MY GLUTEN-FREE GUIDE TO DENVER

My gluten-free guide to Denver and the surrounding areas! We took a four-day trip to explore and eat at as many 100% gluten-free or restaurants with lots of gluten-free options as we could. We took Nima along to ensure what I was eating was gluten-free! There is a downloadable guide at the bottom of the post as well!

HERE WE GO….IT’S A WHIRLWIND!
We arrived at Denver airport around noon on Thursday. We took a Lyft to Stanley Marketplace. I thought it looked like a cool area to hang out and get some food while we waited for our camper van reservation time. 

There is a mixture of restaurants and shops all locally owned in the Marketplace. We ate at Comida Mexican Restaurant and it was YUMMY! They had gluten-free items clearly marked which made ordering easy. I probably had the best Watermelon Margarita EVER there. So very Yummy! They have a dedicated fryer for the chips which is awesome.
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We ordered the chips, salsa and guacamole, watermelon cucumber and jicama salad, fish tacos and spicy shrimp taco. Everything tested safe with Nima! It was a great start to our trip!
​We ordered the chips, salsa and guacamole, watermelon cucumber and jicama salad, fish tacos and spicy shrimp taco. Everything tested safe with Nima! It was a great start to our trip!

Now that our bellies are full we are off to pick up our camper van rental from Discover Camper Vans. They are such nice people! The van was perfect for the two of us on our foodie adventure! I will write a separate post about what to bring with you if you are going to try the camper van life!

This was our transportation and our home for the next few days! I am totally hooked now and want one! They are super easy to drive.. just like a big van or a large SUV. They fit into most parking spaces! And you can stealth camp if you are into that type of thing! 
Keep following along on my gluten free guide to Denver.. we are just getting started!

DEBY’S GLUTEN FREE 
​Deby’s is a dedicated gluten-free bakery in Denver. She has baked goods, dried pasta, ready to heat and eat meals, quiches, bread, and so much more! We went on Thursday, but I guess the day to go is Saturday because they have everything available to purchase. I would definitely go back next time I am in town!

LARKBURGER IS OUR NEXT STOP ON MY GLUTEN FREE GUIDE TO DENVER
Larkburger has a lot of gluten-free options. It is not 100% gluten-free. They offer gluten-free buns. All of their sides are gluten-free and they have a dedicated fryer! 
We ordered the Seared Ahi Tuna in a lettuce wrap and ONION RINGS!

​DOS LUCES GLUTEN FREE BREWERY
Dos Luces is a 100% Gluten-free brewery in Denver. They brew their beer using corn. It is made in a South American style. It is different than traditional American Beer. My favorite was the Tepache, which is made from pineapples.

​AVANTI
Avanti is the next stop on my gluten-free guide to Denver. It was described to me as an adult cafeteria with good food, drinks, and views of downtown. We were on a mission to stop at Quiero Arepas which is inside of Avanti!
They are 100% Gluten free and fantastic!

​ACOVA
Acova, was a favorite stop on my gluten-free guide to Denver. Our server told us that the owner has celiac disease therefore they have very careful kitchen practices. The food was fantastic! We had crab cakes, fried chicken, and beef short ribs.

FRIDAY
We were not very hungry this morning because of all the yummy food we ate yesterday. However, we persevered for the sake of research! haha! One more restaurant stop in Denver before heading to the mountains!
We stayed overnight at a local winery! They are part of Harvest Hosts, which is an app that allows you to stay at places like wineries or breweries for free. They recommend that you purchase something, which we are happy to do! The link contains affiliate links which I will get a small commission if you purchase. Here is my guide to disclosures and policies.

JUST BE KITCHEN
Just Be Kitchen is a 100% gluten-free and paleo restaurant! Can they please open one down the street from my house.. in Arizona??? Everything we had here was fantastic! Guy Fieri was there with Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. As a result, some of the menu items are marked showing what he ate. I wish we could have gone back for dinner!
We ate the Verde Chili Pork Breakfast Burrito and the Biscuits and Gravy with two over easy eggs. My hubby says to make sure you know that there are sweet potato hash browns inside the burrito and it was fantastic! LOL!

​RHEINLANDER BAKERY
Rheinlander Bakery is not a 100% gluten-free bakery. They have a separate area where gluten-free items are made and stored. I Nima tested our treats just to make sure they were safe. Everything passed! They were so yummy! The old owner has celiac disease so they had good protocols in place.

​FRISCO
 We stopped in Frisco for lunch and so my hubby could show me around. He goes to that area for a pond hockey tournament every February! It is such a cute town to wander around. We had beautiful weather!  Kemosabe sushi is on their main street and is yummy!

​BRECKENRIDGE
Toured around Silverthorn, Frisco, and then made our way to Breckenridge. We were staying at the Tiger Run Campground that night. We checked into our spot to get our barrings as well as let our food digest before we headed off to Breckenridge. The campground was great! They even had karaoke that night lol. 
My hubby was looking for gluten free restaurants in Breckenridge on Google Maps so he had a few picked out and off we went. I usually plan where we eat because I have several apps that help- like Find Me Gluten Free and Gluten Dude’s App.

​The first place we stopped at was Sauce on the Maggie– it had good reviews on Google for gluten-free, however, it was a pizza place with flour in the air in the kitchen. So we decided just to have a drink at the bar and keep looking. I think it is so important to do your research and ask lots of questions when eating out to set yourself up for success. I don’t ever eat at pizza places with flour in the air. Even with my Nima sensor, I don’t trust them. Nima has never been wrong but I don’t think trying to eat there is going to be successful for me or them. 
While we were enjoying our drink, I opened up the Find Me Gluten Free App, which I am cautious about all of the recommendations in it as well, and found a place with 100% of the votes saying it’s celiac safe. Off we went with Nima in tow.

SOUTH RIDGE SEAFOOD GRILL
I am usually set up for success at most seafood restaurants unless they steam everything in beer. South Ridge Seafood Grill was great! We had a rooftop view and the food was fantastic! It even rained on us during dinner. We had an umbrella and it had been hot out so we didn’t mind! It only lasted a few minutes and cooled everything off.

SATURDAY
Up and at em early today and we grabbed some coffee and ate some delicious bakery treats we bought and hit the road! We were off to Winter Park to go on an ATV adventure! We had a great time and got dirty, explored the top of a mountain and saw beautiful scenery with Grand Adventures. They also do snowmobile tours as well. We would do it again!

HEADING TO GOLDEN
Holidaily Brewery and Dedicated Bistro Food Truck!
I had been so excited to go to Holidaily after participating in their Arizona Happy Hour with the owner Karen and her team! I learned a lot about gluten free beer and really enjoy trying new flavors. They are 100% gluten free. We are only able to get 4 flavors in Arizona right now but hopefully more in the future! We got to sample all of the flavors at the brewery! My new favorite is the Pom flavor. My Hubby’s is the Darty. We both are still big fans of the Favorite Blonde!
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The beers paired really well with Dedicated Bistro’s cheese curds, fish n chips as well as the beer brat cooked in Holidaily beer! So much yummy food! I highly recommend sitting on the patio and enjoying the beautiful weather, beer, and food.

​SUNDAY
Sadly the time flew by and we were heading home this afternoon. We stopped in at Blue Sky Cafe and Juice Bar based on their website stating that they had been doing gluten-free food for over 15 years! 
I try to order items from the menu that I think the restaurant will be successful in making gluten free. Example- I don’t order from pizza restaurants, I avoid pancakes if they make regular pancakes incase they cook them on the same grill, etc…

​I 100% understand that there is always a risk of gluten when eating at a restaurant that is not 100% gluten free.
My sweet Hubby orders a gluten free meal everywhere we go when we eat out. Just in case my food doesn’t test safe and his does. Then we can switch because he doesn’t have any problem with gluten. 
We ordered the Denver Omelette and the Sweet potato cake with Carnitas. I didn’t expect the sweet potato cake to be a pancake, I thought it was going to be like hash browns. Oops. 
The Denver omelet tested safe to eat with Nima, but the Sweet Potato cake and Carnitas did not. I am guessing it was because the pancake was cooked with gluten pancakes. So my Hubby ate the not safe one.
I didn’t test or eat the gluten free toast and it came on a separate plate.

OFF TO EXPLORE DOWNTOWN, RETURN THE CAMPER VAN AND FLY HOME
.We stopped in downtown and checked out Union Station and walked around for a bit. Then headed back to Discover Camper Vans to return the van. Caught a Lyft and headed back to the airport. We thought about trying to squeeze another gluten-free option restaurant in but we were just too stuffed! I have a list of places I would like to try next time we come to visit! 
Do you have any other places to add? Here’s my list of places for next time:
Work & Class
Super Mega Bien
Root Down
Vital Root
Linger
El Five
River & Roads Coffee
Gluten Escape

Here’s The Downloadable or Printable GuideI included every place we went as well as made the last page an easily printable list of all the delicious restaurants ​

Download the Guide Here

I hope you love all of the places to eat in the Denver Area!

As Always,

Best Wishes for Gluten Free Dishes!

XO,

​Michelle