Biscuits and beignets at Lucile's

Is it a house, or is it a restaurant? Above is Lucile's, a Cajun and Creole place CH had been wanting to check out for breakfast. This restaurant has branches in several Colorado cities, and seems to be one of the more popular breakfast spots in Fort Collins, as I've heard about it several times since.

We started right off with a half order of beignets—two; a full comes with four—so that CH and I could each try one and not overload ourselves. (Everyone remembers my love of beignets, right?) Sadly, these were not like Café du Monde's; they were definitely not like Cafe Beignet's, either. The beignets at Lucile's were flat, not nearly hot enough, and possessed none of the custardy innards that made the ones in New Orleans so delightful. But they were good, in the way that fried dough covered in sugar is always good. Always.

Soon after we polished off the beignets, the buttermilk biscuits that accompany nearly every order arrived. You might not be able to tell, but they were huge, nearly overhanging the plates they came on. They weren't biscuits like any that I'm used to, as in buttery rounds with tender, flaky insides; these looked as if they had been baked in one large pan and sliced into squares, and their texture was much lighter, almost loose, and very fluffy. I thought I would love them; I tried to. But they had the slight taste of baking soda, and their dry texture just didn't appeal to me as much as that of typical biscuits. Butter and the two pots of excellent jam on the table—a spicy pepper jelly and a thick strawberry rhubarb—helped, but maybe I'm just not used to these. Anyone know if this is a particular regional style, or something?

Here's my order of Eggs Sardou: "creamed spinach, Gulf shrimp, poached eggs, and hollandaise; served with grits or potatoes." I asked for the hollandaise to be left off—I've never been fond of the stuff—and chose grits as my side. (Note: potatoes might have been a better foil for the soft spinach and soft eggs.) Aside from the over-fishiness of the small shrimp dotting the creamed spinach and being a bit too salty overall, this was a decent pick.

So is Lucile's the best breakfast in town? I'm not sure; most of what I had was good but not amazing, and I feel like there might be better. It's too early to determine anything, of course, but I'll find out!