At Violette’s Vegan
8560 W. Desert Inn Road, violettesvegan.com
Of the two main categories of vegan food, Violette’s Vegan falls squarely into the first: versions of omnivore classics minus the animal products. The other — original, plant-based dishes — requires a creative chef and intrepid diners. But the risk of the traditional knockoff approach is that people expect Tofurkey to taste like turkey (it doesn’t). The Violette Club demonstrates how the 1-year-old organic eatery and juice bar wins with this approach. The sandwich has the toasty crunch, salty crackle, meaty density and juicy succulence of the traditional club sandwich, albeit through a combination of herb-baked tofu, tempeh bacon, thin-sliced avocado, cucumber, lettuce and tomato and three layers of crispy sourdough slathered with vegan mayo and hemp pesto. Like Violette’s interpretation of barbecue, biscuits and gravy and the Philly steak and cheese, its club will have you wondering, Who needs meat?
