The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
But app shortens time in line
The first Memphis location of Another Broken Egg opened last spring at Park and Ridgeway, and it’s unlikely there hasn’t been a line during every peak time since that first day. I attended one of the preview meals with friends, we all enjoyed it, and they became regulars.
But now and again I would get a phone call asking me where else they should go, because the wait was 90 minutes or something crazy like that. I also tried a time or two to go review it, but was stymied because of the long wait.
Finally, though, the time came. After all, a new location will open in late summer or so at Poplar Plaza, and it was time to make an official visit to this one. I called ahead, hoping to be put on a waiting list, as I knew the restaurant doesn’t take reservations. There wasn’t one, but I did learn about something
NO WAIT
There’s an app for everything, and I’m not talking about the biscuit beignets, at least not just yet. I was told to download Nowait on my phone and get in line. It took about 60 seconds, and I put my party of two in line. The wait was about 45 minutes, and every time I checked the app, it showed me how many parties were in front of mine and the estimated wait time. With about 10 minutes left, we hopped in the car and drove over and saw scads of people standing around outside. But we walked to the reception desk and said Nowait said we were next in line. She asked for my first name, looked at her computer, and we were seated in minutes.
The second time we used it, we arrived a bit early but were seated immediately because a table opened that was suitable for a high chair. Other than area Chili’s locations, the only other local restaurants that come up on the app are Brother Juniper’s and Hickory Tavern in Collierville; please, restaurateurs, get with the program.
BREAKFAST
Another Broken Egg is primarily for breakfast and brunch. Although there’s a smaller lunch menu available, the place closes at 2 p.m. daily. There are scrambled dishes, omelets, Benedicts done this way and that, pancakes, waffles and specialty dishes, one of which is an excellent huevos rancheros.
Let’s not get too picky about authenticity here, as these are served on flour tortillas, albeit ones that have been fried crisp. They’re stacked with black beans, green chilies and sautéed onion, topped with eggs, cheese and a bit of chorizo. Salsa and sour cream are on the side, along ABOVE: Huevos rancheros at Another Broken Egg are a nice take on a breakfast classic: fried tortillas with black beans, chilies, onions and cilantro over medium eggs, covered in cheddar jack cheese.
with decent country potatoes. It’s tasty and filling, hearty huevos for sure.
About the eggs: My experience on every visit is that unless you specify, your eggs will be overcooked — at least for my palate. I like eggs over easy, soft scrambled and just barely set in an omelet. Even the poached eggs in the Benedict dishes will come poached medium unless you ask otherwise. But when I asked for over easy and poached soft, they were delivered as requested. This was not the case with scrambled dishes and omelets, though I think that egg texture is simply preference. The eggs I thought were overcooked were just right to others at my table.
Poor
Good
However you like your eggs cooked, you get plenty of choices in preparation. The better of the items I tried had similar ingredients to the huevos rancheros: The Hey Lucy omelet contains chorizo, avocado, green chilies and cheese; Lafitte’s tortilla is scrambled eggs with black beans, cheese, chilies and chorizo.
We tried plain eggs Benedict and eggs Blackstone, with grilled tomatoes and bacon; both were fine, if not exactly exciting.
The biscuit beignets are popular — they seem to be on most every table — but are not a particularly good example of either. They’re