Scrumptious Sandwiches at Sugar Plum Vegan

I like to consider myself an unofficial sandwich savant, one skilled in the art of of gluing foodstuffs of varying textures and flavors and into a cozy blanket of carb-y gluten. Yet when the (not so) laborious effort of baking tofu surpasses my midday meal motivation, Sugar Plum Vegan Cafe thankfully offers a disparate menu of plant-based sandwiches in an idyllic atmosphere.

While PeTA may possess an audacious talent to pique the sane vegan community, you have to hope they wouldn’t bequeath a “Top 5 Vegan Sandwiches” award willy nilly.

Although I have no desire to defame the oft-revered Tempeh Reuben, I myself do not count this sandwich as a culinary paramour. While countless North American vegans extol the combination of rye bread, sauerkraut, pickles, choice of protein (overwhelmingly tempeh), and thousand island dressing as the paradigm of the perfect sandwich, I cautiously rank it high on the scale of mediocrity. The above version was characteristically pungent in caraway, fennel, and other spices with tellingly full jars in my spice rack. The marinated tempeh was pleasingly moist, complementing the ever-tangy fermented onions and standard ketchup-based spread. For the sake of succinctness: if you brand yourself a Reuben minion, you are in luck with this sammie.

I would have gleefully abnegated my Tempeh Reuben for my mother’s tantalizing Midtown Club, detailed per online menu as “Homemade Gluten-Free Tempeh Bacon, Romaine, Tomato, Avocado, Clover Sprouts and Vegenaise on Multi-Grain Bread.” Despite my Yank-ish, punctilious nature to correct the lack of Oxford comma and profusion of German-inspired capitalization, the description is sound. Each component meshed effortlessly to produce a sum greater than its oh-so-great parts. When my mother offered me the leftover half in a gesture of motherly amity, I accepted with grateful alacrity.

After a failed attempt to order a fresh young coconut, I hastily switched my request to a house-made kombucha. With empathetic face held low the contrite cashier bemoaned the depletion of their stock of kombucha and graciously offered the remaining amount gratis. Serendipitous outcome? A near 16 ounces of free berry-flavored fermented tea speckled with lilliputian morsels of unknown matter. These possible berries were forthwith rapidly straw-vacuumed while my mother looked on in parental amusement.

Yesterday I venerated Sugar Plum’s front patio while today’s lionized locus is the back patio. There is very little to prevent at least an ambivalent attachment towards the place. Purring felines supinely stretch hind legs across couch cushions, modern art peeks behind corners, and stretching cords of twinkle lights adorned with Chinese latterns purvey all. The acoustics discourage a cacophony of conversational echo while diffusing the atypical noises of Midtown bustle. Alternatively, those prone to introspection can take advantage of the tranquility to wallow in the ebb and flow of vivacious rumination.

Conclusion: next time I sandwich at Sugar Plum’s back patio, I’m committed to an order of the award-winning Jackfruit Tuna Melt. That is, unless a nice homemade tempeh, cuke, and hummus doesn’t call my name from the wondrous depths of the icebox.

Sugar Plum Vegan *Check out their page for a “Free Sweet with $20 purchase” coupon*

2315 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95816

Sugar Plum Sweeties

One of the perks of Sac livin’ is the easy access to ridiculously delicious pre-made vegan treats around the city. Treats so good you don’t care if they ruin your lofty summer goals to lose a few pounds. I can guarantee that any sane person–herbivore or not–would love these baked goods.

All of these vegan goodies are from Sugar Plum Vegan, a relatively new vegan bakery that recently opened a cafe in Midtown Sacramento. They also sell their products at the Sacramento and Davis Co-ops, as well as a few cafes through town.

I’ve only visited their cafe once, but intend to return soon to sample their diverse all-vegan menu. They offer an wide variety of savory entrees–think daiya nachos, cashew cream fettucini alfredo, fava bean risotto, baja street tacos, and more–besides their usual array of baked goods. They even offer an all-you-can-eat $12 vegan brunch on select Sundays (become friends with them on Facebook for daily menu updates).

So, without further ado, some Sugar Plum sweeties for your viewing pleasure:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll

The slivered almonds on this were an unusual, but delicious, touch to one tasty cinnamon roll. My only complaint for this little morsel was that there wasn’t enough yummy strawberry cream cheese to go around. Otherwise, A+.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Peanut Butter Creamie

If I could re-create Sugar Plum’s fantastic peanut butter cream, I would go up 2 pant sizes in a month. I’m not kidding, I love this stuff. The oatmeal cookies were just as good, with a nice crumb with sweet, juicy raisins and crunchy oats sprinkled throughout. Don’t be fooled by the photograph, because these cookies are BIG. I ate this in two sittings, taking small nibbles so as to slowly savor all the sugar coma goodness. I probably could have gotten another serving out of it if I had restrained myself. Needless to say, I didn’t.

(Chocolate Dipped!) Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Creamie

This cookie sammich uses the same peanut butter cream (a.k.a. the Holy Grail of frostings), but instead of oatmeal raisin cookies comes in with the big guns: chocolate-covered chocolate chip cookies. That’s right, chocolate covered in chocolate! How can you top that? This damn fine cookie tends to make me prone to extensive use of hyperboles. I may be ranting, but chocolate chippies are a serious business.

Be warned: this is one seriously sweet treat, diabetes-inducing in the best possible way. The chocolate glaze on the cookies is the (non-literal) icing on the cake. Unsweetened chamomile tea is the perfect complement to lessen the sugar buzz sure to come.

***Moral of the post: Be sure to check out Sac’s only vegan bakery Sugar Plum Vegan if you ever visit the good ‘ol City of Trees. And call me up while you’re at it! Any day that includes a cinnamon roll is A-OK with me.