The first of many restaurants in Arizona - Matt's Big Breakfast

Earlier this week we came back from a vacation in Arizona.  As many of you know, my love of all things food has a close tie to the "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" television show on the Food network.  In our travels, we have tried to visit restaurants from the show whenever we can.  During the past two weeks we did visit several restaurants.

Matt's Big Breakfast diner was one of the restaurants featured in a March 2008 episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  The diner was as quaint as it appeared on the show and the staff was extremely friendly.  

Although, I did not get to see Matt, the owner. Once inside the tiny place, we saw a few stools surrounding a corner counter and window bar with several tables in an adjoining dining room.  

On the episode, one of the specialties of the house were a basil pesto marinated pork chop for breakfast.  I had the pork chops with eggs and hash browns for breakfast.  Kevin enjoyed a fresh chorizo scramble with pepper jack cheese and jalapenos.

The other item that stood out in my memory was the home-made berry preserves with fresh-baked bread.  I had sourdough bread with preserves with my meal.

The food was wonderful.  The pork chops were some of the best I have eaten.  The hashbrowns were crispy and golden on the outside while creamy on the inside.  The fresh berry preserves were a wonderful blend of sweet and tart, hitting both the front and back of your palate.  If I could give this restaurant a rating of 5 stars, it would definitely get a 4!  I suggest visiting whenever you are in downtown Phoenix!