Breakfast Sandwich #142 - Player's Sports Bar aka Friends Old and New

Sandwich: Buzzy with Sausage
Location: Player's Sports Bar & Grill
Date: September 21, 2019
Cost: $7.50, with cheesy hash browns

This sandwich was not planned. My visit to Player's came up at the last minute and since I hadn't eaten I knew I'd be revisiting my old friend. Until I sat down to write this I did not realize that it had been since January 1, 2018, that I'd had a Buzzy. There have been a few patty melts and burgers during that span, and at least one basket of chicken wings, but no breakfast sandwiches. 

I was ready for a Buzzy but I didn't know I was missing an important part of The Buzzy Sandwich Story. A cornerstone to the monument of the Buzzy had not yet been put in place. 

Specifically - I had never ordered it with sausage. I'm as shocked as you are. No, I'm several layers more shocked than you are. 

This seems impossible but when I looked back at my previous visits I realized that Sandwich #109 coincided with the period when the sausage option had been replaced by the burger patty. At some point the burger was wisely switched back to sausage and the options are once again ham, bacon, or sausage. 

Looking further back on the timeline, Breakfast Sandwich #100 was ordered with bacon as was Sandwich #69. Everybody knows the story of Sandwich #1. (No? Spoiler - it had bacon on it.)

I'm shocked but not ashamed. I like bacon and so do you, however, we strive to provide a wide swatch of informative sandwich opinions here and this oversight needed to be corrected. Toot Sweet.

It is very unlikely I'll order the version with ham, research be damned, so this post about sausage is as historic as writing about a breakfast sandwich can be. Gravitas with a side of gravy. 

This photo wasn't taken by a drone, it just looks that way. 

Wait just a daggum minute! Is that TWO sausage patties? Yes, it is. Also note, Hopalicious photo bomb. 

The Sandwich - Buzzy with Sausage. Other than choice of meat there are no other options offered for the Buzzy. I assume they always double up on the sausage patties since they are quite thin but I don't know that for a fact. They do always get that Texas toast just right. The American cheese was perfectly melty and the egg was just slightly runny. Take a good look at that photo and you know what this sandwich was all about - it was a salty, fatty, slightly crunchy, gooey and tasty treat.

The Result - 4.3 Corrected Oversights out of 5 Corrected Oversights. In short, the sausage version gives the bacon version a good run for it's money. It's a win-win situation (not for your arteries), and since both versions are both equally bad for your aortas and ventricles, choose whichever your heart desires. The Buzzy is a classic, simple breakfast sandwich. It does benefit greatly from it's surroundings as I notice when I look back at my previous reviews that all five of the Buzzy's have been consumed on a weekend during football season. The atmosphere at Player's on a football Saturday is a perfect compliment to this sandwich - folks attending the game are getting a quick bite in before heading out to the game and everybody else is settling onto a bar stool to watch it on the teevee. If you're lucky and you choose the right stool you'll make a new friend like I did. His name is Herbie and he likes sports. I wish he had ordered a Buzzy as he would have made a helluva guest reviewer, but it wasn't in the cards on this day.

I came away with a new friend and the realization that my old friend the Buzzy Sandwich had a tasty side to him that I was unaware of.

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Breakfast Sandwich #109 - Players Sports Bar aka Perfect Timing

Sandwich: The Buzzy Sandwich with Burger Patty
Location: Players Sports Bar & Grill
Date: January 1, 2018
Cost: $8.25

You probably already know that a Buzzy Sandwich at Players Sports Bar was Sandwich #1 and that's how this whole thing got started and now three full calendar years later we're still here eating breakfast sandwiches. Praise Cheeses!

It seemed appropriate that I get back to my roots and go to Players on New Years Day to have a Buzzy Sandwich and reflect on auld sandwiches and look forward to new sandwiches and developments for 2018. I have a few ideas but I have more ideas than time and honestly I don't think many of you give a rats ass if I expand this thing anyway.

The visit to Players wasn't just idle nostalgia though - at some point over the past three years they started offering The Buzzy with a burger patty rather than sausage and I had not yet reviewed that. I have been back to Players since the introductory sandwich, Sandwich #69 (when sausage was still available), and Sandwich #100 (burger patty now available), but I had not had the burger patty. This is to say that there was research to do.

Might as well start the year with a terrible photo. I have a reputation to uphold.

Aerial view. I only cared about the sandwich so I just went with the chips but the chips are stupid. Look at that toast though. Beautiful.

Breakfast Sandwich Medium Rare.

The Sandwich - Buzzy Sandwich with Burger Patty. They ask you how you would like the burger cooked but that's the only variable. I'm sure they would switch out the cheese if requested but I'm good with the American. Normally I would say this egg was cooked more than I like but with the gooey American cheese and medium rare patty it balanced out. The Texas Toast was done perfectly and held all this together, it always seems like the ideal vehicle for this sandwich. This is a serious sandwich, the burger patty has considerably more heft than bacon and I was glad I was eating this as lunch rather than breakfast.

Everything about being at Players on New Years Day felt right. The sandwich was delicious and I think starting the year where Sandwich #1 launched this foolish endeavor was the right call. I was sated and happy and that's when I realized that Mr. Buzzy himself had arrived and was standing behind me. Mr. Buzzy is the namesake for The Buzzy Sandwich and the closest thing to royalty you might find at Players. Read about Sandwich #100 for the background on this situation. This was clearly a sign from beyond our known reality and I took the opportunity to introduce myself. I asked him which version of The Buzzy is his favorite and he said they're all good. I pictured him as a bacon man but I can understand him not wanting to play favorites with his sandwich. Everybody knows that parents with multiple children have a favorite child but they'll never admit it. I think that was the case here and that's acceptable from where I stand. There were many more questions I wanted to ask but somebody was surrendering their bar stool so he could sit down and I didn't want to be the guy who kept asking dumb questions when all he really wanted was a cold beer.

The Result - 4.18 Signs From The Sandwich Dimension out of 5 Signs From The Sandwich Dimension. All said, this is a very good sandwich but it doesn't feel like a breakfast sandwich. It feels like a burger with an egg on it (which it is). It was a bit too much for me even though I ate it at about 1:00 pm so it can't count as breakfast. Truth be told it was actually breakfast and lunch for me but it certainly wasn't "brunch" because nobody talks about "brunch" at Players. Next time (January 1, 2019?) I'll get the bacon, just how I imagine Mr. Buzzy would.

As I got up to leave and was putting my jacket on Mr. Buzzy turned from his barstool and said "keep eating those sandwiches" and gave me a fist bump. It's going to be a good year. 

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Breakfast Sandwich #100 - Players Sports Bar aka Divine Non-Intervention

Sandwich: Buzzy with Bacon
Location: Players Sports Bar & Grill
Date: September 16, 2017
Cost: $7.50, with cheesy hash browns

Whoa. 100 sandwiches is a lot of sandwiches to review so excuse me while I pat myself on the back and dab my eyes with a slightly greasy napkin. Just give me a minute to pull myself together. I couldn't have done it without all of you and those amazing people who get up early on Saturday and Sunday mornings to make sandwiches for all of us. With apologies to Kevin Durant, they are the real MVP. Actually, I could have done it without you, but I appreciate you reading these things anyway. I'm not sure they serve a purpose or fulfill a greater good but here we are. We have sifted and winnowed and fought and cried and I think we are better people for it. Truly.

I thought my 100th review should be special. I wasn't sure what that would be, but I started thinking about it sometime around sandwich #95. I ruled out going to McDonald's for the 6th time.

And then an opportunity presented itself. Through casual conversation I learned that The Buzzy Sandwich at Players is named after a person named Buzzy. The person that told me this also knows Mr. Buzzy and the Buzzy family. You might recall that this endeavor began with a Buzzy Sandwich back on New Years Day, 2015 and I reviewed The Buzzy again 20 months later just to see how things were holding up. A discussion was started about how I might have a Buzzy with Mr. Buzzy. I'm not one to believe in invisible forces that somehow interject themselves into our daily lives but this was a pretty strong signal from the Sandwich Gods, or whoever. This would be how sandwich #100 goes down. Unless it isn't.

I may not believe in divine intervention but I firmly believe that timing plays a crucial role in our lives. Everything is about timing. Meeting the right person at the right time in your life can lead to blissful love, a new career or playing harmonica with Yo-Yo Ma. Whatever. But the timing has to be right. If the timing is off, you got nothing. So, while I say I don't believe in divine intervention I do believe in divine non-intervention, or something like that. 

All of this is leading up to me saying that I did not have a Buzzy with Mr. Buzzy. So it goes. I did, however, have a Buzzy sandwich.

Sandwich-ku:
Jaunty triangles
Tantalizing purity
The Buzzy sandwich

"You sure do look purdy".

The Sandwich - The Buzzy with bacon. Important note!! I did not take a photo of the menu but The Buzzy is no longer offered with sausage but it is now available with a hamburger patty. That sounds pretty damn tasty but it did get me to thinking about how it would all hold together. The Texas toast is substantial and would probably be up to the task but there is no substitute for testing your theories in the field. Your other option is ham. As with my previous Buzzy sandwiches, I selected bacon. For my 100th sandwich (pause for applause) I thought I should pay tribute to my original sandwich and get back to my roots. Sometimes when you're on a long journey it's good to pause and reflect on where you started. Hence, the bacon. No regrets. There isn't much to say about this sandwich that I haven't already said. The chicken eggs were cooked a little more than I prefer but there was plenty of cheese to offset that (note the photo - there is a cheese slice top AND bottom. That is advanced level sandwiching.) The bacon, egg and cheese ratios blend perfectly and the Texas toast is the proper vehicle to get this crammed into your maw. If I have any complaint is that it's a touch too salty. I think maybe it's the toast that pushes the sodium level in to the red line.

The Result - 4.5 Divine Non-Interventions out of 5 Divine Non-Interventions. This was an excellent sandwich. They are very consistent with The Buzzy and that is important. It was only the saltiness that kept this rating at 4.5 which is still an amazing ranking. There may or may not have been a single salty tear that ran down down my cheek and onto my sandwich, the result of not meeting Mr. Buzzy. You can't argue with timing though, and when the time is right, I believe I will meet Mr. Buzzy.

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Breakfast Sandwich #69 - Player's Sports Bar & Grill aka Comin' Around Full Circle

Sandwich: Buzzy with Bacon
Location: Players Sports Bar & Grill
Date: October 29, 2016
Cost: $7.50

If you've been following along here you know that The Buzzy Sandwich at Player's is essentially what inspired this endeavor. The Buzzy was the first step on this journey but it never received a proper review as I hadn't yet found any form or structure for this mess. I thought it would only be a matter of a few months before I made it back there to properly document The Buzzy. Well, 20 months later I had business to attend to in the neighborhood and I finally pulled up a bar stool at Player's to reacquaint myself with an old pal.

I think I have a soft spot for the Buzzy due to it's name - I used to have a cat and one of her nicknames was "Buzzy" because she liked to sit on the back of the couch with her head kind of jutted forward and drooping down, much like a buzzard. Now I wish I had asked why this sandwich is called Buzzy.

Although this is the breakfast menu I believe The Buzzy is available whenever the grill is open. 

OK, this is a terrible photo. The sandwich was already nicely sliced when it arrived and I tried to arrange it so you could see the ooey-gooey innards which resulted in me plopping half of the sandwich onto the hash browns which I had already put ketchup on. So, yes, this photo is a hot mess but just look at that sandwich!

The Sandwich - Buzzy Sandwich w/Bacon. I've never ordered it with ham or sausage. I could see ordering the sausage someday. The only option offered is the meat. The egg was not runny, but the yolk was only semi-solid. There was plenty of melty cheese and the bacon was cooked crisp but not burnt. The toast was the perfect vehicle for this sandwich, it kept everything in check but was still soft with a light crunch. Overall this sandwich pushes the salt limit for me, but in a good way. It's too-salty-enough, or something like that. 

The Result - 4.4 OHMYGODITSSOGOODTOSEEYOUAGAINS out of 5 OHMYGODITSSOGOODTOSEEYOUAGAINS. Damn fine sandwich. I was a little nervous going back here - what if the sandwich didn't cut the mustard? What would I do? Would my shattered dreams force me to close this thing down and leave you, the vaguely interested reader, to fend for yourself in a crazy world of even crazier sandwiches? I was having sandwich nostalgia and I didn't want it torn apart. Luckily, we do not have to think about these things because The Buzzy delivered. It was like a comfy hug from inside my belly, but not like in the movie Alien. 

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