The Mercury Café: a blast from the past
Published: May 18, 2009
The Peace & Love era of funky décor, hippie sensibility and organic food isn't dead — it lives on at the Mercury Café, just outside downtown Denver.
For 34 years, in various locations and incarnations, this institution has been devoted to an "exploration of food, the arts, politics and community." You'll probably get a sense of all that as you walk up to the painted Brother Sun and Sister Moon framing the rose-emblazoned door.
If you go to eat, you might sit down at a table painted with a colorful phoenix, an owl or a flower. The room might seem a little too dark, the chairs a little too low, the service a little too slow — but no matter. You can use the time to appreciate the multi-colored velvet curtains, the painted ceiling, the Christmas lights hanging in graceful catenaries. Best of all, you'll have time to savor all that organic food. As they say on the menu: "Local Organic Food Is Your Birthright!"
For breakfast, you can get a basic two eggs, potatoes and toast for $5. Adding a tofu chop will cost a dollar more. If you think serving mostly organic food means going vegetarian, think again, because for an extra $7, you can dress up those eggs with an elk steak! If you are a vegan, though, you'll be safe with Leiza's Tofu Breakfast for $6.
Brunch items cost more, with eggs Benedict at $10 and Alamosa striped bass Florentine for $12, but the portions are good-sized and the Hollandaise is good — though you're likely to find it in unusual combinations, such as dolloped over quiche.
For lunch, you could try the grilled tempeh with black bean sauce for $8, or various salads, sandwiches or enchiladas. "The Merc" also serves what they call supper, with entrées ranging from the $7 garlic linguini to turkey Stroganoff for $16. And if you have $22 to spend, there's always that good ol' elk steak.
A good meal — accompanied by beers, wines and locally produced spirits such as Rocky Mountain Meade — might just put you in the mood to enjoy the many happenings here that have to do with the arts, politics and community.
In the large upstairs room above the dining areas, the Merc holds poetry rodeos, readings and slams, along with all kinds of dance classes, from Lindy Hop to Tango on Friday nights.
You could take a laughter yoga class, too, or learn the Brazilian dance/martial art called Capoiera. Sometimes the Merc hosts the Belly Dance Cafe or a pagan Beltane celebration or a play by Vox Feminista. On open stage nights, comics, magicians and musicians can stand up and show off their stuff.
The Merc, with turbines and solar collectors on the roof, likes to say it's powered by the wind and sun. But it's really powered by all its devoted patrons who keep coming here year after year to take refuge in a place unlike any other in Denver.
- by David Zindell, Denver Reporter for HelloMetro
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