As a culinary professional I have a confession: Sometime it’s easy to overcomplicate food.

In an effort to make the familiar new, exciting or even hip, we sometimes lose focus on the actual fare. A recent outing to Jake and Telly’s Greek Taverna, nestled above a bustling section of Colorado Avenue in Old Colorado City, reminded me that simply prepared dishes are underrated.

There’s something refreshing about a laidback approach to seriously good food, and that’s exactly what you’ll find in the flavorful plant-based offerings at this busy Greek restaurant.

In keeping with simplicity, I’m going to get right to it and make this easy for you: Order the Greek salad (hold the feta), a cup of the red lentil soup and the vegetarian mixed appetizer plate (request extra hummus to replace the tzatziki – yogurt – and extra olives to replace the cheese).

The cup of red lentil soup ($4.99) and Greek salad ($8.99) could easily serve as a meal – a substantial one, at that. The quicker-cooking red lentils cook up soft and therefore add a thickness to the soup. Finely chopped carrots add a crunch to the dense broth and a sprig of fresh herbs is pleasing to the eye. The Greek salad plate is overflowing with raw, crisp lettuce, cucumber, carrot and tomatoes. Balanced with meaty olives and mild pickled pepperoncini peppers serving up good fats and a slightly acidic tang, this salad hit all the taste buds.

The appetizer plate ($17.99) is equally impressive, offering up just about every food that makes up a vegan diet: legumes, vegetables, grains, and fruit (yes, olives are fruit). Let’s start with what I consider the stars of the plate: the beans. Hummus borders on being a vegan cliché, but I think some of that is due to how ubiquitous it’s become. Get that store-bought hummus out of your head before diving into the pureed chickpeas with a warm piece of pita. This thick dip is nearly chunky and not overly seasoned, because why mess with a tasty garbanzo bean when it’s already great as is? Towering over the small bowl of hummus is a giant serving of creamy gigante (“big,” in Greek) beans simmered to perfection in tomatoes and crushed pepper. It would be easy to fill up on those plant-powered, fibrous, legume superstars, but don’t miss out on the roasted red peppers, fatty (in a good way!) olives, and grape leaves stuffed with rice. And, of course, let’s not forget the vegetables. Grilled lightly to retain their snap and flavor, I’ll admit that I can’t love them as much as I do other vegetables. Summer squash – in this case, zucchini and eggplant – just aren’t my thing (please don’t take away my vegan card!). But the generous slices of grilled red onion? I could eat those all day.

Be sure to peruse the drink list for just the right adult beverage to complement your meal. You’ll find draft beer ($6) and a variety of imported Greek beers (plus cider and no-alcohol beers, all $5) as well as more than 20 wines by the glass ($6-$9).

Vegetable and legume lovers, vegan and not, will find much to enjoy at Jake and Telly’s Greek Taverna. Try to find the time for a long leisurely lunch out on the deck while the weather permits, because there’s something special about eating fresh food, sipping crisp wine, basking in sunshine and being entertained by the eclectic foot traffic on Colorado Avenue.