On a recent trip to Phoenix, I had the opportunity to try two local favorites. Both had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, although I have never seen those episodes. The first place my friends and I went was Matt’s Big Breakfast located near the ASU campus in--what I have to assume--was once someone’s garage. This place is tiny--teeny tiny.
We rolled up on a Friday morning at 8 am and we still had to wait for nearly 45 minutes. I hate waiting, but I really wanted to try Matt’s. Disappointingly, they don’t allow you to order drinks for outside or have water available to keep you from wilting in the Arizona heat. They do, however, give you menus and actually have you order your food once you get close to being seated. The moment your name gets called for seating your order goes to the kitchen.
The menu for Matt's is very small. I guess it fits the size of the restaurant. There are about nine breakfast items, seven lunches, and that's it.
You may notice that they serve RC Cola. RC has a pretty loyal following. It has over 5000 fans on Facebook! Sadly, FANS of RC Cola Fans are far fewer.
The 5-Spot appears to be their signature breakfast-three out of five of us got it. It's a sandwich with egg and bacon. Why is it called a 5-Spot? Maybe because involves 5 things: two pieces of bread, one egg, two slices of bacon? We never saw the waiter for more than a few seconds at a time, so I never got the chance to ask him or her--we had two. She kept forgetting our drinks and refills that were requested, and he was running around turning over tables.
One in our party is a vegetarian and asked if she could hold the bacon and get hash browns instead. They assured her it was no problem...when we got the check we learned that they basically charged her for a side of hash browns. Lame.
The toast was really good.
The hash browns were interesting. They reminded us a lot more of latkes or potato pancakes than of hash browns.
The waffle was pretty good. It was soft and warm and the real maple syrup was appreciated.
The bacon was the star all-around--on the sandwich or next to the waffle--it was thick cut and peppery.
Once we were done, we were rushed out the door. With only ten maybe twelve tables, they need a high turnover. I have no problem with that--my problem was that none of this seemed worth it. Long wait, only adequate service and good-but-not-THAT-good food. I don't see what all the fuss is about.
Food: Good
Price $5-8
Service: Rushed.
Pie: No.
Matt's Big Breakfast
801 N. First St.
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
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