Shane Jackson is the executive chef at Leaf, saying he has a high degree of “creative freedom” when it comes to menu and recipe creation. Winning the two categories comes as a big compliment, especially since Jackson’s specialty is meat and seafood. If he had to guess why readers chose Leaf, he said it’s likely because, well, it’s tasty and a lot of TLC goes into each dish. “We make everything from scratch and most meals are very prep intensive,” Jackson said. Wondering which mouth-watering dishes customers can’t get enough of? “Our most popular dish is our cauliflower tacos.” Followed by the savory portobello burger, served full sized on the lunch menu – and sliders for happy hour. As for offering fresh natural ingredients, he attributes it Three Leaf Farms, which is part of the restaurant concept. “During the summer I get most of my produce from them, kale, tomatoes, radishes, squash, zucchini.” 1710 Pearl St., Boulder, 303.442.1485, leafvegetarianrestaurant.com.
Runner Up for Best Vegetarian: Flower Child, 2580 Arapahoe Ave., #110, Boulder, 303.386.8090 iamaflowerchild.com.
Runner Up for Best Natural Ingredients: Black Cat Farm Table Bistro, 1964 13th St., Boulder, 303.444.5500, boulderdowntown.com/go/black-cat