Sunday, October 25, 2009

A Royal(e) Swing and a Miss









Espresso Royale Caffe

736 Commonwealth Ave, Boston

Price: $4.12

Rating: 40/100

Fullness: Pissed

In continuing my search, I followed a lead from my good friend Priscilla whose taste in food I used to trust (explanation to follow). I found myself in Espresso Royale Caffe down Comm Ave near BU around 8AM this morning.

When I approached the barista about their breakfast sandwich selection, she listed off the many options for bagels as well as their small (yet impressive) selection for cheeses (America, cheddar, havarti, and Swiss). Having never heard of havarti and loathing Swiss, I thought I’d switch things up from my usual American and chose to try cheddar. This is where the fun ended.

I ordered my sandwich on an onion bagel and opted for one egg (which was real) even though they offered the option of two eggs for an additional price (which in hind-sight, I should have asked for as one barely sufficed.)

The sandwich took about 8 minutes or so to be served up. Usually I’d give points for this, but I wasn’t sure if this was due to the barista paying close attention to my sandwich or rather the result of attention that involves a deficit disorder.

Upon first inspection of my sandwich, I noticed that the little onion pieces could be found both on the top and the bottom of my toasted bagel, which I had never seen before and did appreciate. Unfortunately this was just about all that seemed appetizing about the meal other than the two slices of cheddar that it featured. The bagel was slightly stale, which surprised me considering how early it was. When I took a look at the bacon to see what I was dealing with, I noticed that it was circular cut instead of strips, which turned out to be flavorless. The only flavor that could be found was in the cheddar and there was more of that than the paper-thin egg wafer.

I sat surrounded by the hipster décor just trying to make my way through the sandwich. I was searching for anything good to say about it when the very same barista responsible for this mess started in on a story about her dog pissing on her bed and her cats rolling around in it.

I decided to cut this leg of the journey short and left the last few bites on my plate for the rats out back. Walking out of Espresso Royale Caffe, I remembered that this was the kind of crap that forced me to start this blog.

Monday, October 19, 2009









Busy Bee Restaurant

1048 Beacon St. Boston, MA

Price: $4.23

Rating: 69/100

Fullness: satisfied

For my first stop of this journey, I visited Busy Bee Restaurant on Beacon Street in Boston. It is a local diner with a ’50s décor and the scent of an old man’s dresser. However, it’s a cute place with cheap prices. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel and took a seat in one of their baby blue booths. The sandwich came out within 5 minutes, which automatically had me a bit concerned.

The sandwich featured a real fried egg, 1 slice white American cheese and 2 pieces of crispy bacon (definitely a must for the Bacon Phantom). The bagel was fried rather than toasted. Typically one does not have health on the mind when ordering a breakfast sandwich, however there are some healthier options such as the toasted bagel that does not take away from the overall experience.

The sandwich appeared to be constructed with very little care and I actually had to readirect the bacon overhang back onto the egg. After placing the second half of the bagel on the sandwich in preparation for eating, I realized how truly greasy this guy was. In fact, this visit to the Busy Bee ended up a four-napkin operation.

The bacon was flavorful and the egg was mostly cooked. A little runny yoke never killed anybody, but this breakfast sandwich enthusiast ain’t lookin’ to end up a little runny himself, if you know what I mean.

I gradually made my way through the sandwich only to find myself a bit short of breath during the last few bites. At this point in my life, I’ve learned that that is usually my body throwing the red flag.

This BEC certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t much to write home about either. I didn’t appreciate constantly needing to wipe my hands. For the price, though, I did end up walking away fairly satisfied. Nearly an hour has passed and my chest still doesn’t hurt so I suppose that’s a good sign.

Overall, I’m content with Busy Bee’s bacon, egg and cheese. And considering it’s close proximity to my apartment, I will likely indulge in one again, however I would not recommend traveling a great distance for their BEC.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Hello world

I have taken on the responsibility of repeatedly subjecting myself to heart-stopping meat, egg and cheese sandwiches to help fellow aficionados find what they're looking for. This blog is for people who are tired of finding themselves holding a sandwich that has been fried up and slapped together by some "cook" who does not give a damn.

Although they say perfection is unattainable, I hold onto the hope that one day I will come across a sandwich that will take my breath away (without having a heart attack). This is a journey in search of the perfect breakfast sandwich (in the Boston area. Hey I'm poor.) I will periodically post a photograph of each sandwich I come across with a quality rating of 1 to 100 as well as price, fullness and location. I will not be discriminating against chain restaurants.

Suggestions for places to try are highly welcome.

Let the search begin.