Wegman's Kwik-Fil

I’ve been hearing about the egg sandwiches at Wegman's Kwik-Fil for years but was never in their neighborhood around breakfast time. But that all changed when Karen’s car was in the shop and I was giving her rides to work. After dropping her off I sleepily made my way over to Buffalo Road. 

Curiously, for a place that has two prominent businesses in their name they have no affiliation with Wegmans supermarkets and they’re not actually a Kwik-Fill (two Ls) gas station. But they do have some fabulous painted signage on the building and along the wall that faces the whole gas pump area. 

I walked in and was surprised at the tiny store, though I’m not sure what I was expecting; There is a well worn register area with lottery tickets, various drink coolers, and snack racks. There is no obvious prepared food counter (I think I always pictured there being a deli case) so I asked the woman behind the counter if this was where to get the egg sandwiches. She smiled and pointed behind me. There was a warming cabinet with dozens of foil wrapped egg sandwiches. I grabbed one from the “bacon” shelf and paid. Walking out to the car I was a little disappointed that the sandwiches were premade and lowered my expectations. I had a ten minute drive home so I lowered my expectations some more. 

Once home, I unwrapped the foil to find the (expected) hard roll and took a bite. Despite being premade and then traveling a bit, the yolk of the fried egg was still jammy! The bacon crispy but not burnt, and the American cheese appropriately gooey. If you’re looking for a classic WNY egg sandwich, this is it! And at $5.50 (the price recently went up a quarter cuz eggs ain't cheap) it’s hard to beat. 

My only nit to pick is that if you’re not used to eating salty food this might be a bit of a salt bomb for ya. This first time I went I don’t think I had eaten any cured meat or American cheese in a while and it struck me as saltier than average. I’ve gone back numerous times and it seemed like the average amount of salty for a gas station egg sandwich with cured meat and processed cheese, though. Alright, one other thing: on a subsequent trip, I picked up one with sausage and the sausage patty was more of a charred nugget. I haven’t gotten another sausage one since to see if that was just an off day, but subsequent bacon ones were AOK.

Wegmans Kwik-Fil

336 Buffalo Road, Rochester 14611

Sandwich cost: $5.50 

Sandwich rating: This is the classic Rochester egg sandwich

Montgomery Court

 

Montgomery Court is a new coffee shop on the corner of Park and Colby (that east section of Park past Culver that’s mostly residential). I don’t drink coffee but they kept posting pics of breakfast foods so I started following them on ye olde IG. 

A while back I stopped in to try the one egg sandwich they had on offer so far - bacon, egg, and cheddar on a cheddar biscuit (left photo), but was unpleasantly surprised to find out that #1, it cost nine bucks and #2, the biscuit was generously flavored with thyme. The biscuit was large which I appreciated for a sandwich (most are tiny and makes holding it as a sandwich impossible) but this bigger size just threw the BEC ratio off. Too much bread and instead of tasting cheddar or aioli I just got thyme. This was early on and I like to suspend judgement while places are finding their groove. 

Last week they posted about a new sandwich that said all the magic words I want to hear: six dollars, NYC style hard roll, bodega vibes. Although the accompanying photo didn’t look like a NYC bodega sandwich I was intrigued! 

Yesterday I was out running errands with one of my kids so we worked a stop into Montgomery coffee to get breakfast. We each ordered The NYC, one with bacon and one with sausage. A few minutes later we got our food and headed to the tables outside (the booths were taken and although there is a bunch of tall tables in place, there is a zoning issue with allowing more indoor seating at the moment).

First impression was good: bacon hanging out the sides, cheddar melting everywhere. The roll still not looking like a hard roll, especially with the lil flat toasted cap, but I can appreciate stylistic differences. We dug in. Bacon was not too salty, a lil chewy, but flavorful. Hallie said the sausage was nothing fancy but good. Cheddar had some sharpness to it, and the egg was…well, a fried egg. Halfway through I wondered if they had forgotten the aioli but Hallie said she had just gotten to the aioli side of hers. I opened mine up and saw that the dollop was squarely in the middle, like a jelly donut. I kept eating and enjoyed the garlicky center. The roll was solid but but not stodgy and held up to breakfast sandwich standards. But this is no hard roll; Instead of a crusty outside (they don’t call them hard for nothin’) this seemed more like a butter soaked dinner roll. It was downright oily. If you can get past that, it’s a solid sandwich.

Montgomery Court

1241 Park Ave, ROC 14610

Sandwich cost: $6 for the NYC, $9 for the OG biscuit

Sandwich rating: You really can’t complain about a $6 sandwich (but that ain’t no hard roll)

DiPaolo Baking Company

Whelp, it's been a few years since I stopped posting and people keep asking me where to find the best egg sandwiches so I figured I'd get back to it. I've been eating and taking photos for the last couple of weeks but I figured I should anoint the return with something iconic, something notable.

If you've read the older posts you know that I am not a Rochester local (though I have lived up here for over 20 years now) so there was a steep learning curve to the differences in bread readily available in WNY as opposed to the greater NYC metro area I grew up in. After figuring out that a hard roll was a soft roll and that bagels (sometimes pronounced bag-gulls instead of bay-gulls here) were not a reliable commodity (more times than not a bagel is usually a breadel: a soft roll in a bagel shape, lacking any heft or shiny, chewy crust) I finally started to adjust to the local culture and see that I was looking for something that didn't exist - a bodega/deli egg sandwich on a kaiser roll (despite beef on weck being popular in these parts decent hard rolls are available, just not at breakfast time). Anyway, once I accepted that the standard roll for an egg sandwich was a hard roll made by DiPaolo's or Petrillo's bakery - a soft, twisted roll that can make a decent sandwich if it's grilled or toasted (but can compress down to a pancake if not) - I stopped my whining and embraced the local standard. 

Which brings me to today. I wanted to show my support for my adopted city and it's cheekily named hard roll and go right to the source for an egg sandwich. What a story arc! What a triumph! What a joke!

I was out bright and early this morning so I made my way over to Plymouth Ave shortly after seven to grab myself an iconic egg sandwich from the DiPaolo Baking Company. After circling the block and finding a seemingly legal spot to park I made my way inside. They supply numerous businesses with their baked goods and there were bags and bags of rolls and loaves waiting to be picked up. They have a bakery case and small counter for walk-ins and a sandwich board advertising an egg sandwich for $5.50 with either bacon or sausage. I was greeted warmly by the woman behind the counter and asked for a bacon, egg, and cheese, please. She walked back to a warmer holding a dozen foil wrapped bundles and asked me if I wanted a bagel or croissant. Bagel or croissant?!? I hesitated as I was dumbfounded that their signature roll wasn't on offer and before I could answer someone walked out of the back and said "Croissant!" The woman behind the counter chuckled and I panicked and said "bagel?" The guy proceeded to walk out the door and said, "See, I told you!" I was so confused. I paid my $5.50, grabbed my foil bundle and was wished a great day.

Once home I unwrapped the suspiciously light foil bundle; No bagel this size should weigh this little. The bread was so big that no egg, cheese, or bacon stuck out to tempt me. I lifted off the top half and saw that there was indeed a tidy patty of egg, cheese, and bacon in there. I put the lid on and took a bite. I was not feeling it; The bagel was not just a classic breadel but a mediocre one at that. I debated for half a second and realized life is too short to eat bad bread and lifted the melded contents off the sandwich and just ate that because I was hungry, not because it was good. The egg was a hard puck, probably microwaved. The cheese looked like white American (of which I will defend to any foodie) but lacked the usual oily creaminess. The bacon was the only thing that made this congealed pancake palatable: crispy and salty (and I probably would have just eaten the bacon if it wasn't glued onto the rest with the plastic cheese). So, bread was a confusing disappointment, egg and cheese were hard and dry, but the bacon was edible. Damn, not the triumphant return I imagined. 

DiPaolo Baking Company

598 Plymouth Ave, Rochester, NY

Sandwich cost: $5.50

Rating: Pure disappointment

Union Street Bakery

I had made plans to go to the Market with our Artist In Resident T. Foley for her last croissant in Rochester, but I had to bail at the last minute to meet the furnace repair man; Apparently, 30 years is pushing it for a gas furnace. I got to work around 11 and as I walked up the stairs I was greeted by the warm and comforting smells of breakfast. A welcome change from my cold house this morning.

When I got to my office door I saw the plastic bag hanging from the handle. BREAKFAST WAS WAITING FOR ME! I quickly made my way to my desk and opened up the bag and styrofoam container and was greeted by a hearty looking egg sandwich. I dove in while it was still holding on to the heat of the grill and it was fantastic! The fried egg and American cheese were melded together, the plentiful bacon was thick, salty and flavorful, and the roll was...an honest to goodness roll. Firm but supple, supportive but not unyielding. We should all have this in our lives. A few more frantic bites and it was gone.

I walked over to the studio and found Teresa (the aforementioned T.) to thank her for bringing back the sandwich after I cancelled on her. Our plan was to go to Flour City Bread Company to get her last croissant in town, but that's not where the sandwich came from. "Eh, they didn't have a sign and I didn't feel like asking so I went down to Union Street." She asked about the breakfast sandwich options which turned out to be either ham or bacon. "What's good today?"
"They're both good!"
"Chef's choice then!"
The guy behind the counter chose bacon and, as I mentioned, it was good.

I swear I tried the sandwich at Union Street early on in this venture and was sorely disappointed that the bread was a smushy hard roll so I've avoided it since, even though people have been suggesting I go there. I just assumed you were all nuts. My apologies. So, either my memory is confused or they decided to step up their egg sandwich game. Either way, I'd happily revisit this sandwich.

Thanks again, Teresa!

Union Street Bakery
4 Public Market, Rochester, 14609
Sandwich cost: $4.50 (we think)
Sandwich rating: That is a top-notch breakfast sandwich

Sonny's Landing

If you've been wondering if I've given up egg sandwiches we probably don't know each other in the real world. I certainly didn't give them up (though I may have been eating fewer in an effort not to get gigantic), but was too preoccupied with all the calamity of the past year to focus on much of anything else. With our new regime in place the need for comfort food is at an all time high. The search for the perfect egg sandwich resumes.

Past Mercy High School is a cute little neighborhood that I cut through to get to Penfield and other points east when I don't feel like getting on the highway. Last week I had to run to Home Depot and the breakfast pickings at home were slim. I've passed Sonny's many times thinking how curious it was placed in the middle of a residential block and figured this was the day I would try it.

I stepped in and stood beside and older man waiting for his food and chatting with a man at the grill. I looked up and scanned the massive menu board. It doesn't mention eggs anywhere - mostly burgers, hot dogs, pizza, and the usual sides and options that would follow. But it was just after 10 in the morning and I was pretty sure the other guy wasn't getting a cheeseburger. Noticing me, the man at the grill (presumably Sonny?) asked what I'd like. I inquired about getting a breakfast sandwich. "Sure, no problem. Want meat with that?" I did indeed and chose bacon. He went back to the grill to start mine and finish the other.

The man waiting for his sandwich and Sonny resumed their conversation about bees and plowing (separate topics) and I looked around. There were a handful of booths, a wall of beverage cases, but most notable the racks full of frisbee golf discs. Hundreds of them. Turns out, Sonny's has the largest supply of disc golf supplies in the country (according to their website). Who knew?! I drifted back towards the counter in time to hear the other customer say "It's amazing how people get their knickers in a twist!" With that he paid and headed out. A minute later my sandwich was done and Sonny brought it to the counter letting me know that egg sandwiches aren't on the menu but they serve them all day.

I got in my car and upon opening the foil bundle the air filled with the comforting smell of eggs and bacon. I snapped a photo and then dove in. I just expect the Rochester hard roll now so no disappointment to be had there, if anything, this seemed a little more firm than I remember them being. The filling was pure perfection; The egg wasn't cooked too hard and had a little run to it, but not messy, the white American cheese (there's a Trump joke in there somewhere) was very melty, creamy, and salty, and the bacon was crisp but not overdone. This was a solid sandwich but the generous shake of black pepper on the egg made it terrific.  This is exactly what I needed.

Sonny's Landing
Sandwich cost: $3.50
Sandwich Rating: That's a solid secret sandwich

Mise en Place

I've never been quite sure what to make of Mise en Place; When I've stopped in over the past 8 years it never seemed to be the upscale market they were going for and like the South Wedge, where they are anchored, it always promised to be up-and-coming (which is especially ironic given their name) but never seems to have arrived. Admittedly, Mise en Place has certainly made it to a respectable, upscale corner store.

Last week I was taking a tour of "gourmet" Rochester establishments and after sampling many sweets on South Ave we made our way to Mise en Place for lunch. I noticed they had a $3.50 breakfast sandwich and proceeded to order a bacon, egg, and extra sharp cheddar. I stopped to ask the nature of the hard roll and was told they were out of them. The woman behind the counter offered to put it on a section of Italian bread which sounded more than fine to me.

I took a seat in the dining area with other folks on our tour as the owner and chef, Casey Holenbeck, gave a short talk about the tragically named seasonal greens: ramps. When my sandwich arrived it looked respectable with its gooey cheese and overflowing bacon. I took a bite. The bacon was thick and salty, and just what I was looking for to counter cheesecake and chocolate for breakfast. The egg was a little hard but I didn't specify how I wanted it fried so no big deal, but the cheddar, oh man, the cheddar. I usually avoid ordering cheddar on egg sandwiches as diners tend to have the most flavorless cheddar on hand, but this was not that. Salty, creamy and sharp made this sandwich a cut above many. And the bread was good, too. Not sure if it was baked there (the sign near the deli counter says that everything is made in house) or if it was from Baker Street (they sell their loaves in the market area). Either way, firm but not tough, soft enough to eat a sandwich on but not flatten to nothing. This was a good egg sandwich.


Mise en Place
Sandwich cost: $3.50
Sandwich rating: An upscale sandwich at a downtown price

Shmeg's Restaurant

Well, it took over a year to get out to Gates to try Shmeg's,  - a contraction of Shawn and Meg who opened it - but last Sunday Karen and I were headed to points west and stopped in for a late breakfast.

We arrived at the tiny strip mall and were pretty sure we found it, though the handwritten logo is tough to read when you're driving. Since there was just two of us we grabbed counter spots overlooking the kitchen so we wouldn't tie up a table. We had a clear view of the prep table, the grills and could look to the other side at the small front dining room.

I'll try to sum up Shmeg's as concisely as I can: more is more. More smell, more food, more noise, more carved Americana plaques, more grunge, more hard to read handwritten type. The menu, an 80th generation photocopy of what looks like the napkin they first drunkenly brainstormed their offerings, was difficult to read at best, but I gleaned that their basic breakfast sandwich was the 2 Egg Chubby (There were sandwiches with up to five eggs in them, you know, in case you wanted more). We ordered our Chubbies with bacon, eggs over medium, Karen added home fries to hers for $1 and then we watched the kitchen as we waited.

If you're a fastidious person I would recommend not sitting at the counter at Shmeg's, you will have an aneurism. Plates flying, clouds of powdered sugar, new pancake batter being made on top of old. I like a good dive but for some reason I was just finding everything about Shmeg's off-putting. It was just too easy to picture Guy Fieri daring us to eat the 12" pancakes that were being plated. And frankly, the name's not doing them any favors, either.

After a bit of a wait our sandwiches were ready and they looked pretty good. Generous amount of bacon (more!) and a healthy looking house baked roll. I took a bite. Whoever grabbed my roll had recently grabbed a sticky bun and my first bite was an extreme mix of sweet and salty. I took a second bite and was thankful that the sugar was just on the edge. Now, for the positives: the eggs were cooked perfectly, not too hard, the runny yolk filling up the gaps between the eggs and bacon. Speaking of, that was some delicious, thick cut bacon. Not too salty, not over or under cooked. In search of the perfect egg sandwich roll I was excited to finally get to Shmeg's (sadly, the more you say it doesn't make it better) who bake their own bread. The roll was definitely good but a little too sweet for my liking, more brioche than Kaiser. Karen thinks I'm nuts and thought it was the best thing about the sandwich. She would also like for me to mention that the coffee was great. We both agreed that the potatoes were lackluster: not a crisp edge in the bunch and although seasoned, a little too heavily with dried parsley.

So, a good sandwich (which it should be for $6), mediocre home fries, and an environment that left us smelling like a deep fryer. Shmeg's.

Shmeg's Restuarant
3027 Buffalo Road, Gates, NY
Sandwich cost: $5.99
Rating: A solid breakfast sandwich

Mangia Mangia

I had to run an errand to Spencerport last Sunday and as I was leaving town I realized I was hungry. "Siri, nearest diner." She then told me that the Lighthouse Diner was just three quarters of a mile down the road on the left. So I drove, and then I drove, and then I was in Ogden, so then I had her give me directions. After doing a large circle to see new homes in former fields, I got to the intersection of 31 and S. Union. I drove into the plaza and saw what might have been a diner but what was now Rancho Viejo. I turned the corner to check out the south side of the plaza and continued to see no breakfast. As I reached the end of the storefronts I started to turn around but leaning next to the building was a sandwich board with a breakfast special on it; I looked up to see Mangia Mangia. The front door was open so I figured I'd go investigate.

Right at the front door was a pastry case with loaves of fresh baked Italian bread sitting on top. This was a good sign. I took a seat at a small table in the back and looked over the menu. With Italian bread French toast, frittatas, and six varieties of eggs Benedict, Mangia Mangia is not for the light eater. I found their breakfast sandwich which is two scrambled eggs, cheese, and your choice of bacon, ham, Italian sausage or steak on either a giant English muffin or an Italian roll and after seeing the loaves at the front door, I went for the roll and my usual bacon and American cheese. The sandwich comes with home fries and they charge $6.99 for the combo.

This is a curious place: An Italian restaurant in the back of a suburban plaza open for breakfast with both Red Hot and Sriracha on every table. The kitchen is separated from the dining area by a free standing wall so the smells and noises from the kitchen mingle with the classic rock playing throughout the restaurant. Casual, suburban, pleasant enough.

A few moments later my breakfast arrived. I wish I had put a fork or a quarter in the photo for scale just to impress how large it all was: The sandwich wasn't on a roll but a mini loaf of bread and there was probably a pound of home fries on the plate! I wasn't quite prepared to bite into the loaf of sandwich so I scooped up some potatoes and was greeted with a couple of unexpected flavors. The Yukon Gold potatoes were much sweeter and creamier than most diner home fries and that first bite had a distinct taste of margarine. I did not care for these at all. I tried them with Red Hot and then Sriracha, and then with ketchup, and then with ketchup and the two hot sauces. None of these variations made me like them any better. I moved onto the sandwich. I'll spare you the details of how big my bites were and how many it took to finish this blimp, but I will tell you that the roll had a nice crunch to the crust and good resistance when bitten. However, this may have been too much of a good thing. Did I mention how big this roll was? Unfortunately, the scrambled eggs, cheese, and strips of bacon down the center, got lost amongst all the bread. Honestly, I barely remember the bacon and cheese, only the amount of chewing I had to do. If they could do some proportion control and ditch the margarine, this would be a worthwhile breakfast.

Mangia Mangia
Sandwich Rating: Thatsa alotta bread
Sandwich cost: $6.99

KB's Bagels and Java - Road Trip Entry

My expectations for finding a decent bagel in New Hampshire were reasonably low - well, let's be frank, I didn't have any expectations of finding a decent bagel in New Hampshire at all - but when I found KB's online before heading out on vacation I got a little excited, especially when I saw the opportunity for an egg sandwich excursion.

On an overcast morning I headed south from our rental to try a sandwich and bring some bagels back for the kids. A quick few turns off Ocean Boulevard and I spotted the building I saw online and found a spot down the street a bit. As I started walking towards breakfast the damp air held the smell of toast and fresh brewed coffee. I was sure I stumbled onto something good. If New Hampshire's 13 miles of Atlantic coastline can adopt an island vibe - with an active surfer culture (wet suits, naturally) and tiki bar decor for any non-seafood dedicated food/drink establishment - why couldn't they throw a little New York in there, too?

I stepped inside and immediately felt at home with the smell of toasted onion and sesame seeds amongst the surfboards and old couches. I got in line and started to think about what selection of bagels to bring back to the house but my brain froze when I looked behind the counter. The wall of bins for different varieties was there, and there were bagels in the bins, but they were already in bags. Stacked 6 high in a plastic bag like Lender's. The girl behind the counter snapped me out of it, "Sir?"
"I...  I'm confused. The bagels are in bags." She stared at me so I continued, "Soooooo, they must come from somewhere else?"
"Uh huh!" she cheerfully replied. I quickly ditched my mixed order and got a bag of sesame for the house and an egg, bacon, cheese on an everything for now.

A few minutes later I got a large bun of aluminum foil, had a seat, and opened it up. This was a big sandwich: The bagel was New York sized and the scrambled egg was at least an inch tall, it smelled good so I cocked my jaw and took a bite. The bagel was soft and the egg was hotter than Beelzabub! I took a moment to let the egg cool down and to assess things. The heat of the eggs suggested microwave, and the sheer size of them skewed the bacon and cheese ratios which made the inside of the sandwich kind of a bust. The other sad realization is that this was a breadel - more bread than bagel, but at least they got the everything toppings right. Same held true for the bag of sesame bagels I brought back to the house: looked good, smelled good, but ultimately just a big ring of dough. These are gourmet in the same way a tricked out Civic is a Formula 1 race car. Hey, at least I tried.

KB's Bagels and Java
Hampton, NH
Sandwich cost: $4.50
Rating: All bluster, no muster.

Hart's Local Grocers

You may recall me trying a Hart's Signature Breakfast Sandwich the weekend they opened last August (No? Look here), as it was breakfast time and I was hungry I figured it was time to retest it.

I've been in Hart's a few times since they opened last summer and each time it seems a little more fleshed out which is the good news. The bad news is the breakfast menu from a year ago looks a little different. When they opened they offered five different sandwiches and their signature was $4.95. Now they just offer their signature sandwich (2 Happy Hen eggs, sliced avocado, arugula, and pancetta with Sriracha mayonaise) or a create-your-own-from-our-ingredients-list and both of these options are $5.95. If you haven't caught on by now, I think breakfast should cost five bucks or less, unless you're really dealing with something fancy. So, a six dollar sandwich sets my expectations pretty high.

As I was waiting for my sandwich I noticed the bakery rack of rolls and bread by the prep station. I asked where the rolls were from and the woman deep frying cutlets for the lunch crowd was happy to tell me they came from Ace Bakery in Toronto. I must have made a face (because I was thinking that Toronto seemed far away for a daily bread delivery) and she explained that the dough came frozen and they baked them in the store. She went on to tell me about the goodness and wholesomeness of the rolls and I swear I was paying attention, even though I couldn't stop thinking what the possible punchline would be to "How do you make a Canadian roll?"

A few minutes later I got my sandwich and sat down by the windows on Winthrop. Sandwich looked good, yolk still had a little bit of deep yellow in it and the roll appeared crusty and hearty. I took a bite. On the upside, I was not overwhelmed by the Sriracha mayo like last time, there was a healthy dose of fresh arugula, and as I mentioned, the egg wasn't overcooked. The downsides were that the pancetta (although very good and crispy) was skimpy and the avocado (which I appreciated being sliced in front of me as the sandwich was being made) was also scarce. Lastly, the roll which came so highly recommended and looked pretty good lacked a rustic crust and did not feel freshly baked. It didn't condense as I made my way through the sandwich which I always appreciate, but was otherwise unremarkable. The sandwich had an overall peppery profile but none of the premium ingredients stood out, perhaps victims of having too many signatures on one sandwich? Perhaps Hart's could do more with less (and take a buck off).

To save me from starting the You Can't F**k Up an Iced Tea blog I'll just add that $2.75 seemed a bit steep (har har) for a large tea with no lemon (Note to coffee counter - go to produce section and grab a lemon, it's going to be 80 degrees today).

Hart's Local Grocers
Sandwich cost: $5.95
Rating: Better ingredients don't necessarily make a better sandwich

Tom's Restaurant

I dropped the kids off at school at 8 and the household sale around the corner wasn't open until 8:30. Might as well check out Tom's Restaurant in the plaza on the corner of Hudson and East Ridge.

I was pleasantly surprised that this storefront diner had some older fixtures - fabulous yellow counter, chrome stools, and booths that seemed oddly small compared to the amount of space between them and the counter. It was hard to imagine two grown-ups sitting comfortably side by side in these booths, but imagining them doing a tango in the middle of Tom's seemed reasonable. As it was just me, just sitting and eating, the booth size was just fine.

I didn't notice a breakfast sandwich on the menu so I asked if they made one. They did. I asked what my bread options were. The waitress listed the usual: hard roll, bagel, English muffin, or toast. Then she added: "The hard roll is the best." I held my tongue and told her I was more in the mood for a bagel. She asked how I wanted the egg and I told her over easy. She looked at me as though I asked her to hold the bagel between her knees.
"It's going to be messy."
"You've got napkins?" I smiled.
"No."
"I guess I'll just use my shirt."
She hinted a smile and then headed back behind the counter and gave the order to the cook. I could hear him respond: "As a sandwich?!"
"As a sandwich."

A moment later she swooped by my booth and put a short stack of napkins on the table.

I looked around admiring the sparseness but not charmlessness of the place. Clean and tidy except for the cascade of lottery scratch-offs between the soda machine and kitchen.

And then my food arrived. Half a platter of home fries and two very long, crisp strips of bacon leapt out at me, then I noticed the bit of green on the plate: Pickles. How jolly! I took it as a nod to spring and started to put the sandwich together. The outside of the bagel was oddly matte which made me question if it had ever met water but when I took a bite it wasn't the usual soft breadel; it had the chewiness of a real bagel and was well suited to a sandwich. And then a bit of yolk oozed out onto my finger. I imagined the staff peering from behind the counter waiting to see this very thing but I didn't turn around to check. I picked up a napkin and wiped my finger off and took another bite. No more oozing. The rest of the egg was firmer and was not the mess that was anticipated.

The waitress came back to ask how this bizarre order was. "Just perfect," I said.

The bacon was crisp and delicious, the egg wasn't overdone, and the bagel exceeded my expectations. The home fries were pretty good and oh so plentiful. As with the Avenue Diner, this ended up being over ten bucks with the potatoes and iced tea. Maybe next time I bring a dance partner to split the home fries with.

Tom's Restaurant
740 East Ridge Road, 14621
Sandwich Price: $4.95
Rating: Better than expected

The Avenue Diner

It was a lovely spring morning of errands and garage sales and an intense need for breakfast. I found myself near Monroe Ave and thought about the egg sandwich options nearby. Mark's Texas Hots is a late-night staple and that got me reminiscing about Gitsis further down the street. Well, reminisce may sound too fond; I remembered a few drunken visits there eating basic greasy-spoon fare in the wee hours surrounded by an incredible assortment of post-bar, post-club, post-prom revelers. While the people watching was great, the greasy, heavy atmosphere was not. I'm guessing they closed in 2013 after a shooting incident was the last straw in dealing with drunken after-hours crowds. In its place came The Avenue Diner so I decided to see what, if anything, had changed.

The whole place has been redone - clean, generic diner complete with cheery, non-descript art. New booths, benches, chairs and tables erased the dingy after hours feel of Gitsis. The sun shining in the windows didn't hurt, either. Sitting in my booth I had the odd sensation of being an out-of-towner, having breakfast in the familiar but foreign booth of any diner in any downtown.

The one listed breakfast sandwich was fried egg, ham, and cheese on a grilled hard roll.  I could have gotten it on a bagel or toast but I didn't feel like getting a breadel and hadn't had a hard roll in a while so I stuck with their suggestion. I hadn't really spoken to anyone yet so I'm pretty sure my very sweet and friendly waitress thought I was a little special.
"Can I get that egg a little sunny, a little runny?"
"You don't want it flipped?"
"No, flipped is fine, but still runny."
She raised an eyebrow, "You mean over-easy?"
"Ah yes, of course. I forgot about that one." I added some home fries and a tea and watched the early morning Monroe Avenue traffic for a short while.

The sandwich and heaping pile of potatoes arrived and I dug in. Home fries were good, crispy on top and bottom from the grill with occasional bits of crispy onion. Then I picked up the sandwich. It was hefty! A lot of ham, and although only one egg, it was quite full. I think you know what happens next...this was all too much for the Rochester hard roll to handle. A chunk of white fell out of one side, yolk oozed out the other onto the plate, and the roll smushed down to nothing. It tasted fine, it's just that the disappearing bread makes it a nuisance to eat; Half eaten like a sandwich, the other half with a fork off the plate.

I was full, the waitstaff was exceptionally friendly, the atmosphere was pleasant. My only real (new) complaint is that with home fries and an iced tea, this breakfast ended up costing $9, cutting into my garage sale singles.

The Avenue Diner
Sandwich cost: $3.35
Rating: Think of "average" as a compliment and there you have it.

Mr Beenz Diner

I had to drive out to Gates a few times this winter and I noticed Mr. Beenz on the corner of Buffalo Road and Marway Circle. On one of my early morning trips I stopped in.

It was almost empty around 9:30 and I took a seat at the counter in the back. I ordered bacon, egg, and cheese on a hard roll, because I figure if you keep rolling the dice your number has to come up eventually, right? Right?!

I took a look around as my sandwich was being made: fairly typical suburban plaza diner: not a lot of character but it was clean and didn't have too much American flag decor so that's a plus.

 The sandwich arrived and the hard roll looked like the Kaiser I know and love, but alas, it was on the softer side. Actually, it was on the sweet side, too, like a potato roll, which complimented the very salty cheese and bacon. Ordered the egg over easy and it was a runny mess which was fine, though a sturdier roll would have absorbed some of that. Bacon was crispy and delicious.

Mr. Beenz Diner
1941 Buffalo Road, 14624
Sandwich cost: $4.49
Rating: Par for the course, bonus points for taking a chance with the roll

Busy Bee

I always passed the Busy Bee on my way to Rochester Art Supply and other points west and I was never 100 percent sure it was still open despite the jaunty awning sign. It was a quiet December morning when I finally made it into the Busy Bee and found it to be not so busy, but it was indeed open.

There were a couple of people in one of the booths, but otherwise the only activity was from the cook cleaning the grill, the waitress wiping down surfaces, and the ancient chrome coffee maker wrestling with itself. "Serving downtown since 1958," but last (partially) updated in the '70s the Busy Bee is a feast for the senses! A lot of steel and chrome in the kitchen, vintage counters and stools, and the dining area lined with booths. Looking up from the booths the walls are faux half-timber/plaster giving the place a more ale house feel than diner. This was now two months ago so many details have escaped me, but mostly I remember it feeling well-worn but maintained and cozy for it.

I was blown away by the first sandwich option: Fried egg and cheese on an English Muffin for, get this, 92 cents!! I can only guess that this offering is to help out the area panhandlers with a hot breakfast for a dollar. Or it could just be that all their prices are ridiculously fair. Either way, it's hard not to feel good about a cheap diner breakfast.

I opted for the second sandwich option and decided not to go through the bread rigamarole with the waitress and just get the hard roll. I have finally made peace with the Rochester hard roll: It tastes fine, I even like them, but I still contend they don't hold up very well in a breakfast sandwich. For $2.70 I am not going to argue. I ordered one with bacon and home-fries to go.

A couple minutes of taking in the yellow ochre, brown, and chrome my food was bagged up and ready to go. I got to my office and dug in: Fried egg a little hard but not overdone, bacon was crispy, cheese appropriately melty and salty. That's a breakfast sandwich. Home fries were good, though were a little starchy slimy. Salt, pepper, and ketchup are an easy fix.

Busy Bee Restaurant
124 Main Street West, 14614
Sandwich cost: $2.70
Rating: A classic Rochester breakfast sandwich

Breakfast Sandwich Loose Ends

This fall has been exceptionally busy with kids and work and I'll catch up on breakfast sandwich reviews soon, but there are a few loose ends I've been meaning to gather so let's do that now...

Above are some water rolls I've been trying to perfect. I've never been great at yeast breads but I recently discovered quick-rise yeast and my life hasn't been the same since. You practically watch the dough rise in front of your eyes! It's pretty satisfying. The water rolls have a crispy outside and firm yet spongey inside which makes for a damn fine egg sandwich, if I do say so myself.

In case you didn't see this, CITY Paper did a short piece on the best egg sandwiches in town. I'm not saying they copied me, but I am going to say that I had been reviewing egg sandwiches for eight months prior to this article and Rochester is a pretty small town. It's entirely possible he didn't copy the idea; I mean, he's a food writer and egg sandwiches are food. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it's probably just a fluke, a coincidence, synchronicity. But thanks.

I've been referring to the Rochester hard roll as the "Petrillo's Roll" but while discussing egg sandwiches on the west side of town someone tipped me off that restaurants are probably supplied by DiPaolo's on N. Plymouth (This makes a lot more sense of my visit to the Red Front, that's for sure!) Interestingly, DiPaolo's doesn't call it a hard roll but simply a "twist" and offers it as "...the best cheeseburger bun." This may not sound significant, but to me it's the difference between involuntary manslaughter and premeditated murder. Or, you know, being delusional or knowing what a hamburger bun is. So, the bakery knows it's a bun, how do I convince all the diner owners in Rochester of this?

Speaking of paradigm shifts, there was this Kickstarter campaign to help raise the standard of egg sandwiches in midtown Manhattan. The plan was to distribute pamphlets to restaurants that outline the basic template of a solid breakfast sandwich. The project more than doubled its goal of $315 and I contacted JoeyScoops to see how the implementation was going. He decided that giving leaflets out may not work and that "the real way to do it" would be to give "Seals of Approval" to all the best sandwiches. Presumably he means a sign or sticker for the restaurant to display and not just some random blog. Cuz that would just be silly.

Jines Restaurant

Maybe it's just my recent binge re-visiting of the Sopranos, but Jines' radio tagline "Sooner or later everybody dines at Jines" sounds more like a threat than a catchphrase to me, or at best a resignation that there are only so many places to eat in a small town. No matter how you interpret it, it's true. On this chilly but sunny morning I made my way over to Park Ave to get strength for grading sketchbooks.

It was a little after eight and moderately busy as I stepped up to the front counter and took a look at the menu. I didn't notice a breakfast sandwich section or even one listed among the regular breakfast items but on the well-worn specials page I found the Sandwich Special: "one egg, cheese, and your choice of bacon or ham served on a croissant." A croissant? Sure, why not! I started my order and the hostess opened up her central command computer to enter it:
"How do you want your egg?"
Presented with choices I realized how sleepy I still was. "Fried!"
"Fried. Over hard?"
"Uhhhh...no. Not over hard."
"Just fried?"
"Wait, no, soft. I mean easy. Runny is good."
She smiled and repeated: "Runny is good."

I thought the hard part was over but then we got to the cheese. "Uhhhhhhmerican," but as soon as she hit the button on her terminal I started an elaborate thought process about croissants and what cheese goes best: Do they have brie? Is that too cliche? Is that too delicious? Have I ever had brie with bacon? Is that going to send me into cardiac arrest? I asked her for the cheese options. There were a bunch but the ones I remember were American, Swiss, crumbly blue, and our mutual mispronunciation of Gruyere. Even slurred and sleepy that sounded like it would be good on a croissant. "That's like a hard Swiss, yes?" She checked with someone behind her. "Yes, like a hard Swiss." After all this I decided to keep to my usual diner routine and get American. At this point she had every right to be annoyed but thankfully seemed entertained by this whole process. I appreciate that.

Lastly: meat. Although I haven't reviewed a sandwich here with ham on it, it's a pretty great salt delivery system and I have it all the time. Ham and croissant seemed like the obvious choice. And some home fries. She hit send and I took a seat to wait.

A few minutes of playing on my phone and I remembered to go take a picture of the menu so I'd remember how much it was and just as I snapped it the hostess walked out with my bag. She looked at me askew. "I need to remember what I ordered," I sheepishly offered in the hope that it was vague enough that she would leave it alone.
"Oh, you're getting this for someone else," she concluded. She had been so helpful up 'til now I couldn't let it go.
"No, the jig is up, I'm going to review this."
"Oh! In that case, enjoy it!" We smiled and I headed out the door. Quite possibly the most pleasant breakfast sandwich ordering exchange ever.

I got home and took a look in the giant take-out container: Top of the croissant offset to showcase the cheese and ham, a little garnish for color, and some golden, delicious looking home fries. I dug in. Oh man, the struggle to make decisions, converse, and get home were worth it: buttery bread alongside melted cheese, slightly chewy sweet/salty ham, and an egg that was not too hard. I was hungry and kept eating until I got to the yolk which exploded all over my hand. And then I kept eating. I was very hungry and it was really good. I finished the sandwich quickly but before disappointment could set in I hit the home fries: crispy edges, seasoned to perfection. This was a great breakfast, so much so I have written all this instead of grading sketchbooks. Oops.

Jines Restaurant
Sandwich cost: $3.95
Rating: It's a really delicious egg sandwich

Pub Fair Gratitude

No, there weren't any egg sandwiches to be had at the second annual VSW Pub Fair (well, except for the ones that Christine made for Tate and I - Thank you!!) but there were scones at the EAT table, hot beef sandwiches and beer at the front desk, amazing food from The Bento Box, and lots and lots of books. And Writers And Books had a poet on hand to craft you a poem after a brief conversation; Charlie and I talked about egg sandwiches, how grateful I am when someone makes me one, and how I like my eggs. I payed $3 and he started typing. This is damn near perfect (the only exception being coffee instead of tea).

I'd like to thank everyone who gave their time to help make Pub Fair possible: the sponsors and vendors who filled the auditorium and made it worthwhile, the students and volunteers who kept it running, the hundreds of attendees who showed their support for independent publishing, and to Charlie for the poem. For these people I am grateful.

Village Bakery - At The Armory

Back in February Karen schlepped a couple of sandwiches from the original Pittsford Village Bakery and they were great, even with the delivery time downtown. Last week I thought I'd return the favor and deliver breakfast before work seeing as how there's a Village Bakery in the city now, just blocks from Karen's house.

I was surprised to see the place empty on a work day (maybe I beat the rush?) but was thrilled as I was anxious to deliver these before she had to leave for work. I ordered two of The Alex (for location comparison from the first Village Bakery review). A few minutes passed and I ordered a drink and a scone to go. A few people trickled in. I sipped my tea while looking around at the white tile. I waited a few more minutes. I looked out the window to see if it had cleared up yet, then I looked through the little kitchen window to see if there was actual movement back there. I did see someone prepping some food. "Soon," I thought. I waited a couple more minutes.

After my morning meditation wait I headed over to Karen's to surprise her with breakfast. Oh, did I mention it was her birthday? It was. And I did surprise her, especially when she didn't hear me come in over the water running. Heeeelarious. Anyway, we sat down to eat and even though her house is mere blocks and minutes away from The Armory, the toast was already kind of soggy. We dug in. No pesto in this bite. Next bite had no chevre. Then I remembered that there was a mound of Arugula on the first Alex I tried. This had about five limp leaves. This sandwich was not very well assembled and a bit of a dud. It didn't inspire as much hostility as this burrito disaster, but was disappointing given the price and the amount of time spent making the damn thing. Everybody has an off day, and I'm guessing this was one of them.

Long story short, I had to wait a long time and they came up short.

Village Bakery
Sandwich cost: $6.95
Rating: Below average breakfast sandwich at an above average price

Hart's Local Grocers

There's a new store in town and it's loooooking good
Got an egg, got a roll, in the neighborhood
They've just opened up but if things work out
it's gonna stayyyyyy ahhhhh whiiiiiiiile.
Bup bup bup bupbaaaaaa.

Hart's Local Grocers just opened up in the East End of town (behind the Little, across the Parking lot from Two Vine) and has a coffee/grill station in the southwest corner with a breakfast menu. Karen saw them post it and we headed on over.

They have two breakfast sandwiches on their five item breakfast menu and anything with avocado is is a shoo-in for me; I ordered the Signature (two Happy Hen eggs, sliced avocado, arugala, pancetta and Sriracha mayo) though I wasn't feeling porky so I passed on the pancetta (Easy enough to do but as Karen noted - why no egg options without meat to begin with in a store that offers vegan cheesecake?). It was nice to see the grill adjacent to the coffee counter and know that the sandwich was being made to order. A couple minutes later it was ready and after some counter confusion I grabbed it and we went to sit by the big windows that look out over Winthrop Street. I unwrapped the sandwich and the roll looked delicious. I was excited to dig in.

Good news! The roll was delicious! Crusty top, firm insides that didn't collapse under jaw pressure or get soggy next to lettuce and mayo. The Hart's website lists their bread suppliers as Baker Street Bread Co. and Small World Food so I don't know who gets the credit. Egg (menu said two but I only recall one) was fried hard, but was good, Sriracha mayo is a no brainer though a little mayo goes a long way and half of what I had would've been fine. Arugula and avocado kind of got lost in the mayo which got me thinking that the pancetta probably helps even the whole thing out. Don't be mislead, I am nitpicking here, this was a very good sandwich. I especially appreciate that Hart's offers an egg sandwich for under $5 that doesn't consist of lowest common denominator ingredients.

I got this sandwich on their second day open and I'm hoping as they hone the place this could go from a very good sandwich to a favorite. No pressure, Hart's. No pressure.

Hart's Local Grocers
Sandwich cost: $4.95
Rating: It's a pretty good sandwich

Maria's Luncheonette - Road Trip Entry

It has become a family tradition to head to Atlantic City for a few days each August to jump in the waves, marvel at all the crap the boardwalk has to offer, and take in some of the best people watching there is. The boardwalk can get a bit pricey for food, so we ventured into the streets behind the casinos and glitz to find some regular ol' eats.

Around the corner from the hotel was the Lenox Cafe but as it was a Tuesday they were not open (thanks for nothing, yelp!) so we headed a few blocks over to Maria's where we had good luck last summer. A pretty standard diner in a narrow older building, we grabbed a few tables in the back and looked over the menu. "Breakfast All The Time" beamed up at me in Curlz MT and I knew all was well in the world. After a quick scan at the sandwich options I figured I'd go for the egg and cheese with sausage pork roll since I wasn't sure what that was. I asked our waitress who went into a lengthy description with hand motions but as it turned out she was thinking of scrapple. She backpedalled a little and said "It's good, you should try it." Hoping that New Jersey's proximity to Manhattan might mean a better bagel I asked her what she thought. Turns out she is from NYC and waitressing in AC for the summer: "Well, it's certainly not the best bagel, but it's not terrible." A ringing endorsement! I went with it anyway.

Our food came quickly and I took a look at the sausage pork roll. Kinda looked like ham. Took a bite. Kinda tasted like ham/Spam/Canadian bacon, but the mention of Spam is not meant to be disparaging. It was grilled but not too greasy, sweet and salty as well. I would get it again and wondered what the pork roll story was. God bless the internet for introducing me to this delightful mail order company: Jersey Boy Pork Roll.

So, the egg, white American (just look at the gooeyness!), and pork roll were all well suited to each other and the bagel...well, it was certainly far from being the best but also not the worst. It had the shiny, boiled exterior on top but not on bottom. Sort of half bagel/half breadel, but it didn't collapse when I bit into it so a step above the usual diner bagel.

Maria's Luncheonette
2319 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401
Sandwich cost: $4.50
Rating: I'm writing home about it, but it's a short letter.