Welcome to Friday-EVE friends!  I’m especially excited about this weekend because not only it is Valentine’s Day but it’s also President’s Day weekend which means Monday off!  LOVE that!

I wanted to get back out here again yesterday with restaurant news, but boy yesterday did not go as planned.  I didn’t even workout!  I had my green smoothie and then about 45 minutes later, I was looking a little green!  To the point where I had to keep sneaking into an empty office at work to lie down every few minutes because when I would sit up my stomach was ON FIRE but when I was lying flat it was fine.

What’s funny about that is I opened a new container of spinach in the morning and was in a rush so I didn’t wash it in my salad spinner.  As I did this I was thinking to myself, “well geez apparently that article didn’t jolt me as much as I thought it would if I’m not washing my greens right now!”  Fast forward to me sitting at my desk at work doubled over and I was almost laughing, thinking what are the chances of  me now giving myself E. coli or something!  Wouldn’t that be just like karma to give me a little hello?    Luckily after about 2 hours of office hide-and-seek, I forced myself to eat my Ezekial toast and that seemed to do the trick.

The question is:  will I wash my spinach TODAY? Like a Magic 8 Ball might say, “Signs point to no”.  Terrible, I know!

***

So about this restaurant… It’s called Root Down in the Denver Highlands area.  I drove forever in rush hour traffic to get there, and I’m telling you it was SO worth it.  So much so that I might bug MSP to go with me this weekend for brunch because there are so many more items I want to try.

I first heard of this restaurant from a client who thought I’d like it because of my style of eating.  Then I heard about it again from my friend and running buddy, Scott. When I went to their website to learn more, this sentence caught my attention:

Following a “field to fork” mentality, Root Down prefers to stay as organic, natural and local as possible.  We want our food to be colorful, passionate, improvisational and simplistically sophisticated.

Well of course I’m all for ORGANIC and LOCAL.  And their menu is very vegan-friendly which I also appreciate.

First, I loved that their water was served without ice.  I don’t like ice in my water for digestive reasons and I almost always forget to say “no ice”.

We started with two apps to share:  the Edamame Hummus and the Sweet Potato Falafel.  I was also eyeing the Veggie Burger Sliders, but figured I better save room for dinner.

Both items were DELICIOUS.  We ate those things so fast I didn’t even have time to take a picture!  That, and the fact that Marissa was trying to get my attention with this new rock on her finger.  She kept putting her hand in front of her face and I just WASN’T CATCHING ON.  Sorry friend!  So we were busy chatting and squealing about her engagement, and my camera was forgotten for a few minutes.  Congrats Marissa and Jerry!

For dinner she had the Red Miso Barley soup and I had the Organic 3-Way Beets salad.

I seriously ate EVERY morsel on that plate.  It was perfection.

We did peruse the dessert menu and I told the waitress that I was going to pass because all of their items contained dairy of some variety.  To which she replied, “Oh we also have vegan ice cream!”  OK, they officially are the best ever.  I still passed on the dessert because I was plenty full.  But I am just really thrilled to find a restaurant where I don’t have to make a bunch of ‘special requests’ in order to accommodate my nutrition style (and fear getting an evil eye from my waitperson!)

And because I just love QUIRKY things, check out how your check arrives:

If you live anywhere in the Denver area you MUST try this place.  It’s got a really fun and unique atmosphere and the food was amazing.  Let’s give some support to restaurants aiming to make a difference using local and organic items.

Do you have a restaurant local to you that follows the same principles? Have you been to it? Let’s share restaurants we know that are GOOD for us!  Maybe another FitFeat reader lives near you and has no idea that the restaurant you know of is even there.  I don’t think I’d have heard about Root Down if someone hadn’t mentioned it to me.

Have a terrific Thursday!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: local produce, organic food, Root Down Restaurant, vegan