Location: Ted's Market & Delicatessen
Date: October 14, 2016
Cost: $5
Things have gotten to the point where if I'm going to travel to another city I do a search for "Best breakfast sandwiches in Timbuktu". In this case I was traveling to San Francisco, not Timbuktu, so I knew there would be plenty of options.
Too many options, it turns out. The "best of" search turned up this and this and this and this. There were more, of course, but I already had more data than I could crunch. With those lists in hand I put on my green eyeshade and starting cross referencing selections and noting locations of desired sandwiches. I have to admit I even factored in some of the article comments. Wading into the comments section is always treacherous but in food related writings you can often find helpful tips such as recipe modifications and it's easy to tell if somebody is just a blowhard or a crank whose opinion you can ignore.
Having said all that, I made a list of San Francisco breakfast sandwiches that I wanted to try. I knew at best I would only get to try three, and that was only if I went out each morning I had available. That was unlikely to happen. Also, some are offered only during weekend brunch which narrowed it to one morning for those locations. I think you can see my dilemma. I think you can feel my dilemma. I had more sandwiches than time. This is always the case, but when traveling the feeling is magnified.
Because I put the effort in, because I sifted and winnowed for sandwich truth, I'm going to put my listings here in the hopes that it helps some intrepid traveling stomach. This list was heavily weighted towards where I was staying, which was "SoMa".
Devil's Teeth Baking Company. This was not really close to me at all which is the reason I never made it there. They rated high on at least two lists, and in comments. I shed a tear of regret over not making it to Devil's Teeth.
Arlequin Cafe. I don't remember what the appeal was. It was close by but I never made it.
Merigan Sub Shop. Well, shit. By the time I made it out there the web site said the store was closed for good. Too bad, the Breakfast section of the menu looked awesome. I shed another tear of regret over this one.
Réveille Coffee Co. I wanted their Toad In A Hole. Read about it here. They had me at "golden cyclops of a yolk-eye", but I didn't make it there either. More tears of regret.
Bacon Bacon. A couple people said this place is overrated and I was feeling that might be the case. Is it San Francisco's "Mickie's Dairy Bar", a place that tons of people love but that doesn't really seem to warrant the love? I don't know, I never made it.
The Grove. Breakfast served all day. I probably could have squeezed one in. No tears, no excuses.
Sulameria. Fried chicken & egg sandwich with prosciutto and chili hollandaise on a sesame seed bun. Damn. I think I really fucked up on skipping this one. No tear. Anger.
Cowgirl Creamery. I actually made it to the Ferry Building location but I didn't see a breakfast sandwich on the menu. I asked the lady but she said they had other sandwiches that day. There was confusion. I ended up with a Mt. Tam and Ham sandwich which was delicious but not a breakfast sandwich even though I ate it for breakfast. Then I ate oysters and a bloody mary to try to forget about the confusion. Then I ate Deem Sum which is not even close to being a breakfast sandwich but is super tasty. I give it all a 4.87 miscellaneous food items out of 5 miscellaneous food items. That Mt. Tam cheese is really something special.
That leaves me with Ted's Delicatessen. I actually went to Ted's and ordered a breakfast sandwich. It was just just down the block, probably 350 feet away. Ted's doesn't really look like what you picture when you think "deli", it's kind of a cross between a deli and a convenience store. Ted makes his own version of the McMuffin and there is a lot to like about that. I reviewed the original McMuffin over a year ago but was intrigued to see how Ted's compared.
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| Check out that little egg drawing that looks like a flying saucer. You can see they have a couple of options for breakfast sandwiches. |
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| Ted's McMuffin. Ted doesn't skimp on the cheese. |
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| Gooey. The English muffin top got a little messed up when I cut the sandwich. |
The Sandwich - Ted's McMuffin. I'd like to know what inspired Ted to offer his own version of the McMuffin and if the McDonald's Legal Department has ever sent him a cease & desist letter. I guess not, or he probably would have changed the name of the sandwich. The only choice on the sandwich is what type of cheese - cheddar, swiss, pepper jack. I went with cheddar. The cheese was melty and plentiful, there was a layer on the top and bottom, and in the photos you can see how the egg was folded around the sausage. I appreciate that level of attention to detail. The English muffin was toasted and kept everything together and the sausage was salty and exactly what I had hoped for.
The Result - 4.35 Tedheads out of 5 Tedheads. I'm on board with Ted's McMuffin and Ted in general. I like Ted's style - ripping off McDonald's. This was a really great but simple breakfast sandwich. The price is right at $5, especially by San Francisco standards and it's far tastier than a regular McMuffin and worth the extra $1.71. It's ample enough to power you through the morning, in this case it got me through the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
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| I think this has something to do with sandwiches. |
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