I have a taste for all things natural, and no place satisfies that more thoroughly than Denver. (Maybe that’s because people there don’t confuse “ fresh and natural” with “ho-hum and boring.”)

I was struck by that again as I headed not to the mountains but toward the city’s center. Hailing a (hybrid) taxi to meet friends for dinner, I had to smile as I passed the new post-modern library and, next to it, the amazing new art museum. The first is as fresh a look as you could imagine, the second a design that reflects and reinterprets the surrounding shapes of nature.

I arrived at my friends address to discover that even their loft was a fresh take on urban living, overlooking the rejuvenated Cherry Creek. And what was for dinner? Fresh, all-natural burgers, adorned with a simple-yet-sophisticated mix of sautéed mushrooms, onions and bacon. So deliciously Denver.