Back to New York, if only briefly, for a quick bit about what might be my favourite place to eat breakfast in the World. Serious claim I know, but Williamsburgh’s Egg is amazing. So amazing in fact that the New York visit prior to this one I think we had breakfast there 3 times out of the 5 days we were there. We only managed twice this time, but if I lived in the neighborhood I’d have to stop myself eating here every bloody day of the week.
Egg is a really unassuming place tucked on a little side road off Bedford Avenue in Williamsburgh. It’s light years away from the city’s brash diners (that I also love) and has a really relaxed almost ‘hippyish’ atmosphere. The owners have their own little farm on the outskirts of New York state, which supplies as much produce to the restaurant as possible. I’m not 100% sure how long it’s been open, but probably around 2 years. It’s open all day, serving breakfast / brunch until the evening when the menu becomes a bit more substantial. I’ve not eaten there in the evening, but I’ve heard it’s good.
My absolute favourite thing on the menu is a dish called ‘Eggs Rothko’. I’m not sure if it’s named after Mark Rothko, but it’s a whole lot tastier than his paintings (IMHO). At the heart of the dish is a kind of remix of eggy bread. A thick slice of toasted brioche with a hole cut in the middle is popped in a frying pan, and then an egg is fried in the hole. They then top the bread with a grated, tangy mature cheddar and slide it under a grill until the cheese bubbles. I know it sounds pretty insane, but when you slice open the bread and the yoke of the egg oozes out, you know you’re in the presence of breakfast greatness.
They serve it with your choice of meat or seasonal greens. I always opt for the sausage, which is a little different to the sausages you get with a fry up in the UK. They are basically little sausage meat patties which are flavoured with chili and fennel. Spicy and seriously tasty, and they work really well with the eggy bread.
I wish I was there now.
Tags: Breakfast, Brioche, Cheese, Chili, Egg, Eggs Rothko, Farm, Fennel, New York, Sausage, Williamsburgh
I am off to Egg for breakfast this morning. I know you love the Rothko but come on – the pancakes… oh man… the pancakes…
Mind you, I went to Enids yesterday and apart from the super hot Waitresses, they had a cranberry pancake special – same as the more boring blueberry pancake but with cranberrys instead… this really worked for me despite as you know being a griddlecake purist – unlike the sweet blueberry, the cranberrys are nice and tart, i don;t need any sweeteners in my flapjacks what with the quantity of condensed maple sap i ladle over them. The super hot waitress said blueberry hotcakes were better but after i explained this argument to her I am sure she came round to my way of thinking.
If you can get any fresh cranberries you should try ‘em – after all, it’s thanksgiving this week. I think a turkey sausage could work as a side ….