Artichokes Are All Over Denver Menus Right Now

As we enjoy the last six weeks of summer, peaches and tomatoes are (rightfully) getting a lot of attention in both home and professional kitchens. But there's another vegetable that's been having a moment on menus at some of our favorite restaurants: artichokes.

"Artichokes are back," I declared to a friend after running across yet another artichoke dish.

"Did they ever go away?" my friend replied. Fair point. Grilled artichokes are a staple on many steakhouse menus and, of course, spinach and artichoke dip has been a crowd-pleasing appetizer, particularly at chains, for decades. But artichokes themselves haven't really been considered trendy since...the ’80s?

Over the past month, though, I've eaten more artichokes than I have in years, and I'm pretty happy about it. My first artichoke encounter of 2024 came when I visited the Cherry Creek location of Olive & Finch for a taste of its recently launched dinner menu. At the top of the starters list is a classic grilled artichoke paired with lemon caper aioli for $12.

"I don't remember the last time I had a grilled artichoke," I commented as I scraped the tender meat with my teeth.
Just a few days later, though, I was eating another grilled artichoke, this time at the French-inspired La Forêt, which opened in the former Beatrice & Woodsley space in March. Its indulgent version is doused in garlic butter and comes with a grilled lemon and remoulade.

I highly recommend popping in, grabbing a seat at the bar and ordering one during pastis hour (4 to 5 p.m.) for $7, along with an order of truffle-zested fries ($5) and a cornichon spritz ($12).
Over at Wildflower in LoHi — which is dishing up some very impressive dishes and drinks in a space that's made for romantic date nights — large chunks of grilled artichokes play a starring role in an olive-forward salad comprising gigante beans, grapes, pea shoots and fennel with a Castelvetrano tapenade.

My favorite recent artichoke encounter, though, was at Saverina, the new Italian restaurant inside the also-new Kimpton Claret Hotel in the Denver Tech Center. Former Citizen Rail executive chef Christian Graves has a lot of experience with meat, but his vegetable expertise is on display here — and includes one of the best Caesar salads in town. But you should start your Saverina meal with the delicate, fried Roman-style baby artichokes ($19) with lemon aioli. Tender and creamy inside with flaky bits of crunchy leaves, these bite-sized beauties are a treat.
Other spots where you can get an artichoke fix:

Hillstone and its sister restaurant, Cherry Creek Grill, famously offer a $20 grilled heirloom artichoke from Castroville, California. "Highly seasonal, we'll serve them whenever they're available," the menu notes.

We recently reported on some big news from the Crafted Concepts restaurant group, which is closing Stoic & Genuine and passing Ultreia and Bistro Vendôme to new operating partners. Meanwhile, founders Jen Jasinski and Beth Gruitch will be focusing on Rioja, where one of the signature dishes over the past twenty years has been the artichoke tortelloni in white truffle brodo with aged Manchego (seven pieces for $27 or three for $14).

One of the best sandwich spots in town, Mead Street Provisions, has a grilled artichoke with roasted garlic lemon aioli on the menu for $15.

The classic grilled version of the vegetable is also a staple at old-school red-sauce joint Gaetano's, where it comes with garlic aioli and clarified butter.

If this rise of the artichoke signals the end of the relentless wave of Brussels sprouts on menus, I'm 100 percent behind it.