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

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

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