Moncai Vegan: 100% Vegan

NORTH PARK. Participating in Meatless Monday just got easier. Moncai Vegan has partnered up with Mike Hess Brewing to serve delicious vegan dinner and dessert starting every Monday at 4pm.

Each week, partners Don Jackson and Princesa Vitela create and serve a new vegan meal. On Monday, I showed up hungry. So obviously I decided to try one of everything!

First up was the Cauliflower and Potato Soup with fall greens, served with a side of bread. The soup was strikingly flavorful, and the potatoes, cauliflower, and kale were tender, but not mushy. (Expertly done.) The bread – topped with a garlic and kalamata olive spread – was a special treat and perfect for dunking in the soup!

Next, we tried the Roasted Vegetable Lasagna with Creamy Kale Sauce which came with Caesar Salad, and a side of bread. I love that Moncai served an entrée that is normally full of meat, cheese, and dairy, because the easy comparison showcases how vegan food can just as easily be comfort food. Sandwiched between layers of firm noodles, the zucchini and broccoli burst with flavor. The creamy sauce was decadent. And all stray pieces of lasagna were quickly mopped up by my bread!

The vegan caesar salad was fresh, crisp, and delicious – the perfect complement to the warm, filling lasagna.

There were two doughnut options: (1) chocolate topped with vegan marshmallows and (2) vanilla topped with pistachios. And the chefs told me that they had mixed Hess beer into the doughnut batter. Wow! It was a tough choice with no wrong answer. Ultimately, however, my sweet tooth decided the issue and I walked away with the chocolate version. A masterpiece. It was dense, rich, and deeply satisfying. And how in the world did they make these vegan marshmallows?

Monvai Vegan does not have a storefront. Yet. They are currently fundraising to open a bakery in North Park and hope to have it open in the next 4-5 months. They are using IndiGoGo as one of their fundraising tools:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/moncai

So where can you find Moncai until the bakery opens? Happily, they go to a variety of farmers markets. There’s probably one near you! For a full list of the markets Moncai attends, click on:

http://moncai-vegan.com/where-to-find-us/

Moncai is excellent at updating their website to reflect the current menu. For their current selection, check out:

http://moncai-vegan.com/

Mike Hess Brewing

3812 Grim Ave.

San Diego, CA 92104

619.786.4377