Breakfast Sandwich #18 - Manna Cafe aka I Found An Easter Egg In My Sandwich

Sandwich: Cravenous Carnivore
Location: Manna Cafe
Date: April 4, 2015
Cost: $8.95, served with fresh fruit, pan-fried potatoes or greens with dressing.

Manna Cafe has been around for at least a decade, right? I don't get there often considering that it isn't too far from my house. Once I checked their menu online I knew I'd be visiting soon, all three of their breakfast sandwich offerings sound fantastic. I was hesitant to go there on Easter Sunday figuring it would be extra crowded but I got out of the house early and beat the rush for the most part.

Tantalizing trifecta.

Featuring swine!

The Sandwich - My first thought was to get the Southern Charm but it was Easter and I was having pork products later in the day. A reasonable person would have chosen the Garden Goodness but the sweet potatoes scared me off. They always do. I don't trust them. I like them just fine but they tend to come on too strong and my taste buds get distracted. I was not feeling reasonable so I ended up with the Cravenous Carnivore which is loaded with bacon AND sausage, thus eliminating the usual choice between the two. I ordered it with the side of greens with the idea being that those would somehow offset my pig intake for the day, or at least be lighter in the belly. I can unequivocally state that I was not observing Passover in any manner whatsoever.

So, anyway, the sandwich comes with the chicken egg scrambled. I've debated trying to order the eggs differently at places that don't offer you the choice of egg style but so far have resisted. I feel like I should get the sandwich as offered and if they let you choose how you want the egg cooked - bonus points! Also, if I start veering off the menu it's a fine line between getting the egg cooked over-medium and requesting the sandwich be dusted with wasabi and sprinkled with lipids. I would have preferred the egg over-medium. Not surprisingly, this sandwich is very dense. It's packed with pork product and then you add the egg and the cheese, it's heavy-duty. The sausage is excellent, which is good, because it pretty much took over this sandwich. Along with the basil pesto those are the predominant flavors here which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The rustic roll is chewy in a good way and hearty enough to keep all of this together.

The Result - 3.97 pork bellies out of 5 pork bellies. This was a really good sandwich but it just didn't get into exceptional territory. The sausage and pesto completely took over and like I said, that really isn't a bad thing, but something didn't completely jive with me. On a different day this probably could have been a 4.11. Even though it was a very dense sandwich it didn't sit heavy in the gut after eating it, which is nice. I'm not sure how that happened but I was surprised. Maybe the greens helped accomplish that. I know I'll be going back for the Southern Charm at some point.

I leave you with this.

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