The Egg: A Diner Review

It is a beautiful, limited menu.  I sampled the Carnitas Taco with the Covered Sweet Corn Bread with Fennel Pork Sausage Gravy.  As you know your diner reviewer does not normally favor the “fancy” breakfast but with The Yolkerie and now The Egg I might have to start speaking respectfully of these “chefs” and their “take” on breakfast.  I went on a Saturday morning and they don’t open until 9.  I went early and so took the time to head down to Soulard Market and do a little shopping and then swung back a little before 9 and they were open.

Here is the website: 

http://breakfastcamefirst.com

The place is located in the former location of...I cannot even remember the name and it might be the same owners but it was a taco and bbq place that didn’t particularly impress me.  It is one block southwest of Hodaks on Gravois so for most of us it needs to be a destination breakfast but I want to emphasize...strongly that it is worth it.

It was not too crowded and although it is small it is also wide open and there is a lot of table seating.  The Yolkerie kind of suffers in my mind for it’s lack of comfortable seating.  I took a table and they poured me water and got me some brewed tea and i ordered.  One of the minuses to places like this is that they attract a “foodie” crowd and, well, we hate those people.  It is fine to like good food but I had a guy at the bar and another guy (who apparently has weekend custody of his son) at a table and they conversed loudly for 30 minutes regarding the best this and that all over town.  Exhausting, but still not meal ruining.

My food came up after an amount of time I would call respectful and it was clear that this was extremely high quality at every level.  My taco had succulent carnitas as well as a perfect egg.  I also got some white toast and it was thick cut and fancy but did appear and taste fresh baked (kudos) and they served with real butter (double kudos). It was delicious, juicy and manageable either as a taco or you could knife and fork it and not miss anything.

So that was awesome but… the cornbread covered in sausage gravy was more like a metaphysical experience.  This gravy was stuffed with sausage and flavored by fennel and was dumped in a bowl over a square of some of the sweetest and best cornbread I have ever put in my mouth.  The savory sausage and gravy over that perfect corn bread was vaguely sexual.  Perhaps not even vaguely.  It was...awesome.  More than awesome.  I will go back tomorrow to start my year off right.

 I have sent other people there and have heard very good things about the Corn Bread Benedict and the breakfast Sopes.  I will get to those myself sooner or later but in the meantime I am calling this early as the best breakfast for 2017 and I am calling it on January 2, 2017.  Go yourself, and tell me that I am wrong.  I dare you.