From Chinese breakfast staples like congee and you tiao to biscuits, café fare, and longtime diners, Colorado mornings offer more variety than ever.
Story by Renee Ror
Recipe by Maliysa Lou
Photography by Richard Fusillo
Breakfast, perhaps more than any other meal, resists definition. It can be quick and solitary, big and social, steeped in tradition, or entirely reinvented. This first meal of the day gives a lot of insight into how we individually eat and approach food.
We can choose for breakfast to align with the restorative rhythm of a Chinese morning. At Dumpling Factory, the Chinese breakfast menu leans into time-honored staples like bowls of congee; dou fu nao, a soft tofu in delicate broth; ji dan bing, a warm, savory egg crepe folded over.
Elsewhere in the metro area the idea of breakfast is being reshaped in real time. The arrival of award-winning restaurant favorite Paperboy from Austin, Texas highlights a shift toward chef-driven breakfast menus, where seasonality and technique can be enjoyed in the morning. Or at newly opened Biscuit Mike’sin Longmont, a meal there is built around a single, iconic staple done well: the biscuit. Flaky and buttery, it shows off that a meal does not need to be complicated.
And there are the institutions. Silver Grill Café, serving Fort Collins since 1933, stands as a testament to breakfast’s role in community connection. Generations of families gather there, usually over its legendary cinnamon rolls or a cup of steaming coffee.
Taken together these expressions of breakfast and its many ways to exist underscore that there is no single way to begin the day. It’s a daily opportunity to explore, and a notice that the meal options are as expansive as the people who eat it. Here are a few spots to start digging in. Or, if you’d rather stay in, try your hand at this frittata instead.
Rhonda’s Sunday Frittata
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon or breakfast sausage links (omit for a vegetarian dish)
- 8 slices bacon or breakfast sausage links (omit for a vegetarian dish)
- 8 large eggs
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning
- ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup diced bell pepper
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon fresh herbs (chives, thyme and/or rosemary), for garnish
- Sour cream and/or Sriracha for topping, optional
Instructions
Step 1
Cook bacon in skillet over medium high heat until nicely rendered and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Once crispy, remove from pan and place on paper towel lined plate, to drain excess fat. Once cooled, crumble or dice.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. While heating, in medium bowl whisk eggs, cream, salt and everything seasoning, about 2-4 minutes, until a smooth, even texture is achieved. Add tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, arugula and reserved bacon crumbles. Mix gently.
Step 3
Pour egg mixture into 12-inch oven safe skillet that has been greased, redistributing vegetables if necessary to lay evenly in skillet. Sprinkle cheddar and feta cheese on top. Using a fork, distribute cheese evenly and lightly incorporate into egg mixture. Place skillet into preheated oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, until edges and center are set and top is golden. Internal temperature should reach 160 degrees F. Remove from oven. Sprinkle fresh herbs for garnish. Serve with sour cream and sriracha, if using.
Ten Spots to Try
Walnut Café
3073 Walnut Street
Boulder
and 673 S Broadway
Boulder
Biscuit Mike’s
900 Coffman Street
Longmont
Coffee Sarap
3460 Larimer Street
Denver
Dry Storage
3601 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder
Dumpling Factory
4660 S Yosemite Street
Greenwood Village
Early Bird Restaurant
11940 Bradburn Boulevard
Westminster
and 1675 W 67th Avenue
Denver
Lucille’s Creole Café
Various locations around Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins
Odie B’s Sunnyside
2651 W 38th Avenue
Denver
Paperboy
3940 West 32nd Avenue
Denver
Silver Grill Café
218 Walnut Street
Fort Collins