The Blue Cow's vegetarian options are breakfast bliss in Morrison

There's a little something for everyone at the Blue Cow, one of our favorite breakfast spots in Morrison -- mostly because of the fresh fare and down-to-earth surroundings. The walls are covered with local art (including some Red Rocks paintings by "Scramble" Campbell that are worth checking out), and you can grab coffee or espresso, an ice cream cone, a draft beer or a bloody Mary alongside whatever food item has taken your fancy.

See also: Gaia Bistro wraps up a veggie-friendly brunch, French-style

On weekends, the dining room fills up early, but there's usually a seat or two at the bar -- and this time of year, more space on the covered patio, which has a fireplace to help keep you warm. In the summertime, though, the patio is one of the first places where people want to be seated because it's within spitting distance of Bear Creek, so you can enjoy your breakfast with a backdrop of running water.

The vegetarian choices on the menu include French toast, pancakes and Belgian waffles, build-your-own omelettes, a yogurt parfait and a breakfast burrito; there are often good specials. Pictured above is one recent special: Eggs Florentine with "Santa Fe" hollandaise sauce -- an English muffin topped with sauteed spinach and two poached eggs, then smothered in hollandaise sauce spiked with chipotle flavoring, lending it a nice little kick. The eggs were served with a side of home fries, which Blue Cow does right, frying up potatoes until they're golden-brown and ideal for soaking up the leftover hollandaise and egg yolk that coated the plate when the eggs were gone. It was a fairly typical vegetarian offering, but the chipotle hollandaise and expert manner in which everything was prepared elevated the dish to the next level of tastiness.

The Blue Cow is open daily for breakfast and lunch (and seasonally for dinnertime, too); call 303-697-5721.

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