Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City was where we began and ended our trip. Since my last visit there thirteen years ago, vegetarian restaurants have bloomed. We only got a chance to try two of the new ones, plus a visit to one a veg-friendly establishment that we had enjoyed on our last trip there. My favorite was the entirely plant-based Vertical Diner. Our GPS led us to this little building which popped up unexpectedly in what otherwise seemed to be a warehouse district. I had the jalepeno burger, made with black beans, grains, and spices, topped with guacamole and jalepeno peppers on a delicious whole grain roll. We looked longingly at the dessert list (including a root beer float, peanut butter brownie sundae, and a Shoofly cake) but I ultimately had to yield to my rule of not having dessert until after dinner (kind of like Mark Bittman's Vegan Before Six). We also tried the sister restaurant Sage's Cafe, again all vegan, , and there I did get dessert, a luscious raspberry brownie sundae, which was the high point there.

At Oasis Cafe, the vegan options were more limited. I chose the eggplant steak over risotto, and realized once again that risotto is far too creamy for my taste. And it was another dish that would have tasted better with the cheese left on:



When will plant-based cheeses become as widely available as nondairy milks?

The tomato fennel soup was wonderful, carroty and creamy without dairy. But the real reason we chose Oasis for dinner was the vegan chocolate cake served with soy ice cream. Yuuummmm. Dessert is entirely not worth it unless it's chocolate, and chocolate cake is not worth it without ice cream.