As a young (mostly) vegetarian who recently moved to Denver, I feel like a lost baby bunny confused in a field of tasty grasses. What should I eat? Where? Should I cook it myself?
It’s hard to navigate a new patch of vegetarian restaurants, recipes that include pressure cookers and eating healthy when, put plainly, I order the same dishes at restaurants over and over again, am a lazy cook and drink PBR like water. (That last bit has nothing to do with vegetarianism but this is Denver so fill the blank with your beer of choice.)
This is a new year, though. I expect more from myself — in the spirit of honesty, I eat fish so am technically pescatarian (or a Presbyterian, if you ask my mother) — and, veg-curious readers, so should you. Let us rise above repetitive dishes. Let us invest in aprons. Let us consume foods containing the proper amount of iron.[related]
So I’m going to walk into restaurants and demand, politely, that they tell me what dishes I should be trying. I’m going to find and make those delicious recipes that are still doable by amateurs. I’m going to figure out what in the world is going on with my vitamin intake. Who is with me? (This is where you all cheer in enthusiasm.)
So to launch a series of stories on vegetarian eating and cooking, this pescatarian walked into a vegan restaurant.
Each time I go to on East 17th Avenue and Emerson Street, I order the Southern plate because, my Presbyterian God, it’s delicious and I don’t want to risk a bland meal. But it’s time for a change. So I asked co-owner Lauren Roberts to lay it on me. What does she recommend I get at her restaurant that’s, you know, good?
WaterCourse has been a mainstay for locals since Dan Landes opened it as a vegetarian restaurant in 1998. It was rebooted as vegan-only in 2014 and , passing on to Roberts and her mother, Jennifer Byers.
With cuisine that is refined but casual, WaterCourse’s menu is made up of dishes that are either veggie-forward or comfort food, Roberts said. The restaurant aims to attract everyone, whether it’s me, the millennial, or Nonni, my grandmother.
Here’s what Roberts offered to lure me off the Southern plate:
Appetizer: Wizards on Horseback
Price: $10
Dietary notes: Contains nuts
A play on Devils On Horseback, this vegan rendition takes dates filled with cashew chèvre and wraps them in seitan bacon, topped with balsamic reduction and togarashi spice. (Psst…seitan is wheat “meat” a.k.a gluten and togarashi is a Japanese condiment that is basically chili peppers). This is a light dish that leaves plenty of room for something else — like wine!
Breakfast: French Toast
Price: $12
Dietary notes: Gluten free
This sweet dish boasts locally-baked vegan challah bread — Look ma, no eggs! — from Make, Believe Bakery and tops it with maple syrup and powdered sugar. “We like to take classic dishes and elevate them,” Roberts said. The result is “something you can’t make at home but is familiar to you.” Don’t worry about setting your alarm for this one because breakfast is served all day.
Sandwich: Watercourse Burger
Price: $14
Dietary notes: Contains nuts
The seitan burger is filled with watercress, mizuna and beech mushrooms and topped with umami sauce (Psst again … umami is the fifth taste that is savory opposed to sweet, sour, bitter or salty).The patty has a solid consistency and won’t fall apart after a single lift unlike other burgers I know — I’m looking at you, black beans. It’s served with hot and sweet fries that are caked in togarashi (Photographer and carnivore Andy Cross really got behind these). The fries a punch so have a drink handy — like beer!
Entrée: Street Tacos Platter
Price: $14
Dietary notes: Gluten free
We’re talking black beans, sweet potatoes, onions and peppers all gathered together in a soft taco while basking in chipotle aioli, avocado crème and cilantro lime slaw. There’s a little-baby kick to this, not like those hot and sweet fries but enough to warrant a note.
Vegging Out is a new semi-regular — ideally short, according to my editors — column highlighting different dishes at restaurants, asking chefs for their go-to recipes and answering your questions.
Yes, yours. Are there questions you have about vegetarianism? Restaurants you want to know about? Recipes you need? Send me a note at dworthington@denverpost.com and I’ll dust off the ol’ detective’s cap for you.