Eat More Plants in April with the First Annual Santa Barbara Vegan Chef Challenge!

Photo/Design Credit: Emily J. Hara / @grassmaven on Instagram

About a year ago I had the pleasure of meeting Beth Wettstein over coffee. She kindly reached out when I first launched Plant Based Santa Barbara and shared her vision and passion to encourage more plant-centered options in our local Santa Barbara-area restaurants. I was so inspired meeting her and am so happy for her and excited for all of us that she and her team have brought her vision to life with the first annual Santa Barbara Vegan Chef Challenge - and it’s coming up for the entire month of April!!

This is the time to eat out friends! Eighteen of the hippest local restaurants are participating in the challenge from Los Alamos to Santa Barbara and all the way down to Ventura. If you’d love to try new delicious plant-based foods, this is such a wonderful opportunity! If you’re already eating largely plant-based, please hop out to support local restaurants and help show Santa Barbara how much we appreciate having more options on tap. And get ready to vote on your favorites!!

So what is the Santa Barbara Vegan Chef Challenge? Here’s some background, straight from the challenge -

Inspired by the Sacramento Vegan Chef Challenge, Santa Barbara area restaurants are gearing up for the first-ever Vegan Chef Challenge in April. The fun, friendly competition is a month-long event challenging participating chefs to create delicious, savory vegan dishes for all patrons to enjoy. 

“Our goal is to promote awareness of the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle while encouraging more healthful vegan menu options at local restaurants,” said Beth Wettstein, a vegan since 2010, and the organizer of the Vegan Chef Challenge. “We hope to encourage everyone, not just vegans, to try out a dish.”

To participate, restaurants must agree to provide a complete vegan dining experience. To be considered vegan, ingredients must be free of dairy products, eggs, cheese, butter, meat, fish, poultry, whey, casein, gelatin, and glycerin (unless vegetable-sourced). 

Restaurants are also required to offer at least three new menu items throughout the month that are different from vegan options found on their regular menu and are not available year-round. Oil-free, low-fat, and gluten-free options are also encouraged, but not required. 

“Too often, the vegan option at restaurants is a salad or a veggie burger,” said Wettstein. “We want people to see that going vegan doesn’t mean giving up exciting, flavorful food.” 

Participating restaurants include Satellite, Bibi Ji, Sama Sama Kitchen, Mesa Verde, Khao Keung, Uncorked Wine Tasting and Kitchen, Viva Modern Mexican, Chase Bar & Grill, Bella Vista at The Four Seasons, Opal, Mosto Crudo, Padaro Beach Grill, Black Sheep, Pico at the Los Alamos General Store, The Lark, Les Marchands, Tyger Tyger, and Sea Ranger Seafood Station in Ventura.

Categories include breakfast/brunch, appetizer, soup/salad, main entrée, and dessert. Awards in each category will be based on diner comments, photos, and the dining experiences of the Vegan Chef Challenge organizing team members. Chefs will be recognized at a special ceremony in May. 

To learn how to participate as a guest for this year’s challenge, visit www.theveganchefchallenge.com/santa-barbara. A voting system will be available online at that link starting April 1. 

Members of the Santa Barbara Vegan Chef Challenge organizing committee will not receive compensation from this event. 

About The Vegan Chef Challenge

Vegan Chef Challenge started in Sacramento eight years ago and has since spread to other cities, including Reno, NV; Davis, CA; and Bull City, NC. 

The Vegan Chef Challenge was brought about to not only show the community how amazing vegan food is, but to bring the non-vegan and vegan communities together to share great food. It is also a way to show local restaurants the monetary benefits of offering vegan food on their menus. The competition seeks to encourage chefs, in a fun and exciting way, to push their creativity when creating their menus.

About Vegan Outreach

Founded in 1993, Vegan Outreach is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Davis, Calif. working to end violence toward animals. Vegan Outreach seeks a future when sentient animals are no longer exploited as commodities.

Vegan Outreach focuses on reaching the people who are motivated enough to make changes now and to provide additional encouragement. By steadily increasing the number of vegans, the organization is laying the groundwork to more quickly reach a tipping point.

Plant-Friendly Hotspot: Ah Juice

Ah Juice
432 East Haley Street, Downtown
Santa Barbara
juice@ahjuice.com
Cafe Order Line 805-698-1032
Juice Ordering & Delivery: 805-698-5443

I recently checked out local juicery and cafe Ah Juice with one of my Little Earthlings - I can't believe we hadn't been there before! A friend had been telling us for some time how delicious and plant-friendly Ah Juice is - and she was right!

This sweet little, all organic cafe is full of light and you can spot it by the red umbrellas on the front patio - located just up from The Mill on East Haley Street. Just one peak at their website and you can see how thoughtfully they approach their food philosophy. Their menu is super fresh, locally sourced, and organic with lots of plant-friendly options.

Ah Juice, Haley Street

Ah Juice ordering. Super sunny! :)

Vegan options for breakfast and lunch include oatmeals, salads, sandwiches, and wraps plus an extensive juice, smoothie, and specialty drink menu (check out their menu here!). Their coffee menu is also organic, which is a fun find. While their menu isn't fully plant-based, there are many plant-based/vegan and easily modified options. Here's what me and my Little Earthling got at our visit + some to share with the family at home:

1. Kale Caesar Salad, add avocado and tempeh (delish!)

2. Vegan Coconut Thai Hummus Wrap (also super fresh and delicious)

3. Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwich with red peppers on the side for the kids (With The Cultured Culture's plant-based cheese - my Little Earthlings enjoyed it!:))

Their food was light and not overfilling. Next time I'd pair our lunch orders with a smoothie - partly because I was still just a bit hungry (although I was pregnant at the time;)), and partly because their smoothies just sound so darn good. Since their menu is not entirely vegan, be sure to clarify that you're looking for 100% plant-based and they can easily guide you! Salads can be made with no-oil dressing if you're looking for no oil and some non-vegan items can be made plant based just by taking off the cheese or subbing in vegan cheese. 

I also found this little cafe to be super thoughtful. They took time and care in discussing their menu with customers and went into detail on the background of foods and ingredients as you order, so you don't have to feel rushed if it's your first time or if you're taking extra care to address dietary needs or preferences - or you just plain want to try something new. And after my visit I followed up with a few questions, and they very thoughtfully replied, including sharing the four tenets for which they base around their service. Here they are... They pay attention to:

• What they serve (does it nourish and taste good)

• How they conduct themselves as a business and how their actions affect others and the whole world-sentient and non sentient beings.

• What they can do better, more efficiently, as a business and as individuals,

• How they practice the highest level of sustainability.

Very cool. Overall, it was a very friendly environment, with yummy plant-based options including some nice options for kids, and a lovely back patio to gather at if you want a quieter spot to enjoy. Parking is all street parking so be sure to keep an eye out as you're approaching it. Enjoy! And thank you, Ah Juice!

Kaley Caesar Salad + Avo + Tempeh

Kids Vegan Grilled Cheese with Cultured Culture cheese & red peppers on the side

Vegan Coconut Thai Hummus Wrap

Lovely back patio @ Ah Juice!

Plant-Friendly Hotspot: Savoy Cafe and Deli (Downtown)

Savoy Cafe & Deli, Figueroa Street, Downtown Santa Barbara

Savoy Café and Deli is one the plant-friendliest go-to lunch, breakfast, dinner, snack, and dessert spots downtown. I love it! It calls my name a couple of times a month and when I discovered how plant-friendly they were, it seriously felt like Christmas. And honestly, it still feels like Christmas when I go into Savoy! We’re so lucky to have a number of restaurants in town with at least a couple of delicious vegan-friendly options on their menus, but Savoy has several. And vegan desserts!

I looooove their Vegan Breakfast Burrito which has a combination of quinoa, sweet potato, kale, tofu, and avocado with a side of pico de gallo (YUM). I order it cooked in water instead of oil, and often in a bowl instead of a wrap. It’s hardy and warm. Comfort food. Their El Cap Sandwich is another favorite which I usually get with a whole grain bread and hold the added the olive oil. It's a super delightful combination of portebellos, avocados, greens, and balsamic. But these aren't all of the options! Savoy truly makes it easy peasy to eat more plants in a not-so-vegan-focused restaurant environment. You can go and get multiple options no matter the time of day. So if you’re looking to up your plant-game or searching for a vegan-friendly hotspot in town, I hope to see you there. 

Here’s what you can find:

Vegan Breakfast Burrito (hold the tortilla), my fave

Vegan Breakfast (but really anytime) Burrito

Vegan Scramble

Wheat-free Hot Cereal and Irish Steel Cut Oats (with the option for fresh berries, nuts, and more!)

One of the happiest salad bars in town which includes organic tofu, dolmas, and dozens of plant-based options (many are organic!) - a variety of greens, tons of veggies, beans, nuts, and seeds. It's fun to shop this bar with your Little Earthlings so they can self select options yummy for their tummies.

A cold deli case with a few vegan options daily including a bright and varied fruit salad.

A daily vegan soup

Savoy Cafe & Deli Salad Bar (and it goes on!)

A hot deli hosting generally one to two vegan-friendly options.

Veggie Wrap

The El Cap Sandwich with portabello mushrooms

Or build your own sandwich! They even have veganaise if it suits your fancy.

Savoy Cafe & Deli Bakery Case
(The middle four items - cookies & cupcakes - are vegan!)

A vegan-friendly BAKERY! Savoy usually has one or two flavors of muffin/loafs a day, vegan cold desserts like “raw-nies”, vegan cookies, and vegan cupcakes! Everything I’ve had has been delicious and their chocolaty cupcakes are perfect for grabbing and going to a kids birthday party. Or order a whole vegan cake or tray of cupcakes or cookies for an event or class party! Their vegan and/or gluten-free cupcakes come with an extra charge, but it's exciting that you can order both (although you pay two separate add'l charges), making these the ultimate in people pleasing desserts. Ordering larger quantities can add up quickly, but for special occasions if you need a yummy premade option, or if you are in a bind, we’re pretty lucky to have this café ready to bake up vegan-friendly treats. You can even order a vegan pumpkin pie with dairy-free coconut whipped cream! 

Also check out their coffee bar for soy milk, almond milk, and coconut-almond milk options! They have coffee (including cold press live and in action in a slow-drip), espressos, loose leaf teas, and matchas! And steamers for the kids. Ooh and herbal lemonades. Swoon.

Be sure to double check that whatever you’re ordering is vegan, as you might with any restaurant when it’s your first plant-focused visit and as you’re getting familiar with a restaurant through a more plant-friendly lens. One more heart happy note - Savoy has always been willing to cook made-to-order hot items in water instead of oil. Amazing. This can be difficult to find in town!

So check them out and let us know what you think!

Here are the details, if you’re a Savoy Café and Deli newbie –

Savoy Café and Deli
www.thesavoycafe.com
24 West Figueroa Street
Santa Barbara

Parking lot behind or across the street off of Chapala or timed street parking throughout the adjoining neighborhood.

Happy dining!