On our most recent trip to Colorado we ate at the (horrible) VG Burgers and (outstanding) Watercourse Foods.  Both of these places had something in common, they served Oogave sodas.  Sweetened with agave nectar, the drinks are some of the best I have found since quitting the acid infested drinks such as Coke and Pepsi a few years ago.  They come in six flavors: Cola, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, Grapefruit, Watermelon Cream and Mandarin-Key Lime.    I tried all except for Grapefruit and found the best, in my opinion were all of them!  At first the Ginger Ale had no flavor I thought but after taking a drink I tasted fresh ginger, not the artificial ginger-like flavor of typical Ginger Ale.   After realizing these could not be found in local stores I called Stephen,  the owner, and asked if I could get some to take home and he agreed to meet me at the offices where I could pick up a case.  With a case of Esteban’s Cola loaded into my trunk I left happy.  He told me plans were being made to have them in Whole Foods stores soon in western US but no plans for the east, yet.  Hopefully, soon we’ll see them around here.

Our third day in the place we are supposed to be living.   The public transportation system in Denver is great, hybrid buses, cable cars and bike lanes on nearly every major road.  Traffic during the morning and afternoon rush isn’t very bad and I am sure it is because of that transportation system.   This day, after spending the first part of the day an event that energized and motivated me in ways I never thought possible, we went back to Watercourse Foods.   After that delicious goods we had the day before it was an easy pick.   This time I opted for the Reuben with sweet potato homefries and onion rings, Elizabeth had the Eggplant Parmesan mashed potatoes and onion rings and our daughter had the Vegan Buckwheat Pancake (she loves breakfast foods).   The Reuben was prepared with chopped portobello mushrooms, red cabbage slaw and vegan Russian dressing.  Being a connoisseur of Reubens, this one was excellent and the portobello is a very good alternative to the many Reubens I have had made with tofu.  Elizabeth didn’t like her Eggplant Parmesan as much as The  Grinder which she had the day before, she said the breading was not crisp enough.   The huge buckwheat pancake our daughter had didn’t last long, nor did the berries and banana it was served with.   Watercourse Foods is the best vegan restaurant we have visited to this point.

 Vegan Reuben

Following munchies we drove  to Colorado Springs and walked around Garden Of The Gods, a place we go to every time we visit the area.  Our daughter loved climbing on the rocks and it is a very nice quiet place to walk.   After we made a stop at Pikes Perk coffee.  The coffee beans they use have always been the best I have ever had.   It’s has been about 6 months since I have had any substantial caffeine so I had a decaf double mocha.  Before leaving I picked up a bag of the espresso roast, I will probably get back on the coffee binge as the cooler weather starts and I might as well start back with the best I can find.

Oh, I guess you want to to know what that big event was earlier in the day.

Our second day involved doing many things around Denver.  One of those was lunch at Watercourse Foods.  After my bad experience at VG Burgers I knew it could only get better, and it did.  After we found our destination we grabbed a to-go menu just to check out our choices before committing ourselves as we usually do when trying a restaurant for the first time.   Too many choices, but how many are vegan?  Then I saw the line at the bottom, “All Items Can Be Made Vegan.”  Perfect!

After being seated we started looking over the menu, our daughter had her own kid’s menu and since breakfast was available until 5pm she wanted the kid’s BBFT (Banana Bread French Toast).   After looking for a bit I settled on the Po Boy with sides of onion rings and mashed potatoes and gravy, with a bit of help from our server Eryn, and Elizabeth had The Grinder, shaved seitan, grilled onions and peppers on french bread served with au jus and sides of broccoli and fries.   We were soon served plates piled with food.  My daughter’s french toast was two thick slices of banana bread french toast served with maple syrup, berries and banana slices.  Her love of berries is deep, those went quick.   My po poy was a deep fried hunk of diced portobello topped with slaw on a bun, peel-on mashed potatoes and brown gravy and four huge onion rings.   Elizabeth’s sandwich was piled with shaved seitan, she had second thoughts on the brocolli after seeing my onion rings.

Banana Bread French Toast

The Grinder

Portobello Po Boy

After lunch Eryn asked if we cared for dessert, we usually have to give a no to this but she told us all were vegan!   Splurge!  She brought out a tray with six or so selections but the Tiramisu was an easy choice as we have not had it since going vegan.  It was topped with shaved chocolate and after asking I found they used a tofutti mixture to replace the marscapone.  I didn’t taste much in the way of rum but I believe it was there.  Overall, delicious.

Our sandwiches were $10 each including sides and the kid’s menu selections ar $3.50 each.  Desserts are $6 bringing our total to about $30 plus tax.   A much better eat than VG Burgers and at less cost.  Definitely a must-visit-again.

Interesting sign at the Butterfly Pavilion.