There's a lot to like about Essence:\n\nThe food here is really good.  Sometimes the portions are a bit small, but the taste is always there.  Same thing goes for their coffee, too, always fantastic and a great way to wake up... a little caffeine buzz balanced out with a breakfast bagel.  MMMM!  \n\nTheir macaroons are really fucking good, too.  I like the tiny ones.  I like miniature things, I dunno.  I like tiny chickens.  I like itty-bitty little cars.  If I could get away with it, I would shrink myself to be about 8 inches tall... but I read a Bukoswki story that made me change my mind.\n\nI don't come here as much as I'd like to because the place is always so over-crowded it's a pain in the ass.  That means they're doing well and I'm glad that they are, but sometimes I like to eat in peace.  Essence is always humming with thirty different conversations going on and clanking plates and clinking dishes.  It's not a very comfy place if you've been out drinking the night before.\n\nAs I said before, depending on what you order, the portions can be a bit small.  I'm fine with that, I think Americans, as a general rule, eat way more than they should and we've been spoiled by such large portions.  So I agree with the portion-sizes here, absolutely, but sometimes it can be a bit expensive if you want a breakfast sandwich.  It's a bit silly to spend close to $10 and get like this small-sized little guy with a single strip of ham.  The food always tastes really good, but it's still overpriced.\n\nThere's a lot to like and I'm glad that they're around and functioning and doing very well for themselves.  I have a few gripes, I guess.  I desperately want a fantastic breakfast place in Tempe but Essence is overpriced and too goddamn loud, Harlow's gives me diarrhea and... what's left?  IHOP?  Denny's?