“Z”urrito
Deli-cious Z’s, 802 S. Public Road, Suite D, Lafayette, deliciouszs.com
Deli-cious Z’s cozy dining room faces north, so in the morning while you sit at one of the tables, sipping a cup of coffee, a consistent stream of light fills the room. The holidays have rendered this space even more charming, with garland strung about the room and soft, mostly instrumental holiday music drifting from above. It was the perfect setting for a “Z”urrito (though we did have to grab this one to-go). A warm tortilla is stuffed with scrambled eggs, tender cubes of potato, sharp cheddar cheese and your choice of meat (we opted for vegetarian sausage, but bacon, ham or real sausage are possibilities as well). But it’s Z’s signature green chili that really ties the room, er, burrito together. Bright and a little spicy, this green chili is the best way we can think of to start your morning; you can choose to smother your burrito in it (we recommend) or tuck it inside for a cleaner handheld option. $6.99.
Eggnog Latte
Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Several locations in Boulder County, boxcarcoffeeroasters.com
Find Boxcar Coffee at Rosetta Hall, find it in the Boulderado, find it in the shop it shares with Cured, just find it and ask the barista about the eggnog latte. We sampled a boozy one at Rosetta Hall — the perks of having a coffee shop in the same space as a bar. It’s everything you’d expect of a craft latte, but with steamed eggnog and a dollop of rosemary foam. It’s thick, enveloping, creamy, sweet and temporarily all-consuming, your mind spiraling down a rabbit hole, trying to figure out how you can live for and only for eggnog lattes until you reach the bottom of the glass and realize its 2 p.m. and you have things to do. $6.
Bulgogi
A Cup of Peace, 3216 Arapahoe Ave., Unit B, Boulder, acupofpeace.com
The atmosphere inside Boulder’s busy A Cup of Peace is, well, peaceful. And the menu is rich with Korean favorites, with gluten-free and vegan options, made with fresh, organic ingredients. There are a variety of protein (again, organic) options, as well, so we went with the chicken bulgogi on a recent visit. A traditional Korean barbecue plate, diced chicken comes stir-fried with bell pepper, carrots and a trifecta of onions (red, yellow and green) all tossed in a medium-spiced barbecue sauce and served with a side of kimchi — traditional fermented cabbage made in-house without preservatives. The side salad and A Cup of Peace’s special rice blend of seven grains including brown, black, white, sweet brown and wild rice, as well as quinoa and wild millet, balance out the spice of the dish nicely. $15.25.
Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookie
Crumbl Cookies, 1805 29th St., Suite 1136, Boulder, crumblcookies.com
Alright, so the Twenty-Ninth Street Mall’s new addition, Crumbl Cookies, is dangerous. It serves gigantic, melty, chewy, dense, flavor-packed cookies at whose size you scoff and say, “I couldn’t possibly eat all—” and then the cookie is gone before you finish your sentence. We devoured a chocolate peppermint bark cookie — a chocolate-rich sugar cookie filled with warm chocolate ganache and topped with peppermint icing and crushed peppermint hard candy. $3.28.
