Best way to observe Meatless Mondays

About a year ago, the Sacramento City Council passed a resolution that all Mondays in the city were to be meatless. It was a gesture to celebrate Paul McCartney—a longtime vegetarian and animal activist—being the first performer at the Golden 1 Center, but it kind of rode the coattails of local musician Gabe Aiello, who was already making a mark in Sac with his Meatless Monday pop-ups at Old Ironsides.

It was three years ago when Aiello, guitarist for Drop Dead Red and owner of Burly Beverages, began observing meatless Mondays. “I started this in my kitchen at home in hopes of feeding my close friends a healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly meal,” Aiello says. The turnout soon outgrew his space, and two years ago, he relocated the dinners to Old I, where more than 100 people would show up for a $5 vegan meal.

Although it’s no longer in Aiello’s home, the Meatless Monday events still have a homey, friendly vibe. Maybe it’s because of the laid-back ambiance thanks to Heath Williamson playing live on stage, or maybe it’s because there are no slaughtered animals in the room, or maybe it’s because the dish changes every week. This summer, for example, M.M. observers got burrito bowls and handmade tortillas one week and Thai green curry and steamed rice on another. The food tastes healthy, light, delicious.

Aiello mans the kitchen once a month, while on the Mondays in between, guest chefs—like Sylvanna Mislang of The Roaming Spoon and Olla Swanson of The Olla Factory—plate up vegan options to the meatless masses. Aiello says he often collaborates with other local food makers, such as Ilsa Hess of Nacheez and Eric Vercryussen of SlowRise Bread Co., for the Monday meals, and Conscious Creamery is a dessert staple, like its August collaboration of Thai ice tea with vanilla gelato and Burly Beverages’ Classic Cream Soda Syrup. Sometimes Aiello hands the helm altogether to another chef. Although Aiello is an omnivore, he said, “Our purpose in facilitating [Meatless] Monday is to educate other omnivores. To show them that you don’t need meat every day.” Old Ironsides, 1901 10th Street, Mondays at 6 p.m.; www.theoldironsides.com.