Meet at the Corner Office for the quinoa-and-garbanzo veggie burger

Downtown Denver has its share of cute, modern eateries dishing up sandwiches and salads, but the Corner Office still stands out in the crowd. Its so-hip-it-hurts yet still playful decor provides the perfect backdrop for beautiful people sipping martinis and nibbling on the food offerings.

Except if you're eating the veggie-friendly offerings, you're not going to want to stop at nibbling. The Corner Office encourages a full-on nosh.

A friend told us about the quinoa-and-garbanzo veggie burger at the Corner Office, which she said was the best veggie burger she'd had in Denver. The restaurant was nearly empty when we stopped in on a Wednesday afternoon right after the lunch rush, but the service was attentive and the food was dished up in a timely (and delicious) manner.

Our order of bright-green shishido peppers came lightly fried and salted, served up in this clay bowl. They left a smattering of grease on our fingers as we bit the peppers off the stems and experienced a hit of heat that's not too intense to enjoy. (Still, if you're one of those people who thinks mild salsa is too spicy, stay away from this appetizer.)

The salads looked tempting, but we were there for the burger. There is no egg in the patty to bind the quinoa and garbanzo beans together, and no dairy, either, for vegan eaters. (Of course, the cheese added to the photo above tells a different tale.) Although it wasn't the best veggie burger in the city -- that honor still goes to Park Burger, even though that burger is not vegan-friendly -- but those on a strict plant-based diet would be well satisfied with what the Corner Office serves.

Although there aren't a ton of veggie options on the menu, there are enough to make this an ideal place to take friends and relatives from visiting big cities who might be looking for a social scene or trendy place to eat. And the very trendy Sunday Disco Brunch even has a few dishes for vegetarians (vegans, not so much).

The Corner Office is located at 1401 Curtis Street; for more information, call 303-825-6500 or visit www.thecornerofficedenver.com.