Although the salads at Veggie Grill are plenty big for any appetite, the sandwiches are the culinary cornerstones of the restaurant. And easily the best meal between a bun is the Santa Fe crispy chickin’ sandwich. The sandwich takes the restaurant’s presumably patented chillin’ chickin’ and cuts it into a fat patty, then fries it and piles on lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado and southwestern-spiced vegan mayo—the whole thing is so tall it nearly teeters. But what’s most remarkable about the sandwich is that it keeps a crunch that’s almost never found in such fake meat. Not only does the sandwich best its fellow vegetarians, but it tops even the most perfect poultry, too.

VEGGIE GRILL 4213 CAMPUS DR | IRVINE 92612 | 949.509.0003 | VEGGIEGRILL.COM | OPEN EVERY DAY 11AM-10PM | FOOD FOR TWO $20-30 | BEER, WINE

Tags: dinner, irvine, lunch, sandwiches, vegetarian, veggie grill