By admin 
Earlier this year, Sacramento’s beloved local vegetarian and vegan restaurant, Mother, closed its doors.
Read more Placer County sees 1st human West Nile virus case; Sacramento area hits 4 deaths
The loss “left a significant gap in the local veg-friendly dining scene,” wrote The Sacramento Bee’s food reporter Sean Timberlake at the time of the closure.
It’s hard to operate a restaurant these days in general, and perhaps especially difficult for vegetarian and vegan restaurants facing a protein-seeking public.
However, California has long been considered a region that values vegetable-forward cuisine. And many Californian cities, including Sacramento, are known to have great vegetarian and vegan restaurant options.
Recently, the personal finance website WalletHub published a list of the nation’s best and worst cities for vegans and vegetarians. The ratings were based 17 “key indicators,” such as the affordability of groceries minus meat, the number of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the area, the city’s ranking on Grubhub’s “List of Cities Most Likely to Order Vegetarian or Vegan,” the number of farmer’s markets, and the average cost of a plant-based meal.
Out of 100 cities, where did Sacramento rank?
What are the best and worst cities in California for vegans, vegetarians?
Unsurprisingly, California was well-represented when it came to the top 10 best cities for plant-based cuisine in the U.S., even though the top spot went to a northern neighbor.
- 1. Portland, OR
- 2. Los Angeles, CA
- 3. Austin, TX
- 4. San Francisco, CA
- 5. Oakland, CA
- 6. Seattle, WA
- 7. Orlando, FL
- 8. San Diego, CA
- 9. Madison, WI
- 10. Tampa, FL
Two California cities landed themselves on the list of 10 worst cities for vegan and vegetarian lifestyles:
Read more SUV crashes into Cameron Park hair salon. 1 evaluated for injuries, Cal Fire says
- 91. Winston-Salem, NC
- 92. Baltimore, MD
- 93. Buffalo, NY
- 94. Fort Worth, TX
- 95. San Jose, CA
- 96. North Las Vegas, NV
- 97. Chula Vista, CA
- 98. Memphis, TN
- 99. Anchorage, AK
- 100. Durham, NC
Where does Sacramento rank as a city for vegans, vegetarians?
On WalletHub’s list, Sacramento ranked 27th. While not in the top 10 with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego, it did beat out Stockton (#29), Fremont (#45), and San Jose (#95).
Grocery and restaurant prices played a role in many of these rankings. San Jose and Fremont are high cost-of-living places, and WalletHub ranked them at #94 and #90 in their “Affordability” rankings.
San Francisco enjoyed a high overall score, coming in first for the quality and variety of its local plant-based cuisine as well as its vibrant local vegetarian community. San Francisco was ranked last by WalletHub when it came to affordable vegetarian food, an assessment which included cost of groceries, average meal cost, and the “availability of affordable, highly rated restaurants serving vegan & vegetarian options.”
Sacramento came in at #60 for food affordability, and at #50 for overall vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. However, it ranked #24 when it came to what WalletHub called the “Diversity, Accessibility, and Quality” of its plant-based food options.
Where can you find vegan and vegetarian food in the Sacramento area?
Earlier this year, The Sacramento Bee published a database of area restaurants that either specialize in vegan or vegetarian food, or offer extensive plant-based menu options. With everything from vegan pastries to vegetarian lunch buffets, there’s something for everyone.
Read more What’s next for the state worker telework bill? Its author offers scenarios