Thai Chili, Elk Grove, CA

Elk Grove, CA is a city in the middle of nowhere land where vegans go to die. Okay, maybe I'm being dramatic, but, seriously, finding vegan food here is a challenge to say the least. When in doubt, head to your local Thai restaurant and hope they don't think fish is a vegetable. Not willing to take a chance, I called ahead to Thai Chili and they actually sounded pretty accommodating.

It was a Saturday night and they were pretty busy so instead of sitting in the main dining room, we were seated in their new "banquet room," which was really just another dining room that was more narrow than the main one. I immediately inquired as to what was actually vegan on their vegetarian menu and, surprisingly, most of the non-noodle dishes were. They do not use fish sauce in the vegetarian dishes. Yay!

So, Zach and I started with Thai Chili's Crispy Tofu, which was tofu deep-fried, then stir-fried with tamarind sauce. I had never had fried tofu with tamarind sauce before and thought it was a delightful combination.  And, for only $4.95, you can't beat the price.

For my entree, I had the Eggplant in Spicy Red Chili Sauce. It was your classic stir-fried veggies in sauce. The tofu was sauteed with eggplant, onions, snow peas, broccoli, green peppers, onions, and carrots in a spicy red chili sauce with Thai basil leaves.

Zach had the Bangkok Street Noodles, which consisted of tofu sauteed with snow peas, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, carrots, green onions, and cilantro in soy garlic gravy on a bed of steamed wide flat rice noodles with bean sprouts.

Hey, for being out in the middle of nowhere, we were delighted at the quality of food. And, for only $20, we had a complete dinner for two! There was even enough food for lunch the next day. I'd eat here again in a heartbeat. It ain't fine dining, but it sure beats the other options in the neighborhood. Now you know of yet another option in Elk Grove, CA!

Thai Chili
8696 Elk Grove Blvd. #5
Elk Grove, CA 95624
(916) 714-3519