Denver's five best breakfast sandwiches

Of all the magical morning eats, few are more versatile than the breakfast sandwich. Meat, eggs and cheese between two halves of a roll -- it's the perfect morning take-out meal, an excellent way to cure a hangover and an also an ideal option for a lazy weekend when paired...

By Laura Shunk

April 29, 2011

Audio By Carbonatix

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Of all the magical morning eats, few are more versatile than the breakfast sandwich. Meat, eggs and cheese between two halves of a roll -- it's the perfect morning take-out meal, an excellent way to cure a hangover and an also an ideal option for a lazy weekend when paired with a paper and a strong cup of coffee. And no place in Denver fulfills our breakfast sandwich craving like Masterpiece Delicatessen, which turns out several kinds of morning sandwich, including our favorite, the Taylor pork roll. That sandwich pits a yolky fried egg, melted cheddar (or another cheese of your choice) and a spicy disk of Taylor pork roll, which is much like finely ground salami, on an English muffin or bagel (we recommend getting an everything bagel before they're snatched up).

The lineup at this shop on the edge of Highland earned it a Best Breakfast Sandwich award in the Best of Denver 2011. There are other great breakfast sandwiches in town, though. Here are four more, just in time for weekend brunching.

Dish Gourmet This Boulder shop makes a slew of sandwiches and sides, but we're partial to the "which came first" egg sandwich, which stacks a couple of eggs, muenster cheese and Long Farm bacon on ciabatta or a croissant. Or an H&H bagel, imported straight from New York City, if you ask really nicely.

Denver Biscuit Company Put just about anything on a buttermilk biscuit from the Denver Biscuit Company and we'll eat it, but we most favor the Franklin, a heart-stopping combination of fried chicken, bacon and cheddar, all smothered with a ladle of gravy -- vegetarian or chicken. In a lighter mood, we'll opt for eggs, bacon and cheese between our biscuit halves.

The Hole We're suckers for the savory-sweet combo, and the Hole delivers that in breakfast sandwich form. The maple bacon sandwich combines crispy bacon, cheddar and fried eggs between two sides of a maple-glazed doughnut. And when we finish that immensely guilty pleasure, we're not sure what to reach for first: the insulin or the Lipitor.

Wooden Spoon Cafe & Bakery We named Wooden Spoon Cafe Denver's Best Bakery this year, but when we're not in the mood to munch on cookies, scones or macaroons from the pastry case, we're likely to order up the egg sandwich on toasted brioche. That number comes with a choice of two additional toppings; we're partial to a little bacon and Swiss.

Know of more great breakfast sandwiches? Tell us about them in the comments section below -- particularly if you've got a suggestion for an excellent bagel with lox.

More Best of Denver Lists: - Denver's five best restaurants for blind dates

- Top five martinis in Denver -- good, better, Best!

- Denver's five best burgers

- Denver's six best pizzas

- Denver's five best dive bars

- Denver's five best dinners under $10

- Denver's five best first-date restaurants

- Denver's five best nachos

- Denver's ten best french fries

- Denver's five best green chile fixes

- Denver's five best dishes of mac & cheese

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Laura Shunk was Westword's restaurant critic from 2010 to 2012; she's also been food editor at the Village Voice and a dining columnist in Beijing. Her toughest assignment had her drinking ten martinis and eating ten Caesar salads over the course of 48 hours. She still drinks martinis, but remains lukewarm on Caesar salads.

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