Zudaka, Boulder CO

From Vegan Gastrobot

We had a busy schedule of roller derby while in Denver/Boulder area, but we also wanted to try as many things as possible. When I saw there was a vegetarian Latin restaurant where most things could be made vegan and I could try foods I have never heard of before I knew we had to try it. We could only fit it in after we had already eaten so we got some take out to eat in between bouts. Zudaka is a tiny hole in the wall place that we drove right by the first time. When we arrived there was no one else there, but the place smelled amazing and the lady working there was incredibly nice.
We ordered two Arepas (traditional Venezuelan gluten free corn meal dough pocket sandwich) - One Negrita Dulce - black beans, white cheese and sweet plantains (no close up photo of this one as it did not look very pretty, but it is the bottom left item in the photo above). This was really good - I have only ever had plantain chips before so it was fun to taste a cooked plantain. It was a little bit sweet, and the black beans and cheese paired nicely with it. Really good.

From Vegan Gastrobot

The second Arepa we tried was La de Pollo - chunky meatless chicken with caramelized onions and green peppers. This was amazing! My definitely my favorite of the two. Really savory and yum!

From Vegan Gastrobot

The last thing we tried were the Hallequitas - two hallaquitas (venezuelan tamales) served with black beans, fresh salsa, guasa and one little arepita. When we got our food the lady working told us how we should eat these - unwrap them and put everything on them including the juice from the beans - the messier they are the better. So we took her advice and these were very messy, but so good. I love tamales and these did not disappoint.

Overall - Zudaka was very good and I would go back if I am in Boulder again.

Sun Deli, Boulder, CO

From Vegan Gastrobot

After the disappointing pizza at BOP Pizza we were not expecting to find much any good pizza in Boulder/Denver. Sun Deli had many tempting vegan options including homemade sausage and pepperoni and homemade almond ricotta so we had to check it out. On Saturdays they even have a vegan special with discounts on all vegan pizzas and calzones. We ordered the Baked Buffalo Pizza - pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, onions. We had the option of daiya or the almond ricotta (or both), but since we have had daiya before we went with just the almond ricotta. This pizza was amazing! One of the best pizzas I have ever had. The crust was perfect, the almond ricotta was amazing, the seitan sausage and pepperoni were delicious! If we are ever in Boulder again we will definitely be going back here - we tried to fit it in again on our trip, but there just wasn't enough time.

Overall - definitely go here if you are in Boulder! The pizza was amazing!

Boulder Baked, Boulder CO

From Vegan Gastrobot

Our last stop for in our full day exploring Boulder was Boulder Baked. I had heard that they had vegan cupcakes and they did, but only one kind - gluten free pumpkin spice. Even though there was only one option, that one option was amazing! The cake was nice and moist, the frosting not too sweet. All in all delicious. The perfect small treat after a day of eating and exploring.

Leaf, Boulder CO

From Vegan Gastrobot

On our trip to Boulder we stopped by Leaf for happy hour after a day of exploring. It was a weekday, but when we got there the place was empty. We got some drinks and tried the raw wrap (the only small bite on the happy hour menu that was vegan). This was amazing! I was very skeptical as it seemed like something I wouldn't like much. Rainbow chard, pea shoots, mixed sprouts,carrots, basil almond paté, and cashew “ricotta. Really it was the pate that was putting me off - I still remember trying some vegan pate in Paris and bleck. This was just incredible. All of the flavors worked so well together and it was so light and I could have eaten a few more of them. This was so good that we made a point to come back later in our trip for dinner since I was intrigued but he raw thanksgiving dinner (we were there in November).

From Vegan Gastrobot

So when we went back we did get the raw thanksgiving dinner - stuffed mushroom with a cranberry sauce, almond corn croquette, mashed winter vegetables, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash,a veggie croquette with a cashew sauce, and Brussel sprouts and shaved squash. This was incredible! I wish we had a raw place in Seattle where I could get food like this. This might have been my favorite thing we ate while in Boulder - everything was just perfect!

From Vegan Gastrobot

Unfortunately we also tried the vegan enchiladas - corn, summer squash, zucchini, black & red beans, mazina tortilla, cilantro rice, guacamole, roasted tomatillo & tomato salsas. Leaf is a more expensive restaurant and I don't mind paying more for food if it is amazing. This was not amazing. It sounds like it would be really flavorful and delicious, but it just tasted like nothing. I don't understand how you can have so many different flavors and have it come out tasting like nothing at all.

From Vegan Gastrobot

For dessert we had peanut butter chocolate tart. I am not sure if there was peanut butter in this as you could not taste it at all. What you could taste was chocolate, coconut and mint - 2 of which I really do not like so I did not like this at all. The menu did not list anything about coconut or mint. I hate when places do that - why do you have to add flavors, but not list them? I don't understand.

Leaf was a mix of absolutely amazing food, and food that was not really good at all. I would definitely recommend going and trying their raw dishes as they were all amazing! Their cooked food though...I would skip. It is not worth it especially for the price.

BOP Pizza, Boulder CO

From Vegan Gastrobot

While exploring Boulder, CO we needed someplace to eat for lunch and decided on BOP Pizza. They have 2 vegan pizza listed on the menu so we decided to try one of each even though they were a bit expensive. we were on vacation so why not? Plus they both sounded amazing! The first one was the Beet pizza - cannellini sauce, beets, beet greens, and basil. I love beets, but this only tasted like beets. If the beets would have been sliced thin so they added flavor, but didn't completely overpower the pizza it would have been much better. The cannellini sauce was really good and the dough, once you got to the crust, was actually really good. The problem was the beets were really thick and we might as well just have eaten a bowl of them.

From Vegan Gastrobot

The second vegan option was the Bliss pizza - pea sauce, carrots, sweet potato, onions, and basil. This was...well it just wasn't good. The peas sauce might as well not be on it - you cannot taste it at all. Or maybe it was what lent the not very good flavor to the dough. This was the first one I tried and I thought the dough was eh, but once I got to the crust I realized it was actually tasty. I think this pizza would have been much better had it had the cannellini sauce from the beet pizza - then the flavors would have probably come together a lot better and we might have eaten all of it.

Overall if you are in Boulder you can get much better pizza elsewhere. Skip BOP pizza and their overpriced so so pizza.