VEGAN
UT > dietary information
Installment No. 1:
100% VEGAN
Bad Luck Dragon
VS. Bunny Chow
What's inside
Below you’ll find all the primary (and many secondary) ingredients we utilize to make this particular installment of ‘Unofficial Translation’ a reality. We’re offering this for our patrons who are simply curious or have particular food concerns.
As always, with any restaurant food and drink, if you’re in doubt, please check with us. We signed up to make amazing creations second –your health and safety come first.
Love,
–all the Unofficial Translation peeps
Ye Olde Bigger Restrictions
Included in these lists of restrictions are items that may not currently be offered on our menu. They may come back at some point, but as they say, get it while it’s hot 😉
Gluten
Nothing on our menu should be considered ingestible by anyone with Celiac Disease. That being said many of our menu items are gluten-free.
The following items contain gluten:
Seitan
Fried “Chicken” Nuggets
Lo Mein
Bunny Chow
Soy
Pretty much everything here contains some form of soy (except for the coconut rice and the cauliflower “rice”.
The following items contain soy:
Spicy Green Beans
Mapo Tofu
Very Best Greens
Laziji Nuggets
Szechaun Wings
Hot & Sour Soup
Gourd Hot Pot
Bunny Chow
Orange & Orange
Munashe Curry
Sesame & Sesame
General Tso’s
Kung Pao
Lo Mein
Tofu
Fried “chicken”
Garlic
Pretty much everything here contains garlic (except for the coconut rice and the cauliflower “rice”.
The following items contain garlic (entire menu except dessert):
Spicy Green Beans
Braised Greens
Mapo Tofu
Laziji Nuggets
Szechaun Wings
Hot & Sour Soup
Curry
Gourd Hot Pot
Bunny Chow
Orange & Orange
Sesame & Sesame
General Tso’s
Kung Pao
Lo Mein
Onions
The following items contain onion:
Curry
Gourd Hot Pot
Bunny Chow
General Tso’s
Lo Mein
*green onions are found on many dishes as garnish.
"Nuts"
We’re not being clever with the quotation marks, but simply generalizing all things popularly considered nuts and legumes. We are not a nut-free kitchen (and not just speaking about our staff). One other tidbit, our fryer oil is peanut-free veggie oil.
The following dishes contain peanuts (or other):
Mapo Tofu
Hot Pot
Kung Pao
Very Best Greens
Szechuan Wings
Eight Treasures (almonds, pistachios, lychee fruit)
Animal Products
We serve 100% vegan and (by default, vegetarian) menus.
Please note: while we are providing a 100% vegan menu, utilizing vegan practices, we do utilize kitchens that may occasionally contain animal products. Unofficial Translation is a “ghost restaurant” concept and therefore has no official kitchen to call its own –and instead, “borrows” kitchen space from existing and carefully-vouched-for restaurants. Regardless, animal products that may be in the “borrowed” restaurant are always kept entirely separate during storage and preparation of all things ‘Unofficial Translation’.
Additionally, when utilizing shared equipment, we ensure that all equipment has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized prior to implementing ‘Unofficial Translation’ menus. We’re fundamentally a restaurant –and as such, our goal is to provide you with restoration and replenishment. We do this by upholding empirical sanitation standards and not shirking from integrity. We’re always going to be honest which is why we’re sharing with you this important information.
Kosher/Halal
Nothing on our menu is created as Kosher (as defined by dietary guidelines set by traditional Jewish law). Regardless of our menu containing no animal products, we do not serve any foods or beverages that have been produced, processed, or prepared under strict Kosher guidelines. Incidentally, our soups contain veggie stock (that we make from scratch) which is created using grape-based wine (as a deglaze).
While we don’t serve any animal products, we do not consider our food to be strictly considered Halal. Some of our ingredients, used for preparation for instance, do contain alcohol such as mirin (rice-based wine) as well as grape-based wine (see note above about deglazing). We do not utilize CBD or other ingredients that may be considered “intoxicants”.
Most importantly, while we are providing a 100% vegan menu, utilizing vegan practices, we do utilize kitchens that may occasionally contain animal products. Such animal products are of course kept entirely separate during storage and preparation, but may be prepared in the same kitchen at times separate from our preparation of all things ‘Unofficial Translation’. The more you know.
Ye olde lesser Restrictions
Included in these lists of restrictions are items that may not currently be offered on our menu. They may come back at some point, but as they say, get it while it’s hot 😉
Chili
The fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum which are members of the nightshade family. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines as a spice to add heat to dishes. The substances giving chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically are called capsaicin. We use habanero, szechuan, and…
Spicy Green Beans
Braised Greens
Mapo Tofu
Hot & Sour Soup
Curry
Gourd Hot Pot
Bunny Chow
Orange & Orange
Sesame & Sesame
Kung Pao
Coconut
Botanically speaking, coconut fruit is a drupe, not a nut. The name comes from the old Portuguese and Spanish word coco, meaning ‘head’ or ‘skull’, after the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features.
The following items contain coconut:
Spicy Szechuan Strings
Curry
Coconut Rice
Ginger
Pretty much everything here contains ginger (except for the coconut rice and the cauliflower “rice”.
The following items contain ginger:
Spicy Szechuan Strings
Braised Greens
Mapo Tofu
Hot & Sour Soup
Curry
Gourd Hot Pot
Bunny Chow
Orange & Orange
Sesame & Sesame
General Tso’s
Kung Pao
Lo Mein
Cilantro
As much as we hate to do so, we entirely eliminated cilantro from our dishes. Fun science: According to a study by 23andMe, the aversion to cilantro, due to it tasting “soapy” is most often genetic in origin. And enough people dislike it that we decided to keep it out of our dishes since for most, it was going to be a simple garnish. This being said, some people are actually allergic to coriander (the plant that grows the leaves we call cilantro). Because of this, we have included the dishes we serve that contain coriander below.
Items that contain coriander:
Mapo Tofu
Curry
Gourd Hot Pot
Bunny Chow
MSG
Ya, you know me …Or do you? Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is relatively harmless and found naturally in many foods including tomatoes and cheese. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with an umami taste that intensifies the meaty, savory flavor of food (as naturally occurring glutamate does in foods such as stews and meat soups).
Worried about MSG? –Don’t be: Mayo Clinic | The Gardian (long read) | FDA
Dishes that contain MSG:
Spicy Green Beans – found in the dressing, etc.
Braised Greens
Mapo Tofu
Hot & Sour Soup
Gourd Hot Pot
Orange & Orange
Sesame & Sesame
General Tso’s
Kung Pao
Nighshade
List of nightshade ingredients:
- bell peppers
- eggplants
- potatoes
- tomatoes
- chili pepper
- cayenne pepper
- paprika
Sesame
Sesame is the ninth most common food allergy among children and adults in the U.S.
–The more you know…
Below is a list of items that contain sesame:
Pretty much everything here contains sesame (except for the coconut rice and the cauliflower “rice”.
The following items contain sesame:
Spicy Green Beans
Braised Greens
Mapo Tofu
Hot & Sour Soup
Curry
Gourd Hot Pot
Bunny Chow
Orange & Orange
Sesame & Sesame
General Tso’s
Kung Pao
Lo Mein
Sesame Balls
DELIVERY Hours
wednesday 3pm – 9pm
thursday 3pm – 9pm
friday 3pm – 9pm
saturday 3pm – 9pm
sunday 3pm – 9pm
*extended catering hours
available upon request
Catering
let’s party! drop us an email,
we’ll make it happen, capt’n.
Contacts
BAKER / WASHINGTON PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
south broadway & archer, denver
~ DELIVERY ONLY ~
(303) 529-3565
CAPITOL HILL NEIGHBORHOOD
13th ave. & pearl, denver
~ DELIVERY ONLY ~
(303) 529-3565
info @ unofficialtranslation.com
(please allow up to two days for a response)
make more friends, purchase e-gift cards here!
FAQs
Q: Why is this installment named ‘Bad Luck Dragon VS. Bunny Chow’?
A: We took a bunch of the common dishes and techniques of our favorite American-asian haunts and crashed them into some of our favorite southern-region African dishes and techniques (Bunny Chow is a popular South African dish for instance).
Q: Why bad luck?
A: Do you have any extra good luck? If so, could you throw some our way please? We are in the restaurant industry after all 
Q: Who are you?
A: We’re the creative gang behind ‘Bang Up to the Elephant!’ and ‘Beatrice & Woodsley’. We geek out on globe-trotting culinary history and technique –and we have a weird sense of humor.
Q: How are you doing this?
A: We’re making all of this from scratch; ideas, foods, and even some of our cooking tools. We’re doing this from our two existing kitchens –since we have the opportunity with all these unpredictable mandates.
Q: Do you deliver?
A: Yep! In fact, with Unofficial Translation, that’s all we do-
Q: Catering?
A: We’d be honored! So honored in fact, that we’ll give you a discount on your event just for inquiring. Drop us an email with your deets and we’ll get back with you within 48 hours.
Q: How long will this go on?
A: How long does a pandemic usually last? We don’t know. But while it’s going on, we’re going to make the most out of it. Don’t expect it to last forever, or likely past spring… We don’t sit still long, and we’re likely going to try something new if we have the time (if we still can’t fully open our “brick & mortar” restaurants.
Q: what is the secret of life the universe and everything?
A: 42.
Q: Does this food you serve cure COVID-19?
A: No. But it does cure boredom 😉
Covid-19
Thank you for your patience and understanding these past many months as we’ve carefully considered how to best provide our creativity and service to our neighborhood. We’re committed to doing absolutely everything we possibly can to ensure the health and sanitation of our guests, staff, purveyors, and surrounding community.
We are closely monitoring the official guidance provided by both the CDC, WHO, and Denver Public Health as we cautiously reopen our beautiful little restaurant. We are vigilant in ensuring all of our staff have been fully briefed (and are constantly updated) on the ongoing situation and sanitary practices.
As always, we continue to take great pride in maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene across our restaurant at all times. Because, in simple terms, we created a restaurant dedicated to making people happy and healthy. While there are many other wonderful reasons to visit with us, this basic edifice of health and happiness will always be our primary goal; public contagions be damned.
One other tidbit we’d like to share: while we hope that the virus is eliminated in short order, we know that certain realities may hamper these efforts. As such, we have committed to being flexible with our staffing, scheduling, and general operations. “Slow and steady wins the race” is how we’re moving forward. So, while we may occasionally choose to quickly limit our offerings, hours, or service from time to time, we ask that you forgive us these trespasses –knowing that our goal is to protect you and ourselves, so we can all have a chance to hug each other in the long-term. After all, the whole point is to get to the other side of this finish line, happy and healthy. 😉