{"id":278982,"date":"2026-04-21T19:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/278982\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:36:11","slug":"allora-seasonal-vegetable-first-fine-dining-tasting-menus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/278982\/","title":{"rendered":"Allora: Seasonal, vegetable-first fine-dining tasting menus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea of a prix-fixe tasting menu tends to invoke the use of fancy ingredients, which invariably lean toward proteins: filet mignon, lobster, caviar and so on. It\u2019s an easy way to deliver a veneer of luxury, but doesn\u2019t necessarily require excellence in execution.<\/p>\n

Humble vegetables can be every bit as worthy of the luxe treatment, when put in the correct hands and not relegated to the role of supporting cast. At Allora, the fine-dining Italian restaurant in East Sacramento, chef Deneb Williams begins his entire process with vegetables.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was raised a vegetarian. My mom was a macrobiotic vegetarian my whole entire life. She still is; I only started eating meat when I started working in kitchens,\u201d he said. \u201cI do enjoy a steak every once in a while, but my passion for food is 100% about vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allora offers three-, four- and five-course tasting menus ($99-$159) in its serene dining room. Rather than just having one vegetarian or vegan dish per course, Allora\u2019s vegetarian menu is as fully realized as its ominvore counterpart, with multiple options to choose from \u2014 not just the requisite mushroom risotto.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t start with, I want to cook a duck breast or I want to cook a leg of lamb. I start with what\u2019s growing. And if you were to say to me, it\u2019s April, and what are you excited about cooking? I\u2019m about baby artichokes, fava beans, English peas, stinging nettles, Delta asparagus,\u201d Williams said. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s how menus are built. They\u2019re built vegetables-up and then I decide what proteins or what seafood or what technique really makes that vegetable shine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An An exterior view of Allora restaurant in East Sacramento. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

In fact, several of the dishes on the omnivorous menu are much the same as from the vegetarian menu, embellished with a protein for an additional layer of flavor and texture.<\/p>\n

For example, in the current spring menu, a verdant green spring pea vellutata stands on its own with watercress, a toast crisp, Marcona almonds and a lemon ricotta. On the other menu, some plump pickled shrimp are added for a burst of brightness and chew.<\/p>\n

\"A A pasta dish of bucatini with green garlic pur\u00e9e, crispy artichoke and capers is served at Allora in East Sacramento earlier this month. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Bucatini con le sarde, a classic Sicilian dish with sardines and anchovies, doesn\u2019t suffer from the pivot to going fishless, with capers filling in for the briny element. Green garlic puree and crispy artichokes bring spring\u2019s freshness.<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019s menu boasts \u201chyper-seasonality,\u201d as he focuses on what\u2019s at its peak in the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited about the first crop of stone fruit coming next month, apricots and cherries and the white peaches, you know, followed by the summertime vegetables of the eggplants and the heirloom tomato,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Williams acknowledges that a meal at Allora is a splurge, which is all the more reason to put vegetarian diners on the same pedestal as everyone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a special occasion restaurant. This might be the one nice meal (customers) have in the entire year, and it is very expensive. So that vegetarian or that vegan that is dining with us, I want them to leave feeling like they got an exceptional experience,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI think a lot of vegetarians dine at Allora, and it\u2019s an unexpected experience because it\u2019s not a vegetarian restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

If wine\u2019s your thing, it\u2019s worth splashing for the pairings ($70-$115). Sommelier Eric Dickinson-Hinojosa is certified not just as a regular somm, but also specifically as an Italian wine scholar. This is no small feat, as the landscape of Italian wine is more complex than most, with a dazzling array of varietals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re in the 3,000s now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With that diversity comes a bigger toolkit for pairing. This is useful for vegetarian dishes, especially in the springtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpring vegetables, artichokes, asparagus, spring peas, all these things are traditionally very challenging to pair, but Italian wine specifically brings a plethora of options to help. We\u2019re filled with all these mineral-driven, high-acid, lightly aromatic white wines that really help the vegetables shine,\u201d Dickinson-Hinojosa said.<\/p>\n

\"A A dessert of bomboloni with lemon curd, brown-butter tuile and toasted fennel lemon gelato is served at Allora in East Sacramento earlier this month. Sous chef Felix Navarro Jr. calls it the powerhouse of desserts and says it has been on the menu since the restaurant\u2019s opening. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Dessert is built into the tasting menu, and is worth the calories. The bombolini are a delight, tender fried balls of dough with lemon curd and toasted fennel ice cream. Vegan desserts can be more challenging, but Williams maintains he\u2019s up to the task.<\/p>\n

\u201cVegetarian is relatively easy. You just have to stay away from gelatin and things like that. But we\u2019re incredibly proud of our torta al cioccolato. I think I\u2019ll take the Pepsi Challenge with any chocolate dessert, it\u2019s just as good,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

Williams and his wife, Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou, opened a new Mediterranan restaurant, Aiona<\/a>, on Monday, April 20 at 1213 K St. in downtown.<\/p>\n

Allora<\/p>\n

Address: 5215 Folsom Blvd., East Sacramento<\/p>\n

Hours: 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays<\/p>\n

Phone: 916-538-6434<\/p>\n

Website: allorasacramento.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Vegetarian options: A fully realized vegetarian and vegan tasting menu is available<\/p>\n

Noise level: Quiet<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Sean Timberlake<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Sean Timberlake is the food and dining reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He has been writing professionally for nearly 30 years, and about food for 20. A variety of well-known outlets have published his work, including Food Network, Cooking Channel, CNN, Sunset Magazine and SF Weekly.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The idea of a prix-fixe tasting menu tends to invoke the use of fancy ingredients, which invariably lean…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-278982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}