Sunday, May 23, 2010

Welcome to the Blog Cafe - Matt's Big Breakfast Today






So today we're going to take a little visit to a place called Matt's Big Breakfast. There are a few things that are really cool about Matt's - first, it's hard to get a table. They have you sign in on a little sheet of lined notebook paper they leave outside the door, and you put down how many in your party and they'll walk outside and let you know when they have room. In the meantime, they provide a little shade and some lovely orange flavored water to drink while you wait.




If you want to take a step across the street a block to the farmer's market, just write down beside your name "farmer's market" that way if they call your name and you aren't there, they'll wait and keep trying until you come back from your shopping spree.

Anybody remember the opening scene of the movie "Psycho" where they pan across the Phoenix skyline? This the the building you see in that scene, and also what you'll stare at across the way while you wait outside:


But when we finally get a seat it's soooo worth it. Because Matt's uses local produce only - and local farmer's who provide his bacon and eggs. It's super delicious. Like ridiculously delicious. And even if you aren't feeling like super heavy breakfast items, they have some other yummy yummy things, like a side of sourdough toast with homemade strawberry preserves, or fresh squeezed orange juice from local Phoenix oranges. You're going to love it. When it get's close to lunch time they also have things like grilled cheese, and egg salad. But mostly, it's a breakfast place and it's the best breakfast you'll ever have.Who still serves RC cola? Well, for some reason Matt does.



Oh yeah, and Food Network has featured this restaurant at least twice:


Okay so now that we're settled in at our window seat and feeling sorry for those people still waiting outside to get a table,

Let's open up our topic of discussion today. This week my parents were visiting from out of town. I grew up in a small town in Idaho and my parents still live there. There were great things about living there - like swimming in the ditch next to my house, roaming through the fields when I was bored and making huts out of grass and reeds, and generally feeling cozy (though all my fondest memories are of summer...not a big fan of the bitter cold winters...) But at any rate, I love living in Phoenix now and it's always interesting to me when my parents visit because I think they really like it too. But it's like they can't ever imagine themselves living here. And it's hard for them to accept that this is my home now, and I really imagine myself living here forever. There's a lot to love about this place, and frankly, if I'm being honest, I like it A LOT more than I liked living in rural Idaho. So one day I asked my mom - "Mom, if money were like no object at all - where else would you live besides where you do now? I mean, I know that you really like where you live (she's 69 and she's lived there her whole life) but where ELSE would you think about living or where do you think would be cool to live if you could just live anywhere you wanted BESIDES Idaho. And she really had to think about that. Like nothing just came to her mind immediately. And then I asked my dad and he sort of had the same response. And the most my mom could really come up with was that parts of Northern Idaho and Montana where they had recently been were "nice" and "I guess that might be okay". And I was like...well, sort of astounded. Because as much as I truly love where I live now - I have TONS of other places I would consider living if money were no object and there was no worry about income or jobs or kids or schools or whatever. And this is only a partial list, but I would seriously consider:


The greek islands

the coast of california, especially a house off a cliff around Big Sur:


The coast of Italy:

A Washington DC Brownstone near Dupont:



The Isle of Skye in Scotland:

San Francisco:

London:


or a Malibu beachhouse:



so two questions fellow blog cafe goers:

1. Do you ever dream about or imagine living somewhere else even if you love where you live right now?

and

2. Where would you go?


(And if you've never visited to the blog cafe before be sure to check the link on the sidebar for the calendar to see where we're meeting each Monday, anyone can join in the conversation, and if you're interested in hosting just look at the link and request to host and they'll get in touch with you about a date)

I'm interested to hear what you have to say!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an interesting cafe. I think they should make it larger if people are having to queue just to get in. In this area they would lose business as there are a lot of eating places competing.

We are trying to move from the NW of England at the moment, back home to the SE of England where I have family.

I would like to emigrate but I don't know where to. I've visited a lot of places but they were good just for visiting.

It was interesting to hear your parent's attitude. I think it is a common one for the older generation in the UK too.

Lacey said...

Hi, this is my first time here. I agree with Melanie, it is harder for seniors to pack up and move on a whim.

I am originally from Alabama, but my husband is currently in the military so I feel like I have lived everywhere. When I say everywhere I mean, Oklahoma, New York (upstate), Korea, Washington State, and now currently in Tennessee.

Frotuantely my hubby and I are giving up our nomadic military life in order to settle down a bit more. The only question is where? He is job hunting now and we have found that it is best to leave all options open as far as moving goes. Our only request is it not be in the South.

Of course if we had a choice I think we would choose anywhere in the UK, or Europe.

I am excited about the blog cafe. I here Tracey mention it all the time.

JoLyn said...

Hi Lezlee! What a great place for the Blog Cafe...I love the local spots that are everybody's favorite. And let me tell you, I would give anything to be in Phoenix right now--mmm, sunshine. It's snowing today in Utah!!!

This is a question we like to think about all the time. Whenever we visit a new place, we try to imagine what it would be like to live there. If I could pick anywhere....I've always wanted to live in Hawaii, I love the climate and the island life. Maybe it would settle down my Type A personality! And I'd also want to live in a little village in Italy or a small town in New England. Somewhere with some history--and old, old cemeteries to wander through and historical homes to visit.

Jane Doe said...

Hi...This is my first visit and my what a great cafe! When there's a line at a restaurant, especially small, local establishments it means it's worth the wait.

Loved your question...First, a wind and sea weathered cottage right on the ocean on Cape Cod. A brownstone in NYC, a country house in Tuscany, somewhere in Paris, and an old stone house in England.

Jenny-Jenny said...

Hi L! What a great place for breakfast! Can I have breakfast later in the day as well? Is the farmers market open year round?

I have always wanted to live in a very old farmhouse which has been updated with modern comforts inside. Something Amish with a huge kitchen and a big table because that's where everyone gathers anyway.

Somewhere I can get on my bike and explore the world around me... Tuscany, Pennsylvania, D.C., SE Florida, Western Oregon, and recently I was told that Texarkana TX is the friendliest place on earth. But I have to admit that I sincerely love living in NW Washington. Once as a teenager living in Utah I thought, "Someday I'm going to live in Washington." Here I am and here I'll stay.

I'll be thinking about this all day! What a great subject!

JoLyn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cynthia said...

I've always shy-ed away from Matt's because I never have a long chunk of time to spare. I'll have to try it one day because I've heard so much about it.
There are many places I'd move to - San Diego, Oahu, St. George Ut., Heber AZ, the Bay Area, a house that opens up it's back doors to the beach, a weekend/summer house in the forest (but not too far of a drive). I love the AZ, but Dave has never been a big fan all these years, . . . maybe we'll retire somewhere else. I'm not sure I've ever thought of leaving the states though.
Love your photos.

I Am Boymom said...

I love the blog Cafe idea! So fun!!

I saw Guy Fierri do the Matt's Big Breakfast on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Before that it wasn't quite as busy. I've only been there once and the place rocks. I wish Matt would get a bigger place too, but the wait is sooooo worth it!

Funny about the whole living somewhere else thing and you NOT wanting to live in Idaho, because I would love to relocate to Nampa Idaho and do a more rural thing. I would also consider a home in parts of Spain and I love the Carlsbad California area. I would also consider the Napa Valley area in CA too. I could possibly do Virginia, maybe a few places in Colorado...There are really lots of places I might consider if money weren't an issue.

Lacey said...

Jenny-Jenny, Have you ever seen the show Sarah's house on HGTV? It comes on 7:30 on Saturday. She goes and buys a house and totally changes everything. The house she is currently working on is an old farm house, and what she has done to it is absolutely beautiful. Since you want an old farm house check out the show. YOu would not be disappointed!

Anonymous said...

hi there,
Fantastic breakfast place - I have to say :) I hope to find one like this when I finally visit US this summer.

Re your question ... hmmm ... I have lived in three countries so far but still dream of being an expat in New York for a year and I would also like to move to Scandinavia and wouldn't mind living in Hong Kong for another year or two :) .... yet ... I think my heart will always belong to Amsterdam where I am based now :)

Cheers!
ps: the blog Cafe rocks :)

The Clem Family said...

What a fun little cafe! I'll have some panckes smothered in maple syrup.

I really do love where I live now here in Utah despite getting snowed on today. I could live anywhere where there's mountains nearby and I could still experience the four seasons. I could also handle living somewhere with beaches, palm trees and blue ocean. Maybe, I'd have a summer home in someplace like Alaska or Montana and a winter home in someplace like Costa Rica or Beliz. Yeah, that would work! -Mandi

bandanamom2 said...

Thanks for all the comments - it's fun to hear where other people think they would want to live! I thought of a bunch more places after I posted this today...maybe it's something I think about more than most people but it's always fun to imagine isn't it? Even though I DO love it here.

Matt's Big Breakfast is purposefully small because he thinks it's the only way to keep the quality high - plus since he buys everything local - he figures it's the only way he can keep enough food stock on hand to feed the amount of people he averages per day. I figure they can only seat about 30 or so people at a time. And they are pretty packed from open to close - they close in the afternoon and open very early. Worth the wait...for anyone in Phoenix I advise going later in the morning in the summer time - just because it's hot as all heck outside and no one wants to have to wait outside long, so you end up with a much shorter wait time.

Other places I thought of that I would also like to live, or have visited and thought would be lovely:

Chapel Hill, NC - Seattle and surrounding area - New York (if you had the money to do it right...it could be super cool) - Edinburgh Scotland - the french countryside, Paris, Costa Rica, Beach house in Mexico, San Diego, and almost any island. ;)

Flower said...

Fun thought to ponder. ...I would live a year in New York, Cape Cod, San Juan Island, Wa, Victoria B.C., Cotswald, England, Boston, Greek Isles, in the mountains of Colorado, Oregon, Washington....I can think of many places to live that would so great! I would like to live out my life in a cabin, near a creek with a view of the sky and valley below. That's a little off the track. :))
I'm glad to hear that AZ has farmers markets! I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver. :)

Kim said...

Have your parents visited enough places to have an opinion? You seem to love to travel and have observed several areas.

I have only visited a few places. Only twice have I returned thinking I could live there...not want to live there....but could live there.

My goal after the kids are grown and gone, is to return to a rural area. But, definitely not near Rexburg. When I visit, I am always amazed how cold it is....did I somehow think that was normal when I was a child?

The only possible downfall to a reclusive area is adequate medical care. Let's face it, in our older age we will probably need that.

bandanamom2 said...

Kim - I am curious what type of rural area you would consider.

It's hard for me to imagine enjoying anything rural after living in a city all these years - basically the smallest place since I moved from Rexburg was Charlottesville, VA and that's still a fairly large college town and only about 2 hours drive from DC.

Having said that, I might consider a 2nd home in a rural or small town. For instance, living inside West Yellowstone (in the actual town) has some appeal for me. But if I were going to do something like that I'd want to like be the lady who owns the local bookstore or something. I lived in West Yellowstone for one summer and it was an interesting experience. I lost a lot of weight without trying because you can walk to one end of the town to the other without ever having to use a car. So I biked and walked everywhere and that was cool.

Sometimes I drive through a little town and think it's quaint or cute...but I never quite imagine living anywhere like that.

One of my favorite favorite artists is named Brian Kershisnik and he actually lives in the Provo/Orem area but he has a place in Kanosh Utah which is...I don't know what? Maybe an hour and 1/2 drive from Provo? And we stopped in on him one time there and I thought - this might be the perfect life, a few days in this teeny town painting in your studio (which is the old Town Dance Hall) and then back to the "City" for the rest of the week.

My parents have traveled enough that I would think they would have some thoughts about living elsewhere. But they truly are just content with not even thinking about such things.

Maybe I just have too much wanderlust. :)

Tracy said...

Hi, I'm Tracy, one of the other gals behind The Blog Cafe! I'm late getting here as I've been on vacation... So your topic is timely! There are a few place I would love to move to and life for a while, if money were no object. My husband & I LOVE the UK, so it's very easy to imagine living in London for a while, or Kent or Cornwall, both in England. Just about anywhere in England would be the dream for me! :o) DELICIOUS food served up here today too as well as fun topic! Happy Weekend, Lezlee! :o)

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

Hi. Love a cooked breakfast - wonderful treat to start the day. Bacon and eggs with toast and fried tomato. Yum.

I love your list of places to live! Greece was one of my favorite vacations EVER so it would top my list too. Beach houses are nice, but at the risk of sounding blase, but you do get tired of them full time. All things considered, I would move back to Santa Barbara where I grew up. It has beaches, mountains, Spanish architecture, wonderful restaurants and, best of all, my family!

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