Matt's Big Breakfast - Phoenix, Arizona

801 North 1st Street

Phoenix, AZ 85004-2013
602.254.1074

www.mattsbigbreakfast.com

Matt's Big Breakfast motto is "food tastes better when prepared simply with better ingredients." I think that Matt and his crew are on to something here. The restaurant uses only cage-free eggs from humanely raised chickens, grain-fed natural Iowa pork, Angus beef, and local and organic produce. An interesting fact that I learned was that Matt's doesn't have a freezer or a microwave! Sounds like we're off to a good start.

Matt's Big Breakfast is actually not big at all - a small place as a matter of fact. The restaurant is housed in a one-story brick building. We arrived on a Saturday around noon and were greeted with a long line of people who had the same goal in mind. Good Food!!! The wait was about 30-40 minutes, which wasn't too bad.  Thankfully, there was a farmers market going on down the street that occupied our time.

Coffee and fresh pressed apple juice

Whole grain toast with homemade local strawberry preserve - complimentary
Each piece of toast comes from an uncut whole loaf of bread that is cut upon order. The strawberry preserve had wonderful true flavor of strawberries that wasn't overly sweet.

Three meat scramble with fresh jalapenos, hash browns and tortilla. This dish had so much flavor with the addition of the chorizo, jalapenos and cheese. The combination of these three elements really melded so well together. I can see why this is a classic Mexican food pairing. The hash browns at Matt's are perfectly browned on the top and bottom to an excellent crisp, while the inside is simultaneously soft. Part of the reason why the potatoes and most items taste so good is they use real butter for everything.

Waffle - Big homemade Belgian style waffle, sweet cream butter, and real maple syrup with two thick cut bacon slices.
I only tried a piece of this Belgian style waffle and it was excellent. The waffle was perfectly cooked, and it was light and fluffy. Real maple syrup as opposed to Aunt Jemima, nothing against Aunt Jemima. I was raised on that stuff, but I'll take real maple syrup any day.

The Chop and Chick - two eggs and a skillet seared Iowa pork rib chop.
These eggs were perfectly cooked to a specific over easy, real easy. I also opted for the home fries instead of the hash browns. The homes fries had a bit too much of rosemary flavor (must be the use of fresh rosemary). Next time, I would go with the hash browns. But the pièce de résistance was the Iowa pork rib chop. This rib chop is first marinated for at least 3 hours in a homemade pesto sauce and then cooked to perfection. The rib chop ended up being juicy and still tender. I enjoyed this dish quite a bit!

Hog and Chick - Two eggs any style and off the bone ham. 
Another order that I only had a taste of was the off the bone ham. Forget Honeybaked Ham and all those Oscar Mayer hams - this is what ham is supposed to be like. This was a piece of thick cut ham that was unexpectedly tender and full of that salty, meaty, and hamy flavor.

The restaurant looks and runs as though it has been in business for 50+ years when in reality the restaurant has only been around for a little over 5 years. Matt's Big Breakfast has made big strides within the five years that it has been around. After eating at Matt's, I have to agree that food does taste better when prepared simply and with good ingredients.