Sacramento vegans cannot survive on Boca Burgers alone.

If you are vegan in Sacramento it means one of three things:

• One: You have gotten very familiar with the a la carte section of many restaurant menus.
• Two: You have accepted your economic status as a Trader Joe customer.
• And three: You are at your wits end trying to unearth vegan- friendly establishments on and off the Grid.

As of today I, myself, have yet to make my own Trader Joe aspirations in to a reality. Due to the fact that however large my completely organic, fair trade, free range, probiotic dreams; I am vegan and I am flat broke.

Although Sacramento proclaims itself as being progressive and boasting a widely diverse populous there seems to be little exposure much less need for completely vegan restaurants. This could be chalked up to lack of promotion done by the restaurants or their often times out-of the way locations, most often in gutted out strip malls. This is not to say that there is a lack of enthusiasm by the general public for vegan cuisine.

Local newspapers also provide a complete lack of information about vegan food and its availability in restaurants in their Food and Wine sections; in fact, it is increasingly frustrating to read all carnivorous writing by food critics in the greater Sacramento area. This leaves many local vegans in the dark about their options when dining in some of Midtown’s popular restaurants.

A while back ideas where being tossed around about building an all- vegan buffet on the Grid in Midtown but it seems that the city got cold feet and the idea was abandoned in its building stages.

Don’t get me wrong Sacramento is home so some of the finest examples of vegan cuisine. The vegan drumstick hot pot at Andy Nguyen’s on Broadway is enough to make you believe in edible nirvana and our own local Co-Op is home to some of the best Kung-Pao tofu around however, these places are not the ones that many financially conscience college students can dine at on a weekly basis. What Sacramento needs are more restaurants that those who choose to indulge in meat-less entrees can meet with their friends and eat cheaply and heartily without having to settle for a substituted Boca patty with greasy fries.

According to Kat Martin, a local vegan, “There are definitely vegan options at restaurants but none of them really make you want to stand up and be vegan.”

At a time when many Americans are watching their wallets shrink and opting for the 99 cent value menu, Sacramento should take a leaf from some of its Bay Area brothers, there is a need for affordable vegan-friendly cuisine in this town. Until then I’m grateful that Trader Joe’s accepts EBT.