Snooze: An A.M. Eatery

My wife and I neglected to try the new breakfast restaurant that opened in town about a year and a half ago due to the wait that we were commonly met with. Normally, when I see a line of people waiting to be seated outside of a restaurant, I'm convinced that it's a place that I want to eat, but after finally dragging my wife out of bed and being told there is a 40-50 minute wait, I am turned elsewhere. So, once upon a morning dreary, elsewhere was Lucille's, a Cajun/Creole breakfast restaurant on Magnolia Street across from The Lincoln Center. This restaurant has a sentimental quality, not only because my wife is Cajun and the beignets and coffee are great, but because we were married at The Lincoln Center. In any case we arrived at Lucille's after foregoing Snooze only to be told that the wait would, in fact, be 40-50 minutes. We decided to cut our losses and wait. We were seated an hour and 20 minutes later. Now, I will review Lucille's and have plenty good to say about the restaurant operations and the food, but the hostesses just can't seem to get their act together.

I vowed on that day that we were going to try Snooze no matter what our wait was. So, next time we were in need of some breakfast out, we got up earlier on a Saturday than normal, about 8 o'clock, and we arrived at Snooze at around 9. As it turns out, the wait is reduced from 40-50 minutes to 25-35 minutes. The wait periods are a science and are like clock-work. If you get there at 9, expect exactly 25 minutes. If you get there at 10, expect 45 minutes every time.

On to the food. If you are trying Snooze for the first time, I would recommend a pancake flight. The pancakes at this place are special in a way that I did not fathom pancakes to be special. Try the Sweet Potato or Pineapple-Upsidedown cakes. They are absolutely ethereal. If you are a person that truly is able taste and feel food, this is the type of first bite that will make you put your utensils down and just take in every sensation of the wonder that you just put in your mouth. Uncontested wonder fluff is what I would call these pancakes.

The Benedicts are also available in a flight, but the standard is really all you need. I am not a man who likes eggs benedict, but my wife loves it. I tried hers and was hooked. Unbelievably delicate. The eggs are always poached perfectly, not something I am usually comfortable ordering for breakfast due to inconsistent cooking at most restaurants. These are amazing every time.

Two savory items that are of interest are the Breakfast Pot Pie, which is their take on biscuits and gravy made with puff pastry and a white sausage gravy that has carrots and celery in it, and the Cheese Steak and Eggs, an item that was moved to the always-available lunch menu that is simply incredible. They also have a Cubano that changed my mind about eggs and pickles.

The coffee is great, and they have a full bar, just in case you need some 'hair of the dog that bit you'. The decor is retro and the staff is hip and friendly. Prices are very reasonable($8-$12) and you can either sub out the hash browns(which are excellent) for a pancake, or add one for $4.

In conclusion, Snooze has pretty much black-listed most of our other breakfast locations in town. I love it and you'll love it too. You might not be blown away if you order a breakfast burrito or breakfast tacos, but all of the unique items on the menu are out of this world. Go early to avoid waiting too long. You won't be disappointed.

Here is there website. They have a location in downtown Denver, and one in downtown Fort Collins.
http://www.snoozeeatery.com/

Clean out your fridge - Making omelettes!

Omelets are perfect receptacles for most items that serve no immediate purpose in your fridge. Leftover veggies and meats and cheeses are all potential fillings. I usually go to the deli counter when I'm at the market and buy one or two slices of bacon, just so I have it on hand in case I want to make something with bacon fat. Well, today, I used the half slice I had left, mixed with a bit of red onion and a piece of Cajun sausage that was leftover from a gumbo my wife made. This wasn't your average store-bought "Cajun-style" sausage or andouille. It was specially ordered from www.cajungrocer.com, but that's another post altogether.

This is why I love eggs and omelets, in particular. You can put anything you like in them. You'll be hearing quite a bit about omelets if you read this blog regularly. I'll give a brief explanation of my omelets process.

     You'll need:

• 2 eggs - remove the yolk from one and beat in a bowl with about a tablespoon of milk
• Some melty cheese - sharp cheddar, colby, pepper jack will work, but fontina is THE best
• Fillers - Anything that you have that sounds good. Onions should be a staple.
• One non-stick omelet pan - a small pan is a must, so the eggs do not spread out too far
• A non-metal spatula - can't be scratching that non-stick surface, now can we?
• Non-stick cooking spray - for extra slipperiness if you are not using a fat-rendering meat.

First off, if you have a protein that will render fat, cook that first at medium-high heat and then add the veggies in the appropriate order (denser veggies first). If you didn't use meat, be sure to spray the pan with the cooking spray before you add veggies.

Once all fillings are cooked, remove from the pan and set aside in a small bowl or plate. Spray the pan again if there isn't enough fat left to cook the eggs. Once the pan is heated up again, add your eggs. At this point you could season with salt and pepper and some dried parsley, if desired. Fresh herbs should not be added until the fillings are, or on top of the omelet when it is done. Also, I like to add a few sprinkles of shredded cheese to this side, because the cheese will get that delicious crispy-melty flavor after you flip it.

Now cooking an omelet properly is not as easy as it would seem. You can't just let it cook till it's done, and you can't stir it, because it would just turn into scrambled eggs. What you have to do is watch for the edges to solidify and then, using your spatula or spoonula, slide under one edge and tilt the pan so that the runny parts of the egg spill underneath the cooked parts. Do this around three or four edges, until the runny stuff has all been mostly moved to the edges or under the omelet.

Now, the coup de grace, flipping that little bugger. You could go the easy route and use a large spatula to flip. Just get under one side and give it a quick shove, as not to wrinkle or fold the omelets, and flip away. You could also do the one-handed, magic flip you see them do on t.v. This takes practice, so if you're trying to impress your wife with a magic flip, be sure you've mastered it. Run your spatula around all sides of the omelet to make certain it is not still gripping the pan, pick up the pan handle and jerk forward from the elbow and then at the end of that motion, jerk up using only your wrist. Then catch. It doesn't need to ever truly leave the pan, just make a little hop. Simple, huh? Better practice, or just flip it with the spatula. Here's some video reference (not me).

After you flip, you're going to be adding fillers to only half of the circle, so when you fold it, you don't dump a bunch of toppings out. I usually add more cheese first, so it can melt and act like glue for the other stuff. Add the sauteed fillings from earlier on top of the cheese. At this point you could also add some salsa or guac or hot sauce, but I usually put that on top after folding.

Now, take the pan from the stove and get over to your serving plate. Dip your spatula under the naked side of the omelet and fold that side on top of the dressed side and let the omelet slide onto the plate.

Done. Now enjoy. Omelets are one of those breakfast items that take some practice, but are really awesome once you've gotten your groove. In case you're wondering what some good ideas for fillers are, here is a short list of foodstuffs that like being wrapped in a warm, cozy egg blanket:

white onions, yellow onions, red onions, green onions, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, purple bell pepper, mushrooms, ham, bacon, breakfast sausage, Cajun sausage, andouille sausage, Italian sausage, jalapenos, serranos, poblanos, habaneros, broccoli, broccolini, asparagus, spinach, arugula, salsa rojo, salsa verde, chili verde, chili rojo, shallots, roasted garlic, sour cream, cream cheese, goat cheese, chedder cheese, colby cheese, fontina cheese, pepper jack cheese, ALL CHEESE, fresh basil, roma tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, grape tomatoes, fried green tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cherry peppers, red-hot chili peppers, zucchini, squash, hash browns, mashed potatoes, leftover meatloaf, hamburgers, veggie burgers, chicken, turkey, avocados, guacamole, marinara, white gravy, brown gravy, red gravy, blue gravy, tomatillos, cilantro, black beans, white beans, hummus, baba ganoush, etc.

In short, anything can be put in an omelet.

Fiona's Delicatessen

Fiona's Deli has been around for quite awhile. It used to be located downtown, but sometime in the last decade made the move to East Harmony Road where Steele's Market met an untimely demise. Other than a selection of attractive cakes and cookies, there is also a breakfast and lunch menu consisting solely of various sandwiches. Although I've never seen it in action, there is an old-fashioned soda shoppe in the back. I'm here to talk about sandwiches. The sandwich is pretty much my favorite creation, and the breakfast sandwich is the best of my favorite creation. Here's what you do; go to Fiona's and bring a friend and order one sandwich. They are huge and they are filling and they are good. Maple cream cheese is something I've never had on a sandwich and I like it.

My wife helped me stray from my breakfast fixation and try a 'Rosie's Roundup' for lunch. It's a pita sandwich with roasted veggies, tzatziki and hummus that I believe was slapped on the griddle for a minute. It was chickpea bliss.

I would fancy trying everything on their menu, but the menu is fairly large and has something for everyone, unless you don't like delicious sandwiches.

Since Fiona's is just down the street from my home, I have been frequenting the deli. Give it a try. Sandwiches range from 6.99 to 9.99, but you'll likely get two meals from them.

Fiona's Deli  = Good eats! 8.5/10

A brief introduction

I'm Greg, and I love food. It's delicious. I live in the beautiful city of Fort Collins, CO. If I had to guess, and I do, I'd say we have close to one hundred million restaurants in this town. My wife and I enjoy dining, lunching, brunching, and breakfasting out. I'm here to tell you about our food experiences in the Northern Colorado area, as well as any places our travels take us.

I'm not a food critic, though I tend to critique food. I'm not a food blogger, yet here I am, embarking on a journey of blogging about food. I am not a chef, but I am a home cook, and I will be happy to share my kitchen creations with you.

What you'll find here is my experiences with restaurants and food. If I have a bad experience at a diner, I'm going to tell you that it sucked, and why it sucked. I hope to achieve from this an uninhibited report on the culinary culture of the town I live in.

Also, it gives me an excuse to go out to eat more often.

Mangia!