Breakfast Sandwich #151 - Tally's Tap & Eatery aka Egg Reassurance

Sandwich: Tally's Sunset Special
Location: Tally's Tap & Eatery
Date: January 12, 2020
Cost: $9

I'd been to Tally's a few times but either hadn't noticed the breakfast sandwich hiding at the bottom of the menu or it was added as part of their recent menu update. I'd like to think they added it specifically because they noticed that I'd been coming in but I know that's not true and I can't convince myself that I'm a sandwich influencer in Waukesha County. Not yet. But let's be honest, Waukesha County could probably use some influencing, sandwich or otherwise.

I was just about to order Breakfast Tacos when I saw the Tally's Sunset Special lurking in the horizontal stripe at the bottom of the menu. Your yolks can run, but they can't hide. This day just took a turn for the better - a breakfast sandwich has come into my life. A surprise breakfast sandwich. Oh, the glory. 

I nearly missed it.

Nice, right?

This photo is a disaster. It looks like I tried to cut my sandwich in half with a ballpoint pen.

The Sandwich - Tally's Sunset Special. The name confuses me as the sandwich is only served during breakfast which is more of a sunrise type of situation - but let's not get sidetracked by that. 

As far as breakfast sandwich meats go, if given the choice, ham is usually not going to make the cut with me. I'm always afraid I'll get some sad deli ham and that's not a proper foundation for a sandwich. But I had no choice on this day. Ham was my destiny and I was OK with it because the menu description started with "Two eggs prepared the way you like" and the importance of this cannot be overstated. Too many places just tell you how they're going to make your chicken egg, or worse, they don't even tell you! You order your sandwich and all of a sudden you're playing egg roulette with a person you've never met. That's a dangerous game and I don't like my odds and frankly, it's inexcusable. The egg is versatile and can be served on a sandwich in a variety of ways and we know you can do it. So, pull it together menu-makers of America. Give us egg variety or give us...death? That seems a bit dramatic but I think you understand my point. Are you with me here, America? If you are not, I cannot in good conscious be your sandwich influencer.

I ordered my eggs over medium and they were done perfectly. You've already seen the yolks so you know this. 

Before I went off on my egg rant I was talking about the ham. It was NOT sad deli ham. I cannot pretend to know the origins of said not-sad ham, but it was not sad. Not at all.

The other part of this sandwich that I liked was that it comes on a grilled asiago focaccia bun. Here was the only misstep of the sandwich. This bun did not appear to have been grilled. It was tasty and it held up throughout the entire process, but it was rather squishy and grilling it would have helped quite a bit and given it hat nice toasty quality. Perhaps the underside was lightly grilled and I couldn't see it on the inside of the sandwich. If so, it merely kissed the grill.

Oh, there was also cheddar cheese. It was lost in the flavors of the ham and the asiago bun, and that's fine.

The Result - 4.30 Egg Temper Tantrums out of 5 Egg Temper Tantrums. This was a somewhat basic sandwich with the added touch of being served on asiago focaccia that may or may not have been lightly grilled. My ham trepidation was unfounded. Being allowed to order my chicken eggs any-damn-way-I-please and then having them arrive exactly as I thought was reassuring. My wish that the bun had been grilled a bit more was only minimally upsetting. I enjoyed this sandwich and the hash browns were fantastic as well.

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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 #114 - Kwik Trip aka Spelling Counts

Sandwich: Egg White, Ham and Cheese Muffin
Location: Kwik Trip (formerly a PDQ), Stoughton Road.
Date: March 10, 2018
Cost: $2.69

My previous review of Kwik Trip happened by accident - I was on a road trip with some folks and we pulled over for gas and snacks and I snapped into sandwich reviewer mode and #94 happened. This is how it goes when you are America's Premier Breakfast Sandwich Reviewer™ (Which as of this moment I have proclaimed myself as. I'm willing to abdicate this title to a worthy individual but I will need proof. Articles such as "The Sausage McMuffin/Big Mac Sandwich Hack You Have To Try" will not be accepted as evidence and will likely cause me to want to punch you in the bacon bits. I would never do that, of course, but I'll consider it momentarily.) Anyway, this visit was much more deliberate - I had things to do on a Saturday morning and this new Kwik Trip (formerly a PDQ) was on my route and I wanted to check in and see what they could offer the Madison Breakfast Sandwich Market. This is the type of information that you, the consumer, expects from America's Premier Breakfast Sandwich Reviewer™.

Is anybody else getting tired of all these intentionally misspelled brands? It was fine for awhile but now that it's standard for people to send you a message that says "K CU L8R" I think we've gone too far. Elon Musk should be airdropping pocket sized dictionaries all across this country rather than selling crappy flamethrowers and launching cars into space. I know I sound like Grampa Simpson but in my day we spelled words correctly and we wrote them in cursive and we made our own molotov cocktails and when we dreamed of space cars they didn't have wheels and weren't attached to rockets WHICH IS TOTALLY CHEATING AND DEFEATS THE PURPOSE.

Excuse me. Let me tell you about this sandwich. Here are some photos that will help calm me down. I'm sorry I made a joke about punching people in the bacon bits. I don't even know what that means.

Note - this was a Saturday morning. During the work week there are at least three times the sandwiches on display.

What is there to say about this other then I can already tell that muffin should be toasted more.

The plastic cutlery did a really swell job of slicing this open to reveal exactly what I thought I would see.

The Sandwich - Egg White, Ham & Cheese Muffin. If you look at the photo of the hot case above you'll see that the slot for this sandwich is empty. I took the photo and grabbed a Sausage, Egg & Cheese Muffin and right after that Hairneted Sandwich Chef Lady brought out a new batch of sandwiches. I opted to alter my selection in the name of freshness. I already mentioned the muffin, which needed more toasting. This would have made a big difference as the whole sandwich had a rubbery consistency that I wasn't appreciating. Other than that it tasted exactly how you think. The American cheese was melted, that ham was of a standard deli quality and the egg white was just fine. I think this may be the first egg white sandwich I've ordered which means I don't get to complain about not having a runny yolk. I really missed that yolk. Additional toasting and a runny yolk (which would never happen in this situation) would have made a big difference here but you play (eat) the hand (sandwich) you're dealt (foolishly choose from the hot case).

The Result - 2.19 That's No Yolks out of 5 That's No Yolks. This is a $2.19 sandwich masquerading as a $2.69 sandwich. You might be thinking "that's only 50 cents", and it is, but in the world of grab & go breakfast sandwiches that is the sweet spot and the consumer has several options under $3. There are many factors that might lead to somebody buying a Kwik Trip sandwich - convenience being the most likely. My ranking here is weighted more towards what other choices people have rather than my just my personal preference. Honestly, this sandwich was fine for what it was although it's unlikely I would seek one out for enjoyment rather than research and reporting. I'm well aware that I have loftier expectations than most consumers. I do think the coffee that PDQ carried at this location was better than the Karuba they now carry as a Kwik Trip. 

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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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The Whole Damn 2017 Year End List

Looking back at the breakfast sandwiches of 2017 there are two clear trends - Non-Sandwich Breakfast Sandwiches and Sandwiches From The Lab.

It is no surprise that several non-sandwiches made the list. I was planning to explore more non-sandwich territory for the sake of breakfast diversity and to deliver informative and compelling content. At least the first part happened.

Lab Sandwiches play an important role in expanding our perception of the possibilities that lie outside our homes. When we step into a restaurant we may be looking for the familiar or we may be looking to be surprised and amazed. Lab Sandwiches can refine our appreciation for a simple bacon, egg and cheese and they can push our expectations of what a breakfast sandwich can be. The Lab exists for these reasons. Also, some days it's just nice to make a delicious sandwich in your own kitchen. This continues to not be a cooking blog. 

Another statistic that is a bit alarming is that my breakfast sandwich consumption is trending downward:

2015 - 49

2016 - 31

2017 - 28

At this rate in about 9 years I'll only have one sandwich worth writing about. 

Looking at these trends, let's break down the year in two sections.

Sandwiches (and Non-Sandwiches) In The Wild

4.80 - Porter

4.70 - La Taguara (Breakfast Arepa)

4.61 - Stella Blu Cafe (Panini)

4.57 - Tavernakaya (Buns)

4.50 - Players

3.965 - Dobhan

3.85 - Field Table

3.18 - Ian's Pizza (Breakfast Pizza)

3.09 - McDonalds

3.00 - Norske Nook (Lefse Wrap)

2.79 - Ian's Pizza (Breakfast Pizza)

2.75 - Starbucks

2.75 - Bagels Forever

2.69 - Kwik Trip

2.60 - McDonalds

2.00 - Panera

1.89 - Bob Evans

1.43 - McDonalds

1.22 - Special K Flatbread Sandwich

The average rating in 2017 was 3.18, a drastic drop from 2016 (4.02) and 2015 (3.59). I chalk this up to a much higher percentage of fast food and processed food sandwiches. Sadly, this means I ate a lot of bad sandwiches in 2017 although perhaps the Lab Sandwiches would balance this out if they were rated. 

Lab Sandwiches

Experimentation was the unstated (and perhaps redundant) theme in the lab in 2017 with several ingredients getting a close look under the Sandwichscope. Thanksgiving leftovers, pimento cheese, mac 'n cheese and summer sausage all proved to be viable sandwich ingredients. There was also a lot of quality ham to work with last year. Both Neuske's and Honeybaked Ham provided the basis for tasty explorations. We also did our first work with farm fresh eggs in 2017. I still do not want to own any chickens and this still isn't a cooking blog. 

So now what? 2018 is off to a strong start. I think (hope?) I'm pretty much done with fast food sandwiches and although I compiled all of those into a single post I did go back to McDonalds one more time after that. There are some new spots in Madison I want to visit as well as some previously reviewed locations that have additional offerings I should take a look at. 

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Breakfast Sandwich(es) #108A & 108B - Tales Of Leftover Ham

Sandwich(es): Ham, Cheese(s), Spinach
Date: 12/30/17

Woe to be a reader longing for tales of sandwiches at local eating huts while I speak of lab sandwiches yet again.

I already knew this would happen and said as much in review #107. Any self respecting sandwich artiste with leftover Honeybaked Ham would have done the same and I will not apologize. As if the leftover ham were not enough I found myself sitting next to a Thomas' English Muffin truck while waiting at a stoplight and took that as a clear sign that I needed Nooks & Crannies in my life. Astute readers will note that recent experiments have been built upon Bays English Muffins but the lab is about R&D and you can't ignore clear signs such as seeing a semi truck trailer with a giant photo of a muffin on it. These things don't just happen by accident. (Well, honestly, I drive past a large industrial baking facility several times a week so seeing a muffin truck isn't particularly novel and yet it still excites me.)

There were already chicken eggs in the fridge so the only decisions to make were types of cheese, style of egg, and accoutrements. Those variables are important in sandwich experimentation and cannot be taken lightly and therefore it was clear that two cheeses were needed for two separate sandwiches. Have ham, will sandwich.

108A - Sharp Cheddar Cheese

108B - Muenster

108B on left, 108A on right. Leftover hash browns in foreground. Cheap-ass rice cooker in background.

The Sandwich(es) - The variables were muenster and sharp cheddar cheese. Baby swiss just barely missed the cut. Sorry Baby, we'll get you next time. You can see that the eggs were not done in the typical fashion - no puck-cooking, no runny yolks. These were scrambled with spinach. There may be a different name for scrambling in this fashion but they came out somewhat like a frittata. I don't know what the difference is, if any. (A dash of quick research reveals that adding the spinach before cooking makes it a frittata, at least that is my understanding and I don't care to delve into it much further at this time.) These were simple sandwiches. A liberal dash of Cholula green pepper sauce was the only other ingredient.

The Result(s) - I liked the change up in egg preparation. It held together firmly and yet didn't need any additional viscosity and I didn't even miss the runny yolk, which is saying something. The cheeses were melted perfectly and I don't need to tell you about Honeybaked Ham, do I? I hope not. Adding the spinach gave these a healthy angle that has been missing from the lab recently. I don't think the Nooks & Crannies changed anything but I was already a fan of both Bays and Thomas' and will not play favorites unless one of them decides to start sponsoring this blog. Just kidding, I have fucking integrity, which is why they both should sponsor this blog. Speaking of sponsorships, maybe I need to get some new hot sauce, I don't see any of those sweet Cholula pesos rolling in and I've been talking about that stuff for well over a year. My marketing team sucks. 

Overall, I gave the edge to the sharp cheddar sandwich, the cheddary bite went well with the ham but the muenster had a nice creamy quality to it. Personal preference plays a key roll here. I'm not going to ramble on about these sandwiches - they were both mighty fine and the end result is that you should get yourself some quality ham and make a breakfast sandwich, or two. 

This isn't a cooking blog. What is this, a lifestyle blog? I think it might be. 

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Breakfast Sandwich #101 - Dobhan aka Hamaste

Sandwich: Dobhan Egg Sandwich
Location: Dobhan
Date: September 17, 2017
Cost: $9, with greens

Everything I've had at Dobhan has been delicious and yet I've only gone there a few times. I did have breakfast there several years ago, long before this sandwich quest began, and I did not have a breakfast sandwich. This is an amazing story so far, right? It's a real page turner (mouse scroller?).

I looked at the menu prior to going and I was hoping there would be some kind of Lamb & Egg Dosa special that I could pretend was a sandwich. I've reviewed crepes before and a dosa is about the same thing so that was my hope for the morning. That's right, I went into this planning to skirt the rules. Well, it didn't happen that way so I have no need to justify eating a dosa.

There was dosa, to be sure, just not the dosa I hoped for. 

Very pretty indeed.

Hamaste? That's really a stretch. Listen, I'm phoning this one in, OK?

The Sandwich - Dobhan Egg Sandwich. No options are offered. There were a couple of mysteries with this sandwich. The biggest is the ham - other items on the menu offer Nueske's ham, the sandwich only lists "ham", which was a single slice of what appeared to be standard deli ham. It could have ben Nueske ham but I really don't know. The other mystery is that the sandwich had cheese on it, which was not listed on the menu. I'm certainly not opposed to adding cheese to a sandwich, or pretty much anything other than say, toothpaste. In this case I think it was a swiss cheese. The chicken egg was hard scrambled, the tomato was juicy and in season, and the avocado was perfectly ripe. The lightly toasted sourdough bread buttressed everything handily and was a welcome choice. I can't remember the last time I had a breakfast sandwich on sourdough but I think it's an excellent vehicle for eggs and their friends. Oh yes, the greens. I always like greens with my breakfast sandwich and these were particularly fresh and sprightly.

The Result - 3.965 mystery hams out of 5 mystery hams. This was a good sandwich but I was slightly confused about the ham and the cheese. The ham was essentially lost among the other flavors with the sourdough, egg, tomato and avocado stepping to the forefront. And that was OK, it was tasty, but there was still a whiff of confusion. 

I don't know, maybe I really just wanted a lamb and egg dosa and I'm taking out my frustrations on the ham.

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Breakfast Sandwich #92 - La Taguara aka Oh, The Passion

Sandwich: Breakfast Arepa
Location: La Taguara
Date: May 28, 2017
Cost: $5.99

My love for La Taguara is deep and true but I had not yet been there for the brunch menu. It was only a matter of time.

They have two breakfast arepas, a vegetarian version and a normal version.

Breakfast Arepa

Our specialty hot bun made of ground white corn filled with scramble eggs, ham and your choice of white or cheddar cheese

I also had never tried their juices but it seemed like a nice paring with a breakfast sandwich, pita pocket, arepa.

I ordered the papelon con limon (sugar cane with lime juice) but she warned me it was very sweet and gave me a taste. It was a bit too sweet for me so she suggested the jugo de parchita (passion fruit) and gave me a taste of that. Zoinks! That's the stuff. 

I only have one photo but it's a good one. I should have taken a photo of the juice. It was downright radiant. 

The Sandwich - Breakfast Arepa. The only option offered is white or cheddar cheese. White cheese seemed more traditional so I ordered that, but I have no idea if that is correct. I suspect cheddar would be excellent on this as well. It might even be better with the cheddar. The arepa arrives wrapped snugly in paper so all your tasty morsels don't fall out. It really is a beautiful sandwich - look at it! The bun is lightly grilled/toasted so it has a tiny bit of crunch, but remains a slightly chewy, in a good way. The ham is crisped and mixed in with the scrambled eggs with the cheese sprinkled on top. It's served with a creamy sauce on the side. I should have asked what it was but it's perfect for drizzling along the exposed edge. I think it's a thin sour cream.

The Result - 4.70 Passionate Pita Pockets out of 5 Passionate Pita Pockets. I loved this sandwich, which is not really a pita pocket cause it's not in a pita, but I couldn't resist the alliteration. Who cares? The salty ham mixed with the eggs and cheese is just about perfect. It is a little on the salty side, which was fine with me, and the sweet passion fruit juice was a nice balance to that. The arepa is a hearty offering for $5.99 and while the juice might seem a bit pricey at $2.49 it's served in a large glass without ice and is worth every penny.

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Breakfast Sandwich #84 - Porter aka Hey, Porter

Sandwich: Breakfast Sandwich
Location: Porter
Date: February 11, 2017
Cost: $9

Hey, Porter Hey Porter...ok, now that's out of the way. I'll take the low hanging fruit every time when it comes to writing these reviews.

I don't do a very good job of keeping up with restaurant developments in this city. It seems like there is an awful lot of flux and I'm just a sandwich-face-guy with a day job. This is to say that I appreciate it when people let me know of new restaurants, or sandwiches specifically, which was the case here when Lindsay Christians let me know about Porter.

Breakfast Sandwich | $9 Heritage farms smoked ham, sharp cheddar, red onion, stone ground mustard and an over medium egg* on a brioche roll (mixed veggies available in place of ham on request).

*eating runny eggs or rare beef might make you sick, but probably not.

I really like that runny egg/rare beef disclaimer. I want to have a t-shirt made with that phrase on it.

Pop that in your pocket and get along little doggy.

You look nice today. That bun really accentuates your ham. 

The Sandwich - Breakfast Sandwich. I briefly considered getting the Porter Pocket in addition to the Breakfast Sandwich. It sounds delicious but that seemed like too much for one day so I'll just have to go back another time.

Right out of the gate I like that this sandwich is described as having an over medium egg, so you know it will be a bit runny, which could make you sick, but probably not. (It didn't.) If you're going to offer a ham based breakfast sandwich it had better be some damn fine ham, and that is the case here. Nobody wants regular-old-sweaty-deli-ham on their breakfast sandwich. Sharp cheddar cheese always pairs well with ham and I'm a big fan of mustard, stone ground or not. In my review of Breakfast Sandwich #74 I extolled the scant use of red onion to perk up a sandwich and they have that going on here, which plays well with the flavor of the mustard. 

As a whole the sandwich has a just-too-salty-enough flavor that was perfect for me. The egg and cheese give it the viscosity it needs and the ham, mustard and onion combo is a welcome change from standard breakfast sandwich offerings. Oh, the bun. The bun did it's job. I don't want to take it for granted but that's all I have to say about it. It was admirable in its ability to allow me to cram bite after bite into my face. 

Note - I usually cut the sandwiches in half so you can see a cross section of the goods. This sandwiches height is almost the same as its diameter and I knew that if I cut it in half everything would fall apart. I couldn't have that. 

The Result - 4.8 Runny Egg Disclaimers out of 5 Runny Egg Disclaimers. A strong contender for Sandwich Of The Year, this one came at me with a bit of hype but it lived up to it. I will try the Porter Pocket one day but it will tough to pass over ordering this again. I can't say what would give this sandwich a score of 5. Maybe a touch of hot sauce, which they may have had there, I didn't look. 

Aside - I'm hoping I can get to Sandwich #100 this year. It shouldn't be very hard and it's important to have goals. I was recently talking with one of the executives at my company and he asked me where I saw myself in five years. I said I hoped to have over 200 Breakfast Sandwiches under my belt, literally, and then I laughed but I was the only one laughing. 

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Breakfast Sandwich #65 - Johnson Public House aka Special Agents Recommend Special Sandwiches

Sandwich: Sunday Morning
Location: Johnson Public House
Date: September 11, 2016
Cost: $7

I had heard the rumblings about the Sunday Morning sandwich at Johnson Public House but hadn't hadn't made it a point to stop in there. In retrospect it was foolish to wait this long.

Honestly, I was really in the mood for breakfast sausage on this morning as the past 3 reviews have all included ham, and before that it had been a solid run of bacon-focused sandwiches. Things have been a little hamcentric here lately and that was going to continue for at least one more day.

Breakfast sausage aside, I wanted a really good cup of coffee and JPH fell more or less on the path of my morning errand. Also, I read the description of the Sunday Morning sandwich and whenever I see the words ham and maple syrup together I can only think of Special Agent Dale Cooper.

The description from their web site:

Sunday Morning: ham + maple syrup + cheddar + fried egg

Very enticing. 

I couldn't decide if this shot or the following one with the direct sun was better.

Too much sun? Probably. 

The Sandwich - Sunday Morning. No options are offered. As soon as this sandwich came out I forgot about my desire for breakfast sausage. The top piece of bread was slightly askew and when I lifted it I saw that the yolk was still a little bit runny. What a pleasant surprise. When I think of coffee shop sandwiches I think of boring eggs that have probably been microwaved or whatever, but this sandwich immediately pushed that thought out of my head. You can see the nice base of melty cheddar on the bottom and while you can't see the maple syrup, it is there. The maple syrup is the key here - there is just enough to combine with the ham in a tasty way but not so much that it takes over and is oozing out all over the place. I was afraid there would be too much. Agent Cooper was really on to something here. That top piece of bread might look burnt, but no, it had a nice toasted char to it and while this was a fairly messy affair, the bread kept things together.

The Result - 4.75 Special Agents out of 5 Special Agents. I have definitely been more generous with my ratings in 2016, at least on the really good sandwiches. Maybe I've just been hitting the right places at the right time. OK, but anyway, this was a great sandwich. This could easily be a 5. I can't think of what I would do to improve it. Maybe serve it with a little wet nap like you get at a barbecue place? Make the egg runnier and the sandwich even messier and serve it with two wet naps? The perfect amount of syrup does make your fingers sticky and then when you try to take photos of the sandwich your phone gets a little sticky. That might be the definition of a First World Problem. This sandwich also gets points for creativity - nobody else is making anything like this out there in the field. Are they? If they are I'd like to know about it. I think this sandwich would also work with breakfast sausage in place of the ham, although perhaps not as well. I'm going to have to try the other sandwiches at some point - I almost ordered the roast beef but Agent Cooper kept me on track. The cup of Kenyan coffee was incredible.

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Breakfast Sandwich #64 - Sardine aka Pushing The Limits Of The Definition

Sandwich: Croque Madame
Location: Sardine
Date: August 28, 2016
Cost: $15.50, comes with mixed greens and frites and two adorable little pickles.

I had been hearing about the Sardine brunch for some time, particularly the bloody mary, and realized it was finally the right time to go. The weather was perfect for a bike ride and the proximity to my next destination, the Orton Park Festival, lined up. Timing is everything. Brunch me up, Sardine!

I don't have a photo of the menu but their web site has all the info:

CROQUE MADAME with Bayonne ham, gruyère cheese, béchamel, egg served with mixed greens and frites. (I think the printed menu listed the egg as "sunny side up").

The egg yolk was a symbolic metaphor for the rest of the day. Note: two adorable little pickles.

Things are getting sloppy here but I wanted you to see the guts of this sandwich. Note: the two adorable little pickles were consumed immediately and are not in this shot.

The Sandwich - Croque Madame. First of all, Croque Madame is as fun to say as Moons Over My Hammy, but for completely different reasons. I probably pronounced it wrong anyway. The server did ask if the sunny side up egg was going to be OK, obviously she is not one of my loyal readers and has not grown weary of my talk of runny eggs. Or, she IS a loyal reader and was just egging me on. This leads me to believe that you could order the egg another way despite how foolish that would be.

Honestly, I was not familiar with Croque Madame, or her male sandwich counterpart Croque Monsieur, but I found a nice little breakdown that answered my main question - why is the version with the egg called "Madame"? (The egg is said to resemble a woman's hat.) If that's true I'll eat my hat. 

This plate was a work of art when it arrived. Everything about it looked inviting and appetizing. Even the sacrificial pickles cresting between the sandwich and the greens threw off a vibe of "look at how cute we are - YOU MUST EAT US NOW". You might think that the béchamel and the cheese and the runny egg would lead to a goopy mess but they have all the ratios nailed down cause it's all just right. They don't list what type of bread they use but it must be something hardy as it stood up to all that butter and cheese. 

The little cup of Dijon mustard pairs well with the ham and I spent the whole time trying to get the correct ratio of ham/bread/cheese/egg/mustard onto the fork. Even when I didn't succeed the bites were mighty tasty. 

The greens had a slightly sweet flavor, less tangy than most breakfast greens, and are a wonderful pairing. I like my Freedom Frites crispy and that's exactly how these were served. 

The Result - 4.99 Sandwiches By Definition out of 5 Sandwiches By Definition. I can't think of anything wrong with this sandwich, or even this entire meal. While the Croque Madame is by definition a sandwich, you can't pick it up and eat it like a traditional sandwich. You need a fork or you're in trouble. That isn't the fault of the Madame but it wouldn't be fair to the other sandwiches to not point it out. Maybe it isn't technically a breakfast sandwich due to the egg being on the outside of the bread? I'm not going to quibble about such trifles. 

In the past I have grumbled about sandwich prices, perhaps too much, and $15.50 would seem to be a lot for a sandwich, but this is a fairly large meal of excellent food. It's less than twice the cost of Moons Over My Hammy and that sandwich was mouth garbage.

I didn't even mention the beet bloody mary yet. It's still a bloody mary at heart, with a dash of beety goodness that hits you as soon as you sip and then settles into a more traditional bloody mary taste.

Everything about this experience was right on - the perfect morning for a bike ride, the food, service (at the bar) and setting (vibrant but not overly busy and loud), all came together. The overall goal of this research is to see if an excellent sandwich can affect your entire day and attitude and there is no question that this sandwich did that. 

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Breakfast Sandwich #62 - Off Broadway aka Just Like (Sand)wiches At Black Masses

Sandwich: Breakfast War Pig
Location: Off Broadway Drafthouse
Date: August 6, 2016
Cost: $11.50, comes with a side of greens

Off Broadway is the retooled South Bay Lounge, tucked just a bit off of W. Broadway near South Towne Mall. The chef came over from Crema Cafe and brought the War Pig sandwich which had been an occasional weekend special at Crema and one that I had never gotten around to trying. Crema Cafe lists their specials in a weekly email, with descriptions, so if you don't make it to the restaurant you know exactly what you are missing:


Breakfast War Pig
Grilled Niman Ranch pork loin, Uphoff Farms ham, Jones Farm bacon, fried egg, melted Muenster cheese, citrus aioli, red onion and baby arugula on toasted ciabatta. Served with greens in our citrus vinaigrette.


You can imagine my excitement in learning that this would be a regular item on the Off Broadway menu.

Just look at all that pig.

The Sandwich - Breakfast War Pig. The sandwich came out of the kitchen piping hot - there were actually little steam curls coming off of it but I couldn't capture them from the angle that the light was coming from. It comes pre-sliced revealing layer upon layer of pork to satisfy all your goyem taste buds. The pork loin is the biggest flavor on this sandwich and it hits you right away. It was grilled perfectly and was a bit juicy but not overly so. The crispy saltiness of the bacon follows right after the pork loin and is a very nice compliment, indeed. The fried egg is almost superfluous. This is technically a breakfast sandwich but in reality is more of a pork sandwich that has a fried egg on it. The meat to egg ratio is much higher than on your average breakfast sandwich. This isn't a bad thing, and is probably evident from the photo, but it's worth noting. The greens give this a healthy nod and the Muenster cheese pairs up with the citrus aioli to give this the proper viscosity. The red onions didn't want to cooperate and fell out of the sandwich a few times, but with this much pork you need some onion on there for a little zip. The toasted ciabatta did an admiral job of corralling the pig which was no easy feat. It wasn't overly bready and held sturdy while not being too thick and chewy.

The Result - 4.69 Sandwiches Named After Black Sabbath Songs out of 5 Sandwiches Named After Black Sabbath Songs. This was an excellent and filling sandwich. After eating this I went to an outdoor music festival and didn't eat again for another 7 or 8 hours. There is nothing wrong with this sandwich but I'm not convinced the ham needs to be there, I didn't really taste it although I'm sure it added some of that delicious saltiness. I wonder what would happen if you cooked the egg so it had a runny yolk? It might get overly sloppy - but pigs like slop. 

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