09/14/2021
Let me start by saying that Honest Aaron is sorry that he hasnāt done more reviews. The current state of affairs has thrown many things into turmoil, including my hopes of creating a āstandardā of reviewing food establishments when we have to redefine daily the meaning of the word ānormal.ā I will try to be more creative as time goes on, but the following is a project I developed over the summer. I hope you find it enlightening!
This past season, I posed a question via Facebook to our community in search of the best, most succulent, satisfying breakfast sandwich that could be found in our area. The overwhelming number of responses staggered me, so, I decided I would try a breakfast sandwich in EVERY shop that was recommended by my social media neighbors! Needless to say, it was a LOT of driving to a LOT of places. To try to level the playing field, I decided to order the same type of sandwich wherever it was available (sausage, egg, and cheese) and rate each sandwich on a scale of 0-4 with 4 being the best, in five different categories: egg, bread (or wrap), cheese, sausage, and overall appearance and taste. 20 points total were therefore available to each contender.
One sandwich stood out over them all. Feel free to get excited and try a few yourself!
Gracie's Luncheonette, Leeds
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 1
Cheese: 1
Sausage: 0
Appearance/Taste: 1
Total: 5/20
By far an underachiever. The eggs were the best part of this sandwich, cooked clean with the yolks just a little runny. The bread was just a sesame seeded burger roll, toasted for a moment. Cheese was runny and indistinguishable as such. Sausage - no kidding - I honestly think it was a hamburger patty. If it was sausage, it was absolutely flavorless and an utter disappointment. The sandwich was served in a box, but no cheese on top of it so the bun lid fell off and left me having to reassemble the sandwich, handle the eggs with bare fingers, and get covered in cheese sauce. To note, this was also one of the priciest breakfast sandwiches on the list. One and done.
Yellow Deli, Oak Hill
Egg: 0
Bread/Wrap: 2
Cheese: 3
Appearance/Taste: 1
Total: 6/20
A note that breakfast meat was not available here, only deli meat - so the four points for sausage were divided among the other categories. The "egg" didn't resemble anything of the sort...simply some type of congealed, flavorless disc. It was served on a seeded burger bun, which I guess is okay. The cheese was pleasantly melted and did taste good, for its part. But - couldn't deal with the "egg." This one went to the dogs after two bites. On a positive note...this was an absolutely wonderful customer service experience, and would highly recommend the atmosphere in the restaurant. Just - the breakfast sandwich is a hard nope.
Tommy's Food Truck, Greenville
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 2
Cheese: 2
Sausage: 1
Appearance/Taste: 2
Total: 9/20
Not quite up to the bar. The two eggs were cooked okay...had brown from the griddle but werenāt rubbery. The cheese and sausage both lacked flavor. Got a chunk of unchewable hard material in the sausage - a big turn off. The hard roll was fresh, but the crust was softer than you'd expect and also lacked flavor.
Daltons, Cairo
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 2
Cheese: 3
Sausage: 1
Appearance/Taste: 2
Total: 10/20
The basics. A couple of eggs, a little too brown on the edges. The hard roll was a little chewy. Cheese was okay. The sausage was bland and meh. Overall - a very average and unexciting sandwich.
Lox of Bagels, Saugerties
Egg: 1
Bread/Wrap: 2
Cheese: 2
Sausage: 3
Appearance/Taste: 2
Total: 10/20
The truth is...one component can ruin the entire experience. In this case, it was the egg, which was (were? I couldn't tell if there were one or two) extremely overcooked...all the whites were brown instead, and the edges were rubbery, chewy and sometimes crunchy. The bagel was...okay. Fresh but not amazing. Nicely melted American cheese kept its form, and the sausage barely lifted this sandwich out of the single-digit range.
Mohammed's Tamanna, Cairo
Egg: 3
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese: 2
Sausage: 2
Appearance/Taste: 2
Total: 12/20
Freshly cooked eggs were cooked nicely and tasty. The hard roll was fresh and soft. The cheese and sausage both seemed to lack flavor, so the sandwich overall was left a tad boring but not bad.
See and Be Kitchen, Cairo
Egg: 3
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese: 2
Bacon*: 1
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 12/20
So, I had a choice of how I wanted my eggs cooked for the sandwich, but no choice of meat. I wasnāt sure how it would come out, but (*above) turned out it came automatically with bacon. My over-easy eggs were maybe overly-easy, but delicious if not messy. The sandwich boasted an onion/sesame brioche bun that was tasty, but just a touch too busy for me. The cheese was ok and succeeded in keeping the sandwich together. The bacon was thick cut and kinda chewy, and instead of the bacon-ey flavor coming through, it was overloaded with salt and pepper. Not a bad looking sandwich, but some flaws in presentation as well as the available options.
Tiny Diner, Greenville
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 2
Cheese: 3
Sausage: 3
Appearance/Taste: 2
Total: 12/20
A hearty sandwich with two eggs and two sausages. The eggs were small-ish and had some brown but weren't rubbery. The sausage was flavorful, but a little unusual in the flavor, and I couldn't tell whether or not it worked for me. A considerably recognizable white American was melted in between the eggs. The bread was a little deflated, but ok.
Chrissy and Timās, Coxsackie
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 1
Cheese:3
Sausage: 4
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 13/20
Two fried eggs had yolks that had gelled, but not fully cooked. The hard rolls had been toasted, but the bread was dry and the tops had cracked as if it had been slightly stale before toasting. The cheese was overly melted but tasty. Generously giving this sandwich a "3" for taste, because you wouldn't guess it by its appearance.
A&G Texas Wieners, Catskill
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese:3
Sausage: 3
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 14/20
This was a very simple sandwich...a very straightforward sausage patty, single egg, and slice of yellow American on a hard roll. The egg seemed pretty small too me. Overall, everything was basic but tasty.
Cafe Italia, Catskill
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 1
Cheese: 4
Sausage: 4
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 14/20
This was an average sandwich in a beautiful location at Dutchmanās Landing. The egg (or eggs, not sure whether there were two) were slightly overcooked. The hard roll, though flavorful, was dry and chewy, leading me to feel it was stale. American cheese was melted perfectly and the sausage spices were on point - both were delicious. Put everything together - with the riverside park as a backdrop...a pleasant experience.
Lindsay's, Leeds
Egg: 4
Bread/Wrap: 2
Cheese: 3
Sausage: 2
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 14/20
This was a very standard sandwich. Two eggs were cooked beautifully - not brown at all. The cheese was melted but recognizable. The hard roll was fresh and soft, but lacked flavor and seemed "packaged." The sausage was relatively bland. However, the sandwich came together reasonably well as a whole.
Log Cabin Cafe, Purling
Egg: 2
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese: 3
Sausage: 3
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 14/20
A very traditional breakfast sandwich. I think there were two eggs, but couldn't quite tell. They were slightly overdone, but not to the point of rubbery. The cheese, sausage, and bread were all to expectation. It looked and munched nice.
Freehold Country Store, Freehold
Egg: 3
Bread/Wrap: 4
Cheese: 2
Sausage: 3
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 15/20
There's beauty in simplicity. One nice egg, cooked well but not burnt, a tasty sausage patty, and a slice of dissolved but tasty white American on the inside of a plump, fresh, toasted hard roll. Completely adequate, and assembled by some of the friendliest, fun ladies I had the opportunity to meet on this adventure.
Village Bagels, Saugerties
Egg: 1
Bread/Wrap: 4
Cheese: 4
Sausage: 3
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 15/20
The fried egg was overcooked and the whites were dark and chewy on the edges. Bagel was delicious, soft, and fresh. Cheese was rich and nicely melted. Sausage was mild but flavorful. Overall, a pleasant and tasty experience...how you would expect a breakfast sandwich to look and taste.
Mike's Diner, Catskill
Egg: 4
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese: 4
Sausage: 1
Appearance/Taste: 4
Total: 16/20
Now this was a nice little sandwich, excepting the sausage. The egg was cooked perfectly, no brown to be found. It was put on a tasty, fresh, gently toasted hard roll with the flavorful cheese just beginning to ooze out the edges. All this combined with a couple of sausage patties and presented in a neat little clamshell box made for a great presentation...however, the sausage was SO full of pepper that it dominated the entire sandwich. Otherwise, this sandwich could've had a podium finish.
THE HONORABLE MENTIONSā¦
Bees Knees/Heather Ridge Farm, Potter Hollow
Egg: 4
Bread/Wrap: 4
Cheese: 2
Sausage: 4
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 17/20
Though the price point was deterring (the most expensive of this entire review by a long shot), I made the long drive out anyway due to the recommendation. It was actually a very good sandwich overall. The two fried eggs were large and cooked beautifully, served on a homemade English muffin which was light, flaky, and delicious. A couple of in-house farm sausage links were also tasty. The cheese used, however, was, how shall one say...odiferous. It was pungent and even a little unpleasant to smell when opening the sandwich. The flavor was good and its consistency exceptional, but you may just wanna hold your nose until you take a bite. Points off the appearance score for my offended nostrils.
Garden Gate, Catskill
Egg: 3
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese: 4
Sausage: 4
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 17/20
This cute little sandwich was a nice find. The egg was a little overdone. The hard roll was small and a little dry...but seemed homemade, fresh, and flavorful. The cheese and sausage were very cheesy and sausagey, and both were delicious. It didn't look like much at first, but it pulled its weight.
Nolitas, Hudson
Egg: 3
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese: 4
Sausage: 4
Appearance/Taste: 3
Total: 17/20
Two fried eggs had nice centers but whites got just slightly overdone on the edges. The unseeded hard roll was a little flat, but had good flavor. Melted American cheese and sausage were both flavorful, delicious, and added a great deal to the texture. Overall...there could be some improvements, but not many.
South Cairo Deli, South Cairo
Egg: 4
Bread/Wrap: 4
Cheese: 4
Sausage: 3
Appearance/Taste: 2
Total: 17/20
A surprisingly good assembly here. Eggs were cooked perfectly, on a fluffy, freshly toasted hard roll, oozing with cheese. The sausage, if any complaint, could've had a touch more flavor, but was still very good. The issue that kept this sandwich from the highest marks was the fact that the lady preparing it didn't wear gloves. For that, I almost disqualified it and refused to eat it...but when I looked at it, I decided against my health regulation knowledge and went ahead to try it regardless, knocking points off for the mistake in the presentation. If no gloves are a deal-breaker for you, skip this spot.
SECOND PLACE GOES TOā¦
Silver Spoon, Ravena
Egg: 4
Bread/Wrap: 3
Cheese: 3
Sausage: 4
Appearance/Taste: 4
Total: 18/20
Appropriately coming in with the silver medal was the Silver Spoon! The sandwich boasted two fried eggs, cooked perfectly, in the middle of two patties of delicious sausage. The hard roll was flat, but tasty. The cheese had been over-melted, but was still discernable and tasty...however, it did make for a runny appearance (if you're someone who enjoys looking at a sandwich before eating it!). Overall...a very hearty and enjoyable breakfast!
AND OUR WINNER ISā¦
Circle W, Palenville
Egg: 4
Bread/Wrap: 4
Cheese: 4
Sausage: 4
Appearance/Taste: 4
Total: 20/20
I ordered two eggs, sausage, and cheese on white Bread Alone toast. The eggs were cooked perfectly, no brown stains or crispy edges anywhere. The sausage was nicely browned and super flavorful. The Bread Alone toast made for a tasty and hearty option. The cheese was melted...but obviously still cheese and tasted delicious. As soon as I opened this sandwich - pre-ordered online and ready to walk on, grab, and eat - I could tell it was a masterpiece. Congratulations, Circle Wā¦keep doing what youāre doing, and Iāll keep sending people to your door!
