Denver Blog

I love to have new dining experiences -- but while being vegetarian creates some limitations, I've discovered that pregnancy really makes eating out challenging. Soft cheeses are a no-no nowadays and undercooked eggs will have to wait a few more days, until the baby is born. So will wine and all other wonderful, delicious alcoholic beverages.

I've been obsessed with fondue since I first found out I was expecting. Luckily, many cheeses are still okay, and chocolate is baby-safe. So a stop at The Melting Pot, 2702 West Main Street in Littleton, seemed the perfect spot for a last-date night with my husband before the baby arrives next week (or sooner).

The place was booked on Saturday, so we settled on a Sunday night, when we were seated in a cozy booth on the upper floor, with a view of the mountains. We drew the curtains around our table, which gave us privacy and also helped turn our little booth into a steam room before we were done, since bubbling cauldrons of cheese and broth sure let off a lot of heat.

Sputnik is one of the hippest hipster spots in town, and while you might think of it as a late-night hang-out, good for grabbing a cold PBR while playing trivia or bingo, Sputnik also happens to serve some of the best sweet potato fries in Denver. The few other menu items I've sampled have also been good and vegetarian-friendly, so when I heard about Sputnik's $5 lunch special, I knew I had to try it.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, five bucks will get you half a sandwich and your choice of a side: those fries, hearts of palm salad, jicama salad, mac and cheese, or chips.

When the weather starts to heat up, all I want is a nice patio, a great happy hour and some friends with which to enjoy the day. On a recent sunny afternoon, the patio at Lala's Wine Bar + Pizzeria fit the bill perfectly.

Since I'm eight-and-a-half months pregnant, happy hour isn't quite as much fun as it used to be, but I do plan on trying the drink specials soon, since the deals run from 4 to 7 p.m. and include $5 glasses of wine for everything on the menu that's usually under $10, half-price wines for everything over $10 and $3 bottles of Peroni.

Luckily, the food menu at Lala's is as enticing as its drink menu, so we shared an heirloom tomato caprese salad, a pizza and the Ravioli Asparagi, the vegetarian special for the day. The caprese salad was wonderfully fresh and flavorful, with huge slices of green and red heirloom tomatoes topped with fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, chive oil, port balsamic vinegar reduction and a generous sprinkling of sea salt.

The first time I tried Ethiopian food, I was visiting my friend, Mat, in Montreal. We'd met the previous summer on a train headed to Berlin, and since we were both backpacking solo around Europe and trying to get to Prague, which had just suffered a flood, we found ourselves staying in the same hostel waiting for the rain to end. Neither of us made it to the Czech Republic, but we did share many a street falafel and tofu curry. And it was exciting to have another new culinary experience with Mat on his home turf.

Montreal felt so international to me at the time, especially compared to Middlebury, Vermont, where I'd spent my summer in grad school, and Ethiopian food was one of the most unusual cuisines I'd tried. The communal experience of sitting with a group of new friends and sharing a table-sized piece of injera bread that the food is served on really hooked me. I was thrilled to get to eat with my hands, using the bread as a utensil to scoop up the fragrant, richly spiced lentils, chickpeas and veggies.

I can't think of another cuisine that's as much fun to eat with friends, and apparently devotees of Arada Ethiopian agree, since every time I'm there I see large parties bonding over the food.

So five minutes into our baby shower for Cafe Society's Veggie/Candy Girl (and three other future mothers here at Westword), a crazy singing telegram man showed up and started singing "Push It." By the time I had my phone out, he was on to "It's Raining Kids."

It was cute. It was creepy. It made me thirsty. Highlights above.

Photo by Beatrice Root courtesy of http://ginger-beat.blogspot.com/

When I was growing up, my dad would make dozens and dozens of pork tamales and big vats of rich, beefy red chile and pork posole for Christmas. We'd feast on these New Mexican staples at our family Christmas party and then continue eating everything while it lasted, sometimes through New Year's.

Now when I go back to New Mexico for the holidays, my dad serves vegetarian versions of our family recipes that he's adapted just for me. He makes posole with calabacitas instead of pork, and red chile with black beans instead of beef. He's also created a variety of vegetarian tamales filled with everything from black beans to mushrooms, but the simple green chile and cheddar cheese combo is my favorite.

When I can't get home for Dad's cooking, it's comforting to know that La Casita is just a short drive away at 3561 Tejon Street.

Sometimes noodles are just noodles. But thankfully, some noodles rise to the level of the drunken noodles from US Thai Café. There must be some kind of black magic that goes into getting the sauce just right, because I've had a lot of drunken noodles and none of them made me drunk with love like these.

I first wandered into US Thai Café a few weeks ago, and though I have a long list of other restaurants I'd like to try for the first time, it wasn't two weeks later that I found myself making another trip to the small, unadorned space at 5228 West 25th Avenue, on Edgewater's old main street.

Although I love eating out, I don't often go to vegetarian-exclusive restaurants. Sure, my husband and the majority of my friends don't eat meat, but we like trying new places, and at last count there were only three exclusively vegetarian eateries in the metro Denver area: WaterCourse Foods, City, O' City and Masalaa (a Best of Denver 2009 winner for Best Vegetarian Indian Restaurant).

I hadn't eaten at City, O' City in close to nine months, and when I stopped by recently, I was pleased to find that service has picked up, and the food remains both good and filling. Since I'm used to getting a lot of my protein from dairy and legumes, I don't often get the protein overload that a huge order of buffalo seitan wings provides. And while I never ate buffalo wings when I still consumed meat, these mock wings had a very enjoyable texture and spice, and the accompanying vegan ranch and celery sticks was a nice touch.

It was early Sunday evening when my husband and I arrived at Saigon Bowl, 333 South Federal Boulevard, and I was surprised to see the place already packed. Some large parties were gathering, and a few massive dinner parties were under way. Unsure if we'd even get a spot, we joined the line -- and five minutes later, we had a table.

They sure know how to turn tables quickly at Saigon Bowl -- but then, with prices so low and food so fresh, they need to be able to accommodate the crowds.

We've frequented Saigon Bowl since we moved to Denver six years ago, back when we were both broke teaching assistants and it was one of the few places where we could have a nice dinner out for under $15 and still take home leftovers.

Some days just beg to end in the back of a bar, hunched over a beer or two. There are plenty of Denver spots that will serve this purpose, but when your stomach also happens to be begging to be fed, a good bet is Zio Romolo's Alley Bar, where you can get a Pasquini's pizza, salad or calzone while also getting your fix of bad '80s rock, country music and hippie jams.

Zio Romolo's is situated right beside the Pasquini's Pizzeria at 2400 West 32nd Avenue, and the dark back booths are the perfect spot to nurse a drink or two while you wait for the complimentary, freshly made breadsticks to arrive. Those rich, ultra-buttery breadsticks are also ideal for soaking up all the alcohol put in your system by a pitcher of sangria -- Pasquini's $5 Thursday-night special.

Zio Romolo's is an adults-only lounge, and while its art-deco decor is somewhat upscale, the music, flat-screen TVs and laid-back vibe make for a nice change from the faster-paced, brighter Pasquini's.