Denver - to be exact it was 52 hours not 48 hours

So Denver - Day 3 - At the pool party the day before, I was told about a vegan restaurant, Watercourse.
http://watercoursefoods.com/  After a wonderful jog with Chad along Cherry Creek, we packed up and went to find Watercourse.  I believe it is in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  Once again, I thought I was in heaven, right on the menu- tons of vegan / gluten free options.  But of course the true test, is can Chad and I both enjoy a meal here??  There were literally so many things I wanted to try I didn't know where to start.  I ended up ordering two breakfast entrees AND a coconut milk/ cacao / banana smoothie.  Since going gluten free I have not had any pancakes.  I did not eat pancakes often before, but when I realized I could not have them, I seemed to think about them more!  They had gluten free / vegan pancakes on the menu - those were ordered along with a tofu scramble.  It was AMAZING.  The smoothie was more like a milkshake, the pancakes were perfect and the tofu scramble had more taste than any scramble I have had.  The tofu had peanut butter in it - sounds weird, but it worked.  The tofu also had broccoli and artichoke hearts, served with GF corn tortillas and potatoes.

Chad's meal before

 Now - did Chad enjoy this vegetarian restaurant???

Chad's meal after

INDEED.  Best biscuit he said he has ever had.






I finished the smoothie and tofu, but wrapped up the pancakes to take on the plane.  Then, we headed out to find Watercourse's BAKERY.  A few blocks away is their bakery, and next door is City o City where they sell and serve their bakery products, coffee and breakfast.  I walked into find a case filled with vegan treats!  And, gluten free muffins, cupcakes, keylime pie, and chocolate peanut butter pie. All VEGAN/ GF - are you kidding.  After much consternation I decided only the muffins would survive the plane ride. So I bought their 2 remaining GF muffins.  They were incredible.

Filled to the brim and carrying a bag of gluten free treats we got on the plane and headed back to ATL.

Denver Day 2 - Good friends

Day 2: Denver (wow it is taking me a long time to post blogs these days!).
We woke up early, still on East coast time, and decided to drive up to Boulder.  Chad went to school at University of Colorado so it is always fun for him to reminisce.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  It was hot, but not like in the South - no humidity.  If you are in the shade it is perfectly pleasant.  We got to Boulder so early that most of the brunch places were not even open.  We walked around for awhile and found Foolish Craigs.  Very fun atmosphere. I told our waiter that I needed a vegan / gluten free breakfast - and once again was greeted with "no problem."  I had a delicious tofu scramble with spinach, tomatoes, onions, etc in a GF sauce and a side of potatoes.


Walking around Boulder was so uplifting.  Everyone seemed so healthy.  People were biking everywhere.  Most of the shops were geared towards outdoor activities.  A great life indeed!

That afternoon we meet up with Chad's good friends from college and hung out by a pool for awhile then headed to dinner. 

This weekend I was around Chad's friends whom some I had just met, but after about 5 minutes, I felt like I knew all of them for a long time.  It was really nice to be in a different city with new people but to not feel like an outsider.  They were incredible to talk with and very interested in and accepting of the way I eat.  I enjoyed going to dinner in Denver at Little Ollie's a sushi place.  http://littleolliescherrycreek.com/
Usually, sushi isnt too difficult, you can always order veggie sushi rolls.  But with the new GF restriction, it is harder because soy sauce has gluten.  When I ordered, I asked the waiter to make sure none of the sauce on the veggie roll I ordered had gluten.  She said no problem and without me asking, brought  GF soy sauce to our table!  And, they had a creative selection of veggie rolls, not just the plain cucumber or avocado rolls I end up ordering at other places.  Our table had a thought provoking conversation about food, and there was no judgement (I hope they didn't feel any frm me!) or anyone saying, well you SHOULD eat this way or you are not eating enough protein!  And, even better that we indulged in more conversation topics than just food. 

Thanks Denver for being so accepting and for offering so many selections!

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...