Our Favorite Breakfast Sandwiches That Beat McDonald's Any Day
By Staff in Food on Oct 7, 2015 6:02PM
Egg and Cheese Biscuit Sandwich at Baker Miller. Photo by Heather Lalley.
By Heather Lalley
Tuesday marked the first for McDonald’s #alldaybreakfast offerings. (Yes, it has its own hashtag.) You can now order an Egg McMuffin after 10:30 a.m. Huzzah! The news was met with the same level of glee typically reserved for the Cubs making the post-season.
But guess what? You live in Chicago. You don’t have to settle for a crappy breakfast sandwich. You have a world of carby-eggy-cheesey goodness on your doorstep. Can you get one of these at 11 p.m.? Nope. But these versions are so much better than a McAnything, they’re worth the wait:
Baker Miller, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Sandwich
A lovely combination of textures and flavors. Buttery-tender, house-made, soft-wheat biscuit topped with a baked egg (yolk still a bit quivery), salty shaved Parmesan and peppery arugula. Plus, it comes with lightly dressed mixed greens on the side so you’ll feel almost virtuous about cleaning your plate.
4610 N. Western Ave.
Esencia Urban Kitchen, Egg and Pesto Breakfast Sandwich
Recommended to us by Breakfast Queen Ina Pinkney, this elevated take on the breakfast sandwich would make Ronald McDonald’s head explode. Start with buttery, toasted Turano Baking Co. sourdough. Slather on some house-made pesto. Top with a deliciously runny sunny side up egg, crisp bacon, creamy Manchego and spicy arugula. Well-seasoned breakfast potatoes and a small side salad make this a meal that’ll fill you up until dinner.
3351 N. Broadway St.
Egg and Pesto Breakfast Sandwich at Esencia. Photo by Heather Lalley.
Perkolator, Egg & Cheese Sandwich
The details: Had a rough night? Gearing up for a long day? Eat your feelings in the form of this most-basic, yet most-comforting of breakfast sandwiches. This delightfully retro Portage Park coffee shop starts each sandwich with a pillowy soft brioche bun from nearby Sicilia Bakery. The bun cradles a piping hot scrambled egg topped with melty American cheese. Perkolator also offers breakfast sandwiches with sausage, ham or peppers in addition to the egg and cheese (but, when eating our feelings, we prefer not to complicate things).
6032 W. Irving Park Rd.
Smack Dab sandwich via Facebook
Smack Dab, Breakfast Sandwich
It’s hard to improve upon the perfection that is the cheesey-herb biscuit at this tiny Rogers Park bakeshop. But the breakfast-sandwich option kicks things up a notch. Split one of those amazing biscuits, spread with a choice of house-made Bacon Jam, Balsamic-Red Onion Jam or Roasted Tomato Jam and top with a freshly scrambled egg. Eat your heart out, Ronald.
6954 N. Glenwood Ave.