I had a pleasant few days hanging around collegetown Fort Collins CO for a conference, getting my first serve of tempeh in weeks and lunching daily at Whole Foods. On my way out of the state I stopped in Denver for a day and two nights; this was enough time to explore the impressive Denver Art Museum (see slideshow above), try a couple of local veg*n eateries and stock up once more at my now-beloved Whole Foods.
On my first evening I walked across to WaterCourse Foods, which Michael had read about online just a few days earlier. It's a charming contemporary vegan restaurant where a lone diner can easily grab a seat at the bar without a reservation. The lone diner is likely to curse themselves, however, for only having the capacity to order one meal: the all-day breakfast menu alone holds a dozen excellent options, then there's the vegan deviled egg appetizer, cauliflower 'wings', eight sandwiches, four salads, nine mains and fifteen sides.
I ultimately ordered the "chicken" & waffles (US$11 ~ AU$11.80) with sweet tea syrup. The waffles were soft and savoury with corn and chives, light rather than doughy. The firm tofu "chicken" was more substantial, with a sublime toasted-herb crumb. I ate perhaps 60% of this, had the remainder boxed up, eating it for breakfast the following morning.
____________
City O' City was my top-priority restaurant when I researched Denver eating, and it happens to be a sister restaurant to WaterCourse. It's also just a couple blocks from the Art Museum. The spacious layout and convenient counter option mirror WaterCourse, though the atmosphere is a little grungier. The menu's vegetarian rather then vegan, but the wealth of enticing dishes is similarly paralysing.
In spite of their four waffle options, I tried out the breakfast hash (US$9 ~ AU$9.60). This hefty bowl of charred potatoes and onions, smoky tempeh bacon, sauteed kale, zucchini and carrot ribbons was topped with gravy and scrambled tofu - all the carbs and protein I needed for hours of art exploration and some city wandering. I loved their sunny sixties soundtrack just as much as the food. If only every weekend could include a stop by City O' City.
