Upon arrival we noticed a line, not unusual for Sunday brunch.  Just as I reached the host to put our name in, Larry spotted a bar seat and we jumped in them quickly.  Already this was going well.  We promptly put in drink orders and again while this is not a drinking blog I must say we were both quite impressed with our drinks.  Mine was the drunk and dirty chai so really how could that not be the best?

Our waitress/bartender (Lisa) returned to take our order and was a delight to speak with.  I’m sure you will hear more about her on the carnivorous review.  I ordered the Snooze Classic, vegan style.  This means with tofu instead of eggs.  I added avocado at her suggestion and also the “faux meat” soyrizo.  I was excited to see so many options just as I had remembered from my Arizona experience.

The food arrived and I was pleased to see my two plates as I was quite hungry at this point.  I dug in to the tofu scramble immediately.  Oh my!  Let me preface the following commentary by saying that this vegan has seen her share of tofu scrambles.  Not only that but, as you know, I have eaten a lot of vegan food in non-vegan establishments.  One of my biggest criticisms of these scenarios is that many establishments neglect to season their veggies and/or tofu enough.  They fail to understand that veggies need more than their animal counterparts.  Snooze, however, is not in this camp.  The chefs clearly understand the need for seasoning and do so quite well including my favorite, nutritional yeast!  Such a difference it makes.  And the addition of creamy avocado topped it off nicely.

But wait, there’s more!  Not only did I have the scramble but it came with sides.  First I will discuss the hashbrowns.  Hashbrowns again can be ho hum if not executed properly.  Often the insides are too raw while the outsides are too crunchy and all the while lacking in flavor.  These were the exact opposite of this description.  Clearly they know their breakfast potatoes and well earn the title of A.M. Eatery.  The soyrizo was yet another success.  In fact, soyrizo is moving up in the world being embraced by those beyond the vegan persuasion.  It was so flavorful!  Finally the toast which can again sound less than exciting.  This toast came dry since butter was not an option with a side of blueberry jam.  I was never told the type of jam but it was so good I knew immediately.  It had whole berries and everything.  In fact, after seeing mine, the carnivore ordered a side of his own.

I give Snooze a solid four rutabagas.  The service was great, the food was delicious and dining harmony was easily achieved.  We will definitely return in our hometown, Austin, location.  Really the only room for improvement would be adding the vegan dairy options such as butter and cheese.  Even without, this place is a gem.

With a bit of a haze still lingering from the night before, we opted to try a breakfast joint that was born in Denver and has recently made its way to the great state of Texas. SNOOZE A. M. EATERY.   We chose SNOOZE because we had been wanting to try the Austin location but just hadn’t fit it into our schedule.  We figured we would dine in Denver and see if it was worth a second visit once we were back in Austin.  To say we will be visiting the Austin site soon doesn’t do justice to how much I LOVE this place.

We arrived at about 11:30 and found a significant line of anxious patrons winding its way out the door.  We waited patiently to put our names on a list that undoubtedly would’ve required 45 minutes to an hour of wait time, and at least a round or two of Bloody Marys.  As we approached the hostess taking names, I eyed a couple gathering their jackets and preparing to leave their seats at the bar.  We conspicuously hovered for a moment and soon snagged their seats.  SCORE!  The morning was certainly looking up.  We were soon greeted by a lovely server/bartender named Lisa and inquired about the drink options.   As Lisa discovered that I am a lover of all things bourbon, she recommended a cocktail aptly named the Boss Hog (think Bloody Mary with a taste of Colorado bourbon infused with bacon). To say I was skeptical doesn’t do justice to the doubt that I was feeling.  See, I am a traditionalist when it comes to bourbon.  If it isn’t made in Kentucky, then it just isn’t bourbon.   Its American whiskey.  Just the same, I did my best to hide my bourbon snobbery, and I am glad I did.  I am officially a fan of this new found breakfast libation.  It was especially well complemented by the smoky bacon flavor that any carnivore will enjoy.  It was really tasty and worthy of my praise.

I’m only a breakfast food eater on rare occasion so I was happy that we were nearing the lunchtime hour.  I explained that I was more interested in lunch than breakfast, and Lisa quickly steered my eye toward the Peter Paul Ruben sandwich – mounds of locally made corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese with house 1,000 isles dressing upon a plump pretzel roll.  This feast was right up my alley because I LOVE Reuben sandwiches but abhor the rye bread upon which it is traditionally served.   The pretzel roll as the default choice of bread was GENIUS!!  It was the best Reuben sandwich I have had outside of New York City.  The corned beef was tender and juicy.  The kraut was tangy and flavorful.  And the dressing was thick and sweet.  I truly cant get over how wonderful the sandwich was!

As you can well imagine, SNOOZE was firing on all cylinders at this point so the only remaining critique has to do with the ability for carnivores and vegans to dine in harmony.  I am excited to say that SNOOZE maintained a near perfect showing in this regard as well.  The menu has several vegan friendly offerings and the staff is extremely knowledgeable about the manner in which dishes are prepared.  Kellie enjoyed her meal almost as much as I enjoyed mine.  In all fairness, how could she possibly enjoy hers as much as I enjoyed mine?  I had a bacon flavored beverage and corned beef and sauerkraut for goodness sake!

Now to the all-important matter of assigning a rating for the dining experience.  I waffled (GET IT?) between a four and five cow face rating but I truly cannot find a reason to not bestow the perfect five cow face honor on this establishment.  The food was fantastic.  The wait staff was awesome.  The drinks were intoxicating, And the experience was spectacular for both the carnivore and the vegan.  Ring the cow bell!!!   It’s a perfect showing.  Thank you Denver Snooze!  We will see you in Austin soon!