Veg out

Looking for veggie options for a fresh start in the new year? I asked vegan chef Joshua Ploeg where he likes to eat out in Sacramento:

1. “I would go with Kasbah [Lounge] for a vegetarian but not vegan meal—chi chi al fuego (manchego and quince paste fried and lit on fire with brandy); Fatima’s palette, which is the usual hummus, baba ganoush and lebneh, but it’s pretty good; and the fattoush, which has little falafels instead of croutons. A nice Armenian beer with the meal and go crazy with an ouzo/arak tasting spree! And they have those cute pita cradles.”

2. “Andy Nguyen for vegan, some enlightened mind rolls, pho and a couple of main dishes (I don’t eat there enough to know the varieties of these). Not much other choice for a straight-up vegan place around here, is there?”

3. “Just ate at Sher-e Punjab recently and that was really good. They had a sweet and spicy cauliflower dish that they referred to as ‘Manchurian’—it was delicious, sweet naan (not bad at all) and that tasty tomato soup. I know that was a vegetarian meal; I would assume it was vegan, but you’d have to ask them.”