Negril on J

UPDATE: NEGRIL ON J HAS CLOSED


I just got back from Negril on J, where their Vegan Mondays began today. In spite of a little first day confusion, I had a very good lunch, prepared by I'tal Chef Kimba Kabaka.


I ordered the Veggie Patte' Dish, but somehow ended up with the I'tal Plate, which consisted of stuffed smoked plantain balls, quinoa, and callaloo (a dish made of cooked greens), drizzled with a spicy coconut tomato sauce. I really enjoyed the sweet, smoky taste of the plantain balls. I ordered tamarind juice as my beverage, and it was a light and refreshing accompaniment to my lunch.


Next time, I'll try for the Veggie Patte' Dish again, which is pan-fried dough stuffed with organic curry lentils, potatoes, kale, and sprouted tofu, served with a spicy mustard green salad. I'm a big fan of pan-fried dough in any culinary tradition! I noticed that several diners ordered the Curry Tofu Salad, which also looked quite good.


I was happy to see that most of the tables in Negril were full for this first Vegan Monday, especially impressive since most of J Street looked like a ghost town today. The three items I mentioned comprise the lunch menu, but different items will be offered for dinner. There will be a Veggie Fish Stew, described as vegan non-GMO soy protein wrapped in Nori (seaweed) stewed in a spicy coconut tomato sauce, and served with quinoa, fresh stir fried greens, and plantains. There will also be Ackee (a type of fruit similar to a lychee) and Callaloo, served with coconut forbidden rice and kale. The Curry Tofu Salad is available on the dinner menu as well.


Negril on J is located at 2502 J Street, and their phone number is 916-440-1088. Their website address is http://www.negrilonj.com/# and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/NegrilonJ?fref=ts. Vegan Mondays will continue for the foreseeable future from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.

Vegan Mondays Start Today at Negril on J

Beginning today, Negril on J will offer strictly vegan fare on Mondays, prepared by Chef Kimba Kabaka. I'll be heading over there for lunch, so check back this afternoon for more information about what's on the menu.

Baagan

I've been wanting to check out the vegan cuisine at Baagan for a long time, and finally drove up to Roseville with my friend Kathy for lunch there last week.

I ordered the Veggie Wrap, pictured above, with a spinach herb tortilla as my choice of wrap. The other option would have been a raw nori seaweed sheet. I also had a choice of spreads: hummus, jalapeno hummus, pesto, cheesy chipotle, creamy cilantro jalapeno, curry mustard, sun-dried tomato, or olive tapenade. I ordered hummus and olive tapenade, and they were both very tasty. The wrap was filled with an abundance of fresh vegetables, including mixed greens, tomatoes, carrots, red bell pepper, and cucumbers.

I might have been able to eat the whole wrap if I hadn't begun my meal with a cup of Baagan's Black-eyed Pea Soup. But then I really would have missed out, because the soup was excellent, flavored with Indian spices. A different soup is offered every day, and they all sound wonderful.

Kathy ordered a cup of soup and the Grilled Quesadilla, a grilled spinach herb tortilla filled with a variety of fresh vegetables and a choice of spreads. I think she must have liked it, because she polished off the whole thing.



For dessert, we shared an order of Chocolate Soft Serve, an "ice cream" made from whipped frozen bananas and cacao powder. Various toppings are available, but we decided to keep things simple and just have pecans added. It was a delicious, healthy, and satisfying dessert. Sorry for the fuzzy picture -- I must have been so anxious to dig in that I didn't take the time to focus properly!



I appreciate the fact that, unlike many vegan restaurants, Baagan's menu doesn't rely on fake meats and cheeses. Fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, and nuts are the mainstays of Baagan's cuisine, proof that delicious vegan food doesn't need to be disguised as something it's not.

Baagan is located in a Roseville shopping center at 910 Pleasant Grove Boulevard, Suite 160, and their phone number is 916-771-2117. Their website address is http://www.baagan.com/default.html, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baagan/215358211841877?fref=ts. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sawasdee Thai Cuisine

I've been watching the corner of 19th and J streets with interest for a few months to see what would occupy that space, which hasn't worked out well for the last couple of restaurants. Most recently, a Mongolian barbecue was there, and before that, a Chinese restaurant. This time, it's a Thai restaurant called Sawasdee, which means "hello" in Thai. If the food I tried there was any indication, maybe this restaurant will be more successful than its predecessors.


I was pleasantly surprised to see the words "Vegan friendly" on the front of the menu. There are numerous vegan options on the menu, since many of the dishes offer a choice of tofu or vegetables, in addition to all the animal protein options. I asked, as I always do in a Thai restaurant, whether their curries contain fish sauce. I was told that they do not. I didn't order curry, though. Instead, I decided to try the Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodle) with tofu. In addition to the tofu, this dish consists of pan-fried flat rice noodles, green beans, snow peas, bell peppers, tomatoes, basil, and pineapple. It was a very tasty and satisfying lunch.


I asked if any of the desserts were vegan and was told that the Mango Sticky Rice (made with coconut milk) was vegan, so I had to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! It was delicious.





Sawasdee is located at 1830 J Street, and their phone number is 916-329-8678. The restaurant's website address is www.SawasdeeSac.com, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/SawasdeeSac?fref=ts. Sawasdee is open daily from 11:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.

Vegan Mondays Coming to Negril on J

Get ready for Vegan Mondays beginning May 27th, when Chef Kimba Kabaka will bring his I'tal cuisine to Negril on J.

The menu at Negril focuses on food from the Caribbean. Currently, the restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so turning over the kitchen to Chef Kimba on Mondays will not affect their regular operations. Chef Kimba, who is from St. Croix, specializes in I'tal cooking, popular in Rastafari culture, which features food that is pure, natural, and from the earth.

Several years ago, Chef Kimba used to park his all-vegan Roots-N-Kulchah food truck at 24th and K. It was a lot harder to find vegan-friendly restaurants back then, and it was a relief to know there was at least one place to go for a delicious lunch where I wouldn't have to interrogate the chef about the ingredients. Unfortunately, the city's restrictive food truck ordinance caused him to shut down.

Since that time, Chef Kimba has continued his vegan cooking by offering his services as a personal chef. He is also the Specialty Herb Manager at Feeding Crane Farms. Chef Kimba is hopeful that his Vegan Mondays will be a success so that he can collaborate with Negril on an every-day basis.

Here is the menu of vegan choices that Chef Kimba is planning to offer initially. There may also be specials from time to time.

Lunch

I’tal Plate

Stuffed smoked plantain balls w/quinoa & callaloo, drizzled w/ spicy coconut tomato sauce. $9

Curry Tofu Salad

Organic mix greens, red cabbage, onions, shredded carrots, sun dried tomato basil dressing, topped w/ curry tofu and garnished with Daiya Cheese (non dairy/non soy vegan cheese) $7.50

Veggie Patte’ Dish

Pan fried dough stuffed with organic curry lentils, potatoes, kale, and sprouted tofu. Served with spicy mustard greens salad $8.50

Dinner

Veggie stew fish

Vegan Non GMO soy protein wrapped in Nori (seaweed) stewed in a spicy coconut tomato sauce. Served with quinoa, fresh stir fried greens, and plantains. $11.50

Curry Tofu Salad

Organic mix greens, red cabbage, onions, shredded carrots, sun dried tomato basil dressing, topped w/ curry tofu and garnished with Daiya Cheese (non dairy/non soy vegan cheese) $7.50

Ackee/ Callaloo dish

Ackee and Callaloo served with coconut forbidden rice and kale. $10

Drinks

Tamarind Juice $3.50

Sorrel $3.5

For more information about Chef Kimba, visit his Roots-N-Kulchah webpage at http://www.myrootsnkulchah.net/.

I've already saved the date on my calendar for Chef Kimba's Negril debut on May 27th. Hope to see you there!

SactoMoFo 6 Wrap-Up

I arrived at SactoMoFo 6, the mobile food truck festival under the freeway at 6th and W, just as it opened on Saturday. It's a good thing I did -- the crowds were huge and lines were long by the time I left. But while I was there, here are the food trucks I visited.


My first stop was Addy's Paella, a Lodi-based catering business, to try their vegetarian paella. I knew they were only going to offer two pans of vegetarian paella throughout the day, and I didn't want to miss out. If I'd known how big the paella pans were, I wouldn't have worried! In addition to the seasoned rice, the vegetarian paella included asparagus, mushrooms, red bell pepper, green onions, and peas, and it was very tasty. It's vegan as long as you don't let them add the garlic aioli on top.





I headed to Smoothie Patrol, a Sacramento food truck, to get something to drink. They had a few vegan options, but the one I wanted was the Razzle Dazzle, consisting of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, orange juice, and ice. It was delicious!





For dessert, I found the DavePops cart, serving a variety of LukePops (all vegan) and DavePops (vegan except for the two flavors that include chocolate or toffee chips). Where have these been all my life? I ordered the Chocolate Almond Flake pop, and was halfway done before I remembered to take a picture. If I hadn't been so full afterwards, I'd have gone back for seconds. I'll definitely watch for the DavePops cart at the Cesar Chavez Park and Oak Park farmers' markets.





As I mentioned in my April 25th blog article, other food trucks offered vegan menu items too, like Gameday Grill's veggie sandwich, KoJa Kitchen's Teriyaki Zen with Pineapple, the Chairman's steamed vegan bun, and We Sushi's tofu salad. I completely understand why some people bring coolers to the festival so they can take food home to try after the SactoMoFo food coma wears off.


It was a great event, and I'm already looking forward to SactoMoFo 7!

Vegan Options at SactoMoFo 6

The next Sacramento Mobile Food Festival is coming up this Saturday, so I sent messages to most of the vendors asking if they'd be offering any vegan menu items. Here's what I've found out so far. I'll post any updates on my Sacramento Vegan Facebook page.

Addy's Paella will prepare one pan of vegan and gluten-free paella. Don't know how long that one pan will last, so if you want vegan paella, you'd better get there early!

KoJa Kitchen will be serving Teriyaki Zen with Pineapple. This is described on their menu as "Portabello mushroom and soy vegan/gluten free patty, with caramelized pineapple, sesame vinaigrette lettuce, drizzled with our teriyaki sauce, and served on garlic rice buns."

Juice On will be offering -- you guessed it -- juice! All of their juices are vegan, raw, and organic.

DavePops will be selling both LukePops (all vegan) and DavePops. The only two flavors of DavePops that are not vegan are Mint Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Chocolate Toffee Chip. Dave did make some vegan Mint Chocolate Chip DavePops for Earth Day this past weekend, though, and he has a few left that he will sell at SactoMoFo. If you get there early enough, you might be able to get one.

OMG! Yogurt will have shaved ice.

Swabbies on the River doesn't really have any vegan specialties on their menu, but they'll have Boca Burgers available and they can prepare tacos without cheese.

Gameday Grill will be offering a grilled zucchini-based veggie sandwich, with sautéed peppers & onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.

La Mex Taqueria will have vegetarian tacos and burritos, but be sure to ask them to leave off the cheese and sour cream.

The Spicy Grill responded to my request for information about their menu by saying they would have "VEGI" items. I asked if that meant vegan, and got another response saying they would have "VEGI." Not sure what that means, so if you decide to try their Afghani/Indian/Pakistani cuisine, you may need to ask some probing questions about their ingredients.

Smoothie Patrol will have a few vegan smoothies. They will probably offer the Razzle Dazzle (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, orange juice, and ice) and the Mango Madness (mangoes, pineapples, peaches, orange juice, and ice).

Dave's Dawgs says they will be serving smart dogs (veggie dogs with no GMO).

The Chairman's vegan bun is not advertised but is always available on their food truck. It consists of their regular steamed bun with their house-pickled carrots, cucumbers and daikon radish, along with bok choy and their house-made tofu sauce.

Vegan options may be available at some of the other food trucks too, but I've only listed the ones who responded to me. SactoMoFo's Facebook page lists Drewski's as one of the food trucks that will be offering vegetarian/vegan items, but Drewski's has not responded to my inquiries about their menu.

To help you avoid wasting time in a long line for nothing, who definitely won't be offering anything vegan? OM Karmabile, Krush Burger, Green Papaya, and OMG Burger. And Annie's SnoBiz can't guarantee that any of their menu options are vegan.

SactoMoFo 6 will be held under the freeway at 6th and W from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Parking is $3.00, but if you bring a non-perishable food donation for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, you can park for free. A map of the event is available at this link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=574735229227910&l=c49a33b6ae.