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Good local place

4 Posted on 01 / 08 / 2010

This is a really great place. They support a lot of good causes and try to get all their food locally. They are very veg-friendly, though they do serve meat still unfortunately. Since we only have a couple true veg places in Denver, this is a great place to supplement. They also have lots of fun things going on here constantly. Overall, quite an addition to our community and a good place to get some veg food!

Pros: Very veg friendly, Local, Good causes
Cons: Serves meat, Kinda pricey

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A wonderful place!

4 Posted on 11 / 03 / 2009

The Merc has long been a favorite restaurant of ours. Go in for brunch and ask for a tofu substitution for eggs in practically every dish. At dinner, Dinah's tofu and the black bean tempeh are to die for! Also, look for specials including homemade soups and divine entries (lemon tofu cutlets in a plum lavender sauce, anyone?) The food is 99% organic and 80% local. Enjoy dancing lessons, concerts, poetry slams and plays while you dine. I had my wedding at the Merc and they provided generous servings of wonderful vegan food accommodating all of the special diets of our guests in their gorgeous ballroom. The Merc is always giving back to the community with classes, benefits, offering meeting space and donating goods to local causes. One warning, go to the Merc when you are not in a rush, as the hand preparation of each dish can make the service a little slow.

Pros: wonderful food, great atmosphere, fun
Cons: a little slow

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Come for the food, stay for the atmosphere

4 Posted on 01 / 12 / 2009

This is absolutely the most eccentric place I've ever eaten. It was totally wild. There was a guy playing a piano in one corner, and a guy dressed as a wizard doing tarot readings in the other. Upstairs, swing dancing was going on. The crowd ranged from hipsters to older folks. This place is just plain entertaining. There were quite a few vegan options (namely tofu, tempeh, or Mexican), though you had to sift through menu items heavy on chicken, fish, and ELK. Pretty gross. The bread they give you as an appetizer is not vegan--or so the waitress guessed (for a place trying to cater to vegans, I was kind of annoyed they weren't more clear or helpful in that regard). I ended up with a battered tofu meal a la carte (as I didn't see any point to buying a vegan dinner which came with more non-vegan bread). It came with generous portions--lots of interesting vegetables (we were drawing guesses as to what all of them were). It was very filling. The quinoa had zero flavor, though, and that seemed to come with almost everything on their menu. They had three different vegan items for desert. I went with the vegan cake sweetened with maple syrup. It was okay--but I've had better. It was a huge slice and I ended up sharing it with my friends.

Will be returning soon to enjoy the atmosphere!

Pros: Atmosphere, Entertainment, Vegan options
Cons: Waitstaff unsure of what was vegan, Vegan options limited

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one of the worst meals, inedible

1 Posted on 09 / 15 / 2008

This was a disaster. It was even more confusing since they had all the signs pointing to a nice evening, ambience-wise, and such. Nothing anyone had was good. The desserts were awful, flour unmixed in the heart of the cake, like biting into flour or someone throwing a sandbag in your mouth. No amount of water can fix that. They did take it off the bill. Dinner also took about 45 minutes to come. I guess if we were full, it'd not have been a problem, but the plates were inedible, and we all left hungry.

I suggest a serious reevaluation of the menu/cooking. Obviously, I would take all the dead things off the menu, then I would learn how to properly cook veggies and knock the price down. I think they are going for the so-you-want-to-look-cool-while-drinking-a-$12-drink crowd, some of whom may eat veg. Don't waste your time, it is awful.

Look at the menu, it is bad, and what sounds good isn't.

Pros: they claim to use OG veg, but can't cook it well at all
Cons: inedible food, elk & turkey, unmixed flour in cake

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Making a Difference

4 Posted on 01 / 21 / 2008

For so many reasons, this was my kind of place. They were very into local, organic produce, which I thought was so cool. The coffee was organic Zapatista coffee (and was AWESOME). The vegan options were limited, but were good. The juice/alcoholic beverages had many unconventional options, and there was a great tea selection.

The art was pure candy for left-wingers, and the decor was very cool.

While I have been to restaurants with better menu items, I loved it here. The owner was in the kitchen cooking, and the bathrooms were equipped with new environmentally friendly, water saving sinks.

I felt so glad that people were using their power to make a difference. I would gladly support them again. (I would have given 5 stars, but apparently you can only give 4 to a non-veg restaurant.)

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Wasted journey

2 Posted on 10 / 15 / 2007

Please be warned that this place is NOT a vegetarian/vegan cafe. We walked 25 minutes to get there and then took five minutes to find the eating area - we must have been confused by the jive dance class and a rally for a presidential election hopeful. When we found it, the cafe looked cool - until we saw the meat on the menu. We drank the water that had arrived on our table and quickly made our excuses to leave.

Cons: serves meat

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Well, I liked it

3 Posted on 09 / 18 / 2006

I haven't been here in well over a year, but I've always enjoyed my meals here, although my parents couldn't say the same. The tempeh with black bean sauce is awesome, and the vegan specials are good. My family likes the enchiladas. Step-dad suggests staying away from anything creamy. There's a good range of desserts, with lots of vegan and gluten free options. They lean to the healthier side of vegan baking, but still nice. The atmosphere is funky and eccentric, so not for everyone, but it feels comfortable and homey to me.

Pros: Good food, Funky atmosphere
Cons: Bad service, Overpriced