From the Farm to the Matt’s Big Breakfast

The Drink: Coffee
The Dish: Daily Special- Egg Scramble with apple gouda sausage, peppers, fontina cheese, hashbrowns and toast
The Place: Matt’s Big Breakfast
The Location: 825 N 1st St Phoenix, AZ 85004

By: CLAYTON PORTER

It happens too often then you’d like it to. You see a food spot where every time you pass by there is a crowd outside the door. You think to yourself, “The food must be amazing there, I’ve got to try it.” Only to find out that your 30 minute wait wasn’t worth it, the service rushed and the meal mediocre. Turns out the real reason for its popularity might be simple convenience or clever local marketing and branding.

Take my word for it though, Matt’s Big Breakfast is the real deal. Lunchtime during the week and on weekends, this place is packed. Only if you can find a way to wait and eat breakfast at 1pm then you won’t have to worry about the crowd.

Found on 1st street just south of Roosevelt, the stand alone building has a downtown Phoenix vibe to it with part white brick and then metal siding. The word “Breakfast” above the door letting you know you are in the right spot.

Matt’s does lunch also, but honestly I’ve never tried it. I go only for the breakfast dishes and while have tried different dishes on the menu, I go mainly for the daily breakfast special. The special is always a choice of potatoes being homefries or hashbrowns. Toast or tortilla and then an egg scramble with a different type of meat, veggies and cheese to it. Never has it not tasted amazing.

The special today is an egg scramble with local Niman Ranch apple gouda sausage, sautéed peppers and fontina cheese. I order one with hashbrowns and wheat toast.

The food comes out here fast. Im only halfway through my small cup of coffee and the server is placing food on the table. The meal looks great. You are given a hearty portion of eggs which I top off with some hot sauce for an extra added kick. In the scramble the sausage is tasty and gives an added rich and fatty flavor with the peppers a great addition to the dish. The hashbrowns here are the best in the biz, hands down. Cooked to a crisp on the outside and soft if barely cooked on the inside, the best of both worlds will make you mindfully pace yourself as you down the side. Then, what might be the highlight of the meal, a very sweet and at the same time perfectly bitter blackberry preserves. Spread it over thick cuts of whole wheat toast.

The meal is heavy and adds to a particular farmhouse feel to the restaurant. Brick walls, metal chairs and portions that will give you enough protein and carbs for a long days work. As shown from the daily specials the restaurant likes to highlight local farms and the menu has imagery such a “griddlecake” and “hog and chick” to make you think of open pastures and dew on the grass.

I finish my plate in no time. A delicious breakfast for lunch and proof that Matt’s Big Breakfast is worthy of a line out the door and a thirty minute wait.