Clove-Scented Ham and Baked Pancakes at Wy-Knot Cafe

By Nikki Buchanan Fri., Aug. 17 2012 at 8:00 AM

Categories: Brunched, Buchanan

Nikki Buchanan

Frittata with triple-cream Brie

Welcome to Brunched, where Chow Bella samples local restaurants' offerings for our favorite meal. Hey, you get to sleep in and eat breakfast -- what's not to like?

What: Wy-Knot Cafe
Where: 2325 N. Seventh Street, Phoenix, 602-218-6646
When: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Breakfast served all day Saturday and Sunday.
How Much: $4-$10.

Mood: Parked at the southern end of the strip mall that houses Humble Pie, this cute breakfast, brunch, and lunch spot in Coronado was once home to Drip and Perc Up Coffee Cafe. And like its predecessors, Wy-Knot evokes a quirky, artsy vibe, thanks to a mash-up of design elements and furniture styles, including brick walls, local art, high and low cafe tables with mismatched chairs, a couch and an antique, magazine-strewn coffee table that invites curling up with a cup of coffee. Aiming to be a come-one-come-all neighborhood hangout, Wy-Knot (named for owner Jackie Percival's English Springer Spaniel Wyatt) caters to children, dogs, and vegans by way of special vegan-centric and kid-size menu items, healthy doggie treats and high chairs.

Food: The breakfast menu focuses on four categories -- frittatas, burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and French toast/pancakes -- as well as offering a basic bagel and cream cheese, seasonal fruit salad and yogurt parfait. Sides of bacon, breakfast sausage, clove-scented ham (big thumbs up for that) and tofu or tempeh are also available.

A tender tomato, basil and roasted garlic fritatta, overlapped with melted strips of triple cream Brie, comes sided with crunchy fried potato cubes and sliced cantaloupe. Percival created her own bread recipe (which Chompie's executes), using rye, flax, millet and other grains to get an interesting bread that makes healthy, textural toast.

Nikki Buchanan

Breakfast sandwich

I'm not sure if it's the goat cheese, the prosciutto or the combination of the two that makes the prosciutto and roasted roma breakfast sandwich -- served on a toasted, less-than-wonderful ciabatta roll -- seem salty, but salty it is. It's a decent sandwich but next time, I'll stick to the basics -- maybe ham, Swiss and spinach or bacon, cheddar and tomato.

Nikki Buchanan

Baked pancakes

Baked pancakes are Wy-Knot's signature breakfast dish and I can see why. They put the cake in pancake, smelling and tasting as if there might be a bit of store-bought cake mix in the batter. That would explain the rise and why everyone makes such a fuss over them. Call me a weirdo but I'll take a regular old savory pancake -- nicely browned on a griddle -- over this sweet, cake-like version any old day.