Life on The Veg: Bakin' BBQ at Avanti Cafe

The darling of Costa Mesa's vegetarian and vegan eateries, Avanti Cafe does healthy eating with a fervor you can taste in every delectably seasoned bite. In addition to its generous selection of Italian and Southwestern inspired dishes, this cafe is open until 10 p.m. on most nights so you can dine on your own shedule.

This week's featured dish is the bakin' BBQ, a hearty, 100% vegan-friendly sandwich that blows your typical veggie BLT out of the water. The bakin' BBQ neither relies on dried out strips of soy protein for flavor, nor does it use unnecessarily large quantities of lettuce or tomato to fill you up. Instead, you encounter thick slices of rich avocado, and juicy strips of smoked tempeh bakin' at the sandwich's core.

A smokey tomato and tomatillo confit adds a wonderful kick to the light BBQ flavor, but doesn't hit you hard enough to make your salivary glands sting. Round this off with the satisfying crunch of brilliantly toasted 10-grain bread and you've got yourself the perfect lunch.

Did we mention that this dish comes with a heaping helping of Avanti tater fries? Read on for more juicy details.

For the famished diner, the Avanti guacamole del mundo is quick and ridiculously tasty way to curb that appetite. The guacamole is filled with sizable chunks of fresh avocado and seasoned to perfection with a Yemen spice blend called “Zhug.” The corn and Ezekiel multi-grain tortilla crisps have a killer crunch and go great with the dip. Caution: this dish isn't for those with an aversion to onions. The recipe uses a generous amount of red onions for a powerful punch that has the ability to either leave you crying tears of joy or sorrow.

Bon appétit!

Avanti Cafe
259 E. 17th St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949-548-2224

Hours
Mon-Fri: 11am – 10pm
Sat: 1030am – 10pm
Sun: 1030am – 8pm