48 Hr. Denver Adventure - Day 1 - "solving the omnivores dilemna"

Chad and I had an amazing weekend get away to Denver, CO.  It was one of the best 48 hours I have spent in a long time.  We chose Denver for several reasons, our favorite band was playing at Red Rocks (I had never been to RR), Chad's best friends from college live in Denver, along with several of our good friends from ATL, and, to top it off, it was Chad's birthday.   To make things even better good friends of ours from Atlanta joined us for the first half of our trip. 

www.rootdowndenver.com

The trip began at 6:30am (4:30am Denver time).  Our friends pick us up and we head to the airport.  (I thankfully had Sally's Bakery GF/ vegan muffins in the freezer, so that went into my carry on.)  - Note this post should also be called What delicious things I found to eat in 48 hours.  Travel was uneventful besides the 40 + year old plane.  Found a vegan / GF bar in the airport to eat.  Drive into Denver.  Our good friend from Atlanta, who is also best known for introducing me to Virginia Highlands, and all the good eateries in the hood at that time, says he is available for brunch and knows of a perfect place. The four of us head to the Highland neighborhood in Denver to a restaurant called Root Down.  We step out of the car into the most beautiful weather, clear blue skies, bright, bright sun and CLEAN air.  We look one way and see mountains, the other way, downtown Denver and finally our eyes rest upon this very cool converted old garage:

 Our friend and his new baby took us to our seat out on the patio.  We were all starving so I really hoping there would be something tasty for me to eat.  I look at the menu and after noting the BOTTOMLESS blood orange mimosas, I spotted the little symbols for Gluten Free and Vegan.  And low and behold, there were several items on their menu that had both symbols beside them!  I have YET to see this in Atlanta.  I ordered the tofu scramble and of course the bottomless mimosa.  It was the most satisfying, delicious brunch I have ever had.  And right on the menu it states:


At Root Down we pride ourselves on
striving to solve the ‘Omnivore’s Dilemma.’ We
have created a dining spot where all dietary needs will be accommodated, including vegetarian,
vegan, raw and gluten free; also allergies
or intolerances are always handled professionally
by the kitchen team. Our menu has icons reflecting this philosophy, though we always request you
notify your server of specific needs. We
look forward to seeing you soon!

 THIS is what I am talking about.  PLEASE can we start this trend in Atlanta.  Everyone else at my table loved their meal as much as I did, and we all had different eating styles.  We ate in a very trendy, popular place, it did not feel "crunchy" and we all had great meals whether we were vegetarian, GF/ vegan, or meat eaters.  After our meal we headed down the street to Lola's to check out another amazing view, to meet up with my friends amazing wife and to have another drink.  
We retreated to our hotel to rest up and gear up for Red Rocks.  Then we met up with Chad's college buddies to begin our journey with Studebaker.  Yes, that was our driver's name and yes, we should have been forewarned when he introduced himself.  Red Rocks was truly incredible,  it is all that people say it is - no words to describe, only something you must experience in person.  Then we headed back down to Denver with Stew da baker.  In our bed at 1:30am.  Ouch.  On to day 2...