Breakfast Sandwich #154 - Eagle Crest Bar aka Snowy and Toasty

Sandwich: Egg Sandwich
Location: Eagle Crest Bar
Date: February 9, 2020
Cost: $7.25

I'd been to Eagle Crest before, but never for breakfast. In fact, I didn't know they served breakfast, but it was a windy and snowy Sunday morning that was ripe for adventure so I headed to Eagle Crest with a backup plan in place should breakfast not be an option. I didn't even look it up on my phone, I just drove. That's what passes for adventure in the 21st century.

They are well known for their giant burgers and I knew if they had a breakfast sandwich I'd be in for a heapin' helpin'. On a day like this when you're staring down a solid 75 minutes of shoveling snow, you may as well carbo-load early and let the day sort itself out. 

It was a solid plan. 

A rare photo of the entire menu

Were the hash browns necessary? No, they were not.

It practically defied stacking.

The Sandwich - Egg Sandwich. Bacon, Texas Toast, chicken eggs over-medium, pepper jack cheese. The cheese and the Texas Toast were the only shifts from my standard sandwich order but I felt the need to take advantage of the options provided. Importantly, they ask you how you would like your eggs cooked.

The sandwich arrives open face, resplendent in its overindulgence. That's a lot of damn bacon for one sandwich! We haven't been keeping track but that may be the most bacony sandwich to date. The cheese had a melty slump, just barely containing the shimmering yolks beneath.

I carefully assembled the bacon onto the egg half of the sandwich, tapping deep into my renowned Pick-Up Sticks skills, but in reverse. I didn't want to burst the yolk until the sandwich was fully constructed. Honestly, the bacon was overly crisped so it stacked more upright than I would have liked. Crowned with the Texas Toast, also a bit toastier than I care for, it stood up straight and tall, proud sandwich that it was. With a little pressure from the crown the yolks gave way and released the golden nectar of the bird. There we go. 

The sandwich had to be cut in half, it was simply unwieldy in its full state. Things became messy at this point and a few good napkins were sacrificed, but no photographic evidence exists of this disaster. 

The Result - 3.8 Snowy Sandwich Adventures out of 5 Snowy Sandwich Adventures. The sandwich was good but not great. The overly crisped (for my tastes) bacon and the overly toasted, slightly dry, Texas Toast were the knock on this sandwich. The double oozy yolks tried to make up for that and provided ample moisture mopping opportunities, but it wasn't quite enough. That sounds a bit more negative than intended because this was a good sandwich that could have been great with a few adjustments. And it was hearty! So hearty. But not heart-healthy. (I am not a doctor. Please consult with a physician before taking sandwich and/or heart advice from a blog.) You don't get breakfast sandwiches of this heft very often. 

Overall, Eagle Crest is a comfy Sunday morning spot that I recommend without hesitation. As noted here many times, part of the sandwich experience is about setting your day on the right track and that was accomplished here.

Also, the hash browns were perfectly crisped and that's worthy of praise.

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Breakfast Sandwich #137 - Ancora Coffee aka For Four Fjords

Sandwich: The Number Four
Location: Ancora Coffee, King St.
Date: July 13, 2019
Cost: $8

You might recall that back in May when I was out for Breakfast Sandwich #135 I stopped at Ancora Coffee for a beverage and noted their breakfast sandwich list. That info was tucked away for future reference and accessed on this fine morning when I had time to bike down there before the Art Fair on the Square hordes started mucking up the scene.

On my initial visit in May I was smitten with the Sausage Jalapeño sandwich but an astute reader commented that The Number Four deserved consideration.

I'm here to serve the people and I saw this choice as a win/win situation.

I almost didn't see it as a choice at all - while biking down there I considered ordering both sandwiches. Part of my reasoning was that I was biking and therefore burning calories, admittedly only a fraction of the caloric explosion that two breakfast sandwiches would introduce into my framework. The thought was discarded when I accepted the realization that two breakfast sandwiches would surely cast me into a state of bloated torpor and that sounded yuckier than the joy of eating the two sandwiches.

They have options. There was also a special that involved blueberries but I was too focused on The Number Four.

The sandwich arrives in cross section mode.

The Sandwich - The Number Four. I keep saying "The Number Four" and I'm starting to feel like I'm on Sesame Street. No options are offered when you order but it's worth noting that while this sandwich comes with scrambled chicken egg some of the other sandwiches come with a fried egg. You could probably get a fried egg if that's your thing but more on that later. You might think that the chipotle aioli/cherry chutney/pepperjack cheese trifecta would make this a spicy little number but it does not. It has a touch of heat but the flavors blend well with the cherry chutney taking the helm. The chutney also has nice tamarind note that comes out with each bite. The bacon was crispier than I like it and even though I knew the eggs were going to be scrambled and therefore without a runny yolk that did disappoint me a bit. I think this sandwich could handle a runny yolk but it would be a messy little humdinger. The chutney gives this plenty of moisture and the cheese and aioli help with the viscosity. The English muffin did a valiant job of holding things together but it could only do so much and this was one of those fun sandwiches where chunks of egg squish out the other side when you're biting it. This is a not a complaint, it's a public service announcement.

The Result - 4.44 Number Fours out of 5 Number Fours. The bacon/cherry chutney pairing is what makes this sandwich but you probably already figured that out. It's a fantastic little sandwich but the overly crisped bacon kept it form pushing the stratosphere of the ratings. Bacon crispiness is a personal preference but I like to quibble with these highly ranked sandwiches, otherwise, what's the point? I'm not going to talk about the egg anymore, you know where I stand. I'm also not going to say the number "four" for awhile, or even words that sound like "four", such as "Ford" and "fjord". But I can say this - I am going to get back there for the Sausage Jalapeño one of these days. 

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Breakfast Sandwiches #77 and #78 - I Still Have That Toaster Oven

This is going to amount to nothing more than notes for myself about the last two sandwiches I made which is to say nobody is going to want to read it. However, as noted previously, these sandwiches must be documented. One day when I sit down to write my dissertation so I can get my PhD in the Sandwich Arts I will need these notes but in the meantime I don't expect you to care or to even read this. Hopefully some institution of higher learning will grant me an Honorary Sandwich Doctorate so I don't have to go through all that.

Anyway, you could be watching cat videos and I won't be offended if you leave to do just that. Just in case you want to hang around for a minute here is a guy feeding bacon to his cat like he's in Lady and the Tramp.

Breakfast Sandwich #77 - bacon, pepper jack, avocado, egg, mayo, Cholula hot sauce, English Muffin.

Good Golly Miss Molly!

Very nice. 

#77 Result - A bit of experimentation gone wrong but disaster averted. I thought it might be smart to preheat the toaster oven. It was not. I ended up burning the top half of the muffin which I'm chalking up to not having control of the temperature. While I was pulling the slightly burnt muffin from the toaster and slathering a bit of mayo on it to counteract the dryness I also overcooked the egg a bit. At that point of my mild panic attack somebody should have been playing Yakety Sax as the soundtrack. The avocado was perfectly ripe so I had that going for me although I had to contend with the pieces trying to slide out the sides every time I took a bite. That's how it goes with avocado. I was worried that the pepper jack and Cholula might gang up to make it too spicy but that was not an issue. The pepper jack cheese was somewhat mild and I've never found Cholula to be particularly hot, just flavorful, and it pairs so well with avocado. Overall it was a mighty fine sandwich and lessons were learned, but it could have been better.
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Breakfast Sandwich #78 - bacon, brick cheese, avocado, egg, Cholula, English Muffin.

Pretty as a picture.

A little sloppy, a lot tasty. 

#78 Result - Shit Damn! We've really got something going here. This one turned out so damn fine it was like Salma Hayek on a muffin. You can see the chicken egg turned out exactly how I wanted it. The avocado was (still) perfectly ripe (it was the other half of the same avocado used in #77). Minor quibbles - the cheese could have been a bit meltier and the muffin could have been toasted a bit more. The bacon was sizzling and smoking so I pulled them from the oven before the cheese and muffin reached optimal levels. So it goes. There were no regrets. The brick cheese is mild but when adding salty bacon and hot sauce it works perfectly. This was a Sunday morning sandwich done right and a great reward for 90 minutes of snow shoveling.

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