Valley of The Sun’s Eggs-cellent Days

The Dishes: Breakfast Enchiladas, Mexican Benedict, Egg White Frittata, Vegan Mushroom and Spinach Scramble, Wolfpack, and Pastrami Hash
The Place: Perk Eatery, Vovomeena, Frank & Alberts, Scramble, Over Easy, and Miracle Mile Deli 
The Location: All over the valley!

Phoenix’s food scene is growing in leaps and bounds with the advent of new restaurants, craft beer brewers and a burgeoning wine industry every single day. Under the radar, however, is the city’s love of breakfast. In the Valley of the Sun, without counting, there seem to an endless supply of mom and pop’s as well as small chains devoted to the first meal of the day. Honestly, who knew that there were so many ways to have an egg handed to you on a platter? This is a brief highlight of some of the establishments using the incredible edible. Go out. Get your eggs on.

Courtesy of Perk

Breakfast Enchiladas, Perk Eatery: Two tortillas stuffed with pork and then baked with a zesty guajillo sauce. Topped with two eggs your way and black beans. Definitely not for the faint of heart or stomach, the enchiladas pack mucho heat with undeniable smoke and spice. Featured on Guy Fieris’ Diner, Dives and Drive-In’s – which is a ringing endorsement for some, others it’s like nails on a chalkboard — if you love your mornings to start with a fire this is a good way to go. Not refined, but hard-core, good eatin’.

Mexican Benedict, Vovomeena: Named after one of the owner’s grandmothers, this breakfast, and lunch-only eatery is hidden behind a lot of other fast casual restaurants. It’s a little odd that something so good is hidden behind makeshift subs and quickie burritos. Vovomeena has become a hipster haven as well as becoming a Phoenix’s showcase in creative breakfast food. Their Mexican Benedict is kind of brilliant using traditional sopas instead of English Muffins, housemade chorizo instead of Canadian bacon and a not too lemony hollandaise. Handcrafted coffees make this a place worth going. Pay attention to area parking – hard to find in restricted zones — and wait-times, they can be lengthy.

Frank & Albert’s, Arizona Biltmore. Courtesy of the hotel

Egg White Frittata, Frank & Alberts at Arizona Biltmore: Egg whites have a tendency to be dry when cooked. It takes a deft and steady hand to be quick to get these puppies from oven to table. In an ingenious cooking moment, a chef said, “Hey! Let’s fix that with olive oil!” It does the trick adding a rich coating of healthy fat instead of cheese or butter. Using a little drizzle of EVOO over the whites takes them from possible hockey puck to a puffy cloudy. Along with some avocado, pico de gallo and chopped onion – this very healthy but incredibly delectable open-faced omelet is smart eating. Eating in a museum is kind of fun as well.

Vegan Mushroom and Spinach Scramble or Vegan Veggie, Scramble: Solely a breakfast joint, this small chain does a good job of crafting vegan scrambles without a lot of oil. Tofu will always have that slightly rubbery consistency but the Scramble cooks don’t skimp on the vegetables whether in the Mushroom and Spinach or the Veggie, a generous mélange of sundried tomatoes, zucchini, red onions and bell peppers. Both are served with a healthy portion of a sweet potato hash and toast.

The Wolfpack, Over Easy: Deep fried latticed hash browns are substituted for bread in this sandwich concoction. The spuds are crusty warm like toast and soft and mushy inside. Wedged between the slices of pretty potatoes are two eggs your way and thick cut salty bacon to cut add some brightness and chew. Oh, don’t forget your choice of cheese which is the glue holding it together. At another table, a sad person was eating a salad.

Pastrami Hash, Miracle Mile Deli: There is Phoenix history to Miracle Mile based upon its almost seven-decade history in the Valley of the Sun. A listing of breakfast places would not be complete without it. Since it was originally founded by an ex-New Yorker and now owned by a Phoenician-born restauranteur, the Pastrami Hash is one of the best cross country meals. Like Donny and Marie sang, the pastrami makes it rock-n-roll and the hash makes it a little country.  It comes with rye toast made in-house and your choice of eggs.