Blueberry Danish Pancakes
Snooze an A.M. eatery, 1617 Pearl St., Boulder, snoozeeatery.com
There’s a reason Snooze has long lines nearly every day of the week and every time of the day (until 3 p.m.) The breakfast joint started in Denver just over a decade ago and has been popular, and growing, ever since. Ranging from savory to sweet, the options are endless so don’t be afraid to mix and match items across the menu. The blueberry danish pancake is just as rich as its namesake. A delightfully fluffy buttermilk pancake surrounds a center of tangy lemon cream cheese filling that adds to every bite. The entire thing is smothered in a tart blueberry coulis (thick, strained blueberry sauce) and sweet cream drizzle. Almond streusel sprinkled on top adds just a bit of crunch. These pancakes feel decadent, but that didn’t stop us from eating every last bite. $7.50.
Colorado Farmivore Mac and Cheese
Twisted Pine Brewing Company, 3201 Walnut St., Boulder, twistedpinebrewing.com
Thank goodness for the innovation of embellished macaroni and cheese. Whoever decided to make a great thing greater should be given a Congressional Medal of Honor. Twisted Pine, a fantastic brewery on beer merits alone, ups its culinary stature with a menu of well-made pub staples, including a section reserved for special macs and cheeses. Their Colorado farmivore is a delight; on top of their pasta (kind of a frilled macaroni) is feta cheese, goat horn pepper, roasted garlic and spinach. The goat horn pepper has a strong kick, but it also has beautiful fruit sweetness to settle the flavor. The vibrant feta, sweet garlic and herbaceous spinach round this mac and cheese dish out into a proper meal. $13.
Special Pho
Chez Thuy Vietnamese Restaurant, 2655 28th St., Boulder, chezthuy.com
Pho will cure what ails you. The now-ubiquitous Vietnamese soup has magical properties that’ll fix everything from a hangover to stuffed sinuses to just plain hunger. And pho doesn’t get much better than Chez Thuy’s take on it. In fact, whatever Chez Thuy does, we’re pretty much on board with. The “special” pho comes with rare steak, brisket, meatball, tendon and tripe all simmered in an umami broth with glass noodles, jalapenos, basil and chili sauce. The brisket falls apart as soon as it’s in your mouth, the steak is hearty, and the meatball is well-seasoned and soaks up all the broth. The noodles are slurp-worthy, and by the time you get to the end of the truly massive bowl, all that chili sauce, jalapeno and lime juice you squeezed in there has concentrated into a flavorful, savory punch. $13.95.
Shultach Sandwich
Southern Sun Pub & Brewery, 627 S. Broadway, Suite E, Boulder, mountainsunpub.com
You just can’t beat the number of house-made beers Southern Sun (and all the Sun locations for that matter) has on tap. But if you had to pick something outside its brew inventory to harp on about, it’d be the food specials, which rotate daily. Given, you may not be able to catch the shultach sandwich if you pop in on a random day, but keep an eye out for this delicious concoction. Baked ham, cranberry jam, walnut, goat cheese and spinach are packed between two pieces of ciabatta bread. The ham is smoky, the jam is bittersweet, the walnut (in strips and softened) is earthy, the goat cheese is salty and punchy, and the spinach is fresh, crunchy and sweet. The truth is whether it’s the shultach or any number of the Sun’s creative lunchtime creations, you’re liable to walk away pleased. $11.50.
