Breakfast Sandwich #59 - Yola's Cafe aka Going Down Easy

Sandwich: Signature Breakfast Sandwich
Location: Yola's Cafe
Date: June 24, 2016
Cost: $5.99

Yola's Cafe is on the far west side and fell almost directly in my path on the way to an event. I have no idea how long they have been there but I lived out here many years ago and at that time it was a field, probably with a "For Sale" sign on it. (This was a sandwich shop, now it's all covered with flowers?)

I didn't live out here in 1976 but the point remains.

They have a Signature Sandwich...

...but oh, the options!

The Signature Sandwich, reposed.

This is a breakfast sandwich on a patio.

The Sandwich - Signature Breakfast Sandwich. I briefly considered building my own sandwich but decided to let The Signature plead it's case. You can see from the photo that they swapped out the mixed spring greens for leaf lettuce. The bacon was a little crispier than I would have liked, the egg was fried, the bread hearty, and lightly toasted. A ciabatta can hold a gooey mess together and could have handled a runny egg. The cheddar-herb cream cheese brought a proper amount of creamy consistency.

The Result - 3.8 Former Fields out of 5 Former Fields. This was a good sandwich but perhaps I should have gone with my gut instinct and built my own. This one was very smooth and went down quick and easy. It could have used more kick, sharp cheddar and a little hot sauce. I could have had red onion, and avocado and salsa. That would have been a wonderful mess. These are all things that speak to my preferences rather than this particular sandwich. I think the bottom line is that I went about my research in the wrong way on this morning. Still, it was a good sandwich.

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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 #57 - C's Restaurant & Bakery aka Mysteries of Middleton

Sandwich: Breakfast Croissant Sandwich
Location: C's Restaurant & Bakery
Date: May 1, 2016
Cost: $8.25, comes with hash browns

I had never heard of C's Restaurant & Bakery but I was passing through Middleton on a Sunday morning and there it was. So, here we are. It's in an old fast food location - they still have the drive up window - but I can't remember what used to be there. Maybe a KFC? Inside they've gone to some lengths to make it look less like a fast food joint. The results are something like Martha Stewart meets Country Farmhouse but they've done a good job of covering the KFC sad ham sheen with wallpaper featuring ducks or gingham or whatever. They've added a small diner-style counter with about 10 seats and a bakery case filled with items that are "homemade daily", according to the web site. As if that weren't enough they've built a gazebo outside for folks to hang out in while they wait for their table. It's a nice touch even if it is surrounded by asphalt. These are the kinds of things that happen in Middleton.

That's not a full sized dinner plate but it's still an ample sandwich. 

I wasn't happy with this cross section shot.

That's better.

The Sandwich - Breakfast Croissant Sandwich - ham, bacon or sausage patty on a grilled croissant with scrambled egg and choice of cheese served with hash browns. I choose bacon and cheddar cheese. I've noted before that a croissant isn't the ideal bread for a sandwich. The shape isn't right, that's part of it, but it's more than that. I think of the croissant as the proudest of the baked breads, and yes, perhaps it's even snooty. Is the croissant offended when chicken eggs and cheese and salt and fat get piled onto it? I think it might be. It's like going to a steakhouse and putting ketchup on your filet. That filet is pissed! Still, they look good and its fun to say "croissant". This croissant was more squishy than flakey but somehow it kept the sandwich together. You can see from the photo there was ample bacon, cheese and egg. The bacon was crisped just how I like it.

The Result - 3.89 Parking Lot Gazebos out of 5 Parking Lot Gazebos. This was a very good if not remarkable sandwich. I would have liked the eggs somewhat runny and the croissant wasn't really working for me although it did it's job despite turning into nothing more than a smashed doughy delivery system. The hash browns were solid although I like them done a little more so they have that outer crispy layer. I should also note that I ordered this to go and despite it being a full house on a Sunday morning the food came up quickly and the hostess transferred my coffee to a travel cup and I was on my way. They're running a tight ship over there in Middleton.

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Breakfast Sandwich #56 - Lazy Jane's Cafe aka Carbo Loading

Sandwich: Speedy Eggwich
Location: Lazy Jane's Cafe
Date: April 30, 2016
Cost: $4.25

I haven't eaten at Lazy Jane's for several years. Not sure how that happened, but I've stopped in for the bomb-ass* scones several times. On this day it finally felt like the right time to go.

*That link is for a potato recipe but it was the first SFW link that came up when I searched "bomb-ass". I haven't tried the recipe but it looks simple and tasty, especially with the bacon. I would use real garlic and onions and mix some gouda in with the cheddar. I'd probably use less cream cheese also, a whole package sounds like a lot.

If you've noticed the large gap between reviews you can surmise that I have not been going out for breakfast much lately so its understandable that I may have gotten a little carried away at Lazy Jane's. I had to have a lemon scone, it would be foolish not to. The breakfast sandwich is a given. When I saw cheesy grits on the menu it didn't occur to me that perhaps I didn't really need them. Well, I didn't. I ended up taking two bites and bringing the rest home, which was great the next morning when I actually ate them. Unless you're carbo loading for a triathlon I don't think you need all of those items. Still, grits to go is a solid plan.

They call it the Speedy Eggwich. It does look fast.

Alluring cheese.

A tantalizing glimpse.

The Sandwich - Speedy Eggwich, eggs, sausage and cheddar cheese on a toasted English Muffin. There are no options offered on this sandwich but sausage sounded about right on this day. There was plenty of cheddar cheese and while I like my eggs a bit runnier, they weren't too far past that. English Muffin is a solid breakfast sandwich bread - it toasts nicely to give it a little crunch but the inside stays soft and it still keeps everything together. Good job English Muffin!

The Result - 4 carbohydrates out of 5 carbohydrates. This was a solid, no frills breakfast sandwich. It came screaming right down the middle of the road and it was tasty. I haven't reviewed very many sandwiches lately and I feel like my calibration is off a little bit, but I know this was a breakfast sandwich that can be proud of itself. Also, you should get a scone.

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Breakfast Sandwich #55.1 - Taco Bell Breakfast Quesalupa Guest Review

The Quesalupa was deemed enough of a cultural phenomena to warrant a guest review. This weeks reviewer is Molly Murn, whose breakfast sandwich credentials include being willing to eat a breakfast Quesalupa and promising to write about it. That was really all I needed to know in order to line up this review. Also, I think she writes funny things.
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Dig if you will this picture, of you and I engaged in eating a Taco Bell Quesalupa!  Disclaimer: reading this is sort of like reading a "reply-all" e-mail when you're not the intended recipient. You're welcome.

OK, I'm not quite Prince and this is not quite as compelling, but I do implore you to at least try this special, once, before it's gone.  I realize I'm not in marketing and I'm not going to get anything out of promoting this breakfast taco, other than 100 percent of your respect.  Respect aside, here is my guest review of the Quesalupa.

It's not a fourth meal unless you've been up all night, or if you work fourth shift, but I digress.

Based off the queso and crunchy deep fried el gringo flour casing, this b-fast taco get's 8 out of 10 smiley face emoji's. In translation - I would eat this again, even if it made my stomach hurt.  If you're not the type to risk it all, you'd probably put it n the 5 out of 10 smiley face emoji's range. To be fair, my stomach is accustomed to this sort of debauchery.  

If you're still reading this - let's cover the important deets: The 'lupa comes with queso, meats, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream, I added bacon.  OBVIOUSLY.  If you want actual facts you have to read Patrick's review.  I'm not a fact based reviewer.  I like concepts, ideas and misjudgments.  Speaking of opinions - he's right, in the fact that it's super salty, just like you after I steal yo man.  Wait... no.  Anyways, it's super salty but I kind of like taking in more than 500 times the daily nutritional recommendation of sodium.  If you see me passed out at my desk I can assure you this is one of many valid reasons why.  

Personally I would trade this Quesalupa in if they brought back the chili cheese burrito, but I'm not sure who you have to sleep with to accomplish such a momentous task.  I would, if paid, eat at least 10 of these at a Quesalupa eating competition.  Now that I think of it, someone should create a breakfast sandwich and breakfast taco eating competition.  YOU BE THE JUDGE! 

In summary, I would suggest you try this taco (read only this sentence out-loud to your nearest co-worker, friend or significant other RIGHT NOW.)  

Keep their heads (and breakfast taco's) ringin'! Ring Ding Dong.. Ring a Ding Ding Dong.

-Murnout

Breakfast Sandwich #55 - Taco Bell Quesalupa aka Fake Words

There is also a guest review of the Breakfast Quesalupa here. It's not really a "point/counterpoint" situation but that would have fun had it worked out that way.
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Sandwich: Breakfast Quesalupa with Sausage
Location: Taco Bell (E. Washington Ave.)
Date: March 23, 2016
Cost: $3.54 ($2.99 +.25 for pico de gallo + .30 for sour cream)

Is a Quesalupa a sandwich? No. It is, however, one of America's hottest selling breakfast items (I can't back that up with any statistics) and since I forgot about Taco Tuesday I decided to celebrate Quesalupa Wednesday. Is Quesalupa a real word? No.

If I had bothered to do any research prior to going to Taco Bell I may have decided against doing this review as there are already a glut of Queso-pinions online. From local reviews to discussions of the marketing aspect, you could spend the better part of a weekend reading about, or watching annoying youtube videos about the Quesalupa. (Skip ahead to the 4:00 mark if you want to see the old guy complain about the food, which is not a Quesalupa.) Here is an entertaining and informative review which is a better read than what I wrote. (I didn't read her entire review until I was done writing this). Well, shit, it's too late now, I have to write this.

I reviewed the Taco Bell AM Crunchwrap in June of 2015 so Taco Bell is the first place to get a return visit and review. That is embarrassing. I have barely started this review and I'm already filled with shame.

Taco Bell breakfast menu here.

The Taco Bell receipt art game is strong.

Stretchy cheese poster. Passersby were amazed by the unusually large amounts of cheese. 

There it is.

The Sandwich - Breakfast Quesalupa with sausage, pico de gallo and sour cream. When I ordered the pico and sour cream the lady felt the need to point out that those are "the cornerstones of Mexican food". I think that somehow made this Taco Bell experience more authentic. As I mentioned, I hadn't done any prior research so I didn't know the whole catch with the Quesalupa is that they put a bunch of cheese sauce on the tortilla and then build on top of that. I didn't try to cut the thing in half to show the innards but that would have really illustrated the featured ingredient of the Quesalupa. The sausage is on top of the queso cheese sauce and the eggs, potatoes, etc. are piled on top of that. The Quesalupa isn't exceptionally large although that seems to be the angle they market, along with the stretchy cheese. Anyway, when it comes to flavor, the Quesalupa isn't too bad. It's not great, it was too salty for my tastes but the sour cream and pico helped with that. The eggs get lost in the cheese and salty potato bites, but the queso cheese is a nice addition if you can accept that eating artificial cheese in the morning is OK every once in awhile. The sausage patty was small, it took a couple of bites to get to it which only revealed it's salty disposition. The fried tortilla thing was better than I expected, it didn't have the greasy sheen I imagined it would and it kept the 'Lupa together even after extraction from the cardboard cradle.

The Result - 3.4 fake Mexican foods out of 5 fake Mexican foods. The overly salty taste knocked this down some as did the slight queasy feeling that started about 30 minutes after I ate it. Luckily the queasiness only lasted for about an hour. Queasylupa. That's also not a word.

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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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