Brian Mattera grew up in South Jersey, and moved to Philly in 2012 to attend Temple University. The 32-year-old runs the Fishtown hot spot Gilda, and lives in a rowhouse in Olde Kensington.

Since its inception three years ago, Mattera’s bright blue cafe on Girard Avenue has sustained a loyal patronage that proudly wears its whimsy merch while selling out the rightly-famed pastéis de nata and some of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city.

“I owe absolutely everything to my team — there’s no way that I could have done it without them," he reflected. “On opening day, I wasn’t necessarily expecting anyone to even come or care. So, it was almost whiplash when it did stick. It means so much to me that it means something to other people — that this is something that people can rely on to put food on their table and might be the highlight of someone’s day."

Here’s how Mattera would spend a perfect day in Philadelphia.

I’m very much not a morning person, so I am blessed that I now have such an amazing team where I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn like I did when we first opened Gilda. Every single morning, first thing I do is I wake up, roll over in bed, and look at my phone with texts from Kerri Smith, who runs our social media. I don’t usually start off with coffee — but I’m notoriously known for my Diet Coke addiction, so I start off the day with that.

My twin sister lives down in South Philly. She’s my best friend, so she obviously has to be part of my perfect Philly day. So if I’m headed down that way, I have to make a stop at Kouklet to see one of my other best friends Marjorie, the owner/chef, and bother her while she’s doing work. I love the chicken empada she does. I’m not a huge breakfast person, so that’s the perfect size for me.

I’ll probably go straight to my sister’s house. She just had a baby, so she’s moving out to the suburbs in a year. I gotta soak up the time with her in the city while I can.

I’ve said it a million times, but I am a Phở 75 diehard. I’ve gotten better with it, but there was probably a two-year period when I would go from North to South Philly four to five times a week for breakfast at Phở 75. So, that’s kind of my standby. I would probably grab lunch with my sister and my niece there. And it’s so cute because I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Phở 75 with a baby, but they’ll bring a cup of hot water and a pair of scissors submerged in it so you can cut the noodles for them.

We have a little bit of a long lunch. And if I’m staying down in South Philly, I love CM Neff Cook Supply Co., the cookware store [on East Passyunk]. I have a really bad habit of buying the most obscure restaurant equipment, like a bottle holder for this very specific thing.

I love the variety of shops down on East Passyunk. Now, having three of my own nieces and nephews and five or six friends’ babies, I love stopping by Tildie’s Toy Box — there’s something about an old-school toy shop that’s nice to go to when now you have all these kids to buy things for.

I’ll probably head back up to Fishtown. I am a big sunbather, so I’ll go to Penn Treaty Park with a blanket, meet some friends there. But if it’s football season and the Eagles are playing, I’m going through an Eagles tailgate.

I could just bum around the park for a few hours, but then I’d probably go out and grab a little cocktail. Well, not a cocktail, more of a rum and Diet Coke — I’m very much a creature of habit and a bit of a homebody. I’ll usually stay in Fishtown, especially if a friend’s working. I go to Fishtown Tavern a lot. That’s a big spot for everyone at Gilda, especially after a long day at work.

Because, now at this point I’ve been out all day and my battery’s probably drained, I’m going home. [For dinner] Amy’s Pastelillos, because I can take it home and just eat them in the comfort of my solitude. I always have a side of rice and beans, and I love the guava pork and the chorizo pastelillos.

I’ll grab a glass of wine and I’ll try to catch up on the things on my laptop. And then my idea of unwinding is being in total darkness, listening to music (think Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, jazz, performances of Prince and Chaka Khan) with my headphones in.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.