Breakfast Beat: A Wide World of Coffee and Quick Breakfast Sandwiches

The Spot: Boss Coffee
23015 North Scottsdale Road, #107, Scottsdale
800-590-4092

The Scene: Boss exists so far outside the standard formula for your coffee shop, at least in terms of how the place looks, that you have to marvel a little. The place has lofty ceilings, dark walls with chalked menu listings and designs, elegant light fixtures, and dozens of displayed coffee growlers ready for people to fill up and bring home. Booth seating is upholstered. Sunlight and the glow of potent lightbulbs combine. This is a place where people linger reading papers, milking Wi-Fi, sitting out on a porch that overlooks North Scottsdale's sweep south back toward Phoenix.

Some customers, however, get the goods without even setting foot inside. Boss Coffee has a drive-thru. It gets traffic even in the early Sunday hours.

The Goods: Don't come to this place expecting crazy French toasts or a boozy brunch that meanders into the afternoon hours. This is a place to go for a quick breakfast.

The menu of savory goods is small: an egg bowl, a few croissant sandwiches, two wraps. Wraps are toasted to heavy crispness and display sexy grill marks. One contains eggs, sausage, chorizo, pesto, and a near-rainbow of vegetables. It gets a boost from the hot sauce selection, good for a coffee shop: green Cholula, red Cholula, and packets of Sriracha.

Croissants are also heavily grilled, giving the buttery pastries a shattering texture that matches nicely with the hot eggs, cheese, and ham inside. The egg bowl, though, needs some work. Danishes, muffins, scones, and such fill out the food menu.

Coffee is the name of the game here. Boss uses three roasters, including the nationally renowned Stumptown (Portland, Oregon). All beans used to create nitro have been roasted by Espressions Coffee Roastery (Tempe). The nitro at Boss is a mellow version, with pools of a light, creamy froth between ice cubes. The cream doesn't vanish as you drink.

The Bottom Line: Boss Coffee is where to go if you want a quick breakfast sandwich, to fill up a growler of cold brew, to get quick coffee and breakfast on the go. It's also a great place to post up and read or work.

Special Something: A nice menu of iced teas includes peach, mint, and white hibiscus. This selection will add value to shop once the mercury starts to rise.
Hours: Daily from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: $
Coffee Options: Drip, cold brew, nitro, and classic espresso-based creations. A host of cold blended options are on offer, some as simple as mocha or vanilla, others venturing into snickerdoodle territory.
Hot Tea Options: Boss brews a small selection of loose-leaf teas.
Fresh-squeezed juice: Rad Juices (Phoenix)
Wi-fi: Yes
Drinking Before Noon: Nope