Vegan Chef Challenge: 58 Degrees & Holding

Next up on the list of restaurants that I “tasted” for the Vegan Chef Challenge, is 58 Degrees & Holding. This is a classy little wine bar and restaurant featuring wine tasting, small plates, and robust meals.

I didn’t get a chance to speak with the chef but I must say, I loved the place’s atmosphere. With a bar, tall and short, lounge style tables, a dining room, and a wine tasting area, I’m going to try my best to get to 58 Degrees again, soon.

On 58’s Vegan Chef Challenge menu, the Executive Chef F.J Villalobos came up with some original and amazing creations.

The menu included a few different Asian-inspired dishes. Appetizers of either Pho Soup or Mushrooms Trio, the mushroom “small plate” was excellent. The photos above and below is the mushroom dish made up of confit portabello, tempura trumpets, pickled hedgehogs, and a creamy and fluffy sauce beneath. OutOfControl amazing.

Then we got dinner… Soybean Bulgogi: kim chee, incredible smoked tofu, broccoli rabe, cucumbers, seaweed rice,  served with seaweed rice and subtle yet spicy Korean BBQ flavors.

And then there was dessert. Caramelized banana plantains, vegan peanut butter gelato, and creamy chocolate mousse. Oddly, I was way too full to even take a bit of dessert but I heard it was excellent.

The wine was just as tasty as the dishes we paired the meal with, all reds and perhaps a sweet white dessert glass or two. Yet another fabulous place to try out if you’re in the Sacramento area. If nothing else, get the mushrooms!

Ready for another restaurant review…?