Bill Johnson’s Big Apple Restaurants

This is one of 4 locations I have frequented over the years. The one on Bell now being closed. I have always liked the food, mostly going for breakfast but with the occasional lunch tossed in. This trip around I got a Smokehouse grilled cheese sandwich which has ham, bacon, turkey, tomato, bbq sauce and some cheese. I was stuffed. The service was friendly as always.

Stay with me. It’s gonna be an 8 second bull ride to my opinion on Big Apple West in 2013. On the way, it’s all about cowpersons and Native Americans in the modern age. If you’re a visitor to the Phoenix metro area, you’ll have fun and American Comfort Food at the Big Apple.
Some years ago, the University of Arizona hosted trips to the San Carlos Apache Reservation to show stockmen and agricultural extension agents how successful livestock associations worked. A bus load of African visitors, passing though Anchor 7, saw some Apache cowboys tending to cows and calves at a water hole.
One got extremely excited, pointing and shouting to his companions and the bus in general, «Cowboy Indians! Cowboy Indians!» In his Hollywood-​framed point of reference, a Native American person in boots, jeans, tee-​shirt and straw hat, roping and branding a calf could not exist. Reality opened his eyes that afternoon. It was entertaining to me. Yes Virginia, there are Cowboy Indians. Many of them, when in town, stop by Big Apple for a meal.
A British friend of mine, professor at ASU, loved all things western. A fun outing he and his family never tired of were trips to Rawhide. He loved th drama of the showdown. Once again I learned people from other parts of the world sometimes have a fascination with the American west. I also know tourism brings about a billion bucks a year to Coconino County, many of those tourists arriving via Sky Harbor. One Thanksgiving Day on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon I counted seven languages, English was number eight. If you’re from another nation and want a taste of The Non-​Vegan American west, stop by Big Apple fer some grub.
I know a little about these things. My grandmother grew up on ranches in Oklahoma and Texas, told me stories of our ancestors, and cooked the ranch and farm recipes she learned from her mother and sisters. Her mother died when she was 11, she was taken in by a sister to raise nieces and nephews on a New Mexico homestead. Her brother-​in-​law died, leaving a wife, a girl and three babies fending for themselves in eastern New Mexico. That’s way too much personal info. I know a little about The West.
Some other years ago, a newspaper article stated the Phoenix Metro area had a 75% turnover rate. Not that 75% of the population ate turnovers, but that 75% of the populace left after a few years baking in Arizona summers. I checked 2011 Census information, and 75% of us stay put in the Phoenix Metro area. I assume 75% of us know about Bill Johnson’s Big Apple. There’s good news for we locals. The Big Apple now serves breakfast all day long, focuses on buying local, and the breakfast menu is very good.
This morning we stopped by Big Apple West for brunch, finding a menu able to satisfy most palates at many price points. We could go big like most Cowboy Indians and get chicken fried steak, eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, sausage, ham, bacon or chorizo, We could go contemporary Spinach and mushroom or Farm Fresh Veggie omelets, pancakes and waffles of various types. Eggs by Hickman’s, chorizo by Schreiner’s, other ingredients by local businesses and suppliers. They’re all listed at the bottom of the remade menu.
The Big Apple is a great location to put on your breakfast rotation. If you’re a visitor from elsewhere looking for a taste of the west, try Bill Johnson’s Big Apple.

The waitstaff were kind and a gentleman with a (boston?) accent was quite helpful and friendly as well! The food was fantastic. My husband says the food was «amazing» as well. We would definitely hit the place again!