Amid the spring training rivalry, one thing Rockies, Rangers and Royals fans can agree on is breakfast. Fuel up for the ballpark at these all-star spots.
4400 N. Scottsdale Road, #100
Only steps from where you waited in line to get into superhot nightclubs, you’ll wait in line again to enter this beloved Scottsdale breakfast joint. (A downtown Phoenix location opens this spring.) Head first to the coffee bar (the handful of seats there are first-come, first-serve, and the full menu’s available) to refill your tank with house-brewed joe. Sweet tooths covet the fluffy, plate-sized Bar Harbour Flapjacks with fresh blueberries baked into the cake and drizzled with blueberry puree. But if you’re looking for that famed local heat, order the BC Burrito “monster-style,” a Chihuahua-sized wrap with eggs, refried beans, chorizo and pepperjack cheese, drowning in pork green chile and chorizo queso. Just need carbs? The jalapeño biscuits have enough soaking power and spice to kick-start your day.
801 N. 1st St.
“Big” doesn’t reference the menu—Matt’s breakfast list doesn’t even fill one page—but rather the belly-filling portions; the Chop & Chick, for example, pairs two eggs with a giant Iowa pork chop, while the three-egg cheese omelet oozes more Provolone, American or Cheddar than one could feasibly consume. Still, diners can feel good about chowing down: The eatery serves only cage-free eggs and grain-fed pork and beef, and local, organic produce whenever possible. (The bowl of Frosted Flakes with whole milk and sliced bananas? Not locavore, but still delightful.) Go on a Saturday, add your name to the seating list and hunt for seasonal produce at the farmers market across the street while you wait, or eat before you shop and grab a house-brewed honey lemonade to go.
4730 E. Indian School Rd. #123
This retro-modern breakfast joint just moved from its tiny home in a former Taco Bell to decidedly roomier digs seven blocks away in the city’s affable Arcadia neighborhood; the 18 additional seats shave a few minutes off the reliably long wait. Why the lines? Crowds clamor for pillowy, gooey stacks of brioche French toast topped with caramelized bananas and pecans, and the almost unfinishable Wolfpack, a stack of two eggs, bacon and cheese sandwiched between layers of crispy hash browns. Share the Waffle Dogs—sausage links dipped in waffle batter and fried to perfection—with a pal and wash it all down with the house-made cold coffee laced with cinnamon, cardamom and mint.
LATE-NIGHT NOSH: This time of year, Philly’s still frozen, but Phoenix is T-shirt, flip-flops and alfresco dining-ready. Sit outside the tiny greasy spoon known as the Philadelphia Sandwich Co. (7158 E. 5th Ave., phillycheezsteak.com) and mow down homemade fried onion rings and a fleshy, gooey cheesesteak as mouthwatering as any from the sammy’s birthplace. That it’s stumbling distance from local hotspots and open 24/7 ensures you’ll fall in (brotherly) love.