If vaulted ceilings and verdant mountain views put you in your happy place, picture them with a cup of bird-friendly coffee and a buttercrisp sticky bun.
That hum in your head just split into harmony.
The co-owner of Mio Cafe in Evergreen likes to joke that his eatery’s incredible pastries are fat-free and low-cal. But the shop’s focus on organic and local sources does fulfill Wheat Cripe’s pledge to serve “spiritual soul food.”
“I really believe that the food picks up the energy of the people preparing it,” says Cripe’s wife, Nancy.
Mio Cafe’s menu ranges from yogurt parfaits with fresh fruit and homemade granola to hearty sandwiches on fresh ciabatta bread from baker Nicole Pellerin of the aforementioned pastries.
Two made-from-scratch vegetarian soups simmer every day. One is always Nancy Cripe’s Hungarian Mushroom, made each night from 20 cups of chopped onions and 10 pounds of mushrooms.
Nancy Cripe estimates the shop uses more than 90 percent organic products. The Bolivian Kaladi coffee they serve is shade-grown and doesn’t require clear-cutting of trees, hence the bird-friendly label. It’s locally roasted in Denver.
If you’re lucky, Wheat Cripe will serve it to you in the cafe with the shape of a bird or a heart or shamrock somehow etched into the foam.
Pellerin’s pastries are a high-altitude wonder. The scones are moist, despite having very little butter. The heavy, chocolate mousse cupcake surprised by dropping not a single crumb — it’s that rich.
Croissants, cinnamon rolls and muffins are standards, but some regular items, like the bread pudding, get changed up. One recent day the variation was rhubarb oat rum.
A surprise that same day: chile tequila chocolate truffles. Served chilled, they bite back a bit as they melt in your mouth.
The comfortable, impeccably clean restaurant is strewn with the Cripes’ rock collection, picture books, and kids books, including the perplexing “Magic Eye” series. Customers feel free to linger for hours.
As longtime Evergreen residents, the Cripes knew many of their customers well even before opening their doors in February.
Spotting Wheat Cripe hugging an old friend at the front counter, just before he greets you warmly, makes for a bright and satisfying morning, indeed.
Mio Cafe
Bakery and more. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Elk Bridge Center, Evergreen Parkway and Squaw Pass Road, Evergreen. 303-237-0077,
