I love going out for breakfast in Boulder. The Village Coffee House, Lucille’s, Foolish Craig’s, The Walnut Café—I’ve tried them all. As a Boulder native, I am a die-hard fan of The Buff. For years I would have argued that it was the best breakfast in Boulder.

Enter Snooze, the cool new kid in town. Where The Buff is homey and family-run, Snooze is hip and playful. And though The Buff never fails to satisfy with traditional breakfast dishes, Snooze puts a creative spin on them that will make your mouth water.

I ventured down to the one-month old joint early on a Tuesday morning. I was surprised to see that the place was packed, even at 8 a.m. in the middle of the week. The inside of the restaurant is akin to a funky, futuristic diner with big, circular booths and jack-shaped coat racks. Instead of being pretentious, like a lot of modern décor, Snooze remains cozy and welcoming. The music—a mix of artists like John Mayer, Coldplay and Mumford & Sons—is also pleasant and not too overbearing for an early meal.

(Courtesy of Boulder Downtown)

The hostess was personable and efficient, seating everyone quickly and making sure they were taken care of. She even offered us complimentary coffee while we waited for a table.

The interior design was innovative, but it was nothing compared to the menu. Bacon-caramel sauce, smoked cheddar hollandaise, grapefruit brulée and an Udi’s soft pretzel filled with cheese, sausage and scrambled eggs are all items you’ll find on Snooze’s menu. I wanted to try it all, until I saw the pancake list.

“We’re known for our pancakes,” said Amanda Young, general manager of Snooze’s Boulder location. “Especially the pineapple upside down pancakes.”

And it gets better. The pancake of the day was a chocolate chip cookie dough pancake with cookie dough and brown sugar mixed right into the batter. That seemed more like dessert than breakfast to me, but I decided that I had to get the “Pancake Flight”—a combination of any three pancake flavors on the menu or of your own creation. I settled on the sweet potato, chocolate/peanut butter and gluten-free blueberry pancakes [almost all their pancakes can be made gluten free]. All three came out light and fluffy. The chocolate/peanut butter tasted like a chocolate glazed doughnut, which was too much for me that early in the morning. The sweet potato was spot on: light, creamy and perfectly sweet potato-y.

My friend ordered the “Upstream Benny”: smoked salmon atop bacon-jalapeno spoonbread with two poached eggs and a cream cheese hollandaise sauce. Poaching an egg properly is difficult, but these were flawless. The salmon was more grilled than smoked, and while I appreciated the spoonbread bottoms, I think I’ll stick with my English muffins. A cool twist to these benedicts is that you can mix and match any of the five styles, and they can all be made gluten free.

My other friend got the “Breakfast Pot Pie,” which turned out to be the perfect meal for a cold and dreary day. The crust was lightly puffed and flaky and the homemade rosemary sausage gravy brought me back to my Grandma’s dinner table.

The creativity that Snooze inspires in their chefs and diners alike fits in well with the Boulder scene and I welcome every bit of it. Though I will always stand faithfully beside The Buff, I’m definitely going back to Snooze to try the “Vanilla Almond Oatmeal Brulée.”

Contact CU Independent reporter Natalie Proulx at natalie.proulx@colorado.edu.