A battle of vegan bites

The Vegan Chef Challenge in Sacramento

We’ve been noodling over which dish gets our vote. | Photo by @kaukau916

Sacramento’s vegan scene is on a remarkable upward trend, with a plant-based gelato spot, donut shop, and taco restaurant all having opened within the past four years. In fact, those three eateries are just the dairy-free icing on the cake that is the River City’s growing enthusiasm for meat-eschewing cuisine.

That excitement might best be seen in this year’s Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge, which is seeing its highest engagement in its 12 years with more than 50 restaurants and pop-ups participating. For the challenge, restaurants are asked to add at least one new vegan option to their menu.

With the event running now through Mon., Oct. 31, we’re highlighting five vegan plates, desserts, and drinks that made our stomach growl.

A glazed pizza with garden veggies — The Home on the Range pie with a BBQ base, garden veggies, and vegan chicken.

🌽 Smashed Corn Ballers, Bambi Vegan Tacos
Inspired by hush puppies, this deep-fried finger food is stuffed with a cheesy corn filing and sits on a bed of smoked tomato pepper jam.

🍔 The Hester Mae, 1837 Vegan
A house-made falafel burger layered with a three bean chili, grilled onions, an aioli sauce, and more — all sandwiched between two gluten-free sourdough buns.

🍰 Oreo Cheesecake Slice, Brown Rice Bakery
A vegan dream has come true with this dairy-and-gluten-free treat featuring Oreo cheesecake filling and crust from the BIPOC and queer-owned bakery.

A Google map with pins all over the Sacramento region — Use the event’s map to locate every participating eatery.

🍸 Vegan Bloody Mary, The Golden Bear | 2326 K St
A traditional Bloody Mary isn’t vegan due to the anchovies in the Worcestershire sauce, so this Midtown Pub is striking out against the savory fish with heirloom ingredients from local Farmers’ Markets.

🥞 Kimchi Pancakes, pure soul plant-based eats
Made with a JUST Egg, soy sauce, and green onions, this savory pancake is unlike anything we’ve ever tried — and that’s what caught our eye.

Ready to vote for your favorite new menu item from this year’s battle? Dish it out.

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Monday, October 10

Henry Rollins | Mon., Oct. 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Crest Theatre, 1013 K St., Sacramento | $33.95-$179 | The legendary Black Flag frontman is hitting the road on a spoken word tour, sharing personal stories from those brief, unusual months before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Metric - The Doomscroller Tour | Mon., Oct. 10 | 7 p.m. | Ace Of Spades, 1417 R St., Sacramento | $36.00 | The Canadian indie rock band known for its melodic guitar lines, dance-like grooves, and distinctive voice of singer Emily Haines comes to Sac.

Tuesday, October 11

Worthy Mysteries: New Work by Steve Briscoe | Tue., Oct. 11 - Sat., Nov. 5 | 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. | Pence Gallery, 212 D St., Davis | Free | The Sacramento-area artist presents a selection of found object sculptures, paintings, and installations that invite both contemplation and joyful delight.

Wednesday, October 12

Murder on the Orient Express | Wed., Oct. 12 - Sun., Oct. 30 | Sacramento Theatre, 1419 H St., Sacramento | $23.00 - $28.00 | Detective Hercule Poirot investigates the death of an American tycoon in this classic whodunnit adapted for the stage.

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

MORE SAC-TOBER EVENTS

Weather

89º | Sunny | 10% chance of rain ☀️

Today Is

Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Proclaimed in 2020 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, this federal holiday honors the past, present, and futures of Native people throughout the US. To learn more, consider visiting the State Indian Museum or the California Indian Heritage Center.

Community

Interested in learning more about “missing middle” housing types, like duplexes? The City will host workshops to facilitate conversations around affordable housing and enabling neighborhood-driven investments throughout October. Learn more and reserve your spot to attend. 🏘️ (Sacramento City Express)

Biz

The PepsiCo beverage plant in Sacramento will be among the first in the world to use an electric semi-truck. The Tesla delivery vehicle is said to cover 500 miles on one charge and with a full load at 82,000 lbs. 🚛 (FOX40)

Sacramentan

Elk Grove’s Neil Nayar— who made waves earlier this year for his ability to play 117 musical instruments by the age of 16 — was selected as the ambassador for the national Kids Music Day event. The honor enters Neil into a rarefied group that includes Pat Benatar, Todd Rundgren, and more. 🎸 (Sac Bee)

Closing

K Street’s Lexe Boutique has shared that it will be closing after seven years in business. While no final day of operation has been shared, the store is currently running a 50% off sale both in-store and on its website for women’s clothing, accessories, and homegoods. (Sac Biz Journal)

Read

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Learn

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Travel and Outdoors

The gall of the California gall wasp

The California gall wasp | Graphic by SACtoday

Nothing says fall quite like baked apples, warm apple cider, apple pie — honestly, apple anything. But there’s another rotund fruit that you may find to be a common sight in Sacramento around this time of the year: the oak apple.

To be precise, these “fruits” aren’t actually apples at all. They’re known as galls, which are growths induced by various insects, like the California Gall Wasp. The growth occurs when larvae feast on the tree, which releases hormones that cause a rapid expansion of the tree’s tissues. The inedible galls then serve as protection for bugs, food for some daring animals, and habitat for an entire microenvironment.

Typically, gall wasps are associated with just one of the major oak groups (black, white, and intermediate). This is no different for the California Gall Wasp, which is attached to the white valley oak, one of the most prevalent and important trees native to the Sacramento Valley. The female California gall wasps emerge during the fall, laying their eggs in stems or leaves that stimulate the production of galls.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Matt.

Editor’s pick: Josephine the armadillo managed to escape the Sacramento Zoo last week. Thankfully, in a personal message sent to us by the zoo, we learned that Josephine was found safe and sound as of Fri., Oct 7.

Missed Friday’s newsletter? We went plane and simple with a guide to the Sacramento International Airport.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Jordan Radach, Matt Marcure, Trevor Peters, Britt Thorson, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Julie Brown | Advertise with us.

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