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| Toasted Ham & Gruyère Croissant |
Le Pain Quotidien
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The toasted ham and gruyère croissant from Le Pain Quotidien, the third entry in our month-long September Sunrise Sandwich Spree, is a breakfast sandwich in name only. Essentially a classed-up ham and cheese, it begs the question: What defines a breakfast sandwich? Is it the bread? Is anything served on a bagel or a croissant necessarily a breakfast sandwich? Or the toppings? Is anything that features scrambled egg a breakfast meal? Or is it all down to what time of day you’re eating? Semantics aside, the toasted ham and gruyère, the only sandwich on the breakfast menu at Le Pain Quotidien, an international chain of French-style bakeries with locations in a handful of U.S. cities, is a great bite of food. Stuffed with salty ham and sweet gruyère, the sandwich is served alongside a pile of greens, grilled tomato, sliced vegetables and a trio of mustards, all of which I used to further dress up the flaky croissant. Admittedly, I didn’t intend to end up at Le Pain Quotidien this morning; unanticipated holiday closings scuttled my plans. But it was a happy ending after all. While it’s not the cheapest or most distinctive breakfast sandwich I’ll eat this month, the toasted ham and gruyère was a fine way to start to a lazy day.
Comments
Egg sandwiches are away common in other countries at non breakfast hours. Makes classification a challenge and demonstrates the field of sandwich studies’ reliance on culturally specific taxonomies.