My First Gastro Cart Visit: A+

It was another fantastic day at Civic Center Eats on Tuesday! Temperatures soared into the high 80s, and the sun was shining. More importantly, Denver’s growing crew of street food vendors were busily serving up tasty treats to the masses. I had a few newbies to the event with me so I took my time walking from truck to truck and exploring the offerings. I resisted the strong temptation to revisit the awesome Old Country sandwich from Paris on the Platte in order to try something new – and I’m glad as hell I did!

Seriously Gourmet

I’d heard that the Gastro Cart serves serious gourmet grub (How serious? The expression on the face in that pic should show you just how serious!) and they are great about always having a veggie option on hand. I have to admit, though, that their Tuesday offering of a veggie burger didn’t jump out at me, but one of my lunch dates was dead set on ordering their gyro and kim chee/chicken taco, so I went for it. And again – glad as hell! A homemade patty with a great peppery flavor, topped by ample amounts of goat cheese and a friggin’ awesome avocado something or other. I should have read the menu more closely, apparently. Maybe we can get the Gastro Cart guys to fill us in in the comments. What in the hell made that so good, guys?! Regardless, this is definitely a world apart from veggie burgers of yore, which are too often short on flavor and long on mushy.

And for you omnivores: the gyro was devoured in short order and with great pleasure. The kim chee chicken taco, which I think was ordered mainly out of curiosity and with low expectations (my lunch date was Vietnamese, and skeptical), was also deemed a success. He didn’t think it would but it totally worked and was delicious.

Overall, a great thumbs up for the Gastro Cart – which will come as no surprise to any of you who have eaten there before.

Changes are afoot at the Donut Hole

Sugar Lips Mini Donuts again provided me with dessert and my colleagues with their afternoon sugar high. A lot has happened for Sugar Lips in the past week: A kazillion different toppings and fancy sauces have been added to the menu. The lemon ginger topping was widely loved by my fellow office dwellers. You can get the full scoop on their new toppings on their lovely new website, too. Congrats, Sugar Lips! And a double YAY to you for keeping a smile on your face and the donuts flying despite the high temps and a malfunctioning donut machine.

Demons and the Inevitable End of Summer

Other pieces: additional lunching partners took a dive into the Steamin’ Demon’s offerings and promised to write up a quick bit about their gastronomical glee. Keep an eye out for a guest post!

All in all, my head’s happily spinning and my love of Denver is growing as this scene starts to take off. Eat up, Denver! Civc Center Eats will only be around for 3 more Tuesdays. Then what?! Stay tuned, and we’ll try to keep you posted on who’s where and what’s for lunch!