Egg on top: makes anything taste better
March 11, 2007
My three favorite words to stumble upon when perusing a menu? "Egg on top."
It's really a simple concept: an egg on top makes anything taste better. I've figure that much out. And if I've figured that out, then you should certainly have figured that out. But just in case, here's a reminder.
Take the meager and unassuming ham and cheese sandwich. It doesn't get more simple than a ham and cheese sandwich, now do it. BUT, but, you throw a fried egg on top, and you have nothing less than an event. A sandwich event worthy of a wine pairing, even if it's for a late breakfast! Worthy of a fancy French name. The croque madame. Ahhhh.
Something approaching croque madame.
Mario Batali puts a raw egg on pizza (we do, too). He just plops a raw egg right there on top of the pizza at Otto. Right in the middle. Just ask if you want it.
A boring frisee salad? Not with an egg on top (chunks of fatty pork don't hurt frisee either, but that's for another post). Courtesy of those clever French again.
City Place Steakhouse, which is slated to open sometime early in 2007, recently opened on Rt 17 South in Carlstadt, is long closed, offers a fried egg on top of their steaks. Yes, please.
Japanese eaters put egg on fried pork cutlet for katsudon. It takes something special to make fried pork even better...and egg it is!
Something approaching katsudon.
And who of us here hasn't gone to the diner and ordered a short stack of pancakes with an egg on top in an effort to make that hangover feel just a wee bit better. None of us I say.
Short stack + eggs + various pork products = slightly less painful hangover (so I'm told).
Those guys at Amazing Hot Dog (now closed) in Verona, NJ, put a fried egg on top of a hot dog, which clearly approaches genius. A respectful nod to...
Perhaps most importantly, you can't have a taylor ham egg and cheese sandwich without an egg on top of the taylor ham.
At the end of the day, next to the thighs, the egg is without a doubt my favorite part of the chicken, especially when it's on top of something.
To summarize: when you see "egg on top", order it.
Goffle Poultry : 549 Goffle Rd : Wyckoff NJ : 201.444.3238
Otto Pizzeria : One 5th Ave : New York, NY : 212.995.9559
Tick Tock Diner : 281 Allwood Rd (and Rt 3) : Clifton, NJ : 973.777.0511
Kumo Japanese : 55 Franklin Ave : Ridgewood, NJ : 201.653.0088
Amazing Hot Dog : 148A Bloomfield Ave : Verona, NJ : 973.433.3073
City Place Steakhouse : 430 Rt 17 South : Carlstadt, NJ : 201.933.7766