We almost didn’t end up going here because I’m not a huge fan of southern food and I didn’t know what a southern breakfast was other than biscuits and gravy, of which I am not a fan. Luckily I didn’t listen to my oh so hungry gut with an attitude and instead listened to the reviewers and my love of beignets which I found on the on-line menu. I hate to think of the hole that would’ve been left in my life without me even realizing it if I’d skipped the Sassafras American Eatery. There are a couple locations and the one we went to was in Jefferson Park. It just looks like someone’s house with some outdoor seating and people milling about (the giveaway this is not grandma’s house is that there’s a huge sign that says Sassafras in the front yard). We were told there’d be a 45 minute wait so wandered over to the grocery store nearby and promptly got a text saying our table was ready (less than 20 minutes after we’d checked in). We ran back to the restaurant giddy with stomachs rumbling and ready for a feast. We started with beignets and I’ve only had the ones from Cafe Du Monde so I have no idea what they taste like from any other place. They were good, quite tasty in fact, but they fell a bit short of the world famous beignets in New Orleans. Not to worry though, what came next was better than anything I could’ve even imagined (and I’m quite imaginative). I ordered the Fried Green Tomato Benedict with jalapeño cornbread and a side of potato casserole (wow!). my sister ordered the pimento chicken biscuit with eggs sunny side up and my mom ordered creamed spinach and artichoke, scallion grit fries, fried oysters, sunny side up egg, cracked pepper and goat cheese grits. My brother in law won the breakfast lottery by a landslide. He ordered something from the grits section described as local beef brisket braised in spicy tomato ragout also with collard greens with pork and goat cheese grits which I thought sounded unpleasant at best (except for the goat cheese – always a fan of that) but which instead turned out to be the winner that morning for best breakfast. The meat was tender and the seasoning was scrumptious. Even the kale tasted good and I’m generally not a fan of that veggie. We all happily stuffed our faces barely taking time to talk between mouthfuls and thoroughly enjoying the meal. We traded bites and as I said, the vote for best meal was my brother in law’s braised beef and grits, by a landslide. Sated with tummies full we all leaned back and began our praise-fest for the restaurant. I couldn’t help but notice, despite my already full and happy belly, there were some phenomenal looking desserts including really yummy and different flavored milkshakes (Capt’n Crunch, Banana Cream Pie, or Orange Dreamsicle milkshake anyone?) as well as a butter gooey cake. I decided that since this would likely be my last chance at this restaurant that we could all find some space in our bellies for a bite or two of the cake. It was even more magnificent than I could’ve hoped for. It looked innocuous enough but it had super powers and knocked our socks off (you can check, they are probably still there under the table). Sassafras American Eatery was my absolute favorite restaurant in Denver (and that includes some pretty great dinner places too). My search for the holy grail in Denver was now complete…