I was weaned at the Waffle Star Diner in Detroit. My Greek grandfather owned the jukebox joint and served basics like easy over eggs, pancakes and waffles, rice pudding and my favorite dish of all, fried-farina (strips of cold cream of wheat sautéed in butter with maple syrup). I learned early on that a successful breakfast spot needs not only good food, but also a staff who can handle those in a morning rush and the fragile moods of others (like me) in the early morning hours. Here are a handful of local breakfast spots that are way more than a grab-and-go-cup-of-coffee-and-a-stale-pastry.
Jelly Café
I am not a morning person, so when I go to a breakfast restaurant, I expect great coffee and the perfect blend of good service and an “I’m glad you are here” vibe. That is just what I found when I went to Jelly Café on Capitol Hill. The yellow and orange décor looks vaguely familiar (Dunkin’ Donuts bright). The menu ranged from playful and child-like to ingenious and hearty. The frosted flake and banana pancakes and corn flake battered French toast are family-friendly dishes with a 1960’s retro charm. But it was the frittata sliders and breakfast hash choices that spoke to my adult-size hunger.
My taste buds woke up with the mini goat cheese frittata with bacon and spinach walnut pesto on a toasted bun and the mini julienne zucchini, caramelized onion, roasted pepper and whipped cream cheese. The two-egg breakfast hash is a generous portion of diced goodness. From the first bite of the red-flannel hash with beets, bacon, onions, tomato and sweet potato I barely looked up. That was okay, because my tablemate was deep in a dish of biscuits and gravy. To finish, we had to try the namesake-filled donut bites. The made-to-order filled donut holes came piping hot and filled with Jelly Café’s homemade jelly, crème anglaise in vanilla and chocolate and cinnamon dusted. Though our time didn’t allow, Jelly Café has a full bar with Bloody Marys, sparkling mimosas, citrus cocktails and monthly specials.
Jelly Café 600 E. 13th St., Denver
303.831.6301 | eatmorejelly.com
Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Wild Eggs
Denver has a new breakfast spot that serves up southern hospitality with high-touch service. Cloth napkins and freshly cracked pepper are the norm. Wild Eggs is the brainchild of a family with Denver roots and a southern heart. Jeffrey Rothberg’s grandfather, a Polish immigrant, settled in Denver and founded Zell’s Potato Company. Jeffrey started Eggs Headz LLC and opened three Wild Eggs in his southern home-away-from-Denver-home of Louisville, Kentucky, and after many years of success he and his brother Michael Rothberg decided it was time to come back to Denver.
From the menu to the management, Wild Eggs is a family affair. Jason Dvorkin, Jeffrey’s nephew-in-law, manages the restaurant. His background in sports marketing is evident when you see him mingle with guests and manage a large staff with ease (if he isn’t too busy, ask to see his Super Bowl ring from the New England Patriots).
Even the Wild Eggs menu looks like a family tree, Bonnie’s Bennies, Frank’s Cakes, Crystal’s Wild Berry Crepes and the signature dish Kalamity Katie’s Border Benedict, are named after family members. The menu is like a blended family with southern dishes such as Kelsey “KY” Brown, an open-face sourdough turkey and cheese Mornay egg dish, and southwestern items like Maria’s Chilaquiles, a Mexican style entrée with corn tortillas, refried beans queso blanco and a shot of jugo de limón y chile. No matter what you order, get the grits of the day. If you are a southern food lover, the grits will take you back to a Mississippi food memory and if you love them as much as I do, you can buy the grits at the counter. The lunch menu also features some southern treats not often seen in these parts, like fried bologna and egg and an egg salad with sweet and spicy Habargerdill pickles. If by chance you have room for dessert, the Clementine’s Creamsicle Crepes are worth the calories; they are as good as those I’ve tried at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
Wild Eggs 300 East Alameda, Denver
303.744.3447 | wildeggs.com
Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch (M-F 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sat-Sun 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Devil’s Food Bakery & Cookery
Breakfast at Devil’s Food is like eating in your favorite slippers and bathrobe and watching a classic old movie. Everything is wonderfully comfortable, rich and sweet. There are no awkward moments with the staff, the service is as welcoming as eating at your closest friend’s kitchen table. At the front door, a glass case of small-batch, scratch baked goods tempts and greets diners. The dining room is snug but not cramped and a back patio is a gentle way to start the morning on warm days.
The menu boasts a list of organic and local purveyors like Haystack Mountain, Morning Fresh Farms, Diamond D Dairy and the Truffle Cheese Shop. At Devil’s Food anything baked is heaven. The daily quiche’s rich custard was embedded in a flaky pastry crust that was good enough to make my Michigan great-grandmother smile. The biscuits were a perfect baking powder pillow for a barely spiced sausage gravy. My dining partner and I shared a cinnamon pumpkin pancake—a daily special that changes frequently, with thick pieces of nitrate-free bacon, a much appreciated option I wish other breakfast places would serve. We each ordered the roasted grapefruit with brown sugar and brandy. It was a fresh change from the usual food-service pre-cut fruit that most breakfast spots serve. The one dish I wish I had room to try were the eggs and cornbread; a diner sitting nearby had a plate that looked amazing—ham and green beans scrambled eggs, with cornbread, melted brie and corn salsa. Oh well, there is always next time.
Devil’s Food Bakery and Cookery 1020 S. Gaylord St, Denver
303.733.7448 | devilsfoodbakery.com
Open for breakfast and lunch (M-F 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sat-Sun 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Snooze
It’s no secret that Snooze has a loyal Denver following, but I thought that I could stroll in to the Park Ave. location at 10:30 a.m. on a rainy Tuesday morning and get a table right away. Dream on. Apparently, Snooze never sleeps. A cluster of Snoozers with free hot coffee waited in the doorway for their wake up call for the next table. I was intrigued as to what would tempt people to miss a few hours from work for a fresh-cracked egg or a mile-high pile of pancakes.
From the first bite of the Breakfast Pot Pie, alarm bells went off. The rosemary gravy was spiced perfectly, not too thick, not too runny. It filled up a generous puff pastry bowl. My tablemate was a Benedict purist, so he opted for the Ham Benedict III. The egg was perfectly poached and the hollandaise was classically prepared with smoky cheddar. We sat at the counter, which allowed us to ogle nearby plates without too many raised eyebrows. Lined up on the counter, we saw plates of Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes, with caramelized pineapple and vanilla crème anglaise, Italian Eggs Benedict (Bella! Bella! Benny) with layers of prosciutto, taleggio cheese, balsamic and arugula; corned beef hash with poblanos and onions and an apple strudel French toast. I coveted every one of them.
Snooze recently added a San Diego location on Fifth Ave. Here are the local spots:
Park Ave. and Larimer, 700 N. Colorado Blvd., 6781 S. York St, Suite 515 (M-F 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sat-Sun 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), College and Mountain, Fort Collins, 144 W. Mountain (M-F 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sat-Sun 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), 1617 Pearl St., Boulder (7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily) snoozeeatery.com
Café Aion
While sitting in the sunny window near the fireplace at Café Aion, I almost forgot I was on The Hill, in Boulder. The CU campus hot-spot, known for frat-boy antics, has a grown-up breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant that is nothing short of brilliant. Café Aion’s chef and owner Dakota Soifer has carved out a niche that exceeds the typical morning meal fare in Boulder and Denver. If you are looking for a pancake stack, paper-thin bacon and weak coffee, Café Aion is not your kind of place. But if you are looking for a place that is serious about food, look no further.
Pardon my redundancy, but when I see a menu with house-made jam, house-made croissants (ham/cheese and chocolate), house-made baguettes, house-made doughnuts and house-cured bacon, I had to check Google maps to make sure I wasn’t across the pond at a 500 Euro a night boutique hotel.
From the menu choices to the attention to detail, Café Aion is exceptionally good. When I ordered tea, the lavender and citrus Earl Grey tea was served in a blue and white pot with whole tea leaves tightly encased in a metal tea infuser. No tea dust and no tired tea bag on a string—lovely. The coffee came in a generous French Press pot—divine.
The freshly made croissants were purely Parisian, and were better than many I’ve tried at Denver’s better known French bakeries. For entrees, we opted for polenta with poached eggs and tomato ragú and Colorado short ribs with eggs, potatoes and a small salad. The Anson Mills Polenta was a luxurious and steamy bed for two soft poached eggs and a dollop of nicely seasoned tomato sauce. The short ribs, a Colorado take on steak and eggs, were fall-off-the-bone tender. The potatoes were salty and crisp and the vinaigrette salad was a fresh change from a meager slice of melon. If breakfast is any indication, Soifer will keep Boulder on the map as a foodie town; look out Denver.
Café Aion 1235 Pennsylvania Ave, Boulder
303.993.8131 | cafeaion.com
Open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week. (9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dinner: Tues-Sat., 5 to 11 p.m.)
Next time it looks like we need to Snooze. :)
Nice writeup Kim…always helpful.
thank you so much for this wonderful write-up!