Panclog #38: The Egg & I
Drinking to the Dregs at The Egg & I
3/15/18 7:00 AM
Your faithful Pancloggers recently corrected a major oversight in planning a Panclog adventure to “The Egg and I”. The Egg and I is a restaurant we visit somewhat frequently, and, to be honest, I am surprised we haven’t clogged this fair establishment yet. Well, that oversight gets corrected today.
The Egg & I is a nationwide chain that is within in the First Watch network. There are two locations in the Kansas City area. Lee’s Summit and South Overland Park at 135th Street and 69 Highway. We visited the latter.
Location/Environment: The Egg & I location we visited is prime real estate. Right off the highway and next to a HOME DEPOT! Nothing can be better. The environment was clean and understated. There are no real accent pieces in the dining area. Some may bring the word bland up when discussing the esthetic of this restaurant. Find a location near if you if you would like.
Service: Service at The Egg & I is above average compared to many other chain restaurants. Our server went out of her way to compare and contrast two menu items to ensure that our pancloggers get the correct menu option. Coffee pots were placed on the table. If you have read any past Panclog entries, you would know this is an easy way into the panclog pal’s hearts.
Wait for food: 10 minutes
Menu/Selection: The menu is everything you have come to expect at chain brunch spots. Many variety and plenty of options that are tailored to the growing health-conscious diners. The Egg & I prides themselves with sections on the menu for “Healthy Side” and Gluten Free options. Check out this menu on their website. Here is what the dudes chose:
Blueberry Lemon Pancake Breakfast (Brentles)
The restaurant is pleasant, quiet, and bland. The Egg and I seems to be attempting to find a balance between Perkins and First Watch. There is nothing necessarily wrong with this goal, but it does not leave one with an impactful experience in décor. However, there was one small detail that did catch my attention. Behind the cash register counter was a book set on display titled, “The Egg and I.” Any restaurant named after a book is certainly a positive element to me. Surprisingly this book was actually made into a movie in 1947. I guess I am going to have to add this tome to my reading list.
On this fair morning I ordered one of their specials – a lemon curd, blueberry, wheat pancake. The special came with sausage and scrambled eggs. The sausage and eggs were satisfactory, but not special in any real way.
The single pancake was quite large. If you refer to a prior Panclog, you will see that I prefer pancakes smaller in diameter and multiple in count. For whatever reason I find a stack of hotcakes more satisfying than a single one.
The presentation of the specialty pancake was nice, a few dollops of lemon curd arranged in a simple design on top and fresh blueberries scattered everywhere else. The downside to this is that it precludes the ability to spread a fresh coat of butter on the confection. The restaurant probably understood this as they did not serve any butter with the pancake. While the overall flavor of pancake was good, butter on a pancake is absolutely critical.
I did enjoy the tartness of the lemon curd. It did taste store-bought and processed, kind of like the filling of a cheap donut. This is not what I would hope for of course, but it was not terrible either. The pancake itself had a decent flavor although it was a bit dry given the lack of butter and the thickness of the lemon curd.
The Egg and I is a solid option for breakfast. As noted before, it is a restaurant on the semi-regular rotation for the breakfast buddies, unfortunately, the lemon blueberry pancake was not quite worth the visit. I would like to keep it on the regular rotation, but just not at the top of the list.
The Egg & I has potential, they just need to step up their game a little.
Breakfast Burrito (Jared)
The Egg & I has been a Breakfast Buddies repeat destination since the beginning of time. Brent and I visit this location with somewhat regularity. It has somehow been forgotten about when it comes to the Panclog front. I am certainly ecstatic that this has now been rectified. My mother lives near this location and therefore, we visit it whenever my mother chooses to fulfill my obsession with breakfast.
One of my favorite dining memories of The Egg & I was with one of my favorite comedians and a man I get to call friend. His name is Jeremiah Watkins and I am here to introduce him to you. He has a lovely podcast called Jeremiah Wonders. He also made up one of my favorite characters, Gustav. Give him a follow on twitter and support him with all of your laughs.
I chose the breakfast burrito due to the sad lack of its critique in Panclogs of the past. I have been developing a good bit of taste for Mexican-inspired breakfast dishes since I visited Austin and the best darned breakfast tacos that I have had. Read about it in an old edition of this fine internet publication.
I would say that this burrito does not hold a candle to those breakfast tacos. The biggest gripe I have with the burrito is that it did not seem to be wrapped in a burrito fashion. It seemed like it was cooked burrito innards that was tucked in for a night’s rest with a tortilla. This does not change the taste of the meal. It only hurts the tortilla to innards ratio. After one fork tug the tortilla seems to slip and lose all resemblance of a burrito.
The sauces were a pork green chili and a standard salsa. I had the choice of either. I asked for both and fished my wish. The pork green chili sauce was the clear winner of the day. It had little bits of pulled pork floating in it. Which I have a clear and hearty “Yes Please.” to say about that. More sauces should be meat forward. Can you imagine BBQ with some sauce that also has meat in it? Game.Changer.
I enjoy this restaurant. But I would not say it is in my top 5. I wouldn’t say, “You have to try this place.” to anyone from out of town.
Overall: The Egg & I is a solid choice for breakfast, but it will not blow you away. A few small shifts around will bring The Egg & I into the next level of bruncheries.
Grade:
Brent: C+
Jared: C
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