A good biscuit offers the same charms as an actress in a screwball comedy: warm, at once tender and crusty, and kind of flaky. Both make you smile.
Rise & Shine Biscuit Kitchen, serving the Hilltop and Crestmoor neighborhoods, is the brainchild of Seth Rubin, a native of Chapel Hill, N.C., who missed the buttermilk biscuits of his Southern upbringing. So Rubin hatched a plan, opening Rise & Shine in a space he shares with Basil Doc’s Pizza. (Rise & Shine closes at 2 p.m., so the pizzeria can open at 4:30 p.m.)
Biscuits are baked fresh each morning, and it shows in their steaming succulence and the shop’s aroma. While you can order a plain biscuit for $1.25, noshers in the know opt for the sundry biscuit sandwiches.
Breakfast biscuits come with wallet-friendly upgrades. Cheese can be added for 50 cents; eggs, bacon, ham or sausage for a buck apiece. There’s also a biscuit of the day for $1.75. Recent outings including maple-brown sugar, rosemary-olive oil and roasted-beet versions.
Lunch versions are named after sundry cities in the Tarheel State. The Charlotte sandwich ($3.50) is a BLT on a biscuit. The Asheville ($4) features turkey, havarti and honey mustard. The Raleigh is piled with roast beef, cheddar and horseradish.
One caveat: The parking lot is a bit cramped and the interior is geared toward takeout, given the limited seating.
But the service is friendly, and oh, those biscuits. Like Carole Lombard or Cameron Diaz (take your generational pick) they will put a smile on your face.
William Porter: 303-954-1877 or wporter@denverpost.com
RISE & SHINE
Biscuits. 330 Holly St., Denver. 303-322-5832. Monday-Saturday 7 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m.-2 p.m. riseandshinedenver.com
