T.C. Eggington's - K's post

Let me start by saying that I am not a breakfast person. This doesn’t mean I’m not a breakfast food person, I just can’t stomach the thought of eating it before 11am. If you see me eating before then, chances are I haven’t been to bed yet.

But breakfast food, as a genre, can be incredibly delicious and satisfying. Hashbrowns, for example, are one of my favorite foods. Back in Michigan I lived by the Original Pancake House (NOT to be confused with the grossness that is ihop). They made delicious pancakes served with a side of thick house-made whipped cream. My best friend and I would order a side of banana slices with our pancakes and smother them with the cream. Mmm…pancakes…

Part of the problem with finding a great breakfast place I can frequent is that most awesome breakfast restaurants only serve breakfast, and therefore close before weekend sloths like myself can make it. So when J and I were craving breakfast food for lunch this Saturday, I was skeptical that we’d be able to find a decent place. After throwing around some ideas and looking up different options on the interwebs we settled on trying a place in Mesa called T.C. Eggington’s.

We’d looked at the menu and found it pretty extensive. Plus there were a lot of literary puns, so J was enthralled. They stay open until 2:30 and serve breakfast (all hours) and lunch (after 11am), so we made it with plenty of time to spare.

The restaurant was located on the end of what I’d describe as an upscale strip mall. It didn’t look particularly fabulous from the outside, but the parking lot around the restaurant was packed and we could see people waiting outside for their table to be ready. I’m a pretty patient person, but J is not, so it was good to hear the hostess’ estimate of 7-10 minutes. I don’t think we waited more than 4 or 5, and I was damn impressed considered how busy the place seemed. The waitstaff seemed pretty great at facilitating quick turn over without rushing people.

I liked how our table was set up. We were seated at a table for four, which already puts me in a good mood. Can I just say that I hate two person tables at restaurants? They’re so cramped and it means I have to put my purse on the floor. Not to mention J is 6’4” so his knees constantly knock into mine if we get a tiny table. Anyway, happiness about the big table aside – the table was set with a carafe containing ice water, which I think is nice for the customer and good for the server in a busy place, since they don’t have to be going back and forth to fill your water glasses for you. Our waitress was friendly and peppy, and gave us a good spiel on request about the restaurant’s most popular menu items. I ordered an iced tea, which was a bit pricey at $2.25 (I normally just drink water or booze at restaurants, but J will ALWAYS get a coke – he think it’s cheap to just drink water…and, um, yeah, it is cheap, that’s kind of the point!) but they served a whole carafe of it in addition to my glass, so there’s none of that ‘charging you for refills’ bullshit.

I was pretty torn about what to order. I wanted to go for the vegetarian eggs benedict but figured I should try something a little more creative – I found the perfect compromise with the crab stuffed pastry. Pastry shells filled with artichoke hearts and crab, then topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, served with little roasted potato squares and a watermelon slice. It was really outstanding. The pastry shells were cooked perfectly, and provided a great chewy texture contrast to the soft egg & crab. I was surprised to see artichoke hearts as an ingredient, but whoever made that recipe clearly knew what they were doing. The artichoke provided the perfect acidity to help balance out the extreme richness of the rest of the food. And as far as richness is concerned, this meal was the Bill Gates of breakfasts…I wasn’t able to finish (also partly due to the large portion size) but it was worth the side effects. I’ve been walking around with an engorged stomach for the rest of the day and eight hours later I still can’t even contemplate eating dinner…not a bad result for $8.95. Speaking of – I can’t remember the last time I had a meal with crab in it that was less than $10, and this dish had a really generous portion of it. Quality crab, too, second only to the stuff I had in Baltimore.

We ordered an English muffin on the side, and that was really well done also. Maybe a bit too much butter for my tastes, but it was toasted perfectly and did a great job of mopping up hollandaise/egg sauce.

With drinks, two dishes, an English muffin, and a side of two eggs, we paid just under $27 (not including tip).

Oh – and this place did something no other place has EVER done for me before…after we had paid the check, our waitress asked if we would like a refill of our drinks “to go.” She brought out a coke and an iced tea in two Styrofoam cups for us to take home! That’s pretty awesome.

All in all, I will definitely be back. I want to try some more of their breakfast items, as well as their lunch menu. If you’re interested in more info about the restaurant, check out their website: www.tcegg.com

Now, I have to go shampoo the dog. While I was out playing tennis to work off some hollandaise, Ouzo pulled down the trash and chewed on a canister of paprika…dyeing his front paws and face orange in the process. /sigh