Breakfast Champions

The breakfast-sandwich category is a perfect place to show off on-trend flavors and ingredients.

By Katie Ayoub

Chicago-based Technomic released its 2008 Sandwich Consumer Trend Report earlier this year, and a few key phrases jump off the page: “bold flavor profiles,” “artisanal and premium breads,” “high quality” and “portability.” That portability helps boost breakfast-sandwich sales, according to the report.

Interestingly, sandwiches of all ilk are gaining traction in what’s being called the fourth meal, or as Technomic labels it, “away-from-home snacking.” McDonald’s, with its hugely popular snack wrap, dominates this new groove of foodservice, which has only recently been carved into the day-part landscape.

We talked to chefs across the nation who have captured these buzz words, intentionally or not, and inserted them into their breakfast-sandwich ingredients. All of these sandwiches greet the morning with great flavor, menu distinction and viability to carry through into other day parts—including the new fourth meal.

Familiar, but better

“There’s a great deal of comfort value in a breakfast sandwich,” says Christian Randell, executive chef of City Cellar, Westbury, N.Y., which is operated by Big Time Restaurant Group based in West Palm Beach, Fla. “It’s a remedy; there’s a lot of love served in comfort food in the morning.”

For brunch, he serves a brisket and egg panini on a French loaf with roasted tomatoes, applewood-smoked bacon, béchamel and Parmesan. His 12-hour brisket (also featured on his lunch menu) sports brisket cooked in an Alto-Shaam with red wine, veal stock, garlic and fresh thyme. He slices a six-inch French loaf, scoops out the bread and spreads a housemade béchamel on each piece. To the bottom piece, he adds pulled brisket, shaved 24-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, scrambled eggs, roasted tomatoes and Nueske’s applewood-bacon crisps, and finishes it with another sprinkling of Parmesan. He closes the sandwich with the other slice of bread, and then places it in a nonstick pan coated with clarified butter. He tops it with another pan, pressing down. After it browns, he puts the pan (with the pan on top) in a hot oven, bakes for four minutes, then flips and bakes for another four minutes.

“Béchamel is underused. It’s wonderful on a sandwich, and goes really well with the Parmesan and brisket,” says Randell.

At Wild Eggs in Louisville, Ky., J.J. Kingery serves an upscale fried bologna and egg sandwich on a whole-grain, seeded ciabatinni. “Fried bologna sandwiches are a mainstay in this part of the world,” says Kingery. “I grew up in the chef world, so I’ve made mine a bit different.”

He fries Italian mortadella studded with black pepper and pistachio on a flattop grill until it releases fat and browns. He sets it aside and grills tomatoes in the same pan. He lays the mortadella atop the bottom slice of bread, which has been slathered with a housemade pesto aïoli, then tops that with the grilled tomato. Fontina covers the tomato, and an overeasy egg crowns the sandwich. The other slice of bread is leaned against the stack, so diners can pop the egg, then top it with the bread slice. As a side dish, Kingery offers skillet potatoes or grits.

“This turkey wrap dukes it out with eggs Benedict for most popular on our brunch menu,” says Alan Morestein, executive chef of Regi’s American Bistro, Baltimore. His California wrap with smoked turkey sports a warm whole-wheat tortilla spread with guacamole and layered with scrambled eggs, applewood-smoked bacon, in-house smoked turkey breast and white Cheddar. The tortilla is then rolled tightly, cut on the diagonal and served with Baltimore brunch potatoes, which are sautéed and seasoned with Old Bay.

“The applewood and the smoked turkey are a perfect partnership,” says Morestein. “All the flavors, actually, just work so well together, and customers really respond to the dish. We’ve had it on our brunch menu for six years now.”

Dressed up

BOKX 109, American Prime, inside the Hotel Indigo in Newton, Mass., recently extended its service to include breakfast. “We already had a grab-and-go area, but wanted to offer guests a sit-down experience for breakfast, too,” says Evan Percoco, chef/partner of BOKX 109, operated by Distinctive Hospitality Group.

Its lobster-hash roll is the restaurant’s power-breakfast sandwich. For the hash, Percoco combines cooked heirloom potatoes (Russian pinks, French fingerlings, purple fingerlings) with sweet potato, cob-smoked bacon (rendered in whole butter), tricolor bell pepper, red onion, green onion, chives and fresh thyme. He adds in lobster meat from the tail (reserving the shell for presentation), knuckle and claw that has been poached in a court-bouillon, then seasons the hash with salt and pepper. He carves a hollowed-out bun from a loaf of housemade brioche and spoons the hash inside. He tops it with two poached eggs and decorates the plate with a smoked-paprika hollandaise. The body of the shell is placed upright and the tail is placed at the bottom end of the sandwich.

“It looks like a dancing lobster,” says Percoco. “All the flavors work really well together—the richness from the lobster and brioche against the smokiness of the bacon and hollandaise.”

At BREADBAR, the artisanal bakery-bistro in Los Angeles, a dish called Eggs Caviar takes center stage on the weekend-breakfast menu. Housemade pain de mie accompanies soft-scrambled eggs with fresh chives, parsley and thyme. A flourish of American caviar tops the eggs.

Ludovic Lefebvre, executive chef at LAVO in the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, created the dish during a guest-chef stint at BREADBAR. “It’s a very buttery pain de mie, almost like a brioche, but light and fluffy, too,” says Daniela Galarza, bredalier at the restaurant. “We were considering our Black Gold bread, which is a pain de mie infused with squid ink and garnished with gold leaf, but we went with something more classic.”

On the go

Portability is definitely worth consideration, as research indicates diners are looking for more on-the-go options. Of course, to-go is a given at quick-service restaurants (QSRs), such as Dunkin’ Donuts, but innovation in the breakfast-sandwich category is clear.

Although the chain, based in Canton, Mass., with more than 7,900 restaurants in 30 countries, features a solid core menu of coffee and pastries, it does add local flair when possible. Currently, it’s running an LTO (limited time offer) in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts called a Choriço Breakfast Sandwich. Sporting either scrambled egg or a supreme omelet, the sandwich features melted American cheese and a choriço patty on a toasted bagel.

“There’s a growing trend in all things Latino,” says Stan Frankenthaler, executive chef and director of culinary research and development for Dunkin’ Donuts. “That interests me as a national brand and national chef. I’m intrigued by differences in Latino foods—choriço is about paprika, wine, smoked pork, and it’s reflective of Old-World-style sausage.”

Indeed, choriço is a mainstay in Portugal, and like many traditions, its popularity found a home where immigrants settled here in the United States. “Regionality is tremendously important,” says Frankenthaler. “We know that there are different tastes and eating habits across the country, and we try to reflect that: choriço breakfast sandwich here, the mid-Atlantic loves cherry donuts, and in the South they love chicken biscuits.

But QSRs don’t have a corner on the portability feature. At Golden Gaming’s Sierra Gold taverns, with four units in Nevada, a breakfast burrito was recently developed for its carryout service, Sierra Gold To Go.

“It’s actually our number-one breakfast selling item in both takeout and dine in,” says Joseph Romano, corporate executive chef for Golden Gaming, which has 36 taverns and four casinos in its profile.

He grills a 14-inch flour tortilla, then adds scrambled eggs, bacon, Mexican chorizo (thinly sliced links), red and green bell pepper, red onion, cilantro and a shredded-cheese blend. For the to-go order, he adds home fries into the wrap, then closes it up, either slicing it in half or leaving it whole, depending on what the customer wants. Sour cream, pico de gallo and guacamole are served in plastic containers. For dine in, both the garnishes and home fries buddy up to the burrito.

“The breakfast sandwich can be a challenging category—especially in the to-go arena,” says Romano. “But it’s well worth the effort.”

Katie Ayoub, an award-winning writer, is based in Keswick, Ontario, Canada. She is editor in chief of our sister publication, Sizzle.

California Wrap with Smoked Turkey and Baltimore Brunch Potatoes Alan Morestein, Executive Chef Regi’s American Bistro Baltimore Yield: 1 portion Sandwich 2 T. fresh guacamole 1 10-inch whole-wheat flour tortilla, warmed 3 large eggs, scrambled 2 strips applewood-smoked bacon, diced, cooked, well-drained 3 oz. house-smoked turkey breast, thinly sliced 2 oz. white Cheddar cheese, shredded Method: Spread guacamole inside tortilla. Add eggs and bacon. Layer with turkey slices and Cheddar. Roll up tightly; cut on diagonal. Baltimore Brunch Potatoes 3 oz. potatoes, peeled, cut in ½-inch cubes Canola oil, as needed Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Dash Old Bay seasoning Method: Parboil potatoes until just tender. Drain. For service, heat oil in small skillet; sauté potatoes until hot throughout. Season with salt, pepper and Old Bay.