CityBeat Reviews Breakfast Sandwiches Around Greater Cincinnati

The Madison Place

The Kaplan: Tomato slice, over-medium egg and avocado slices served on a Blue Oven Bakery English muffin, $7.50
Perhaps I should just write an ode to the Blue Oven Bakery English muffin instead of reviewing The Kaplan at The Madison Place because that was what originally drew me to choosing this sandwich in the first place. For those who have not yet experienced the true pleasure of eating a Blue Oven Bakery English muffin, run (don’t walk) to Findlay Market and get yourself one as soon as possible. Bring it home, stick it in the toaster, smear some good butter and strawberry jam on top or, better yet, butter, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of Maldon salt…so good.

But I digress — back to the sandwich. It’s simple: avocado, tomato and an egg on a toasted Blue Oven Bakery English muffin. While the simplicity of this sandwich combined with the Blue Oven Bakery English muffin originally enticed me to try it, the sandwich just needed more.

A good breakfast sandwich often needs some kind of delicious sauce to tie all the individual components together or to provide a complement to the other flavors you are getting. Hot sauce and ketchup can provide good acid to balance a simple egg and cheese. Mayo or aioli can serve as a creamy fatty base. Every once in a while, you get a sandwich that has some kind of spicy chutney or sweet jam that acts as a special surprise you didn’t know you wanted or needed, but after you have it, you are in love. Unfortunately, there was no such surprise in The Kaplan. No butter, no aioli, no spicy mayo-ketchup, no cheese, no delicious fatty spread to bind the sandwich together. Overall, it was just too dry and the egg cooked over medium hard didn’t allow for any delicious runny yolk to save it.

The avocado was perfectly ripe and there was a thin slice of tomato that covered the full sandwich and you could taste it in every bite (though not the summer tomato that I dream about every other month of the year and want in every egg sandwich I eat in August and September). There was also some kind of seasoning I could see sprinkled on the egg but could not taste.

The spot itself was cute — Jack Johnson was playing in the background and the servers were friendly. I’d happily meet a friend for coffee here or do some work for a change in scenery, but, sadly, I don’t think I’d come back for the egg sandwich.

Em's Sourdough Bread

Em’s Incredible Breakfast Sammy: Your choice of candied bacon, avocado or ham, fried egg, pesto aioli, garlic cheddar, sharp cheddar and tomato, $9
Em’s makes a solid breakfast sandwich. At $9, the Incredible Breakfast Sammy is sizable and leaves you feeling satisfied (but not like you need to take a nap after finishing it). The sourdough roll holds the sandwich together well. It doesn’t taste too bread-y, but provides a nice juxtaposition of toasted crispy exterior with soft fluffy interior of the sourdough they make in-house.

There is a fair amount going on here with generous portions, but the sandwich is able to hold all the individual components together without getting messy. You can taste the avocado, the cheese, the pesto and the bread, but it blends nicely. Unfortunately, the egg takes a bit of a back seat on this sandwich and would be better served over medium to get some jammy yolk in the mix.

The tomato cuts through the cheese well, but I want more of it. There is plenty of cheese and avocado, but a thin slice of tomato for this sized sandwich just isn’t cutting it. Especially given that I’m eating this sandwich at Findlay Market in late August where local juicy heirloom tomatoes abound. Get it together, Em, and go ask your neighbors for some more tomatoes!

Also, it’s worth noting that while there were two different types of cheese (sharp and garlic cheddar), there was no discernable difference that I could taste either in the sandwich or when I tasted them individually. They did, however, add a delicious cheesiness to the whole experience that I’m not complaining about.

Overall, I’d happily order another sandwich at Em’s. I might ask if they can make nice with their produce pals and add more tomato and maybe try cooking the egg over medium, but that won’t stop me from being a repeat customer.

Eckerlin Meats

Egg and Cheese On A Roll, $4
Eckerlin’s egg and cheese is the only sandwich I had tried prior to this tour, as I often take out of town guests to Eckerlin Meats so they can try goetta. In addition to a full deli, Eckerlin offers their breakfast sandwiches until 2 p.m. on Sundays and 3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, which is a big plus. You order at the counter and then pick up your food from a window in the hallway, with seating available in the back in addition to Findlay Market’s outdoor tables. The sandwich itself is nothing special or fancy – almost giving Wonder Bread grilled cheese cut on the diagonal vibes. But at $4 a pop, Eckerlin delivers on delicious simplicity.

Served on a slightly sweet North College Hill Bakery white roll with a slice of American cheese, Eckerlin’s egg sandwich comes with zero fixings. I prefer mine with ketchup and hot sauce for a little acid, but other than that, I have no complaints. The egg is cooked over medium, (a rarity for non-homemade sandwiches), allowing for its namesake ingredient to shine through with jammy yolk goodness rather than serving as a mere backdrop to toppings. On the smaller side, you could easily order this sandwich and still save some room for other tasty treats at Findlay.

Fast, cheap, simple – Eckerlin’s egg and cheese hits every time. For meat eaters, you can order it with goetta, bacon, sausage, beef bacon or smoked mett for an additional $1.50-$2.50. I suggest ordering the goetta well done so you have a bit more textural diversity from the soft bun. Also, pro-tip, grab yourself a bag of NCH bakery’s cinnamon swirl bread while you’re there for toast or French toast when you get home.

The Bagelry

Bacon Avocado: Fresh cracked scrambled egg, bacon, sliced avocado and sriracha sauce on your choice of bagel with added strawberry jelly and pepper jack cheese, $7.25 plus $1.50 for jelly and cheese
Before diving into the details, it’s worth noting the oddity of reviewing a bacon avocado sandwich without the bacon (I’m vegetarian) – but the pepper jack and strawberry jam optional add-on was too intriguing not to try! I opted for a plain bagel so the sandwich ingredients could shine through, but the mere presence of a bagel in any breakfast sandwich is almost always going to dominate the entire eating experience and this was no exception.

While I was not transported back to NYC, I’m not complaining either. The Bagelry makes a solid bagel for the Midwest. From the first bite, the chewiness slows you down, giving you more time to taste the different ingredients — the creaminess of the avocado, the spice of the sriracha and the sweet surprise of the strawberry jam. Unfortunately, the cheese was more subtle than I’d like and there simply wasn’t enough jam or cheese to go around. Who doesn’t want more cheese and strawberry jam on their egg sandwich!? Especially when you are paying an extra $1.50 for it…

The egg was not scrambled as advertised, but the folded egg was cooked well and did the job just fine. My partner had bacon on his order and while the extra saltiness was appreciated, the bacon appeared to overwhelm, rather than complement the other ingredients.

Personally, I prefer a breakfast sandwich where the bread is an element, not the defining feature, but then again, I’m ordering at the BAGELry, so I guess that’s really on me. If you are in the market for a bagel sandwich, the bacon avocado at the Bagelry is a fine choice. The bacon is optional, the pepper jack and jam are not – just ask for a little extra.

Cackleberry

Smalls: Local pasture-raised soft tamagoyaki-style eggs (Japanese rolled omelet), sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized onion aioli and sriracha ketchup in a warm brioche bun, $8.50
Being slightly overwhelmed by the options, I asked for some ordering advice from the friendly attendant in Cackleberry’s 1968 vintage trailer and was told the Smalls and Benny were their two most popular sandwiches. I opted for the Smalls.

Before diving into the sandwich, it’s worth noting that Cackleberry has really nailed the retro hipster aesthetic that they are so clearly after. From the cute egg cartoons to their throwback patio furniture and merch options, Cackleberry is serving up vibes with their “breakfast sammies.” The aesthetic does not begin and end with their Instagram page and is a clear part of the Cackleberry sandwich eating experience. Almost like being served a beautifully wrapped present, each “sammy” is half wrapped in black and white checkered paper and then placed facing up in a short white paper bag so you can see each ingredient but not make a complete mess while eating them.

But despite its lovely presentation, the Smalls just didn’t live up to the hype. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a perfectly fine sandwich, but after waiting 25 minutes and spending $8.50 for “the best breakfast sandwich in Cincinnati,” you really want it to sing – the Smalls simply did not sing.

The individual elements of the sandwich were all prepared well, but together they became muddled and uninteresting. I think it came down to a lack of textural and flavor diversity. The Smalls is soft, fatty, creamy, smooth – all perfectly good qualities in their own right, but they don’t make for a complete sandwich. The sharp cheddar cheese wasn’t sharp enough to cut through. The sriracha ketchup blended with the caramelized onion aioli so you didn’t get the desired acid or spice. Both the tamagoyaki-style eggs and the brioche bun were soft and delicious, but neither stood up to the other ingredients. I needed sharpness or acid or crunch or all three, but was left with this muddled soft creamy situation that just didn’t hit the spot.

When you self-describe as the best breakfast sandwich in the city and serve six distinct sandwiches, you’re setting a high bar that I expect you to meet. It’s entirely possible that Cackleberry makes that sandwich and meets that bar, it’s just not with the Smalls.

Brown Bear Bakery

Basic Bear Egg Sando: Souffle egg with cracked black pepper and Maldon salt, zesty dressed arugula, garlic aioli and smoked cheddar on a brioche bun, $9
If you are like me and usually frequent Brown Bear Bakery (BBB) on a lazy weekend morning, you might not even know that they make a breakfast sandwich. Served between 8-11 a.m. Monday-Friday, BBB offers their Basic Bear Egg Sandos at $9 a piece. A rarity amongst egg sandwiches, the namesake ingredient was definitely the star of the show with a thick and fluffy souffléd egg that sat atop their house-made brioche bun. The egg is accompanied by a thick piece of smoked cheddar, "zesty dressed arugula," and while the sandwich description also notes a garlic aioli, I couldn't distinguish it from the dressing (as they seemed to both blend together in a flavorful dijon-y complement to the sandwich).

Overall, the Basic Bear Egg Sando is well balanced with each ingredient maintaining its own distinct flavor, allowing you to appreciate it in its own right, while still playing well with its neighbors. For example, unlike other sandwiches where you don't get any heat from the pepper jack or sharpness from the cheddar, you just taste cheese, here you can taste the smoked cheddar. And while I'm not usually a fan of smoked cheeses, it works, complementing the peppery arugula and egg-forward star quite nicely.

But, while it pains me to say it, the downside to this sando is the house-made brioche bun. Don't get me wrong, BBB makes a perfectly good brioche and they clearly put a lot of time and effort into making the roll, I just don’t think it’s the right fit for this sandwich. First off, it's messy. As I was eating, my fingers quickly became greasy and covered in poppy seeds. It's possible this is just too rich of a dough and the sando might be better served with a different bread entirely. I'd happily take a rustic sourdough for some crunch, two thick slices of shokupan if they want to go all in on the airy lightness the sandwich is already serving, or perhaps just a softer brioche more akin to Cackleberry's. In any case, I need a different vehicle to maximize the eating experience for this otherwise solid egg-forward breakfast sandwich.

Young Buck Deli

Biscuit Sandwich: Nana’s All-Butter Biscuits, molasses and black pepper bacon or sage breakfast sausage, pimento cheese and sunny side up egg, $13
Let me start by saying this is not a first-date sandwich. I repeat, this is not a first-date sandwich. You are going to make such a mess eating this thing that you will need the security of a committed long-term relationship if you are seen just one bite in. And all this mayhem starts with the pop.

One of the most satisfying parts of eating an egg sandwich is the pop of the yolk. And my friends, Young Buck Deli’s biscuit sandwich with its perfectly cooked sunny side up egg has that pop. While the runny yolk makes a mess, it's also what makes it a real egg sandwich. Next up, we have the pimento cheese. Sometimes pimento cheese can be bland or one note, but this one is flavorful and given their generous portioning, oozes everywhere. And what, might you ask, holds together this oozy yolky mess of goodness? Why Nana’s delicious, flaky, all-butter biscuit of course! Well, “holds together” is a bit of a stretch given that the biscuit is also falling apart, but damn is it good. I’ve never had a Nana, but now I wish I did so she could make me these biscuits all the time. And, to top it off, you can choose between the deli’s black pepper bacon or sage biscuit sausage (or go without for a vegetarian version). I had neither and must say the sandwich was still quite good. My partner ordered the bacon, which was reportedly cooked well done, adding a nice salty crispiness to the dish without overtaking the whole flavor profile.

All in all, while I personally prefer a slightly less messy, more contained sandwich-eating experience, when it comes to flavor and texture, Young Buck Deli’s biscuit sandwich won’t let you down. Just be sure to pack some extra napkins.