What makes Eggs Benedict good, what makes it perfect? It’s a critical question for this undertaking. There’s a part of me that wants to strive for scientific rigor, but at the same time these reviews must bend to my philosophy about food, which means that context must play a part in the judging – the food never stands alone.
So, after careful thought, I’ve decided that the rating system will be broken down into two parts. The first will measure the food itself, focusing on the key elements (scoring 1-5): sauce, eggs, meat and bread.
If the dish is aiming for inventiveness or a pure take on the classic, it will be judged with an overall score (yes/no) of whether it ‘works’ or not – do the elements come together seamlessly and add up to a greater whole.
Separately to the main dish, the second part will grade (scoring 1-3): sides, ambiance, service and presentation. A note here: presentation is important in as much as it can clearly enhance or detract from the food. Therefore, fancy presentation could lead to poor scores if it makes it hard to consume or enjoy the main dish and if simple presentation becomes sloppy, that’s not good either.
Finally, while I love to mix-up my orders of Eggs Bene when I’m ordering, for the purpose of these reviews, I’ll order everything straight off the menu so you know what to expect if you go there yourself.
What about vegetarian or vegan versions of benedict?
ReplyDeleteI know one vegetarian benedict in Gainesville that had a great Spinach Holindaise.
It's a great point! Veggie Benes fall under the category of inventiveness, and in fact, my local breakfast haunt has a great Veggie Bene. In the case of Veggie Benes being scored, there won't be a meat score, but watch for a yes/no in the 'works' category and look for details in the reviews. I've had plenty of Veggie Benes that simply didn't work - whatever takes the place of the meat has to add something to the overall flavor and needs to stand up to the Hollandaise the way a good piece of ham will.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of this blog Liz, looking forward to hearing your thoughts and hopefully sharing a couple of breakfasts with you on either side of the pond!
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