When Lenny Martinelli was a vegetarian about 20 years ago, the standard restaurant offering for non-meat eaters was roasted vegetables and potatoes. He opened Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant a couple years ago to do something more distinctive and interesting. “It’s our fifth restaurant,” he notes, “and they all have a vegetarian component.” His other eateries are well known to locals: Aji, the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House, the Huckleberry Restaurant in Louisville, and the Naropa Café. “We are the only vegetarian restaurant in Boulder. I think enough people know about us, know that the food is really good, and different. Fifty percent of our customers are not vegetarians; they come because our food is good. Omnivores come in and eat our food and walk out saying ‘Wow.’” Some favorites are stuffed poblano pepper with chocolate mole, jerk tempeh with coconut plaintain sauce, and for dessert, vegan carrot cake and green tea creme brulee. “We always have homemade pie with a vegan crust, and we offer a flourless chocolate cake for the non-wheat eaters. We provide for people with allergies. We really try to please.” Besides chef Steven Dustin and managing partner Gerry Manning, who puts together the list of organic, biodynamic and sustainably grown wines, wife Sara Martinelli is “the tea queen” for the restaurants. You can enjoy organic beer and smoothies, too, and a good selection of vegan food. “We are introducing at least one course that’s raw,” Martinelli says. Leaf and its four sister restaurants share in the ownership of a local organic farm. “At the 63rd Street Farm, our produce is grown organically and biodynamically, and we are able to be involved in the agricultural process every step of the way. We can ensure the quality of our produce by working hand-in-hand with our farmers to determine which crops to plant, and we carefully craft our menus to coincide with the natural harvest periods.”
