Location: The Heights
Date: November 2, 2018
Cost: $7
The Heights is the latest restaurant from Underground Food Collective and helps combat what I'm just now realizing is a dearth of breakfast sandwich options on the near west side. Like many of my recent sandwich excursions this came in as a hot tip from an astute reader. I've not kept up with researching new restaurants and mostly rely on luck and lazy circumstance to guide my ship into the safe harbors of delicious breakfast comfort. (What?) Let's face it, Madison's restaurant scene isn't so big that I actually need to put much effort into discovering new sandwich options but I do appreciate it when readers let me know of developments.
I didn't realize how long it had been since I had the sandwich at Underground Butcher but it's been over 3 years. The Heights came along at just the right time, and I had rare weekday morning available to get over there.
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| It pays to get the table near the huge window. Look at all that natural light! Is it petty of me to mention that I hate that plate? I don't like it at all. It doesn't fit with the rest of the aesthetic and I don't know why I care but I didn't let it break my concentration. |
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| When I say "Ooey", you say "Gooey". "OOEY!" |
The Sandwich - Breakfast Sandwich is the only option on the menu, or is it? I did review a Croque Madame at Sardine in August of 2016 and it was one of the top sandwiches of that year, but I came for the traditional breakfast sandwich and that's what I ordered. No options are offered upon ordering. (Note the sandwich description on the menu photo above is accurate and varies slightly from the online menu.) My first impression of the sandwich was that it isn't particularly large but that's not always important. After I snapped my photos I angled the sandwich so I could cut it for the crucial cross-section shot. The brioche bun was still warm and it's spongy resistance held promise. As I drew the knife towards me I was not prepared for the explosion of yolk that for a fraction of a second I thought might traverse the edge of the plate. That would have been a travesty and I have to hand it to the plate - it did it's job and I shouldn't have judged it so harshly. The yolk was practically fluorescent and made me think (with no evidence) that the egg was super fresh and perhaps the chicken was out back clucking around in the alley by the dumpster. The salty soppressata hits you on the first bite and the creamy Hook's Triple Play balances it out. There is a touch of spice from the red pepper flakes in the soppressata but just enough to give it some character. The brioche bun is just about perfect - sturdy enough to withstand the sandwich innards but soft enough to mop up all that yolk.
The Result - 4.90 Unfortunate Plates out of 5 Unfortunate Plates. This sandwich practically melts in your mouth and it's flavor is much bigger than than the sandwich appears. It all blends wonderfully and while the flavors are strong they don't overwhelm. By the end of the sandwich I was still anticipating each bite and made sure to keep my brioche to yolk ratio in check so I wouldn't run out of either.
If they would have let me smash the plate on the sidewalk I might have given this a perfect score. To be fair, I didn't ask if I could smash the plate.
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