Before I launch into this, here are some spectacular places outside of Tucson that I have enjoyed.

In the process of doing this, I began to get interested in doing a systematic tour of all the places in Tucson that serve breakfast, so here we go!

Each place gets a rating from 1 to 5 stars. A 1 or 5 star rating is only rarely awarded, being reserved for places that are truly exceptional in either a good or bad sense.

A 1 star restaurant would be a place to strictly avoid, either because of toxic food, beligerent service, or a truly notable issue of some kind. A 5 star restaurant would be someplace truly spectacular. Most places will get 2, 3 or 4 stars, with a 3 star place being pretty ordinary.

In the past, my tastes have run towards truck stops and what most people would call "greasy spoon" sort of establishments. As time goes on, my tolerance for truly greasy food is not what it once was, and these reviews are being written in the midst of this transition in my food tastes. One thing I have no tolerance for is paying good money and then going away hungry. (The only thing worse is paying good money and going away sick!). I like a big breakfast (within limits). These are my biases, consider yourself warned.

The following categories are evaluated:

• The food - how is the chow?
• The service - do I get a smile, plenty of coffee refills?
• The price - how much does it cost to get a decent breakfast?
• The ambience - is the place decent or a rat hole?
• The coffee - there is NO excuse for bad coffee.

Here are the ratings, click on the name of the establishment for more details.

• ***** The Blue Willow

• **** Cup Cafe
• **** Todds Restaurant
• **** Ghinis French Cafe
• **** Bobos Restaurant, 3843 E. Pima St.
• **** Coyote Pause
• **** The Good Egg
• **** Roberts, 3301 E. Grant Rd.

• *** Franks, 3843 E. Pima St.
• *** The Happy Rooster
• *** Sunny Daze Cafe
• *** Jerry Bob's - Valencia

• ** Mosaic Cafe
• ** Jerry Bob's - Speedway
• ** La Vernas
• ** The Hungry Fox

• * Dennys

Some black holes:

• Millies East Pancake Haus -- 6530 E. Tanque Verde Road.
  on one visit they lost and totally screwed up our order
  zero stars.
• Good Egg, 5350 E. Broadway
  I visited, stood and waited and waited to get seated, never was greeted, finally went to tell them why I was walking out and was told "Oh, we thought you were waiting for somebody"
  zero stars.

Some places I am waiting to check out:

• Tohono Chul Tea Room, 7366 N. Paseo Del Norte (M-F 8-5, Sa/Sun 7-4)
• Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. (6:30 - 10:30, gotta be expensive)