denver: i went. i ate. i left, albeit begrudgingly.

denver is such an awesome city. i truly fell in love with it when i visited. and i feel like there is a real sense of historic pride in lots of denver merchants, which i found really endearing. lots of pictures and postcards of old denver and even (at watercourse) murals depicting colorado folk tales acted out by animals. i can't wait to go back.

the first restaurant i visited was watercourse foods, where i shared a meal with lots of lovely friends, new and old. isa, john & i shared the blackened tofu caesar salad:


and then i tucked into the fried artichoke hearts po'boy, with sides of steamed greens and onion rings that were otherworldly good:


after lunch, SWEET ACTION! the creamiest, best vegan ice cream i've ever had. they always have a couple of vegan flavors and i tried both - colorado peach and chocolate:


i attended a superfun wedding with tons of great vegan food and the next day went to watercourse's southwest counterpart, city, o' city. i had a few seitan wings:

and the sherman, a great sandwich made with dry-rubbed bbq tofu, cole slaw, and pickle relish. also, perfectly salty and kind of greasy fries.


wolfe's barbeque is something of a denver institution, i gather, and although it's mostly meaty bbq, wolfe (who singlehandedly runs the place) also serves bbq tofu and vegetarian bbq beans. so i tried both:


i went back to watercourse for dinner. country-fried seitan, mashed potatoes, and mixed veg make for the perfect comfort food. i only wish the seitan had been fried in a pan, not a fryer. but who am i to complain?


finally, my last and most favorite food in all of denver (thus far) - the vegan bánh mì from the steamin' demon, watercourse/city, o' city's food cart. tempeh bacon, chipotle aioli, jalapeño, cucumber, sprouts, pickled daikon & carrots, and cilantro = a recipe for satisfaction. i ate this right before driving out to the rockies, where my love for colorado was cemented.


i'll be back, colorado. you can bank on it.