Breakfast Sandwich #117 - Crema Cafe aka The Elusive Special

Sandwich: Southern Breakfast Sandwich
Location: Crema Cafe
Date: April 21, 2018
Cost: $11.75, comes with cheese grits and a petite salad

No doubt you've seen my previous sputterings about Crema Cafe. I've made no secret of my love for Crema and reviewed them earlier this year for Sandwich #110 and also in April of 2015 for Sandwich #20. Truth be told there was one additional visit to Crema between Sandwiches #110 and #20 but it was off the record as I was with [redacted] and we agreed that our discussions regarding [redacted] should be kept under wraps. But OH MY GOODNESS if you could have been a fly in my soup at that meeting you would never look at a sandwich the same way again.

I had no plans to visit Crema until I saw their weekend specials posted and I knew I had to try that Southern Breakfast Sandwich. The use of pimento cheese caught my eye as I've done some work in the lab with pimento cheese and found it to be an excellent option for breakfast sandwiches. The folks at Crema obviously had similar thoughts or they read about my research in one of the trade journals and decided to peer review my work. (That almost assuredly didn't happen).

The only problem with reviewing this sandwich is that it was a weekend special and by the time I post this it will no longer be available. The good news is that Crema seems to rotate popular specials such as The War Pig (which started as a weekend special at Crema but now lives life as a regular sandwich on the Off Broadway menu) so if you keep an eye on their social media you may get the chance to try this sandwich.

Perhaps the secret to getting a good photo of the menu is to write it in chalk and post it on a wall where there is a lot of natural light. 

Somebody had to be in the back and it might as well be the petite salad.

The Sandwich - Southern Breakfast Sandwich. No options are offered. Let's start with the roll - it was chewy (in a good way) but not too heavy. It was solidly up to the task of keeping everything in check. This wasn't a particularly sloppy sandwich but greens and charred onions are the types of ingredients that try to slide out the side every time you take a bite. Did that happen here? No Sir or Ma'am, not with the rustic roll on the job. There wasn't a predominant flavor in each bite, it was more about the sum of it's parts - the greens, onions, ham and pimento cheese combined to give this an earthy, salty, creamy goodness that was a refreshing change from your basic breakfast sandwich. The greens also provided a bonus crunchy texture. Honestly, the chicken egg was kind of lost in the shuffle here and if I may be frank, if not blasphemous, I don't think that it mattered. It was fried and did not have a runny yolk. The bread and sandwich probably could have held together with a runny yolk but it may have teetered right on the edge of being a sloppy mess. We'll never know for sure but I'm pretty sure I could have handled it.

The Result - 4.70 I Feel Specials out of 5 I Feel Specials. I think I've already said everything I need to say about the sandwich but I forgot to talk about the sides. The adorable serving of cheese grits and the petite salad really pulled everything together for me. Grits 'n greens - the perfect sides for a breakfast sandwich? They were on this day. Potatoes are overrated. 

I just went back and read my review of #62 The War Pig and it concludes with the note that perhaps that sandwich could have handled a runny yolk but it might have been sloppy. I don't know if that means I'm consistent or redundant but 117 breakfast sandwiches is a lot of damn sandwiches and there are only so many things you can say about eggs.

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Breakfast Sandwich #110 - Crema Cafe aka Color Palettes For Your Mouth

Sandwich: Ham and Jam
Location: Crema Cafe
Date: January 21, 2018
Cost: $8.50

It had been well over two years (and 90 sandwiches) since my last official visit to Crema Cafe. Given my love of the smoked gouda grits and The Gobbler sandwich there is no reasonable explanation for this gap in my attendance. During that time I've choked down at least two dozen sub-par fast food sandwiches, all in the name of the Sandwich Sciences.

On my previous visit I had their standard Breakfast Sandwich and it was everything you'd hope for in a breakfast sandwich. They occasionally have breakfast sandwich specials on the weekends which is reason enough to be on their email list but I'm often not able to make it there to try their creations. The War Pig is/was one of those specials but I'm not sure if they still offer it. If not, you can get it at Off Broadway Drafthouse.

My point is that I had completely forgotten that they have another breakfast sandwich offering that I had intended to try. In fact, I didn't realize it until I was standing in line looking at the menu. Such is the nature of my planning for this blog which sometimes resembles Pac-Man - random left and right turns, gobbling whatever is in the path.

The fact that I remembered to snap a photo of the menu is a win.

The sandwich arrives already sliced so rather than a photo of it whole we have two angles of the diagonal dissection. 

The sandwich insisted that it's left side is it's "good side".

The Sandwich - Ham and Jam Sandwich. No variations are offered upon ordering. The first thing you notice when this is delivered is that it is a handsome sandwich. It's been carefully assembled and the color palette of pinks, greens, yellows, tan and white is very inviting. It's said that "We eat first with our eyes" and while that sounds unbelievably pretentious the phrase apparently dates back to Apicius in the 1st century AD. These days Apicius would have 1 million Instagram followers which would have proven his point. Another gem from that link - "It has been suggested that trichromatic colour vision may originally have developed in primates as an adaptation that facilitated the selection of more energy-rich (and likely red) fruits from in-amongst the dark green forest canopy". I can't wait to drop that line at a dinner party and then listen for somebody to mutter "what an asshole" under their breath. Anyway, the tomato jam and the goat cheese are the predominant flavors here. The egg is fried with no runny yolk so the cheese and jam carry the load on the viscosity front. This sandwich could actually stand to be messier and the bread is hearty enough to handle it. The red onion was more subtle than expected as was the saltiness of the ham. The greens add a bit of crispness and nutrition in addition to expanding the color palette.

The Result - 4.11 Eyeball Mouths out of 5 Eyeball Mouths. So, what's the "411" on this sandwich? It's an excellent sandwich unlike any other in this area and I appreciate an inventive breakfast sandwich.  Ultimately though, this sandwich doesn't quite hit the mark with me. It's a bit sweeter than anticipated and I kept thinking of little tweaks that I would have made to improve it for my tastes. More tomato jam, a bit less goat cheese, a runny egg. My dining companion suggested replacing the greens with arugula and I do think that would be good. I wondered if a light dollop of hot sauce would be good on this. I suspect you'd have to find just the right hot sauce to blend with the unique flavors going on here, and then you'd be in business. I'm well aware that I'm nit-picking but it's because I'm judging Crema Cafe against it's own high standards. Have you had The Gobbler? It's one of the best sandwiches in Madison. In the end, I think it's perfectly acceptable to realize the excellence of a sandwich while also noting that it may not be perfectly aimed at your tastebuds. For me, that's what is happening here. 

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Breakfast Sandwich #58 - Crostini Sandwiches aka Down On The Corner

Sandwich: Bird's Nest BLT
Location: Crostini Sandwiches
Date: June 18, 2016
Cost: $6.25

Crostini Sandwiches has been cranking out flavor on the corner of North and East Johnson Streets for 3 years. The space used to be a Milio's and then briefly became an empanada shop that was never open when I tried to go there. It's currently sandwiched (that's right) between a retro/vintage stuff shop and a sketchy looking Asian Massage joint. It also happens to be my neighborhood sandwich shop, for which I feel very lucky. Everybody should have a place like this just down the street from their house.

I've had several Italian Beef sandwiches, the Crostini Combo and the Chicago Dog (not listed on their online menu) and they set my expectations high. I think the breakfast sandwich is a relatively new offering, or I just hadn't noticed it on the menu board before.

Saturdays Only!

To be perfectly clear - that is only half of the sandwich.

The Sandwich - Bird's Nest BLT. The only choice offered is the bread, white or 9 grain wheat. I went with the wheat and I ordered this sandwich to go. As with previous Crostini sandwiches, I was impressed and tantalized as soon as I opened the bag. The spring mix was piled on thick and it was one of those sandwiches you knew was going to require multiple napkins. Sloptastic! The bacon was crisp, the egg was fried and the bread was perfectly toasted but not quite up to the task at hand. You would need a baguette or something hardier than standard bread to keep this sandwich in check. The tomato was the only sub-par part of this sandwich and thats probably due to the time of the season.

The Result - 4.29 Corner Sandwich Shops out of 5 Corner Sandwich Shops. I've noticed my ratings are higher when I haven't had a breakfast sandwich for several weeks but still, this was a fine sandwich. I liked the ample amount of greens and the level of slop. Normally I like a runny egg but that wouldn't have worked on this one, the slop would have been UNCONTROLLABLE. Whatever. Crostini has yet to steer me wrong and I'm proud to call them my neighbor. 

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Breakfast Sandwich #54 - Barriques (Atwood) aka The Breakfast Slider

Sandwich: Barriques Breakfast Sandwich
Location: Barriques (Atwood)
Date: March 17, 2016
Cost: $3.90 ($2.65 + $1.25 for bacon)

The newest Barriques opened on Atwood Avenue in November. I almost reviewed their Fitchburg location several months ago, but the line was back to the door and I didn't have time to wait. Well, they opened a store closer to me. That was thoughtful. It's a nice space, lots of windows and natural light and garage doors they can open when conditions are right. The area has limited parking but regular visitors to that stretch of Atwood probably have that figured out.

I didn't take a photo of the menu but here is a link.

Sandwich in the sun.

Sliced slider

The Sandwich - Barriques Breakfast Sandwich. I opted to have the bacon added. In retrospect I probably could have gotten one with sausage as well. These are compact little sandwiches, they're almost a slider to be honest, and I was pretty hungry when I arrived. I didn't know the size at the time so I only ordered one. Ordering two would perhaps be excessive, but I could have easily eaten both. The sandwich came out quickly, you could order one of these to go if you have a little extra time before you need to get to work. The egg is fried and there is a good amount of Hook's cheddar that I wish would have been more melty. There wasn't a lot of bacon and it was kind of shunted over to one side, requiring some redistribution. The bun was very squishy and had a slight sweetness that wasn't working for me.

The Result - 3.8 Sliders out of 5 Sliders. It's a decent little sandwich. It is small but the price is right for the size. If you don't want bacon or sausage it's under $3 and there aren't a lot of options out there for that amount. (I'm just going to assume you don't want to visit the Taco Bell $1 menu). For me, this is more of a snack than a compact meal, but your mileage may vary. My main issue was that I didn't care for the sweetness of the bun. Again, that may not be an issue for some. Looking at the menu they have some wraps that look pretty awesome and are likely more substantial. I will probably opt for a wrap on a return visit.

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