Best View 2011 | A Different Pointe of View | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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A Different Pointe of View

Patricia Escarcega
The Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs is perched on high, looking down on Phoenix below, and A Different Pointe of View lets you soak up the desert vibes in a fine-dining atmosphere. Although we recommend sunset for some of the most stunning vistas, there isn't a bad seat in the house any time of day. The outside patio also is a lovely option, provided you aren't afraid of heights, with a huge fire pit and fountain for a bit of extra ambiance. If you want to catch the unforgettable vistas without emptying your pockets — the five-star view comes with five-star prices — order a couple of glasses of wine and an appetizer and feel like a thrifty king.Readers' Choice:

Best Sunday Brunch

T. Cook's at The Royal Palms Resort

Royal Palms Resort and Spa
Brunch, that magical pairing of breakfast and lunch, is an underrated meal often flippantly associated with the word "buffet." Eye-rollers may want to direct their attention to the Mediterranean Market Buffet at T. Cook's, the cozy restaurant located inside the Royal Palms Resort and Spa. Every Sunday, in an elegant room done up in colonial Spanish architecture — with palm trees literally growing through the roof — patrons pick up an empty plate and make their way to tables laden with fresh fare and custom creations. Breakfast types will enjoy housemade breads and tasty omelets (Hint: Let the chef surprise you with his own creation), while the lunch set will appreciate fresh seafood, grilled veggies, and marinated cheeses. But hey, at $33 a person, who says you need to pick a side? Just make sure you save room for a treat or two from Executive Pastry Chef Travis Watson's tempting dessert selection.

Best Breakfast, Central Phoenix

Over Easy

Katie Johnson
Late last year, Aaron May's happenin' breakfast place moved out of its old digs in a refurbed Taco Bell on 40th Street to a considerably bigger spot in a Safeway-anchored strip mall about a mile east on Indian School Road. Even with a bigger space, there still are lines out the door on the weekends. No wonder. Over Easy is one of the best breakfast joints in this part of town — or any part of town, for that matter. Whether you're with the family (the kids will dig the bright and whimsical interior, replete with framed pictures of old-school Disney characters) or nursing a hangover with your buddies, it's tough to go wrong with the cheese and jalapeño biscuits and gravy, housemade corned beef hash, outstanding breakfast sandwiches, gut-busting pancakes and waffles, and our personal favorite, the spicy (and filling) chilaquiles. You're going to pay a little more than you might at a mom 'n' pop bacon-and-egger, but for morning munchies this good, it's worth it.

Best Breakfast, Downtown Phoenix

Province

Jackie+Mercandetti
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If coffee's not enough to wake you up in the morning, try a pop of color — in the form of the hot-pink furniture and shocking green wall of moss at Province, the restaurant in the brand-new Downtown Westin. When the Sheraton opened down the block a couple of years ago, there was a lot of hoopla, but no one said much when the Westin quietly opened its doors a few months back. We'll say it: This place is way cool! And a great way to start your day. We love the airy lobby (and the airy rooms — we hear the place was originally designed as an office building, meaning higher ceilings) and the funky style, which begins with cool green glass tiles where we stop to valet (free, if you're there to eat) and continues on, particularly in the restaurant. We also love the breakfast menu at Province, which features a mix of old and new favorites, including whole wheat waffles, a Spanish tortilla scramble, and crispy turkey sausage. A friend swooned over housemade cherry scones with whipped butter. Best of all? The coffee kept on coming.

Best Breakfast, South Phoenix

Morning Glory Cafe

Tucked at the back of The Farm at South Mountain, Morning Glory is our favorite way to start the day when we're in this part of town. You can go with the light fruit and granola or pig out on anything from a down-home "cowboy" breakfast of chili and eggs (with griddled bread!) or white truffle scrambled eggs with fresh local veggies. Best of all (except maybe for mimosas with fresh-squeezed orange juice) is the casual, red-and-white-checked tablecloth atmosphere. Morning Glory bills itself as "Phoenix's only breakfast on a farm," and, come to think of it, they might be right. Just be sure not to visit in the summertime. These folks are civilized — they close for the hottest months of the year.

Best Breakfast, North Phoenix

Tryst Caf�

Sweet potato tots for breakfast? We must be at Tryst Café. We love this place. Everything is reasonably priced, there are plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options, and they offer organic mimosas and bloodies. We like the buttermilk flapjacks and Belgian waffles, and if it's a decadent kind of day, Tryst lets you smother them in bananas foster, strawberry cheesecake, or candied walnuts. The Hawaiian breakfast with smoked kalua pork is also a welcome twist on traditional breakfast. Just don't forget that side of tots!

Best Breakfast, West Valley

Kiss the Cook Restaurant

Glendalians have it good. It's not easy to find a consistently excellent breakfast joint in the West Valley, but these folks have one right in their backyard. Kiss the Cook is a down-home nod to the prototypical old-fashioned country kitchen: hardwood floors, knickknacks, wicker baskets everywhere you look, retro prices, and a bright, airy atmosphere (thanks to the huge windows overlooking Glendale Avenue). Kindly servers are eager to bring bountiful plates of eggs Benedict (try the crab cake Benny, if you get a chance), huge omelets, waffles and pancakes, and that old stick-to-your-ribs staple: homemade biscuits (soft and fluffy) and gravy (just a kick of pepper and smooth consistency). And most entrees come with a cute little basket holding a variety of tasty mini-muffins. It's that kind of extra touch that truly makes you want to, um, kiss the cook.

Best Breakfast, Southeast Valley

Liberty Market

Heather Hoch
Apricot Glazed Chicken from Liberty Market
Those living near downtown Gilbert are lucky to have Liberty Market, one of the best breakfast spots in the Valley. Come to think of it, even residents outside Gilbert should make the trek for this caliber of good eats. They've got pancakes, scrambles, and all-American B-fasts aplenty, in addition to a fully stocked coffee bar. We recommend the grilled bread pudding, a decadent twist on boring old French toast, with a prosecco-spiked mimosa or a whiskey-laced Irish coffee. Also, make sure to try the grilled flattened meatballs, a breakfast addition that will make you forget all about bacon — at least for the day.

Best Breakfast, Tempe

Essence Bakery and Caf�

Courtesy of Essence Bakery
True story: A friend was in town from back east, staying at a Tempe hotel. Went to the front desk, asked for advice about where to grab breakfast. The clerk recommended a place we won't name here, but if you've lived in Tempe for more than five minutes, you are familiar with it — it's been around forever, a little grimy, attracts the natives like flies. An okay post-hangover standby, but not the place you'd send your fancy friend. As our friend tells it, he set off down University, in search of eggs. Luckily, he was headed west, and he's observant. "What's this cute-looking place?" he asked himself. "Maybe I'll stop in."Our friend was lucky, because that cute place was Essence — about as different from that other place as you can get. Essence is a real treat, and we're not just talking about the pastry case, though if you like, we could talk about the pastry case (namely, Essence's famous French macarons) all day. No, we're here to discuss breakfast. From the housemade granola to the hot breakfast cereal to the Quiche Lorraine, every dish is exquisite. Not so hungry? Grab one of Eugenia Theodosopolous' croissants, which are quickly giving the macarons a run for their money, reputation-wise. Really, you can't go wrong here, whatever you order. Just go.

Best Breakfast, Scottsdale

Orange Table

Jamie Peachey
Hidden between SMoCA and a parking garage, the hungry breakfast masses find their way to this cheerful eatery for Orange Table's out-of-this world breakfast and killer sandwiches. Now under new ownership and new management, the service is finally just as good as the food! Known for outstanding green flannel hash, insanely good jalapeño pecan pancakes, and fancy breakfast cocktails that will cure that next-day headache in a heartbeat, this place is well worth a trip off the beaten path. And if for some reason you miss breakfast, the burgers and thick-cut BLT sandwiches will make you forget about that oh-so-most-important meal of the day.

Best Of Phoenix®

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