The Classic Diner Dish That Made Ground Beef The Star Of Breakfast

Swing by a diner, and you'll find American comfort fare with regional influences. A casual eatery in the South will likely serve a hearty portion of biscuits and gravy, while a New York City diner may offer a comforting matzo ball soup recipe. In California's Bay Area, one such local diner specialty is called Joe's Special. A type of scramble, the dish folds spinach and eggs into a pan of sauteed beef. Topped with parmesan and served alongside a piece of toasted sourdough — another San Francisco specialty — it makes for a satiating breakfast option.

The origins of the dish are somewhat contentious, but most attribute it to a now-shuttered restaurant called New Joe's, which operated in the city's North Beach neighborhood. According to legend, the dish came about when a chef inventively added leftover hamburger meat to a plate of eggs late at night, thus giving rise to the combination. Several employees from New Joe's went on to open Original Joe's in the 1930s, a restaurant group still in operation that helped popularize the dish. And so, the enjoyment of Joe's Special continues to this day. Now made both at home and elsewhere throughout the city, it's San Francisco's beloved diner classic.

Built on a trusty foundation of ground beef, eggs, and spinach, Joe's Special welcomes many subtle tweaks. Onions appear in the original recipe, and many now add a generous quantity of chopped garlic — up to five cloves per half-pound of beef — to the mix, too. Later in the 20th century, cooks also started including mushrooms, as well as experimenting with seasonings, incorporating everything from nutmeg to Worcestershire sauce, and even deglazing the pan with sherry.

Still, it's the fatty sear of the beef that defines the dish. At Original Joe's, the meat is ground to order, a process you can also replicate at home without a meat grinder. Specifically, beef chuck — a cheap cut full of flavor — is often used for Joe's Special. Quickly rendered to a juicy consistency, the meat pairs perfectly with fluffy, restaurant-quality scrambled eggs. Enjoyed for breakfast alongside ultra-crispy hash browns or for dinner with a glass of wine, Joe's Special delivers that diner-perfect blend of satiation and comfort.