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| Egg & Avocado Bagel |
Dupont Market
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I conceptualized our now twenty-four-day-old September Sunrise Sandwich Spree as a month of intense hands-on research followed by a declaration of my favorite breakfast sandwich in Washington, D.C. It has since become much less a celebration of the form and more an indictment of sandwich producers and consumers for their laziness and lack of creativity. When I warned tongue-in-cheekily that I did not plan on eating an egg and cheese bagel every morning, I couldn’t have predicted the tedium that would set in sometime in the second week. While none of the sandwiches I’ve had so far has been less than enjoyable, finding something unique each day has been more difficult than I expected. My faith in breakfast has lately been at least partially restored, but the fact remains that, by my own estimation, somewhere in the ballpark of 75 percent of sandwich-like breakfast menu items comprise some combination of scrambled egg, cheese and bacon and/or sausage on a bagel, English muffin or toast. What I was frustrated to discover after inhaling the the most recent entry in the month-long breakfast binge is that when it comes to elevating the boring breakfast sandwich, it’s as easy as avocado. The egg and avocado bagel from Dupont Market on 18th Street NW is typical in almost every way: a toasted wheat bagel of adequate to above average quality, a scrambled egg and provolone (substituted for cheddar). However, augmented by the avocado, which is softened to a pleasant creaminess by the heat of the eggs, the sandwich suddenly becomes something surprising, fresh and new. One can’t help but wonder that if the addition of one ingredient can transform an ordinary sandwich so abruptly for the better, why are we so often content with the egg-and-cheese status quo?
Comments
Perhaps because “eggs, “bacon,” and “bagel” or “toast” comprise, what, 75% of American breakfast foods/meals? What else is there that’s considered a standard breakfast item? French toast? Hash browns? To answer your implied question about the ubiquity of those former ingredients in your sandwich spree. What kind of grail were you searching for in your idealism?
First of all, thanks for reading. Second, I don’t think it’s nearly so much to ask as you imply that someone venture outside the obvious “standard” breakfast fare. As today’s sandwich illustrates, one need not reinvent the wheel to create something new and (at least marginally) more exciting. Were I ever to operate a restaurant myself, I would strive to serve at least one item in every category that couldn’t be had elsewhere, and I don’t think that would be an overly ambitious goal.