Beet Box Bakery & Cafe
Bear Claw
Turtle Brownie
Carrot Cake
Vanilla Donut
Double Chocolate Donut
Apple Cinnamon Donut
Not a vegetarian and certainly not one to go out of my way for “healthy” food when on vacation, the concept of vegan bakeries has nonetheless intrigued me ever since my earliest years in Columbus and bearing in mind the intrinsic limitations of the medium when entering Beet Box Bakery & Cafe it was with noted creativity and pleasant smiles that the morning unfolded, five of six items not just ‘good for vegan food’ but unequivocally great.
Located in a small section of storefronts on East 22nd Avenue, the signage understated and easily missed for those not knowing, Beet Box was demarcated on Monday with a cute clapboard indicating No Donuts vs. Donuts and although some may have been foolish enough to choose the former those opting to enter were rewarded by a wide selection, many of them still warm.
Whimsically decorated with patterned vegetables and letters of the alphabet paired to food it was in allowing three others to go before me that the dual glass cases were perused and although perhaps a bit pricey the $24 tab for three donuts, two pastries and a small cake seemed a fine investment when figuring in tax and tip.
Taking a booth in the side room where benign music played over a single speaker leading to office space it was with goods laid out that a logical progression of flavors was determined, the bear claw admittedly causing an early bit of trepidation given the dearth of flavor on the inside, the lack of butter additionally making for a crisp shell but minimal separation of layers.
Moving onward to Donuts, the base of each distinctly different though all featured a moist, cake-like mouthfeel, tasting began with robust vanilla notes pervading the palate and moving on to apple-cinnamon before a decadent chocolate ring the waft of spices was both autumnal and beautiful, a very good sign of things to come.
Acknowledging a lengthy day of eating ahead, the long morning’s run and rush hour traffic admittedly priming the appetite by the time I’d arrived, it was with half of each donut placed back in the bag and remaining bear claw discarded that heftier options were inspected, the layers of carrot cake literally half vegetable with a generous amount of raisins and walnuts beneath mildly sweet icing, the Turtle Brownie trending far more typical with an intense fudge base beneath candied nuts and sticky-sweet vegan caramel.
http://www.beetboxdenver.com/
