With the goal of always wanting to try a different outtake in making dishes without the use of meat, executive chef Mike Thiemann is finally able to create  gourmet vegetarian food for Sacramento to enjoy.

His restaurant Mother, located at 1023 K Street, opened in January and is bringing a different perspective on vegetarian and vegan food, making meat lovers appreciate farm fresh produce a little more.

Thiemann, who is also the co-executive head chef, said traveling the world to places including New Zealand, Tahiti and Hawaii gave him his culinary training.

“Going around [the world] brings in a lot of different experiences and ideas about how food can be prepared,” Thiemann said. “It really influenced what [Mother] became.”

When Thiemann returned to Sacramento, he saw the opportunity and inspiration in making the most of the valleys agricultural bounty and created a restaurant that highlights fresh seasonal produce from Sacramento area farms.

As Mother is committed to using primarily locally sourced ingredients, it’s menu rotates and is rewritten every three months in accordance to the changing seasons.

According to both Thiemann and his Co-Executive Chef Matt Masera, Mother’s most popular dishes are the “Deep Fried Mushrooms” served with a lemon cilantro dressing and the gluten free “Chile Verde”, made with hominy, pinto beans, smoked jalapeno peppers and mozzarella cheese.

Other dishes on the menu include the “Watanabe House Salad” with arugula, avocado, carrots, red onions with roasted beets and lemon vinaigrette, to savory inventions like the “Portobello Poutine” with mushroom gravy and soy curd instead of meat gravy and cheese.

Thiemann said he enjoys the challenge and the hard work of running a kitchen with a constantly changing arsenal of ingredients.

“When cooking with meat, you have chicken, beef, pork, lamb, and if you’re lucky, duck,” Thiemann said. “Those are five different flavors you can work with. But with vegetables, there are hundreds of different flavors and tastes that one can work with, and they all change every three months.”

Masera said most of the time a typical dish is eighty percent vegetables with the meat as the centerpiece and said his biggest challenge is to recreate a signature taste with vegetables as the main focus.

While everything on Mother’s menu may be vegetarian, it’s certainly well-rounded and filling.

“As a self-professed carnivore, I would come back here any day,” said customer Alia Kuykendall. “I love the flavor, and everything is surprisingly filling. It’s done in a way that I don’t even miss the meat.”

Mother’s long, single room is lined with minimalist style booths and tables, as well as a wine tasting bar, a corner high counter and a small patio. Abstract water paintings lend some  sophistication, while the wall chalkboard menus and friendly service give it a casual feeling.

“It’s very urban-lite,” Kuykendall said. “It’s a very fun little place.”

After being a chef for 14 years and working with Thiemann for seven, Masera said his favorite part about Mother is the atmosphere it generates both in the kitchen and out.

“Both the customers and the staff have created a fun and loose sort of culture,” Masera said. “The food makes it feel like a fine dining establishment, but you get to show up wearing whatever and not have a head chef barking at you.”

While there may be plans for future Mother locations in places like Davis, Thiemann is content with where they are now.