Breakfast Champion: A Turkish delight

The Weed and his Turkish coffee. Enjoy responsibly.

The Weed and I are breakfast people.

Throughout our years together, our tastes have evolved from instant oatmeal to all-out boozy brunches complete with bacon flights and Bloody Mary bars.

At home, The Weed usually makes sensible breakfast choices like yogurt or a cheesy omelet. I, on the other hand, enjoy living dangerously. For example, today started with a stiff shot of espresso and a Nutella-covered cinnamon roll. My Roomba has more sense than me but it was delicious. (I’m having trouble typing this because my hands are shaking from the caffeine and sugar. My tongue might be swelling, too. Still, I regret nothing.)

When we moved to Boulder, we were on the look out for a few decent places to enjoy weekend breakfasts.

The morning we bought the house, we had brunch at an old favorite, The Buff. Known for its gigantic egg dishes and .99 mimosas (Limit: Three), The Buff never disappoints.

The next weekend, I did a Google search and stumbled upon a restaurant just down the street from us with the enticing name, Breakfast Champion.

Clearly, I expected this to be a safe bet for our Saturday morning feast.

Color me surprised when we arrived at the aforementioned Breakfast Champion and found it to be a full-on Turkish restaurant featuring a menu filled with middle-eastern meals I couldn’t pronounce or envision. My Google search did mention the joint offered Turkish coffee but nothing about Menemen (eggs with tomatoes and green peppers) or Sucuk and eggs (spicy Turkish sausage with scrambled eggs).

So, The Weed and I put on our tourist trousers and jumped in.

We asked for suggestions and tried everything the kind Breakfast Champion owner put before us. The Menemen was tasty. The Weed went for the Sucuk and enjoyed it a great deal.

The Turkish coffee left both of us wide-eyed with shaking hands. It’s small but potent. Use with caution.

Breakfast Champion in Boulder = More than meets the eyes.

Finally, Mr. Breakfast Champion returned to our table with two pieces of baklava.

Smiling, he told us about the dessert, his pride and joy.

Mr. Breakfast Champion: “People like to call this cracklava. They even lick the plate after.”

Me: “I’m not licking any plate, man.” (Side note: I’ve been tricked before when it comes to licking things and putting stuff in my mouth. I suspect there’s a video circulating in Europe of me eating a strange white sausage in a Munich beer hall after I got drunk at Oktoberfest and some German dudes dared me to do it while they video’d me. Proud day for my family.)

Mr. Breakfast Champion: “I have videos of people licking the plate. Photos, too.”

Me: “See! I’m not falling for that again.”

The Weed: <BaklavaInMouth> “This really is a Turkish delight.”

One day soon, we’ll return to Breakfast Champion. I’m still not licking any plates, though.