monday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. They will also be offering special vegan dishes on their brunch menu, served Friday through Sunday.

deVere's Irish Pub

I missed out on most of the action during the Great Sacramento Vegan Burger Battle in June because of out-of-town guests and travel. One burger I was very sorry to have missed was the Beyond Burger that de Vere's Irish Pub was dishing up. It received rave reviews from many people I follow on social media.


I'm happy to report that de Vere's still has a Beyond Burger on their menu, although I don't think it's the same as the one they offered in June. Nevertheless, my husband Phil and I stopped in for lunch today at de Vere's so I could try it. This particular Beyond Burger patty is served on a ciabatta bun and topped with a smoky chickpea spread, arugula, toasted cumin vinaigrette, avocado mousse, pickled vegetables, and tortillas, and it was outstanding. Of all the Beyond Burgers I've tried, this one was my favorite.

The Beyond Burger isn't de Vere's only vegan option. On the table, there was a small menu called "The Vegan Side of Ireland," listing roasted cauliflower, pakoras, and avocado toast. These items will be available through September 30th. I knew I'd be too full to have any of those dishes along with my burger, but since I love cauliflower, I ordered the roasted cauliflower to go. It was great!

de Vere's Irish Pub is located at 1521 L Street, and their phone number is 916-231-9947. Their website address is https://www.deverespub.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/deverespub/. The restaurant is open Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to midnight, Monday and Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. to midnight, Wednesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Origami Asian Grill

A new Asian fusion restaurant opened in East Sacramento recently, and they’ve got lots of vegan options. Origami Asian Grill offers several made-to-order dishes for which you can pick your protein, and one of the protein choices is marinated tofu.

I stopped by for lunch a couple of days ago, and after a few moments spent contemplating the menu, I decided on the rice bowl. I asked for brown rice, marinated tofu, a vegetable mixture containing green beans, corn, and peppers, and the fermented chili miso sauce. It was a simple but thoroughly satisfying dish.

I also ordered the sunomono, an appetizer made of cucumber slices, garlic, chili, and sesame seeds. It was the perfect accompaniment to the rice bowl.

Other Origami entrées that can be veganized are the ramen (ask for the vegetarian broth), banh mi sandwich, cold noodle salad, and mixed baby green salad. All three of the sauce choices are vegan – charred onion glaze and house hot sauce, in addition to the fermented chili miso.

Origami Asian Grill is located at 4801 Folsom Boulevard, and their phone number is 916-400-3075. Their website address is https://www.origamiasiangrill.com/ and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Origami-Asian-Grill-639902712863365/. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. They are closed on Sunday.

Pressed Juicery

With so many things happening in Sacramento these days, it’s hard to keep up with all the new restaurant openings. Case in point: if I hadn’t been scrolling through my Instagram feed the other day, who knows when I might have found out about Pressed Juicery, which opened in the Ice Blocks building last December.

As the name suggests, Pressed Juicery offers a variety of cold-pressed juices. They have juices made with greens, roots, citrus, or fruit. They have juice shots, refreshers, cleanses, tonics, and premium waters. They even have lattes made with vanilla almond milk.

But what caught my attention on Instagram was a photo of one of their dairy-free, soft-serve freezes. Since it was a hot day, as they have all been lately, I drove right over to get one. The one I wanted was the one I saw in the Instagram photo – a vanilla freeze made from water, dates, almonds, vanilla extract, and sea salt, then topped with semisweet chocolate chips. It was the perfect mid-afternoon snack!

It was so good, in fact, that I went back the next afternoon to try a different flavor. This time, I got the creamy coconut freeze, made with water, pineapple, coconut, vanilla extract, and sea salt, and I had it topped with shredded coconut, shaved almonds, and strawberries. So good!

Everything at Pressed Juicery appears to be vegan, with the following exceptions: honey (an optional topping for the freezes), granola (another optional topping, which contains honey), and the charcoal lemonade, which also contains honey.

Pressed Juicery is a chain restaurant. The address of its Sacramento location is 1710 R Street, Suite 170, and their phone number is 916-497-0702. Their website address is https://www.pressedjuicery.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Pressed-Juicery-1999517573621113/?ref=br_rs. Pressed Juicery is open Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.