currently enjoying: root down

I recently enjoyed the perfect summer evening dinner at Root Down at the Highlands in Denver. We heard rumors about this "amazing" new restaurant and decided to make an evening of it to say farewell to our friend, April, who moved to Laguna Beach. What an evening it was! We sat on the patio for almost 5 hours (that's a record) and tried almost everything on the menu (we did try everything on the dessert menu). The weather couldn't have been better.

We ate things like Organic Carrot Gnocchi, Sweet Potato “Falafel” and Organic Roasted Baby Beets. Listen to this description of the entree I ordered: Roasted Petaluma 3 Chili Chicken - Habenero, Chipotle, Jalapeño, Lemon Creme Fraiche, Green Chili Grit Cake & Carrot-Cucumber-Spinach Salad

MmmmHm. After the flavors, the best part is that almost everything can be ordered gluten free and vegan! With one gluten/dairy free friend and another who is Celiac, this is a huge plus! We ordered everything gluten free and it was all "amazing".



We shared the Cheese Flight as an appetizer - Gin & Tonic Marmalade, Honey-Paprika Apples, Heirloom Tomato Jam, L.R. Rice & Sons Clover Honey


Apparently this is the "best gluten free bread" ... my friends would know!







For dessert we split one of everything. I favored the Udi’s Croissant Bread Pudding in Leopold’s Whiskey-Butter Sauce and Sour Cream Ice Cream, but my ultimate favorite was the Avocado Key Lime Pie with raspberry sorbet. Yum!




Root Down uses organic and locally grown ingredients. This isn't the place to go for a penny-pinching meal, but the prices reflect the ingredients and it's the perfect outing for a relaxing and truly enjoyable meal.

And if you share it with a group of wonderful friends, it doesn't get much better.

[photos by sarah fritzler]