A Quickie: Bacon, Egg, and Cheese with Avocado

The other night, I was up late brewing a batch of beer (and drinking a few while I worked). A late night for me usually means a rushed morning, privileging an extra few minutes of sleep over such mundane things as making breakfast. The morning after my late brewing session was no exception

Arriving downtown hungry isn’t such a bad time usually, as there are a ton of good options for breakfast. But on this particular day, I also had a lot to get done at work, so I needed a quick option near the office. I walked a block south, intending to go to the food court in Ogilvie station. While walking along, pondering my breakfast choices, I noticed a sign in the Potbelly window advertising that they would add avocado to any sandwich for $1.

Potbelly is a Chicago-based chain of sub sandwich shops, more like a Quizno’s than a Subway, but a better option than either of those, or Jimmy John’s, or any other chain I can think of. Their regular sandwiches are edible, and some of them can even be pretty good. I almost never stop there, since there are so many better options for sandwiches nearby. Sadly I cannot recommend their breakfast sandwiches though. They’re an afterthought, with no care put into them, seemingly only a way to bring in a little revenue while they’re already paying employees to prep for lunch.

I’ve talked before though about the magic avocado can bring to a sandwich. I had been craving bacon, but now thoughts of avocado were crowding it out. Happily, I did not have to choose between them. I stopped in and ordered a bacon, egg, and cheddar sandwich with avocado added.

The man behind the counter cut open a fairly pathetic and not-fully-baked looking sandwich roll, added some slices of formed eggstuff, a piece or two of cooked bacon, and sprinkled some cheese over the top before sending the sandwich on its conveyor belt ride through the oven. Once it came out the other end, another employee sliced some avocado and added it before cutting the sandwich in half and wrapping it. I paid for the sandwich and took it back to my office.

still not sure the bread was fully baked

The bread was doughy, the bacon had kind of a bad, chemical liquid smoke flavor, the texture of the “egg” was terrible, and the cheese was a nonentity. Somehow though, the avocado elevated the whole. This sandwich was surprisingly good. I knew it could be better though.

This morning I had to run to the store to pick up enough breakfast stuff to feed my family along with my parents, who are in town for a wedding. As an aside, I’d just like to say that my mom is a terrific person who would never post embarrassing childhood photos of me on Facebook, and whom I of course would never ridicule in the name of saying funny things about sandwiches. Anyway, while I was at the store, along with bacon, eggs, and English muffins, I picked up a couple of avocados to give it a shot.

bacon, egg, and cheddar with avocado on English muffin

A pound of bacon is probably way too much to cook for seven people, and a half an avocado is probably too much to try to fit into an English muffin, but I was very pleased with this sandwich, and the bacon did not go to waste.

Grated sharp cheddar melts nicely if you sprinkle it on a fried egg right after the flip.

Damian and I were the only two who made sandwiches with avocado, and we both thought it was terrific. Though the sandwich is essentially fat, fat, fat, fat, and carbs, there are a variety of textures and flavors combining to make it more interesting–crisp bread; creamy avocado; smokey, salty, crisp bacon; gooey, pungent sharp cheddar; the silky egg white and the runny egg yolk; yet more avocado and English muffin.

Once again, avocado has proven itself to be an invaluable contributor to sandwiches of excellence and deliciousness. It may not be the first thing you think of for breakfast, but it’s shaped like an egg, so why not?

Jim Behymer

I like sandwiches.

I like a lot of other things too but sandwiches are pretty great