Breakfast Sandwich #61 - Holstein Kitchen aka Accidental Breakfast Sandwich

Sandwich: Brunch Sandwich - Packer Po' Boy
Location: Holstein Kitchen
Date: July 23, 2016
Cost: $10.75

I didn't know anything about Holstein Kitchen but circumstances lead to me meeting somebody there for lunch on a Saturday and lunch time was still brunch time according to the kitchen.

The regular menu does not have a breakfast sandwich on it but the Brunch Specials menu DOES. I had my heart set on the bacon and kale omelette until I saw the specials at which point I changed my order due to #A) research, #B) science, #C) the greater good and #D) the will of the people.

If it had been a standard breakfast sandwich I may have stuck with the bacon and kale but I'm looking for more inventive breakfast sandwiches these days and I couldn't let this opportunity slip away. I don't know when I'll make it back to Oregon so carpe diem and all that. Side note - Oregon has been getting fancier in the past few years.

I didn't take a photo of the menu but captured this from their facebook page.

It's a saucy little number!

The Sandwich - Packer Po'Boy. The only thing "Packer-ish" about this is that the sausage is made in Green Bay. OK, that's fine, every sandwich needs a name. I only took the single photo so you can't see that the Cajun Farmer sausage were links that are cut length wise and run the length of the bun. The sausage has a little Cajun kick to it, but it's subtle. The sandwich description might lead you to think this is a spicy sandwich, and it is, but only mildly so, the jalapeno peppers are either very tame or used sparingly. The sweet red pepper aioli gives it a nice goo-factor, no need for the eggs to be runny on this sandwich, and the bread is hearty enough to keep the slop in check. Onions aren't included on enough breakfast sandwiches, maybe they think if you want onions you'll get an omelette, but they blend well on this number. Come to think of it, this sandwich is almost an omelette on a bun (which could be a good name for a sandwich). The potatoes were crisp and delicious.

The Result. 4.19 trips to Oregon out of 5 trips to Oregon. Mighty fine sandwich, it was. Like I said, if it had been a standard breakfast sandwich I might have passed on it, but I enjoyed the fresh approach. I actually think this sandwich should be a little spicier, but I suspect they toned it down for the average consumer. If you like spice I'll be you could request it with more heat, they seem to be very accommodating at Holstein Kitchen. Other than that I can't specify what I would do to improve this sandwich, it was very, very, good but didn't grab my taste buds enough to vault it into the high 4's. I guess that's just personal preference?  I want to note that the other two diners really enjoyed their meals but I can't remember what they ordered. We did get a piece of the Pain Perdue to share, and it was great, but it's the kind of thing I only want a few bites of. 

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Breakfast Sandwich #60 - Collectivo Coffee aka Vague Recollections

Sandwich: Bacon Biscuit
Location: Collectivo Coffee, Monroe St.
Date: July 3, 2016
Cost: $6.25

Collectivo Coffee is relatively new to Monroe Street, at least for me, since I'm rarely over there in the morning. Stopping here was a last minute decision and then I didn't sit down to write about it for over two weeks so this review is admittedly pretty weak.

That's a nice little hat.

The stuff!

The Sandwich - Bacon Biscuit. Eggs, cheddar, bacon. No options offered although they have a Veggie Sausage Biscuit that sounds like it has potential. I don't write down my thoughts when I'm eating these sandwiches so all I have to go on are my mental notes, which are shaky at best. What I recall of this sandwich is that while it was perfectly tasty, the consistency wasn't right for me. Everything was all mashed together and the biscuit texture reminded me of the corn muffins I had when I was a kid. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it just wasn't hitting me in the sweet spot. If you're reading this you know what eggs, bacon and cheddar taste like (really good) and this was exactly that.

The Result - 3.69 Vague Reviews out of 5 Vague Reviews. I noted in my year end round up that my rating scale varied a lot over the course of 2015 and in the middle of the year when I was consuming a lot of sandwiches I felt that my ratings were lower than during other parts of the year. It's too late to go back and revise those but I have to go with my gut feeling on this one so this sandwich just isn't up there with the rest of the pack. What I mean is that there are probably some sandwiches from middle of last year that are ranked lower than this one but that I enjoyed more. Blame the consistency, which is purely subjective. Also, I think it's a little pricey, but you do get to sit in a beautiful open-air space and have a delicious cold brew coffee. That is nice.

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