More and more restaurants are brandishing the Colorado Proud logo, indicating locally grown produce, on their menus as top chefs are teaming up with regional farmers to take the fresh-food movement to a new level. Farm-to-fork experiences are available year round in Colorado. Here are our monthly harvest picks and the mouthwatering restaurants where you’ll find them.*
January
Fresh Picks: arugula, winter squash
Find It Here: Cosmo Bar & Dining, Durango
Cosmo calls on Stone Free Farms for handpicked tomatoes, arugula, basil and more. Try the house-smoked pork belly served with local arugula salad, kimchee and miso vinaigrette.
February
Fresh Picks: duck, honey
Find It Here: Black Cat Farm Table Bistro, Boulder
Visit the award-winning bistro and organic farm for their Juxtaposition of Duck — made with locally raised duck, roasted with fennel honey and served with confit leg strudel and currants braised in red wine.
March
Fresh Picks: lamb, beef
Find It Here: Juicy Lucy’s Steakhouse, Glenwood Springs
Enjoy high-quality Colorado beef, lamb or elk paired with locally grown produce and an extensive Colorado wine list.
April
Fresh Picks: goat cheese, potatoes
Find It Here: Duo Restaurant, Denver
In Denver’s hip Highland neighborhood, bustling Duo serves a decadent goat cheese tartlette with roasted green and yellow squash and a pea shoot salad.
May
Fresh Picks: asparagus, rhubarb, green garlic
Find It Here: Margarita at Pine Creek, Colorado Springs
Margarita’s comfortably contemporary cuisine puts innovative twists on fresh Colorado ingredients in dishes like the roasted portabello, beet and leek napoleon with butternut squash, asparagus and spinach pesto.
June
Fresh Picks: peaches, blueberries, cherries, strawberries
Find It Here: Potager, Denver
Denver's Capitol Hill farm-fresh restaurant has been doing things the local way since 1997. Start with the grilled peach wrapped in prosciutto before diving in to the rest of their menu's simple but delicious items.
July
Fresh Picks: mint, basil, cucumbers
Find It Here: The Laughing Ladies Restaurant, Salida
This downtown eatery serves up fresh modern American cuisine, including a crave-worthy balsamic grilled salmon with basil almond quinoa and a cherry tomato salad.
August
Fresh Picks: sweet corn, chilis, beets
Find It Here: Sweet Basil, Vail
With Mediterranean, Italian and Asian influences, Sweet Basil is a mountain town favorite. Cut into the double cut pork chop with sweet corn puree and grilled king trumpet mushrooms.
September
Fresh Picks: watermelon, apples, peaches
Find It Here: Delicious Orchards Café, Paonia
Taste the best of western Colorado at this organic farmers’ market and cafe. Sip on fresh-pressed apple cider with a piece of peach and blackberry cobbler.
October
Fresh Picks: pumpkin, kale, eggplant
Find It Here: Potager, Denver
Potager’s menu changes monthly to ensure the ripest seasonal offerings. Everything is made from scratch, including the crispy duck dumplings in pumpkin soup with dates.
November
Fresh Picks: onions, radicchio, escarole
Find It Here: Twist, Breckenridge
Twist’s seasonally updated comfort food menu is loaded with regional ingredients. Cozy up to the venison and root vegetable stew or the five-onion cheddar mac-n-cheese.
December
Fresh Picks: turnips, leeks, squash
Find It Here: Café Vino, Fort Collins
This diverse European-inspired menu employs nearby Grant Family Farms produce and meats. Dive into the seared scallops over winter squash puree with a blood orange and sage butter sauce.
*Restaurant menus subject to change.
Photo by Jason Dewey for The Little Nell.
