Best way to check user access

Hello,

I'm looking for the best way to check a user's access to a node when that user is not logged in. There are several drupal ways to check if the current user has node access, but if I'm checking a user's node access when they're not the current user (like on cron), is there a built-in function? I know node_access used to let you specify $user->uid, but that has gone the way of the dinosaur.

Thanks very much for any/all ideas!!!