Posted by Carey Jones, September 22, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Last week, we weren’t too enthused about the Dunkin’ Donuts new line of breakfast sandwiches—rubbery triangles that landed firmly on the Do Not Want list. But never fear, New Yorkers! A better option is available to you. Tom Colicchio’s 'wichcraft, peddling pricey but artfully made lunches to hungry Manhattan office folk, has two fancy-pants breakfast sandwiches that don’t disappoint. The Onion Frittata and Fried Egg knock your daily streetcart sandwiches (or even McMuffins) out of the park.
The Taste Test: Onion Frittata
Oh, man. One bite and it’s hard to go back to the standard egg-and-bagel. A thick slice of steaming onion frittata, perfectly seasoned, moist and tender, topped with a tangy, spicy tomato sauce, hugged with two slices of sharp cheddar, melting into a soft ciabatta roll, crisp on the edges, warm to the touch… I’m sold.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, June 27, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Clockwise from top left: Like many places, Egg provides crayons for you to color on the white paper tablecloths; I drew an egg whose color comes from a thin wash of coffee. If you're not an early bird, you'll wait for 40 minutes to an hour with the rest of the worms. My breakfast—two eggs scrambled, toast, a hash brown, and bacon.
Until a couple weeks ago, I had never been to Egg, the famed breakfast-brunch spot in Williamsburg. I live in Park Slope, so it's a little out of my way for the morning meal. Usually I'm hungry and cranky and just want to get something in my stomach to take the grouch off. But the girlfriend and I were in the Valley of the Hipster for the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair, so we decided to try Egg while we were in the neighborhood.
It was awesome. And the breakfast I had there is still in my dreams. I hope that blogging it here will keep it from haunting me. Egg's chef-partner, George Weld, really knows how to do up eggs, as you'd damn well expect from the name of his joint. I was lured by the breakfast sandwich but tried the "two eggs any way" plate, opting for scrambled. It's a seemingly simple dish, but it's a true indicator of an eggslinger's worth, because scrambleds are so easy to screw up. Mine were creamy, moist, and perfect, as befitting the heart-shaped pile they made on my plate, which I'm sure was a bit of an accidental Rorschach.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 2, 2008 at 1:30 PM
New York Heart Attack, from Nice Matin
I've always thought that New York magazine's Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite were two of the more thorough food reporters and explorers in this town, so it's no surprise that their list of the 20 best breakfast meals in the city is so varied and thorough.
They correctly identified the breakfast at Egg as the best in town, the Chinese breakfast at Big Wong King is excellent, and the panini at 'ino are exemplary (have the truffled egg toast).
Props to Robin and Rob should be given for including the likes of El Malecon for best Latin American breakfast and the M&G Diner in Harlem for their diner pick (they didn't mention the killer juke box at M&G, but now you know). I also appreciate the fact that they included the Italian breakfast at Morandi, which, at least when Jody Williams was there, was surprising, unique, and mighty fine.
So what did they miss?
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 29, 2008 at 11:45 AM
From left: Sausage, egg, and cheese on a burger bun, from Gray's Papaya; grilled asparagus, frittata, and asiago cheese on a ciabatta roll, from Grandaisy Bakery. Both next door to each other, near the corner of West 72nd and Broadway.
Is there anything better than a breakfast sandwich in the morning? Combine smoked or cured pork (in the form of bacon, ham, or sausage) with eggs and cheese, and place it all on bread of some sort. I defy anyone to resist. While most serious eaters know that Gray's Papaya is the home of very fine hot dogs, many don't know that Gray's also makes a worthy breakfast sandwich: a sausage patty or a thick slice of ham, a scrambled egg made to order on the grill, and a slice of American cheese on a heated hamburger bun. All for a hard-to-beat $1.75.
Next door to Gray's is a recently opened branch of the Grandaisy Bakery. It serves a wonderful, more upscale breakfast sandwich of a completely different stripe: grilled asparagus, frittata, and asiago cheese on a ciabatta roll. It's totally delicious in its own right, though at $5, this sandwich requires a more substantial financial commitment.
Which is the superior breakfast sandwich? I can't decide. It depends on my mood. I urge all of you to try both and make up your own minds. You'll be participating in the highest form of food democracy.
Gray's Papaya
Address: 2090 Broadway, New York NY 10023 (at 72nd Street)
Notes: Breakfast sandwich available daily until noon
Grandaisy Bakery
Address: 176 West 72nd Street (bet. Broadway and Columbus), New York, NY 10023
Phone: 646-274-1607
Notes: Breakfast sandwich available Friday–Sunday, some weekdays
Posted by Ed Levine, November 3, 2006 at 10:19 AM
Along with pizza, fried chicken, cheeseburgers, and barbecue, I would like to nominate breakfast sandwiches for my personal food hall of fame. How great are breakfast sandwiches? Where else do you find flaky biscuits or some other appropriate breadstuff, cured and smoked meat, tangy melted cheese, and fluffy eggs in one glorious edible package?
Even bad breakfast sandwiches are pretty good. A McDonald's egg, cheese and bacon biscuit is pretty damned satisfying, though I invariably end up removing the loaf-like eggs after a bite or two.
One of the best things about breakfast sandwiches is how ubiquitous they are in most parts of the country. Every deli and coffee shop in New York makes fresh egg sandwiches to order on a flat-top grill. That means you can get a freshly made breakfast sandwich just about anywhere. It can be difficult to find breakfast sandwiches with softly scrambled eggs because eggs made on a griddle are invariably overcooked, but in the larger scheme of things that seems to be a small price to pay.
The ingredients may not be top-quality in a generic breakfast sandwich, but egg sandwiches are good enough to withstand any Alice Waters-like scrutiny.
As long as they are made to order.
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