Whether you wake up on a weekend morning hungover or just plain hungry, there’s little more satisfying than Eggs Benedict. While the classic versions that Canadian bacon or smoked salmon between an English muffin and a blanket of hollandaise are delicious, here in New York, it’s possible to get way more luxurious. Here are six of the most decadent bennies in the city.
Nestled into the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park, 2 West keeps it simple, but sophisticated. Sure the dish is called Traditional Eggs Benedict and sure, it features all the usual suspects (Canadian bacon, English muffin, hollandaise, poached egg), but the whole business is topped with a sprinkling of crushed black truffle.
At Blue Water Grill, Eggs Bendict meet the sea. A medley of lobster and shrimp is topped with rich avocado and smothered in a tarragon hollandaise. This is heavy duty hangover food and bound to have you feeling like yourself in no time.
Fulton also goes the lobster route, but they up the ante by also adding bacon. The topping is a slightly less expected bearnaise, rather than the traditional hollandaise. Confused about the difference? Hollandaise is flavored with lemon, bearnaise is spiced up with shallot, pepper, chervil, and tarragon.
In the world of upscale Eggs Benedict, the protein is generally the unusual thing. The Benedict Jane at Jane, however, flips the script. Poached eggs, spinach, and tarragon hollandaise perch atop two very fine crab and crawfish cakes. The buttery hollaindaise permeates the cakes, leading to sweet, rich, altogether unforgettable mouthfulls.
At Kiwiana, chef Mark Simmons (of Top Chef fame) has created a Benedict perfect for pork-obsessed Brooklyn. Canadian bacon is replaced by unctuous braised pork belly. To up the luxe factor, brioche rounds stand in for the English muffins, their sweetness playing nicely with the rich and savory pork.
Waffles are all the rage right now, but there might not be a more decadent dish with the breakfast treat than the eggs Benedict at Resto. The toppings are standard, but the base is a star: a Liege wafel, studded not only with pockets of sugar, but also, bacon lardons. The waffle is worth the trip itself, but topped with the Benedict accoutrement – well, you couldn’t do much better.
