Organic Restaurants in Denver: Healthy Dining Choices
Industrialization and advances in technology have made it hard to live a healthy life today. From production to making, almost every food is changed in some way. The rise of non-organic food and the number of people eating it have been linked to serious health problems, such as long-term lifestyle diseases.
Besides reading labels, which some are not specific, it’s hard to know if a food is organic. That can be more challenging if you are eating out and not cooking at home. Speaking of which, are there restaurants in Denver selling organic foods? What are those restaurants, anyway? Read on to learn more about different organic restaurants in Denver, Colorado.
Organic Restaurants In Denver, Colorado
True Food Kitchen
True Food Kitchen is situated at 2800 East 2nd Avenue Unit 101, Denver, Colorado 80206. This restaurant is part of a unique chain of restaurants dedicated to serving healthy meals and snacks. The founder of True Food Kitchen, Dr Andrew Weil, is an experienced and well-respected integrative medicine doctor.
This restaurant’s menu is based on the food guide pyramid and foods that help fight inflammation. A food guide pyramid is simply a tool to plan individuals’ meal types and portions. The pyramid categorizes foods into six food groups: the one at the base should be consumed in the highest amounts and the one at the top in the lowest amounts. Carbohydrates are usually at the bottom, with sweets and fats at the top.
As for the foods fighting inflammation, these are foods mostly from plant sources that contain antioxidants that oxidizes free radicals, fighting inflammation in the process. Examples include carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplants, etc.
Everything served at True Food Kitchen is healthy and fresh from the farm. This restaurant serves different salads, bowls, grass-fed beef burgers, and turkey burgers, among other exceptional wraps and sandwiches.
Typical foods include grilled sustainable salmon ( made with quinoa, farro, zucchini, cherry tomato, asparagus, lemon oregano vinaigrette, snap pea, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and pesto) alongside gluten-free lasagna bolognese (which contains fennel chicken sausage, organic spinach, ricotta, mushroom, and herbs.
Root Down
As an honor to the late Jimmy Smith, who is a legendary 1960s jazz musician, Root Down provides vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. It also focuses more on sustainable, locally grown, and organic ingredients. Operating seven days a week from 7 AM – 8 AM, Root Down is located at 1600 West 33rd Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80211.
Typical breakfast includes:
- Gluten-free biscuits and gravy (antelope sausage gravy, home fries and arugula, and chipotle hone).
- Steel-cut oats (with brown sugar, vanilla coconut milk, raspberry jam, and almonds).
- Almond buttermilk pancakes ( with strawberry jam and muesli granola).
As for lunch, typical meals include shoyu ramen soup ( with kombu broth, yakisoba noodles, radish, mushroom, shoyu egg, kimchi, bok choy, and guanciale bacon), chile crunch duck wings ( with scallion, maple leaf duck, and super-speed mix), and beet and goat cheese salad ( made with arugula, toasted hazelnuts, radish, basil vin, and beet-sunflower pesto).
El Five
El five is situated at 2930 Umatilla Streets 5th Floor in Denver, Colorado. This organic restaurant provides spectacular city views of Denver’s downtown skyline and is open outdoors ( be it permitting or pick up and delivery) and indoors.
Standard meals eaten for dinner in this restaurant include food platters and shareable meals like spreads of the med (including muhammara, peanut, and charred hummus, artichokes, Turkish eggplant, and house-made pita, tapas de Gibraltar favorites like crispy cauliflower yufka ( made with chickpeas, tahini, pine nuts, cumin rouille, and avocado fattoush), and butter poached lobster (made with bottarga, kumquats, asparagus, chilies, radish, green sorrel puree, and fregola).
The Corner Beet
This restaurant is situated at 1401 North Ogden Street in Denver, Colorado 80218, and is open seven days a week. As for the working hours, check their official website. The Corner Beet serves 100% organic, locally grown, and homemade produce. This restaurant specializes in classic and Mediterranean-style breakfast and lunch. This includes vegan and vegetarian toasts, different types of healthy and satiating salads and bowls, coffee, smoothies, and special lattes.
The Mediterranean-style breakfast includes two eggs cooked in any style, cucumber, kalamata olives, pickled turnips, tomato, and labneh spread with olive oil. This is served with zaatar toast and house jam accompaniment.
The harvest salad constitutes spring onions mixed with greens topped with goat cheese, red onion, golden raisins, pickled beets, pistachios, golden raisins, and carrots; then tossed in orange citrus olive vinaigrette and a balsamic glaze is added on top.
Cocoa acai bowl comprises banana berry, acai, and cacao mix, topped with sliced banana, slivered almond, granola, cacao nib, and coconut, drizzled with cacao sauce.
The Kitchen
The Kitchen is situated at 1560 Wazee Street in Denver, Colorado 80202. This restaurant offers gluten-free Peruvian grilled lamb (made with hominy, aji Amarillo, charred peppers, and salsa verde), gnocchetti (comprises parmesan, bolognese, and fennel pollen), black spaghetti (made with rock shrimp, nduja, fennel, garlic bread crumbs, and citrus), and gluten-free cast iron roasted chicken (this dish is served with black truffle cream and hand-cut fries).
Mercantile Dining And Provision
This restaurant is in a chic, airy space with a patio in Union Station’s courtyard. For this reason, Mercantile provides the perfect blend of comfort and sophistication, thanks to its menu and design. This restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The dinner menu includes meats, seafood, veggies, and house-made pasta options. The adjacent market is stocked with produce from Fruition Farm, local artisans, and growers, offering many different types of pastries. Besides the food, the Mercantile bar serves creative cocktails and numerous beers and wines. The cocktails mainly depend on what’s available in the season.
Mercantile is ideal for individuals looking for a farm-to-table meal as it completes the farm-to-fork circle, where the chefs and patrons buy foodstuffs from the farms or other purveyors.
Conclusion
Thanks to the numerous health benefits, organic foods are the thing now. Even though it’s good to cook at home and a great way to know if each item is organic, it’s not the only way.
It’s not always practical. But the good thing is that there are many organic restaurants in Denver. Letting you enjoy your food, knowing it’s organic and fresh from the farm.