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In certain crowds, beets, kale, apples, and ginger have become synonymous with breakfast. But you don’t have to embrace the juice fast or seek out a specialty shop to enjoy the benefits. The fresh-pressed drinks—promoted for their immune-system-boosting, cancer-fighting benefits—have hit restaurant menus. Here, a few of Denver’s most delicious, vitamin-packed tonics (paired with don’t-miss dishes).
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Ace Eat Serve
Although best known for table tennis and modern Asian fare, Ace Eat Serve also offers healthy sips. Order the cucumber-beet-apple-kale juice ($6) for its refreshing flavor and cleansing benefits: cucumber flushes toxins, beets cleanse the blood, and kale packs a wallop of antioxidants and calcium. Plus: Watch for Ace Juice Bar, a spin-off entity with curbside delivery, to open on Tax Day.
Order this: The chive-and-pork shumai.
501 E. 17th Ave., 303-800-7705, acedenver.com
Parsley
A lunchtime sandwich spot in the Golden Triangle, Parsley offers an array of simple juices built around carrots, apples, and, you guessed it, parsley. The easy-drinking carrot-apple-ginger combo ($4.95–$6.20) is a nutrient-dense alternative to soda with your midday meal.
Order this: The Cherokee with roasted turkey, green chiles, pepper jack, tomato, onion, and chipotle sauce.
303 W. 11th Ave., 303-893-7914, parsleyandbailey.com
WaterCourse Foods
Uptown’s vegetarian standby, WaterCourse Foods, offers a small selection of juice blends. Our favorite—the Metabolism Booster, $5.50—gets its moniker from fresh ginger and a dash of cayenne. Celery, pineapple, apple, carrot, and lemon round out the drink and offset the heat.
Order this: The street tacos stuffed with fried sweet potato and black beans and topped with a lime-cilantro slaw.
837 E. 17th Ave., 303-832-7313, watercoursefoods.com
True Food Kitchen
At True Food Kitchen, the Medicine Man ($6) just might be a miracle worker. Each ingredient—sea buckthorn, pomegranate, cranberry, and black tea—is chock-full of powerful antioxidants, and they combine to create what’s billed as the ultimate health tonic. A splash of soda water gives the drink a fizzy, almost cocktail-like touch.
Order this: The signature kale salad with breadcrumbs, lemon, and garlic.
2800 E. Second Ave., 720-509-7661, foxrc.com
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ON THE MOVE: Watch for RollinGreens Juicery, a local food truck serving organic, fresh raw juices. rollingreens.com