Friday, August 14, 2015

Breakfast Sandwich #33 - Madison Sourdough Co. aka WWJD (What Would Jerry [Lewis] Do?)

Sandwich: Breakfast Sandwich w/Bacon
Location: Madison Sourdough Co.
Date: August 13, 2015
Cost: $11 with side salad. Sandwich is $8 with side salad if you don't get the ham or bacon.

I feel like Madison Sourdough has been around forever but I still think of their current Williamson Street location as their "new" place although they've probably been there for 10 years. They used to have a different location, I think, but I can't remember where it was and I'm too lazy to research it right now. I have been to Madison Sourdough in the past but never for a sandwich. There's no reason for that, it's just that way. At any rate, they have been on the breakfast sandwich list for some time and it was a perfect morning to bike over there to see what they can do.
For once my photos looks decent. They have a lot of natural light in there, that must be why.

This is where my sandwich takes a little turn on the catwalk.

If I had cleaned up those crumbs this would have been another good photo. And if that shadow wasn't covering the cut side. Alright, never mind, I'm looking for cheese in this one and I'm not really seeing it but look at those flaky scales on the croissant!

The Sandwich - toasted croissant, egg, aioli, cheddar, and bacon with the other choice being ham (or neither). I didn't hesitate to add the bacon. When this sandwich came out of the kitchen it was a thing of beauty. The croissant was wonderfully flaky and light. I don't know much of anything about French baking but I assume this was right up there in terms of quality. The egg was fluffy and cooked perfectly and folded into the croissant. The aioli blended with everything and I wanted more cheese but that posed a conflict of sorts. If you've read several of these you know I'm looking for a somewhat runny egg and lots of cheese, but the croissant isn't built for that. It would be like giving a St. Bernard a bath with a tissue. As it was this sandwich was already as messy as it could be without becoming something you would have to eat with a fork which would be grounds for revoking its status as a sandwich (not definitionally, but practically speaking). Discussions of integrity and sloppiness aside, I did have one significant complaint about this sandwich and that was that the bacon was a little overdone. It wasn't burnt but it was a step beyond crispy, and I like my bacon crispy. I thought I would try to find a list of terms that breaks down the stages of cooked bacon to see what falls in between "crisp" and "burnt", but instead I found the "Baconcyclopedia", which looks like a fun read. Anyway, the bacon was a little too crisp, crumbly even, and turned into bacon bits when bitten, which sounds redundant but makes sense, I think. Not a terrible problem but worth considering. The side salad was fantastic. Fresh greens with the perfect amount of tangy dressing that had a little lemony zip to it.

The Result - 3.91 "Hey Lady" out of 5 "Hey Lady". I tried to find a clip of Jerry Lewis saying "Hey Lady" and failed, and this rating system is already specious at best. Grammatically speaking, it probably should read "Hey Ladies" but that's a Beastie Boys song and I didn't reference them in the review so that doesn't work. The smart thing to do would be to go back and rewrite this with a Beastie Boys reference but that isn't happening. Who cares? So, anyway, the sandwich was mighty fine but the bacon and cost lowered it's rating. I suspect the bacon isn't always overly crispy and some people probably prefer it that way. The croissant was so damn good I almost feel this should be rated in the low 4 area. I mean, seriously, that croissant made me want to Shake My Rump, it was that good. (Yes, that was a cheap way to get another Beastie song in here, which is YouTubes fault as it's playing in the background.) I feel that my personal preferences also dropped this rating a bit. Not everybody likes a lot of cheese and a goopy chicken egg.

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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Breakfast Sandwich #31 & #32 - Pinkus McBride vs. MacTaggart's aka Sandwich Smackdown!

Sandwich: Bacon, Cheddar, Egg with Boar's Head Jalapeño Pepper Sauce on English Muffin
Location: MacTaggart's Market
Date: July 26, 2015
Cost: $4.39

Sandwich: Bacon, Pepper Jack, Egg on English Muffin
Location: Pinkus McBride
Date: July 26, 2015
Cost: $3.99

Neither of these places were on my radar for sandwiches until very recently. They are both convenience-type stores aimed at the people who live and work in the area and can walk there. There isn't a lot of parking near either unless you luck out and find a spot on the street. That explains my ignorance towards their sandwich options and also the reason that I decided to pit them against each other in a Sandwich Smackdown.

Pinkus McBride and MacTaggart's Market are fairly close to each other and since it was a beautiful July morning I decided to bike to both so I could double down on a sandwich review. MacTaggart's is just off Langdon Street, tucked in among the fraternities and sororities of the UW. It would probably be a great place for a part time job while you're working on getting your pledge pin. Pinkus is a little more accessible, it's on East Johnson Street near James Madison Park. It is not known if James Madison or his Vice President, the not-very-funky-looking George Clinton, ever shopped there. It's entirely possible that the funky George Clinton has shopped there.

It probably isn't fair to call this comparison a Smackdown since the participants didn't know they were going into the ring. Still, it makes for a better story. Really, it's all about the story here, which is why I'd like to get Donald Trump to do a ride along sandwich review. I'm not sure how he feels about breakfast sandwiches but apparently meatloaf sandwiches are his favorite.

I was going to try to get the exact same sandwich at each location but I didn't know what options would be available and then decided it didn't matter. In the end, the two I ended up getting were very similar.

Lots of options on the MacTaggart's menu. I almost went for the Fiery Chipotle Gourmaise.

The Pinkus menu.

I call this piece Still Life With Sandwiches.

Pinkus on the left, MacTaggart's on the right.

Pinkus, still on the left. MacTaggart's, still on the right.
The Sandwich (#31, MacTaggart's) - Bacon, Cheddar, Egg with Boar's Head Jalapeño Pepper Sauce on English Muffin. The menu to custom build your own sandwich is impressive. I wanted to keep it basic/classic style so I would be able to match it at Pinkus, but I had to get the Jalapeño Sauce. I like a little hot sauce on my breakfast sandwich and it's rarely an option.

The Sandwich (#32, Pinkus McBride) - Bacon, Pepper Jack, Egg on English Muffin. The whiteboard menu at Pinkus isn't as impressive as the MacTaggart's checklist, but they do offer more than your standard options, such as "veggies". They seem like a relaxed operation, they'll probably put anything on there as long as they have it on hand. Go ahead and order a breakfast sandwich with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on it and see how it goes. I'm guessing you'll get it. 

If this were a blog on ESPN I would break down each of the sandwiches strengths and weaknesses, component by component, to arrive at my final ranking. I'm going to do that in a pathetic attempt to launch a career at ESPN, but, I will only work there if I never have to meet any of the on air talent. Whatever path my ESPN career takes, I will not attend the Holiday Party. I imagine that all of the television and radio hosts congregate in a corner and shout at each other for 3 hours while their spouses get hammered at the open bar. 

English Muffin - They were similar, and both very good, but the MacTaggart's was toasted a little bit more and had a nice light crunch to it. Slight edge to MacTaggart's.

Bacon - I think they were both Boar's Head brand. MacTaggart's definitely was. The deli case at Pinkus was heavy on Boar's Head products so I'm going to assume it was. The bacon on both sandwiches was nicely crisped and distributed adequately, but the MacTaggart's was just a bit crispier and looked leaner. Slight edge to MacTaggart's. 

Cheese - I went with cheddar at MacTaggart's for that extra little bit of cheese bite. At Pinkus I ordered pepper jack to give the sandwich a little heat. Both were melted properly but the Pinkus sandwich had just a bit more more on it. Slight edge to Pinkus.

Egg - Here is the biggest difference. Pinkus egg was fried, MacTaggart's was hard scrambled. I'm not sure that's the right term. It doesn't matter. By now everybody knows I like the chicken egg to be runny, but places that do grab and go sandwiches tend to not make them that way. It's either to save you the mess, or something about eating undercooked eggs. Both eggs were cooked well but neither were my ideal sandwich egg. Push. 

Intangibles - MacTaggart's was empty at 8:30 on Sunday morning and my sandwich was given extra attention - she even put a little sprinkle of black pepper on the egg after placing it on the muffin! The sandwich held up well although it was swung around in a bag while I biked to Pinkus. It was a thing of beauty when I unwrapped it at the park, I wish I had taken a better photo. The Pinkus sandwich was also made fresh although they had a few in the case ready to grab. It was a nice looking sandwich but didn't have the same eyeball appeal that the MacTaggart's did. Edge to MacTaggart's.

The Result (#31, MacTaggart's) - 4.18 pledge pins out of 5 pledge pins. This was a damn fine breakfast sandwich. The jalapeño sauce put it over the top though. It was a perfect complement of heat and flavor. I would have never guessed that you could get something like this out of a basement convenience store. I recommend getting there before the students return. 

The Result (#32, Pinkus McBride) - 3.95 not-funky-Vice-Presidents out of 5 not-funky-Vice-Presidents. This was also a fine sandwich but on this day it didn't measure up to the competition. Pinkus has the advantage of being near James Madison Park, which is an ideal place to eat a sandwich. 

MacTaggart's is the winner of Sandwich Bowl I. This is not a best of 7 series, it's winner take all. There is no trophy.

As soon as I'm done with this post I'm going to apply at ESPN to put together Power Rankings of sausages available at all the Major League ballparks. (They've probably already on that).

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Saturday, July 18, 2015

Breakfast Sandwich #30 - Burger King aka You're Livin' In The Past, Man

Sandwich: Bacon, Sausage, Egg & Cheese
Location: Burger King (East Washington Ave.)
Date: July 17, 2015
Cost: $3.79

What is there to say about Burger King? After "Have It Your Way" it's all downhill. To be fair, that commercial set the bar pretty damn high. Right out of the gate it's a gem - a short drum fill to kick it off with a walk-up bass line. For two seconds it sounds like it could be a Carpenters song, and that shirt that Dad is wearing looks like something Richard Carpenter might have worn. The song goes right to the hook and opens with the chorus.

Dad orders "Two Whopper Juniors" and the super pleasant and helpful cashier/backup singer is too nice to correct his grammar. Hell no, she is going to sing! She grabs that mic like a pro and you can tell this isn't the first time she has sung of brined vegetables and leafy greens! Who you calling a backup singer? This girl is frontin' the band, or at least the front counter.

Caught up in the excitement, Mom gets on board the customized burger train and goes a little crazy with a request for extra ketchup. Her face lights up like a Christmas tree when the backup singer tells her she can have it. I'm really happy for her at this point.

The Singer (I wish I knew her name, I'm pretty sure it isn't Darius) busts into the 2nd verse with slightly less enthusiasm than the 1st verse and I think she gets tripped up on the lyrics. It sounds like she sings "We can serve your bro-beef  Whopper..." but I think its supposed to be "whole beef Whopper", or maybe "browned beef  Whopper"? That doesn't make sense to me. It does look like she makes "B" sound with her mouth. Maybe its just the degradation of the recording but I can't really tell what it's supposed to be. Perhaps at the last minute somebody from the BK Legal Department burst onto the set and informed the Director that they couldn't legally say "whole beef Whopper" so he told The Singer (let's call her Chrissy, she looks like a Chrissy) to just mumble her way through it. Of course Chrissy nailed it - with a smile and pop of the eyebrows! Before she is even done with the verse she is handing the family their bags of food. Chrissy's got a good stage crew.

The commercial closes with the actual backup singers hitting the chorus and a fanfare of trumpets. We see each member of the family enjoying their Whoppers. It leaves me feeling pretty good and I'll bet that family had a really nice day too. We are left to chart our own path for Chrissy and her hat and all the great adventures they had together. It seems like there is a good opportunity there for fan fiction or perhaps a graphic novel.

I don't know if you can see that logo on the phone. They changed the "E" in Whopper to be layered sandwich ingredients. Some corporations change E's to sandwich fixings, some change them to American flags.

The menu case is broken and the top portion is flopped down, partially covering Meals #1 and #8. I should have taken it as a sign that things weren't going to end well. 

You can't spell "Sandwich" without S-A-D.

Drier than it looks.
The Sandwich - Bacon, Sausage, Egg & Cheese on a biscuit. Right off the bat I didn't have to make a choice between bacon and sausage, I could have both! I could have it my way! The singer on the other end of the speaker box wasn't actually a singer, she sounded more like an average fast food worker. She was pleasant, but not Chrissy pleasant (who could be, really?). I ordered it on a croissant at first but then changed it to a biscuit. There I go again, having it my way! This is fun. This sandwich isn't listed on the bk.com Nutritional Information chart and that's probably a good thing. Take this info and add bacon and watch the sodium levels soar. Nobody thought this would be healthy anyway. You can see in the photo that the sausage is kind of burnt. It was as dry as it looks. The biscuit was dry and kind of crumbly too. With those two items this sandwich didn't stand a chance. The egg was actually kind of fluffy and not dry but the cheese could have been a little more melted and the amount was scarce. The bacon was non-committal. This was a bad sandwich. If I had had access to a goat I would have given half of this to the animal as a form of research, but instead I ate it. You think this is all fun and games here? It is not.

The Result - 1.974 vintage commercials out of 5 vintage commercials. That awesome Burger King commercial came out in 1974 so that's the rating this sandwich gets, which actually is too high. I couldn't find any BK commercials from 1631 on YouTube so 1.974 will have to do. Something positive I can say about this sandwich is that it didn't taste nearly as salty as I thought it would. You might have noticed on the menu board the "meal" comes with hash browns. It's hard to see but they look like Potato Olés. Don't be fooled, I ordered some and they weren't the same. Mine were just slightly overdone but even if they hadn't been burnt I don't think they would have been very good.

I wonder if Chrissy is still out there singing about vegetables and she has that commercial listed on her resume. I hope so. I really do.

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Thursday, July 9, 2015

Breakfast Sandwich #29 - Marigold Kitchen aka This Is Not The Pinckney Street Hideaway

Sandwich: Marigold Breakfast Sandwich
Location: Marigold Kitchen
Date: July 3, 2015
Cost: $8

I used to work near Marigold Kitchen and it was a regular stop for lunch and an occasional place for breakfast. It's been awhile since I've worked in the area and I couldn't remember the last time I had been there, but I knew they had a breakfast sandwich that beckoned for a review.

Marigold sits in the spot where the Pinckney Street Hideaway used to be. There must be some kind of good mojo in that location although if I had my choice I think I'd take the Hideaway, nothing against Marigold.

This is sandwich review #29 and frankly I'm shocked that I've made it this far. Now that we're in the peak of summer I'm finding it hard to sit down to write these, which take far longer than you might think although that is clearly the result of my, ummm, skills. A friend of mine had a baby the other day in less time than it takes me to crank out one of these missives. Side note - Meriter Hospital, where the baby was born, has a build your own breakfast sandwich option, at least for those that are in the birthin' area. I received a photo of the menu, the sandwich and a short review. The sandwich was rated 3.5 placentas out of 5 placentas, with the turkey sausage as the major reason for the low score. I have just under 6 months left of this but I seriously doubt I will be able to top the placenta rating system put forth for that sandwich. It almost makes the rest of this research seem futile.

But, I will continue to chew my way towards the truth. I recently mentioned getting some blood work done and my cholesterol levels check out so I have no excuse to quit now.  Well, other than laziness, and the fact that my boat (The USS Over Easy) doesn't have Wi-Fi. I could be writing these while flitting about in the harbor but I would have to jot it down in a notebook with a pencil. That's just stupid.

I forgot to take a photo of the menu, luckily the info is listed online:

Marigold Breakfast Sandwich - fried egg, cheddar-spiked boursin, bacon, tomato and green onion on toasted ciabatta

That's a mighty fine way to start a holiday weekend.

MOM! THAT SANDWICH IS TAUNTING ME!

Get that sandwich some sunscreen. 
The Sandwich - Marigold Breakfast Sandwich. One choice. I'm coming to really appreciate the single offering although places with multiple sandwiches could potentially get a second visit. Marigold makes great food and this sandwich was no exception. Bacon was nicely crisped, the chicken egg was fried perfectly and in this case a runny egg may have been too messy. There is a lot of the cheddar-spiked boursin and it makes for a borderline sloppy sandwich, but the ciabatta holds it in place. The tomato wasn't sad but it wasn't like the tomatoes we'll be eating soon.

The Result - 4.03 no-we're-not-talking-about-placentas out of 5 no-we're-not-talking-about-placentas. This is a top level sandwich but perhaps just isn't aimed exactly at my tastes. If I were going to tailor this sandwich for my mouth I'd make the egg runny, crank up the amount of cheddar for a extra "bite", use less boursin (which I gather is cream cheese) and perhaps put a dash of hot sauce on it. It's still a damn good sandwich.

I may have a guest reviewer lined up for a ride along soon. An actual writer-person. A wordsmith. These things are hard to coordinate so it may take awhile.

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Friday, June 26, 2015

Breakfast Sandwich #28 - Plaka Taverna aka I'd Like A Second Opinion

Sandwich: Egg, Bacon & Cheese
Location: Plaka Taverna
Date: June 21 2015
Cost: $3.75

Before we get into this review it's important to note that my friend Max came with me to do a breakfast sandwich "ride along" and act as guest reviewer. The idea of having guest reviewers popped up a few weeks ago and although there have been no criteria established as to what credentials are needed to be a guest reviewer, I know that Max has enough clout to act as such. First, he asked if he could come along. Second, and this is probably what really earned him the right, he named his dog Bacon. We'll get to his review in a minute. 

Plaka Taverna serves breakfast in the style of it's previous incarnation, Cleveland's Diner. The rest of the time it's a Greek restaurant. Everybody knows this, but did you know they have a small patio area out back that you can eat on? They do, and it's adorable, although you run the risk of getting pooped on by a bird, which actually happened while I was there. That could happen any time you leave the house, but the fact that it happened when I was there to write a review is pretty hilarious. Also, I realize that my previous review featured a gross story about veins and this one is starting off with bird poop. These things happen when you sift and winnow for the truth. Maybe I'll get Rachel Ray to be a guest reviewer, she probably writes about nice things. It would probably be a lot more fun to have Anthony Bourdain do a ride along, although we would likely end up vodka-drunk in the Ukraine eating fish eyeballs stewed in Dodo Bird eggs. I don't know, that doesn't sound so bad. 
I like the variety here and the fact that the sandwiches can be ordered individually or with the potatoes.  

It's looking "All American".

Obligatory cross-section photo.
The Sandwich - Egg, Bacon & Cheese. I went with the cheddar cheese. I was tempted by the egg & gyro on pita but I decided to go with a classic sandwich for review purposes. My first reaction was that I would have liked the muffin to be more toasted on the outside. It was a little under toasted for my tastes. Other than that, the bacon was crisped well, the cheese was melty, the egg nicely cooked and folded although I prefer eggs a bit runny. I probably don't have to keep saying that. Really, this sandwich was right down the middle of the road - it was good, not fantastic. Nothing stood out about it but there was nothing wrong with it either (other than I would have liked the muffin to be more toasted). The potatoes were perfect. I generally find breakfast potatoes to be ho-hum and not exciting but these hit the bullseye with me. Nicely crisped on the outside, hot and steamy on the inside but not soggy.

The Result - 3.42 bird turds out of 5 bird turds. More than a few people have extolled the virtues of the Plaka Breakfast sandwich to me but I found it to be perfectly adequate. There could be a few things at work here, for one, my expectations may have been set too high coming in. I don't think they were but I'm not sure I can accurately judge my own preconceptions. There is also the chance that I'm getting jaded. I've eaten a hell of a lot of breakfast sandwiches in recent months and it's hard to keep them all straight and try to balance their ratings against each other. I occasionally go back and look at previous ratings to try to slot a new rating in the proper place. I don't always do that though. My final theory is that the Plaka sandwich is generally better than the one I received and my personal sandwich just didn't have that extra spark of sandwich love. 

Having said all that, let's find out what Max had to say about his sandwich.

As stated above, Max is 9 years old and has a dog named Bacon. Max wanted to do a ride along on a breakfast sandwich research mission and it came together very quickly, so quick that I was probably underprepared. I wasn't sure how it was going to work - if I was going to take notes on his thoughts, or maybe record his comments, or perhaps even have him write his own review. That last option seemed unlikely, asking a kid to write a review sounds like summer school. In the end I just made mental notes of his comments because that was pretty much my only option.

Coincidentally, Max ordered the exact same sandwich I did - Egg, Bacon & Cheddar Cheese. He didn't get the potatoes. At least we were talking about the same kind of sandwich so I knew where he was coming from.

The first thing I asked him about was the bacon, which he said was "chewy". The muffin was "crunchy at first" and the egg was "good". He thought the sandwich was kind of plain and could use some spice. When asked what might make it better he said "spice". He didn't specify beyond that, I don't know, maybe cinnamon and wasabi?

OK, he is a man of few words. Blogs didn't exist when I was 9 years old so there is no evidence of what I may have said about breakfast at that age, but I suspect it would have been similar.

His final rating was 2. Wow. That seems kind of harsh to me. There are hungry kids in Africa who would gladly give that sandwich a 4.88 and when asked to rate the glass of clean water that came with it they would give it 5 Cholera out of 5 Cholera. But, that's his rating. You can't chew a mile in another man's taste buds so I have to take him at his word. 

Perhaps the biggest take away from this is that we all have to experience our breakfast sandwiches on our own terms. One person's bacon is another person's forbidden swine. 

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Friday, June 19, 2015

Breakfast Sandwich #27 - Hardee's aka You Play The Hand You're Dealt

Sandwich: Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich w/Sausage
Location: Hardee's (East Washington Ave.)
Date: June 19, 2015
Cost: $3.79

I had the day off from work but I had an early appointment for blood work which meant I couldn't eat or drink anything prior. Naturally, this meant that I would be hungry and thinking about food as I drove to the hemoglobin factory. I was trying to think of someplace along the way that has breakfast sandwiches but I'd already visited the ones in the area that I knew were on the list. I was coming up empty.

Sometimes the universe sends you a sign. It may not be the sign you want, but it may be the sign you need.
Holy crap. I guess I need to stop.
So that's how it happened. Hardee's wasn't even on the list to review, somehow I had not considered them. I hadn't had Hardee's breakfast in well over a decade.

Since we're already talking about blood I'll relate this story. Years ago I had a job and we would sometimes work on the weekend. At some point in the morning somebody would make a run to Hardee's and bring back breakfast. One Saturday morning my coworker Tim Bob was eating his Hardee's Biscuits & Gravy and all of a sudden he made a horrible face and spit into his hand. It was a vein, about 3/4" long, maybe even 1" long, and about 1/8" diameter. I guess that's the risk you take when you eat dead animals but I was glad I had only ordered the cinnamon rolls.
I have photos of the rest of the breakfast menu board but I don't think you really need to see them.

It looks nicely toasted but that cheese isn't melted enough.

I don't know, it looks OK.
The Sandwich - Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich w/Sausage. The other option is bacon. They're really pushing this new item, as soon as I pulled up to the order board they asked if I wanted to try the new Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich. It's almost like they saw me taking a photo of the sign out by the road. The first taste when taking a bite was the salty sausage. That gave way to a paste-like texture, not really in a good way. I didn't know until I looked up their menu online that this sandwich has Swiss cheese on it. I thought it was paste. I felt like the weird kid in 4th grade art class who will eat paste just to get a reaction. I did a lot of dumb stuff in the 4th grade but I didn't eat paste. The bread looked pretty good but was kind of doughy and chewy. I guess the egg was fine and the American cheese was as expected. This sandwich just wasn't working for me. I felt bad eating it. I had just had blood drawn to check cholesterol and whatever else they check, and now I was eating this. 255 mg of cholesterol, 1820 mg of sodium, 17 g saturated fat and probably a vein or two. I don't think my Doctor reads this blog but he's going to see the test results so I can't deny it.

The Result - 2.19 veins out of 5 veins. It's probably not the worst breakfast sandwich I've ever had but it wasn't good. The overall mouth feel of this sandwich is its biggest downfall. Not much else to say about this but I'm going for a bike ride now to try and cleanse my aura and ventricles.

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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Breakfast Sandwich #26 - Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery aka The Halfway Point.

Sandwich: Award-Winning Egg Sandwich
Location: Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery
Date: June 14, 2015
Cost: $8.99

Sandwich #26 marks the halfway point of this endeavor which means this blog is either half full or half empty, depending on your point of view.

I don't think I had ever eaten at Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery other than an odd cupcake or two. Like a lot of people, I think the term "cupcakery" is dumb. It makes me feel like I'll be getting a pedicure while I eat a cupcake and my tiny dog gets a Brazilian wax. I don't think any of that happens there, other than the cupcakes, and I've heard plenty of great things about their food.

As regular readers know, this research is about the truth and leaving expectations behind, and that includes uncomfortable feelings about made up words. (Neither Merriam-Webster nor Oxford contain entries for "cupcakery"). I did find that the first known use of the term "cupcake" in print was in Eliza Leslie's cookbook, Seventy-five receipts for pastry, cakes, and sweetmeats, published in 1828. It's well worth taking a few minutes to peruse the pages in that link, especially if you've been looking for a recipe for Oyster Pie or Calves-Feet Jelly. (Spoiler alert - it requires four calves feet and a pint of white wine. I think I would require more than a pint of wine to make it, but that's me.) You may want to check the recipe for Blancmange also, "Get four calves feet; if possible some that have been singed, and not skinned".
Words, words, words (sung to the tune of Girls, Girls, Girls by Motley Crüe)

Slightly deceiving.
Uh-huh.
The Sandwich - Award-Winning Egg Sandwich. The menu doesn't say what award the sandwich won and I looked around the room and didn't see any trophies or plaques. I think they may have made that part up and I kind of felt like I'd been lied to. The egg comes fried and when I first saw my sandwich and there was no runny egg-flow I was a tiny bit disappointed, BUT, I peeked under the hood and saw a bulbous yolk in full ooze stand-by mode. OK. That's exactly what happened once I commenced to eating it. The bacon was crisp, the cilantro was very subtle, and the purple onion kind of lingers in the background but you know it's there. The rosemary bread is fantastic with this sandwich, and was perfectly toasty. There was ample cream cheese and to be honest, for my tastes, there was too much of it. I'm not sold on the cream cheese on this sandwich, I would have preferred cheddar or something else. It's a personal preference and I don't want to get hung up on it because I think what they've done here is create a breakfast sandwich that is both inventive and hues close to a more classic breakfast sandwich. It's a damn fine sandwich.

The Result - 4.01 fakeworderies out of 5 fakeworderies. It's the cream cheese that doesn't work for me. I'm not against cream cheese, but in this case, I suppose I am. Your feelings on cream cheese should direct your heart in this matter because this is still an amazing sandwich. Hell, they might substitute another cheese for you if you're polite about it. 

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