Big City Coffee and Cafe

Ok, I've been looking forward to trying this out for a long time. Heard so many good things about it. Walked in and place is packed on a Tuesday morning...good sign. Ordered at the counter and only seat was at the counter off to the side of the ordering counter. Got a cinnamon roll, delicious! One glass of water had black things floating in it, got another one no biggie as it's help yourself to glasses. (Basket of table sign holders stored above water glass station right next to stacks of dirty dishes being washed...prob where black stuff came from.) My biscuits and gravy came out, but took 10 more mins for my friends food to come out. As sitting there, was noticing how run down and dirty the behind the counter area was. Employees would go from picking up dirty dishes, taking orders and money, to handling baked items and making coffee, never once washing their hands. A girl would grab water glasses reaching into the glasses after she had done other duties. Guy rubbing his nose then picking up dishes and carried silverware in his back pocket to give to people. The list of poor food handling practices could go on, but I won't. The place needs cleaned, the staff needs trained on sanitary food handling and how to be friendly as not anyone smiled or seemed to enjoy being there. I can only imagine what goes on in the kitchen based in what I saw.

Expect to wait even when they're not busy. Wife and I ordered a burrito and some eggs at a point in the morning that wasn't overly busy. It took about 45 minutes. No one cared or checked in on us to explain why it was taking so long.

High quality meal for breakfast. The pastries are amazing. Good coffee, lovely atmosphere. Glad we stopped in for a meal!

Excellent food, LARGE portions, Good - but slow - service.
Took off one star place because of the the slow service, but put an extra on just for the huge amounts of delicious food!
- Having said that, If you come here for lunch, be sure to order "to go" because by the time you get your food it will probably be time to start heading back to work. Plan on spending at least an hour - here, not including any transit time.
Let me start with my order, the "Cowboy Breakfast" *Note: the attached pic isn't mine, it's a snip of KJP's from Jan 2020.
ALL items cooked and seasoned perfectly! Honestly, even better than I make and I am amazing at making this same breakfast every couple of weeks. They still do it better.
At least 4 (or 5??) fluffy scrambled eggs.
Bacon. Ohhh.. delicious bacon. Thick, perfectly baked, and at least 8 slices or more. at least two cups of hash browns. Think "roasted" potatoes in 3/4" cubes. Perfectly toasted bread with some of the best jam you'll ever eat. (there are also a couple of pats of butter stuck between the toast and the eggs so they're all soft and ready to spread)
there's some blueberries and a couple of fresh strawberries on top.
You have to ask for hot sauce and ketchup, but you get your choice. there is no salt of pepper on the table, but everything was so perfectly seasoned I didn't even think about that till I was nearly done eating.
I'm a big guy, but this is enough food for two people - easily. I kinda wish they had a "Lil' Poke" (child) or "Old-Timer" (senior) meal choices. There is the "Farmer's Daughter", Bronco, and "Cowgirl" meals. But they don't include ALL of the items of the "Cowboy".
If you get the Yogurt and Granola, move the mound of fruit off the top to your plate, scrape the yogurt to one side of the bowl and dish out at least half the granola. Then add some of the fruit back in. That way you can now mix some yogurt and fruit with the granola - of which there is a TON. If you eat all the fruit on top and then the underlying yogurt with the top layer of granola you'll be left with about 2 cups of dry granola.
The quiche was good. Not too big but covered deeply with a very mild (almost tasteless) cheese. But the gooey cheese can mostly be moved off so you can get to the quiche.
- YES I would definitely eat here again.
- YES I highly recommend this place for breakfast or lunch at any time of the day.

It reminds me of a really old butcher shop converted to a small ma and pa coffee and breakfast shop. I really enjoyed this place. It sure looks like a favorite place of many it was very busy.

Fantastic food. Massive portion sizes of tasty "healthy" bakery items. Loved it.

My veggie bagel was awesome and I got a good amount/variety of fruit from my fruit cup! Was very impressed

Very popular place! If it's busy, it's worth the wait to eat here. The food is delicious and the portion sizes are huge!

Probably the best breakfast joint in Boise! It gets pretty crowder, but, I've never had to wait to be seated. Great ambience, buzzing atmosphere and generous portion sizes! The bacon, ham and egg bagel sandwich is a winner! If you have a sweet tooth, the Nutella waffles are great but it's too much for a single person.

Absolutely the best breakfast I have had in a very long while. And the reviews are spot on about the delicious coffee. Every sip is like heaven in your mouth. Will recommend and rave and definitely visit again. Thank you Big City!