The name “Matilda” doesn’t even come close to “Madison” or “Olivia” in terms of contemporary popularity for female names. Nevertheless, the Roald Dahl character Matilda Wormwood has kept the name alive in popular culture. That particular Matilda is notable for her determination and resilience despite the unfortunate actions of many adults in her life. Likewise, a mobile coffee operation using a truck named Matilda has shown remarkable determination as it has matured into a restaurant named “Matilda’s” at the northwest corner of downtown Phoenix.
If the name “Matilda” for coffee on the go is not immediately familiar, it’s because while Maltilda was the truck, the actual mobile coffee shop was known as “First Place.” For years, First Place Coffee appeared at pop-up locations throughout central Phoenix offering both original espresso drinks and artful pastry from Le Dinersaur. Both those categories have been retained, and a whole lot more has been added with the transition from the itinerant Matilda’s truck to the historic home on Sixth Avenue that is now home to Matilda’s, which bills itself as “all day cafe.”
Matilda’s operates as a cafe all day, or actually part of it depending on the day of the week, in its permanent home in the Roosevelt neighborhood, just under half a mile from Roosevelt/Central station of the B Line. A generous bike rack is found just outside, next to the restaurant’s verdant outdoor dining area where guests can eat either in the shade of the patio or on picnic blankets on grass in the sunshine during cooler weather. The 1914 bungalow was originally home to several generations of the Kilroy family before becoming a cocktail bar and now Matilda’s.
The Matilda’s experience during morning and midday is one of fast casual service. Customers are welcomed at a counter where orders are placed and numbered placards assigned. The one area where full service is provided is at the bar. While the menu is greatly expanded from the days when mobile Matilda operated as First Place Coffee, the core aspects of coffee and pastry have been retained. That means both classic and original coffee and tea beverages like a smooth cold brew and a Neapolitan iced drink with vanilla, espresso, and strawberry layers.
Pastry continues to come from Le Dinersaur with clever treats like little loaves of banana bread with chocolate chips in a variety of prehistoric shapes (Think stegosaurus, brontosaurus, etc.). While coffee or tea with pastry offers a solid snack or a light breakfast, it is now just the point of departure at Matilda’s. A daytime menu offers full meals in the form of various toasts, salads, and sandwiches. A breakfast sandwich offered from opening until 4 PM features a fried egg with white cheddar, aioli, and bit of spice from Calabrian chili spread on a poppy seed milk bun.
Scrambled eggs are energized with a zesty stew of Campari tomatoes, topped with pecorino romano cheese, and served alongside slices of crusty baguette. A sweeter alternative is the bread pudding French toast, a dense creation served with a dusting of crunchy granola and a daily choice of jams. Among recent selections, mango kiwi struck a balance between tart and sweet notes. This duality is also evident in the toasts. The savory one has a base of Noble’s familiar country loaf with roasted broccolini, hazelnuts, dates, a little bit of lemon, and chili oil.
The sweet toast takes a different approach with whipped ricotta, ginger peach jam, and black pepper for contrast. Its only weakness is structural. With so much heft placed on the soft Japanese milk bread, the item begins to fall apart, making it a meal to be eaten with a knife, a fork, and maybe even a spoon. Making a transition back to savory items, lunch offerings include sandwiches with fillings such as roast pork, turkey, or vegetables, as well as classics like a BLT, a croque monsieur, and a grilled cheese on brioche. All sandwiches include a side of chips.
At dinner, Matilda’s changes not only its menu, but also its service model. During evening service, diners are greeted by a host and orders are taken at the table. A few items like a cafe salad with lentils persist from midday, but otherwise the nighttime menu is its own entity. While there are steak, chicken, and pork entrees, half the menu is devoted to pasta, whether in tubes tossed with chunks of tomato and eggplant in the Pasta alla Norma or in sheets in a rich, lemony sauce rendered green by pistachios and pesto in a dish known as the Handkerchief.
While the outsourced coffee house pastries suffice as dessert earlier in the day, Matilda’s features some distinctive sweets of its own as a follow-up to dinner. A roasted pineapple cake benefits from an abundant compote of the tropical fruit served with whipped cream over a most rum-soaked layer of cake. The other choice is known as the Morgenstern, and it has a base of brioche paired with vanilla gelato, honey, and a bit of salt. More than at lunch and breakfast, the dinner menu is prone to seasonal change – not only in terms of food but also original cocktails.
The Best in Show is a slightly smoky drink made with a spirit distilled from nopal, the paddles of the prickly pear cactus plant. The Bluebird is a summer slush, a frozen cocktail made with tequila, cucumber, melon and lime – all rendered blue with the addition of spirulina. Draft beers come exclusively from local brewer Wren House, and wine and mocktails are also poured at the bar. The Matilda from the world of Roald Dahl prevailed despite the cruelty of authority figures in her life. Matilda from the coffee truck world has grown up in an equally impressive manner.
PHX Rail Food 