Best Breakfast, North Phoenix 2011 | Tryst Caf� | Food & Drink
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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 Downtown Lunch

Food Truck Fridays @ Downtown Phoenix Market

Workday lunches can be a hassle. You've got a gaggle of colleagues all hot and bothered and hungry, with different food tastes and a unified desire to keep costs down. Where to go? If you're lucky enough to have made it to the end of the week, it's a no-brainer: Head to the Downtown Phoenix Market for Food Truck Friday. There, your co-workers can munch on a Short Leash Hot Dog or grilled cheese from Paradise Melts while you get adventurous with Hey Joe's Filipino cuisine — and you can all get crème brûlée (really!) for dessert, thanks to the kind folks at Torched Goodness. The list of options goes on — so now you know where you're having lunch next Friday, too. Now to figure out where to go Monday through Thursday . . .
  • 14 E. Pierce St., Phoenix, 85004 Map

Best Afternoon Tea

The Ritz-Carlton

Courtesy of Bistro 24
The Ritz-Carlton often requests the pleasure of our company at its afternoon tea, served in the Lobby Lounge from noon 'til 3 Wednesday through Saturday. And we're eager to oblige! For a meager $36 per person, a full-on, super-elegant English tea hosted by Tea Maitre d' Jeffrey Hattrick is ours. Three courses are served — finger sandwiches, fresh-baked scones, and French pastries — all prepared right at the Ritz and all designed to make one feel ever-so-British Royal. Exclusive tea blends, like White Peach and Provençal, are offered alongside soothing black and green standards like Afternoon Darjeeling, all perfect accompaniments for those tiny tea sandwiches of egg salad, smoked salmon tartare, and cucumber with chive cream cheese. A child's tea offers smaller portions at a lower price point, so bring the kids and get them acquainted with the delightful and rare treat of a real-life tea party.

Best Place to Take a Foodie

Beaver Choice

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Beaver Choice. The name may elicit a few giggles, but this fairly new funky Scandinavian eatery is a serious culinary adventure, with hearty ethnic dishes that, chances are, you've never heard of, let alone tasted. Owner and chef Hanna Gabrielsson, who came to the Valley by way of Ontario, by way of Sweden, by way of Poland, uses no more than five fresh ingredients in most dishes — and around three pounds of fresh dill each day — to create a menu of (mostly) Swedish fare, all made-to-order, featuring fish, chicken, hamburgers, and a category simply called "Meat." Dive in to scrumptious schnitzels with a creamy mushroom sauce, melt-in-your-mouth peirogies topped with bacon, traditional cabbage rolls, haddock fillets simmered in heavy cream, and laxpudding (featuring cured salmon, buttery and smooth, served atop a mixture of eggs and potatoes). More daring diners should opt for tins of baked delights such as Jansson's Temptation, made with sweet Swedish anchovies, potatoes and onions, and the exotic Flygande Jakob (Flying Jacob), a Swedish casserole of marinated chicken, bananas, peanuts, and a chili cream sauce with a flavor so surprisingly unique and enjoyable, you'll be glad you got to Beaver Choice before everyone else did.

Best Place to Take a Scenester

Jobot Coffee Shop

Heather Hoch
John Sagasta gave new meaning to the term "kick it up a notch" when he ditched Conspire (the anarchist, vegan doughnut-shilling commune) down the street to open his own joint, Jobot. Jobot's nothing fancy, just a narrow coffee bar with a shaded, misted patio. But with peeling paint, concert fliers, a chalkboard menu, and the best crêpes and coffee in town, it's got all the elements necessary to satisfy even your friends who've upped and moved to Portland (but who somehow show up back in town all the time). Come by for a nutella/banana crêpe, or maybe chorizo (meat lovers are welcome here), or go whole hog and wait for Beats and Brunch, Jobot's Sunday brunch event soon to make a comeback (details on Jobot's website). And keep an eye out for Nachobot, the nacho bar Sagasta plans to open next door.

Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner

Carefree Station

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The next time you just feel the need to get out of the Valley, consider trekking up Scottsdale Road into the tiny burg of Carefree, a genteel, upscale outpost where, as they say, "cowboy meets caviar." This comfortable restaurant is all about Southwestern look and feel, with a spacious tree-lined patio as well as a covered porch with a fireplace in the corner, perfect for outdoor dining on a beautiful fall or spring evening. The impressive wine and beer list complements a menu heavy on sandwiches, burgers, salads, and a number of Southwestern dishes that, despite the aging population of this little town, don't skimp on flavor or spice. For starters, try the Desert Tears, four jalapeño peppers hollowed out and filled with either crab meat and cheese or chorizo. The dish's name is appropriate, as its heat had our eyes watering. The carnitas taco, topped with guacamole and salsa verde, surprised us with its bold taste and juicy pork. And the chilaquiles were honestly among the best we've tried in the Valley. So, the next time your out-of-town family members invade, and they want to go shopping for kokopellis, turquoise, and cowboy art, you could do worse than a trip up to pretty Carefree and a Southwestern meal at Carefree Station.

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