try some of the fancier hotel dining rooms... i don't know about south of the border, but many of them up here have GREAT eggs benedict, although the best eb that i've ever had were a vegetarian version (spinach instead of ham) at B&B in st. john's, newfoundland many years ago. sadly, it doesn't appear to be in business anymore.
7:16 AM
I've been on an eggs benedict bender lately. I made them for my mom for Mother's Day (she gagged them down, god love her) and one recent weekend I ate them two meals in a row. Its pathological but I can't help myself. Its like the perfect Bloody Mary quest that started in 1997 (which was resolved on a trip to Wisconsin in 2003. They garnish Bloody's with cheese, pickles and smoked meat. 'Nuff said.)... only worse.
The suprising thing is I'm not really a fan of eggs. I can barely gag down scrambled eggs. Fried eggs only in a sandwich. Omelets only with lots of tasty fillings. Hard boiled or deviled? Eww. Egg salad? shut your mouth. NEVER. But buttery, gooey eggs benedict... Ah, I'm in heaven.
The other thing that suprises me is that eggs benedict is actually rather hard to find out in the dining world. Only greasy spoons and breakfast-only joints get in on the action. Denny's most decidedly does NOT serve my beloved œufs bénédictine. I don't feel I've done a great job of restaurant research. So the quest will continue probably until I've exhausted my love of the buttery treat.
A brief run-down: New Towne Diner, Owings Mills, MD: Moderately good. Hollandaise is occasionally a little too thick. Avoid the Florentine Benedict - the spinach tastes like lawn clippings and fouls the eggs. Chesapeake Benedict is probably better when crab is actually in season.
Nautilus Diner, Timonium, MD: Very good. They serve everything in a little dish so the perfectly tender eggs are drowning in perfect Hollandaise. They also use nicely sized english muffins. It is my opinion that a perfect benedict will have a good bread to sauce ratio. Not enough sauce and you have dry bread to contend with. Small or poorly toasted bread results in a soggy mess and not enough carbs to sop up the sauce and egg goo with.
Eggspectation, Ellicott City, MD: Fair to very good. They have an impressive 10 item benedict menu. (their other breafast stuff is to die for, especially Chocolate Chip Cappucino Muffins... drool) Since its a little bit of a hike and kind of expensive I don't eat there often so I'm only 2 items down on the benedict menu. Classic benedict is perfect. Waffle benedict was a minor disappointment - the waffles were ample but suffered sogginess. They also add gruyère between the meat and the sauce... or maybe its actually in the hollandaise. Who knows. But it adds a nice bite.
I will save my at-home eggs benedict endeavors for another time. Right now I'm hungry. Is 9 pm too late for eggs?
posted by Stephanie Cake at 8:50 PM on Jun 2, 2008
"œufs bénédictine, my raison d'être"
1 Comment -
try some of the fancier hotel dining rooms... i don't know about south of the border, but many of them up here have GREAT eggs benedict, although the best eb that i've ever had were a vegetarian version (spinach instead of ham) at B&B in st. john's, newfoundland many years ago. sadly, it doesn't appear to be in business anymore.
7:16 AM