Don’t visit Cook’s Fresh Market at the height of the lunch rush unless you’re wearing your combat face, because the line of hungry office workers seeking high-end prepared foods for lunch back at the desk can easily stretch a dozen deep or more.
Sure, at first glance, this is a grocery store, albeit a tiny one — with steaks in the butcher case and pasta on the shelves.
But this is no supermarket. Gourmet grocery giants like New York’s Dean & Deluca inform the Cook’s Fresh format, which sets imported condiments and expensive spice blends on shelves as almost a backdrop to the much more vigorous and important part of the business: sandwiches and prepared foods, mostly served at lunch.
Tops among the sandwiches is the straightforward salami sandwich: a generous stack of hard salami with spicy mustard, lettuce, tomato, and slices of sharp red onion on housemade country white bread. (Hold the lettuce and tomato for a less-crowded sandwich.)
A decidedly different lunch, but equally delicious (and probably much more healthful) is the grain salad, a flavorful toss of tabouleh, brown rice, quinoa, mixed greens, vegetables and eggs. A virtuous, energy-rich meal, especially good for lunch on the day after a rich dinner out.
Another satisfying option: soup of the day, particularly if today features the piquant, fresh Southwestern chicken tortilla soup or the “Denver Chowder” of potatoes, chiles and cheese.
At about eight bucks for a Cook’s Fresh sandwich or salad, there are certainly cheaper lunch deals to be had downtown. But the ingredients are of very high quality, and sometimes that extra couple of bucks is worth it for better salami and fresher bread.
To keep your tally under 10 bucks, avoid the register-side booby-trap impulse offers like bite-sized caramels and exotic chocolates.
Here’s something great: Cook’s Fresh is now open for breakfast, so you can swing in for a freshly baked scone on the way to work.
Cook’s Fresh Market
Groceries and prepared foods. 16th Street Mall and Glenarm Place, 303-893-2277. Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Sunday
