Egg Shop is a go! As the name implies, the restaurant is focused on all things egg and they do it really well. Though the egg is generally thought of as a breakfast food, Egg Shop is an all-day café, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The dinner menu is different from the day menu, but it’s still very much focused on eggs, albeit entrée style and more filling. Options include a wide variety of dishes that are classically either made with egg or can be accented by eggs like a bi bim bap, frittata tacos, and a burger with a sunny-side up egg. Though I haven’t tried the dinner menu (and it may well be delicious), this place screams breakfast & lunch, so I’d recommend going for one of those two meals instead.
The restaurant opened in 2014 out of a couple’s love for the classic egg sandwich, with the mission of highlighting the versatility of the egg. The breakfast/lunch menu focuses mostly on egg sandwiches and bowls, offering all the classics (B.E.C.: bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich) as well as more innovative options (El Camino: pulled pork carnitas, poached egg, and black bean salsa with a fried tortilla). You can find lighter options (Spandex: a bowl of miso quinoa, greens, pickled carrots, puffed amaranth, and poached egg) as well as hearty meals (Steak & Eggs: tenderloin, sunny-side up eggs, chimichurri on a French hero).
We tried one sandwich and one bowl, both of which were a success.
Warrior One: poached egg, masala-spiced lentils, shaved broccoli, roasted sweet potato, toasted almond, scallions, and onion chutney in a bowl. Though not clear from the menu, this dish is served cold, but works well. The lentils are very flavorful, the broccoli is nicely roasted, and the sweet potato adds a hint of sweetness, while the toasted almonds give the dish texture. Particularly when mixed together, it’s a very cohesive dish and each bite is very flavorful.
The Reformer: a sandwich of scrambled egg whites, feta, mixed greens, and roma tomatoes on multi-grain. First, we ordered extra eggs to make sure the sandwich was big and I’m not sure that was necessary. We got a huge portion of eggs, so I think the normal amount would do just fine! They were scrambled with feta cheese and were really quite delicious. The feta made it flavorful and creamy and the eggs were well-seasoned, though overly salty. The multi-grain bread was a star. One of the best breads I’ve had, hands down. Jam packed with seeds, super dense, very flavorful, it was as hearty as a bread could ever be. I’d pretty much go back just to get some slices of this bread. But overall, the sandwich was delicious and I’d order it again in a heartbeat, but with less salt.
If you don’t like eggs at all and you wind up here (your friends dragged you) then don’t worry. There are a couple of no-egg dishes like the Chai French Toast or the Yo! Guurrl (yogurt, granola, and fruit bowl).
The biggest downside of Egg Shop is how small the space is. It’s nice and comfortable once you’re seated, but with very few tables and a lot of fans, wait times are exceedingly long. Tables of two will easily wait 30 minutes – 1 hour for weekend brunch, with no option for reservations (though you can make them for dinner). And for breakfast/lunch, parties of more than 4 are not allowed at all, not only because the space is quite small, but also because this would cause a huge backlog in the wait. When we asked the best time to go to avoid a wait, they said there can be a wait any time after 9:30 am on weekends! So, if you’re able, go for weekday breakfast or a bizarre time on the weekend (like 4 pm). But I’d encourage you to find a time in your schedule to fit this place in when you’re craving eggs. I think the food is worth it.
