Monthly Archives: January 2012

Jan31

Parallel 17

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Parallel 17
Parallel 17
1600 East 17th Avenue
Denver, Colorado
303-399-0988

Parallel 17.com

This weekend I had my Mom and stepdad in town visiting, it was time for lunch and we needed to find a place to accommodate a carnivore.  Simon, my Mom, and I consist of a combination of vegans and vegetarians; my stepdad is a meat eater.  We all decided on Parallel 17 because they have AWESOME vegan Phö and most everything else isn’t vegan, leaving him the majority of the menu to choose from.  Are we considerate or what?!

Parallel 17 is a great little place on the corner of 17th and Franklin St.  The interior is light and friendly during the day, but at night it turns into an ultra-cool hotspot. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan30

Sputnik

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Sputnik
SputnikDenver.com
720-570-4503
3 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80229
M-F 10:30am – 2am
Sa-Su 10am – 2am
 

Sputnik Front Door

 

This past Monday, Simon, Oliver, and I visited Sputnik for our very first time.  Actually, I’d been there about a century ago on some random Match.com first date, but I didn’t eat there and there was no 2nd date so I don’t count that.
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Jan28

Udon Noodle Dish

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Udon Noodle Dish

Udon Noodle Dish

Udon Noodle Dish

This dish was inspired by a meaty version found in a doctor’s office magazine.  I removed the beef and added baby bok choy…because I like to say, “baby bok choy!”

 
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Jan28

Chipotle {Update!}

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Chipotle {Update!}

Hours may vary by location.  Check it out.

Chipotle.com

Locations?  They’re everywhere, just stand up straight and look around.  I just typed in my zip code and their website pulled up 70 results!  Did you know they also have 2 locations in London, England?  They’re in Canada too, eh? (I grew up near the border of Canada, I’m allowed to make Canada jokes!)

Chipotle – University Hills, Denver

Pretty much everyone has eaten here and it probably doesn’t need a vegan review, but it has vegan options and is great when you’re in a hurry or find yourself with only $6.00 in your pocket and need a large burrito in your stomach ASAP.
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Jan27

Mad Greens – Mad Beans

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Mad Greens – Mad Beans

Mad Greens

Hours may vary by location.  Look into it!  Again, this is another chain started in Denver.  I’m seeing a trend here.

Mad Beans Dining/Lounge Area

We recently went to the location by the Denver Art Museum at 1200 Acoma Street.  Within this 5000 square foot space is also Mad Beans, a coffee shop and wine bar!  Mad Beans just opened in January and took over the space where Novo Coffee used to be.  It’s all one space, but there are different areas to sit, wine, or dine.  One can sit anywhere, but there is the Mad Greens salad area, kind of fast food-ish, cramped, and uncomfortable looking, there’s the back of the space by the wine bar where you will find comfy chairs, couches and booth-like seats, you’ll also find lots of board games and things to keep you occupied if you plan to hang out there for a long time.  Very comfortable and dignified.  In the middle of those two areas you’ll find something in the middle.
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Jan25

WaterCourse Foods

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WaterCourse Foods
Watercourse Foods
837 E. 17th Ave, Denver, CO 80218
303-832-7313
Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm 
Fri-Sun 8am-10pm

I know, I know.  It’s almost a cliche that I decided to review WaterCourse.  I love it and I love to hate it.  It’s almost always packed and the wait is usually half an hour to be seated. It’s worth the wait, but I hate waiting.  And anytime I’ve told someone I’m vegan they say, “Oh, have you been to Watercourse?”  Yes, genius, I have.

 

Watercourse Restaurant

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Jan24

Phone Books…and how you can shove them out the door.

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Phone Books…and how you can shove them out the door.

What season comes between Winter and Spring?  Telephone Book Delivery season.  It’s that time of year when you return home to find 50 pounds of unsolicited paper in the form of useless books on your front porch.  When I get phone books left on my porch, it’s like a punch to my gut.  I recycle and reuse as much as I can, and then I feel like these stupid books just negated all my efforts for the past week.
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Jan23

Garbanzo Mediterannean Grill

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Garbanzo Mediterannean Grill

EatGarbanzo.com

Hours may vary by location.  Check it out!

 

Garbanzo is another Colorado native!  Did we invent healthy-fast-ish food, or what?

I’ve been eating at Garbanzo since early 2011, but they started business in 2007.  I know Garbanzo would hate to hear me say this, but they cannot deny it either:  It’s just  like Chipotle, only it’s falafel and served in a pita or laffa (P.S. The laffa looks and tastes just like a flour tortilla).  It’s the same set up, same ordering process, and costs just about the same amount.  I ALWAYS get the Falafel Laffa.  Not only should it be the official word of 2012, but it’s a blast to say it.  Say it!  Now say it three times fast!!
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Jan15

Tattoos!

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Tattoos!

Tattoos are NOT (usually) vegan!  In addition, tattoo ink has never been approved by the FDA, or anyone for that matter, for use within a human body.  Most of the inks and pigments are industrial-strength and similar to the ink used at a print shop.  Some of the black inks are made from burning animal bones down to the charcoal and creating the black color.  There are also fat and enzymes collected from dead animals in the inks. One of the blacks uses shellack made from beetles.  There are some vegan inks out there now, but instead of the animal products, they use plastics. I’ve also heard that vegan inks don’t have the richness of color or the staying power.  I’m not sure which I would rather have in my body, animal parts or plastics.
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Jan15

About Me, Vegans, and Meat-Eating Zombies

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About Me, Vegans, and Meat-Eating Zombies

Vegan means choosing to not eat meat (that includes chicken and fish, apparently some people don’t count these as meat!), dairy (milk, cheese, and eggs), honey, or byproducts of the above. This also includes not wearing leather, fur, or silk.  Basically living without killing and not using products that contain anything that at one time had a face and a mother.

I have made being vegan more of an entire lifestyle. I fully agree with the above but I also do not use products tested on animals. I voraciously recycle everything I can. I conserve water and electricity. I buy organic foods whenever I can. I watch out for toxic chemicals in beauty products and cleaners.  I write letters to companies asking them to use less packaging and adopt wind energy or carbon offsets. I vote with my dollars and I financially support organizations that protect animals.

I find for me being a vegan is not only about what I eat but it is about being an environmentalist in a complete way. Respecting the entire animal world, not letting animals be injured for my consumption or for “product safety” and not sticking my head in the sand and pretending I don’t know about what really happens to the animals.
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