Zest Kitchen  //  Brightly colored walls and brightly colored food—that’s how I like my dining experiences to be, and Zest Kitchen delivers both. At this vegan restaurant, vibrant interiors pair nicely with creative offerings, fresh ingredients and a cheerful atmosphere. It seems like they have a loyal following among the vegan and non-vegan crowd alike, gauging by how many people I saw coming in to pick up orders or gather around multicolored tables. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I ordered the Quinoa Wrap. I chose to have mine in a spinach tortilla, and it came with garden vegetables that included bell peppers in a rainbow of colors, cucumbers, red onions, lettuce, avocado (extra), carrots, cilantro-lime quinoa and a “cheesy” chipotle sauce. This was no meager portion, mind you. The wrap had been stuffed to gigantic proportions and made for a very substantial and visually appealing meal. I’ve never enjoyed so many vegetables so much for so long (it took me a while to get through the entire thing)—and it was a welcome change. My accompanying drink also doubled up as dessert and breakfast the following morning. It was the Dark Velvet smoothie that had cacao powder, spinach, frozen bananas and raw agave nectar. It was heavenly. Sweet, healthy and guilt-free, it checked all the right boxes—much like Zest Kitchen as a whole. Healthy? Check. Yummy? Check. Satisfying? Double check. Zest Kitchen, 2620 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1, Rocklin, 916-824-1688.

By Tara Mendanha // Photo by Dante Fontana © Style Media Group