Yesterday we joined our friends Toniya and Dicle to celebrate the end of the academic year, and as is our pattern we dined at
Leaf. Leaf is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant right off of Boulder’s Pearl Street, and it is one of our favorite places. Toniya is a long-term raw foodist and Leaf is one of the few places in Boulder that has raw items on the menu, plus Harrison is a sucker for the vegan carrot cake (more on that soon…). Beyond those draws, Leaf has a pleasant atmosphere, attentive service, and a great Thai Lemon Drop Martini.We arrived during happy hour and shared some of the small plates, including the Raw Wrap, the Buffalo Seitan, the Raw Ravioli, the Sweet Onion Tart, and the Blue Corn Empanadas. My favorites were the Raw Wrap and the Blue Corn Empanadas, but each dish had advocates. The Raw Ravioli was the only universal disappointment–the yellow beet “pasta” was much too thick to work texturally with the filling.
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| The wrap features a cashew “ricotta,” an almond pesto, and fresh vegetables–including seasonal pea shoots. |
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| The raw ravioli–not a hit with our table. |
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| Blue corn empanadas filled with butternut, peppers, corn, and raisins–nice balance of sweet and savory. |
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| Sweet onion tart with a phyllo crust and basil-walnut pesto (the pesto is divine). |
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| Buffalo Seitan–Harrison’s fave–with luscious blue cheese. |
For entrees we had the always-stellar Asian Mizuna Salad (Toniya always orders this and kindly shares), the Stuffed Red Bell Pepper, and the Vegan Enchiladas. Sharing ensued. The enchiladas were delicious, with bright flavor from the tomatillo salsa and fresh guac, plus an earthy depth to the vegetable and bean filling. They were devoured. The mizuna salad is crowned with wakame seaweed and tossed with a sweet sesame-chili dressing. The stuffed bell pepper looked beautiful but was overpowered by a spice element in the harissa–it wasn’t especially hot/spicy, but the spice blend overwhelmed the flavor of the vegetables.
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| The mizuna salad, always a hit. |
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| The stuffed pepper with Israeli cous cous, fava beans, and harissa |
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| Vegan enchiladas with fresh salsas, guac, and cilantro rice–wonderful. |
Since Toniya is moving out of state soon we were forced to order three desserts. We would never be so self-indulgent without good cause, after all. We went with the always-amazing Vegan Carrot Cake, the Raw Tart, and a Vegan Chai Ice Cream. The carrot cake is simply one of the best ones we have had, vegan or otherwise. The raw tart and chai ice cream were less successful. The tart had a too-thick date and nut crust filled with a “cream” so thin it ran out before the tart was cut. It had a good flavor but an unappealing texture. The ice cream suffered from similar issues. The chai flavor was pronounced and lovely–and blissfully not too sweet–but the texture was more like granita than ice cream and somewhat chalky in the mouth.
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| Vegan chai ice cream |
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| Raw tart with fresh berries |
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| Freaking amazing vegan carrot cake |
Having dined at Leaf many times, I am clearly a fan, but I will add that the food tends to fall into the “this is fabulous” category or the “this is a miss” category. If you end up with a “miss” they are happy to swap it out, by past experience, and I applaud the continued focus on seasonal, flavorful, meat-free cuisine. If you are trying to convince a carnivore that vegetarian and vegan food can be delicious, take them to Leaf and order up some Buffalo Seitan, some enchiladas, and of course, that cake…they will be converted to the cause.
Thanks for reading,
-Angela FRS
You had me at Thai Lemon Drop Martini. We just might have to try this place next time we're in Boulder. You have encouraged to try something different than my usual favorite vegetarian dish, the salad.
Karen, it is worth the trip just for that martini, honestly.
Why eat meat?
Mmm… this looks *so* yummy! I love reading your blog
It reminds me why we should all be head over heels in love with food..
We certainly do not have any kind of restaurant like that anywhere near my little podunk town, but the food looks delicious. I especially like "freaking amazing" vegan carrot cake.:)
It really is freaking amazing
Just a great slice of cake, vegan or otherwise!
Everything looks gorgeous!!! Of course, taste is paramount, and texture is a close second. Some of it, though, sounds absolutely stellar whether one is a vegetarian, vegan, or avowed omnivore ….
You had me too at the Lemon Drop Martini! The food sounds amazing! Wish my husband wasn't such a picky eater. We spent our Sat night at The Outback.
Wow, what great looking food!
i love leaf and the roasted poblano sandwich is my favorite (for the record)…some constructive criticism for this fantastic restaurant would be to take the raw ravioli off their menu. it is not even really a raw rendition of ravioli as much as it is just a pile of bland, cold, ickyness on top of a raddish and some other textures and flavors that are not welcomed by the deceiving name. i'm pretty sure ever since the invention of fire and nomenclature, certain things were supposed to be cooked and then named accurately.
Sadly, I have to agree. The raw wrap is MUCH better and I have tried the ravioli on three occasions and it was always a big let down. They should just pull the plug on that one.
Hey, I saw that your friend was nominated for a Saveur award!