Happy Vegalicious Summer!
Greetings Earthlings from Utah!
It has been a while! I’ve been on a few trips and am getting ready for a couple more. No matter what your views or opinions are about Salt Lake City, Utah, I can tell you that the city has undergone some major transformations in the last five – six years! Not only has the city expanded and grown, but so has veganism. If you’re a vegan or just into food looking for a new city to visit for it’s exciting, competitive culinary explorations, I’d highly recommend a trip to Utah, besides it’s just such a gorgeous and fun place!
My aunt and uncle lives there. They have lived there most of their lives since moving over from Denmark in their teens. I love visiting them and seeing my dear friends who live there! My aunt and uncle used to live in a major mansion up in the Avenues with an incredible view of the whole valley, but are now residing in a beautiful condominium overlooking “Mormon Central”, as I call it! It’s all good! I feel quite comfortable sleeping on their couch, in their wall to wall covered with book shelves office when I’m visiting. They even took me out to eat vegan while I was there and were open to hearing all about the importance of eating organic fruits and vegetables, why dairy is not a health food, and why I no longer eat meat. They’ve even watched Forks Over Knives!
My family were not the only ones who wanted to make sure I got the full vegan restaurant experience of Salt Lake City. First, my friend Steve picked me up and said, “Hey Baby, let me take you to a few popular places that I’ve been wanting to try!” So off we went to All Chay – a popular Vietnamese Vegan restaurant over on the West Side of town!
The place looks small from the outside, but it’s actually quite spacious! Seeing their menu made my vegan heart leap! Vietnamese & Vegan!!!
Look at all these different options…and here you’re just seeing two pages of an entire booklet! Steve and I decided together what looked good…it was hard to choose, I must admit, because it ALL looked so good! Here’s what we ordered to share…
We got a salad that came with fried spring rolls, but also got the fresh spring rolls and “shrimp”. The “shrimp” not only looked like battered shrimp, but also tasted a bit like them. YUM! Did we have room for dessert? You betcha!
Steve could not believe that this was Vegan Flan and neither could I. It was such a tasty treat! Don’t forgo dessert if you visit! We enjoyed it immensely! After the amazing meal I got to chat with the owner, who has been a vegan for seven years, and give her a hug, thanking her for the amazing meal we had just had. She’s a sweetheart and I’ll definitely be back during my next visit!
The next day, I met friends for brunch at Sage’s Cafe. My aunt and uncle had even heard great things about this place, so that made me even more excited to go and truly it didn’t disappoint. Here’s a view of the restaurant, borrowed from another blogger since I was too much of in a rush to get inside!
Listen, you just know it’s going to be good when you see this inside the door…
Inside Sages – Photos by me!
…and trust me the dishes did not disappoint. Here are some photos of what my friends ordered:
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Asian Lettuce Wraps
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Chef’s Salad
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Breakfast Casserole – Tofu scramble, seasonal vegetables, portabello mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts, capers, tomato, fresh herbs, rice mozzarela, almond parmesan and hashbrowns.
I chose the Jackfruit and Kimchi tacos, although they were out of kimchi, this dish did not disappoint to say the least. I’d been wanting to try jackfruit for a while and trust me, I could eat this every day…
Jackfruit and Kimchi Tacos
…and I’m still dreaming of it! Almost everyone at the table got a bite from my dish and agreed that this was incredibly tasty! I’ll be back!!!
Another place, you don’t want to miss is Zest Kitchen & Bar. It is located in the heart of downtown. My friend David took me there one evening. We got so wrapped up in our conversation and started eating our delicious food that I never got to snap any pictures…I promise to do it on my next trip, but here’s a view of my handsome friend David – one of my besties of twenty five years!
They also have an amazing drink menu…Yep, even in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah you can get a tasty drink! This is definitely a restaurant I plan to explore further when I visit later this month!
On a final note, besides all the amazing food and renewal of downtown, I was also pleased to see a “Green” aspect! You can rent these lovelies to work off some of the calories that you might inhale while you’re eating your way through town!
Here’s a list of Vegan Recommendations for Salt Lake City, Utah via Happy Cow:
Enjoy and Happy Safe Vegalicious Summer!
urbanveganchic 