41 - Vital Root, Denver

Awesome food and a great blend of being a restaurant and a place to hang out for a bit.

"Coffee Shop:"
Vital Root
http://www.vitalrootdenver.com/
3915 Tennyson St
Denver, CO 80212

Date Visited:
Friday, November 18, 2016
About 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Purchased:
Coconut Almond Milk Blend Latte, Raw Beet Ravioli, Banh Mi Tacos: $23.76 (including tax)

This is not coffee shop.  This is a restaurant.  Being honest.  Especially because they supposedly have wi-fi, but it was not working at all while I was there and when I asked about it I got the impression that it might be the norm not to work.  Having wi-fi and being able to sit with a computer is my cut-off, but since they do supposedly have wi-fi it still has that kind of vibe, so it's acceptable to work/read/sit for a bit/whatever.

Anyway, I like this place and it's not a great place to hang out for an extended period of time, but it is nice for a bit (like pushing a couple of hours).  A couple of hours fits well with the free 2hr street parking all around.  There isn't a lot, but parking on the street was easy and seemed like it would generally be doable within a block.  Only slightly further away on the side streets you can find untimed parking too.

This is and all-vegetarian restaurant and it's consciously vegan-friendly as well.  By this I mean a lot of items are vegan already and vegan food is "normal," not a weird tofu substitution on dish totally not made for it.  This is exemplified by the fact that one of the milks for lattes is a coconut almond blend.  Classing it up!  Obviously I went with that.

A coconut-almond milk blend latte and a beautiful tray of Raw Beet "Ravioli."

It was quite good.  I liked the milk.  The latte wasn't that otherwise remarkable, but...it's not a coffee shop.  But I also don't want to imply that it was subpar.  It wasn't a fake-restaurant-latte.  It just wasn't that remarkable.

The picture above also includes my Raw Beet Ravioli.  I freaking love the Raw Beet Ravioli.  I have had it every time I have been there.  But it should not be called ravioli.  If you order that being in the mood for anything like ravioli, and even if you are very conscious that it is called "Raw Beet Ravioli," I think you would be disappointed.  But I LOVE it.  I just don't think about ravioli.  I love well-prepared, unique raw food.  The best restaurant I have ever been to was a raw food restaurant....on a different continent.  It makes me sad all the time how far away it is.  But the Raw Beet Ravioli is the closest thing I have found.  It is beets with I think nut-based cream, and "spaghetti" (also the worst name ever) vegetable stuff...amazing flavor blending. Unique.  It's wonderful.

I liked the Bahn Mi Tacos all right.  They weren't amazing, but I enjoyed them.  (I have had better main dishes here as well.)  They had jalapeños on them and I'm not a huge fan, but I wanted to try them as-is.  They are probably better if you like that kind of kick in your food.  A bit unique, but not as memorable.  They came with fried plantains, which was cool.

Bahn Mi Tacos.

The other awesome thing is that they have a classy water dispenser if you want water and one of the options is carbonated.  Super classy.

Vital Root is a decent place to hang out.  It's a really nice mix of really good, quality food, but also a relaxing atmosphere conducive to hanging out for a bit.  I wouldn't stretch it for five hours like I have at some coffee shops, but not all coffee shops can do that either, anyway.  It's a nice place without making you feel like you have to dress up or feel weird pulling out a book or laptop. (So basically perfect as far as food places go.)

Like I mentioned, free parking was pretty easy.  And fatal wi-fi issues with the basically-nonexistent wifi.

Although this restaurant was not a landmark itself, it was in range of three Ingress portals.  I am not sure if they were all pokestops.  I also had trouble getting signal on my phone.  SO disappointing.