The Big Egg

(NOTE: The Big Egg usually goes on winter break from mid-December to early February)

(Second Review -- May 2012)

The Big Egg is located in the Mississippi Marketplace food pod in Portland, Oregon. They offer several different sandwiches, usually with an egg in them (hence their name, I suppose). They are open Wednesday through Sunday, from roughly 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

I attempted to try this place out about a month ago, but made the mistake of showing up on a beautiful Saturday, around 11 a.m. They were seriously backlogged by that point, the wait time being over an hour. Undaunted, I returned a couple weeks later to try one of their signature items: the Monte Cristo sandwich ($8). "One Over-Medium Farm Egg, Grilled Black Forest Ham, & Gorgonzola Cheese, drizzled with our Organic Pure Maple Glaze, Stacked Between Two Pieces of Crunchy Vanilla Cardamom Brioche Pullman French Toast & Dusted with Powdered Sugar."

(NOTE: The Monte Cristo is no longer on the regular menu, but please try their other offerings!)

Monte Cristo sandwich (The Big Egg)

The lovely cross-section

Just an amazing sandwich here. The sweetness of the powdered sugar, vanilla, and maple syrup balanced the bite of the gorgonzola and cardamom. The savory grilled black forest ham and the custard-like egg yolk brought the ideal salty/savory/sweet combination. It was a bit unfortunate that the yolk had erupted out of the perfectly cooked over-medium egg, but the flavors were just spot-on. Well worth the $8 I spent.

I'm not the biggest gorgonzola fan in the world, but this sandwich blew me away. They (smartly) did not pile on the gorgonzola and cardamom, knowing very well how strong those flavors are. If I had a second stomach (and way more cash), I would have ordered two more of these on the spot. It's really a testament to how skilled these cart operators are -- and why the place can really get backlogged on orders. I'm just fortunate I showed up at a time where there was no line. I highly recommend this place, and it deserves an outstanding score. I look forward to trying their other creations as well.