Best Of Tucson®

Best Breakfast

Blue Willow

READERS' PICK: The Blue Willow's great breakfast menu is a medley of healthful fare and sinfully yummy treats. They bake their pastries, muffins and desserts in-house daily and offer espresso drinks and standard breakfast fare like omelets, pancakes and eggs and toast. They also have some originals, such as the Blue Willow Special featuring tortillas scrambled with eggs, chicken, green chiles, tomatoes, cheddar, salsa and sour cream. The Fresh Fruit Crepe hits a high note and the desserts will make anyone sing, and not the blues, either! The Blue Willow also offers a lovely atmosphere, in the screened outdoor patio, complete with trickling fountain and green plants, or on cold days inside next to the fireplace. Best yet, most breakfast items are served all day, so you can enjoy this Tucson breakfast hit all day long!

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Frank's, 3843 E. Pima St. Don't worry; be happy! The semiotic chaos one encounters in modern-day America finds a microcosmic encapsulation in Frank's. All around, signs point to certain modalities or dimensions just beyond human perception. The setting is, for the most part, pure Arizona gothic: walls festooned with eagles, Xeroxed patriotic declarations, Polaroid photographs of people brandishing tattoos, children's drawings, toy Indian headdresses, random trophies, etc. It is the signs, however, that give pause. "Elegant dining elsewhere," reads one, the unexpected adverbial clause causing not a few ravenous diners to consider, if only for a moment, their own mortality. "Welcome to Frank's, relax and be amazed," reads another, engendering severe cognitive dissonance in those who simultaneously attempt both. The waitstaff, always friendly and accommodating, move with Nureyevian precision through the claustrophobic space, delivering steaming mounds of delicious eggs, hash browns, bacon and sausage. Breakfasts range from $2.65 to $6.75; the spinach omelet is particularly recommended.