These breakfast sandwiches will make your morning an eye-opening experience
Please tell me you’re not still eating leftover Halloween candy for breakfast.
I get it. Having a decent “most important meal of the day” isn’t a snap when the day starts off by rushing around for work or school.
Why not let professionals help sometimes? Even better: Why not let professionals with excellent ingredients whip you up a handheld breakfast-of-champions treat — a high-end morning sandwich that allows you to eat while multitasking?
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From a new Worthington eatery that’s all the rage to an elite bagel shop to state-of-the-art cafes — one whose breakfast sandwich has become iconic— these places can transform a hectic morning into a suddenly promising day.
Fox in the Snow Cafe
Multiple locations, www.foxinthesnow.com
If you haven’t tried the souffled egg sandwich ($8.25) yet — it’s the “indie” breakfast sandwich that helped fire up a local trend — I suggest getting one ASAP. While waiting for that masterpiece (lines aren't uncommon inside Fox’s three fashionable cafes) you can phone-access myriad Instagrammed images of the sandwich between gazes at Fox’s house-made pastries, which taste even better than they look. When your meal arrives, expect a crackly yet pliable toasted ciabatta roll with rich, zesty, sweet-and-salty accents courtesy of a smooth and airy omelet-like block, melted Swiss, candied bacon, arugula and a creamy-perky Dijon sauce.
Joya’s
657 High St., Worthington; 614-468-1232, www.eatatjoyas.com
This Worthington hot spot was soft-opened to crowds in late August by Avishar Barua — Columbus’ current “it” chef, and a popular former contestant on “Top Chef” who previously cooked at Veritas and Service Bar. A spare but stylish eatery with limited seating, at Joya’s, hard-earned cooking chops boost easy-to-love dishes influenced by old favorites, several from throughout Asia. Joya’s breakfast sandwich ($13) — the rare non-spicy entree here — resembles a beloved New York bodega sandwich given major upgrades: wonderfully puffy house-baked poppy seed roll, softly scrambled cheesy eggs, peppered bacon, rich-yet-zippy house-made condiments. Expect a full Joya’s review in these pages soon.
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The Lox Bagel Shop
772 N. High St., 614-824-4006; www.theloxbagelshop.com
The best bagel shop in Columbus is a hip little Short North operation with light-colored wood and decorative wave-like graphics, but it makes bagels the old-fashioned way: They’re boiled, then baked in a live-fire oven. The results — lovely wheels with crinkly crusts and delightfully chewy interiors — merit any painstaking efforts. The lox ($13; add egg to any bagel sandwich for $2) is a delicious brunch-style classic with righteous house-cured salmon, cream cheese, capers, onion and cucumber. Don’t like salmon? The pastrami ($13) is even more special: warm slabs of outstanding house-cooked meat, melted Swiss, pickled onions and mustard.
Emmett’s Cafe
Multiple locations, www.emmettscafe.com
The Open Air branch of Emmett’s Cafe (inside a vintage brick school brilliantly repurposed in the University District) is newer and has more seating than the original Emmett’s in the Brewery District, but both cafes are equally forward-looking. And both offer an elaborate sandwich with an elemental name: the dynamic Meat + Tato ($12.50). It’s a fried egg, spicy chorizo, melted Monterey Jack, crispy house-made tots, house-pickled onions, arugula and zesty house hot sauce all (somehow) contained inside a toasted and terrific “everything” roll locally baked by superior Matija Breads.
Dough Mama
3335 N. High St., 614-268-3662; www.dough-mama.com
Dough Mama premiered about seven years ago as a buzzy, cute cafe and top-tier bakery whose rustic touches and sophisticated sensibility cohered into what might be called a “heartland-cosmopolitan” aesthetic. The now-trendy Clintonville operation is still baking fantastic pies and still offering its signature avocado biscuit ($13). That superb sandwich’s sturdy house-made foundation — a great cheddar-scallion biscuit — is further enriched by a fried egg and avocado offset by bold pickled onions, tomato, designer greens and a vibrant, standout side salad.
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Cravings Cafe
114 N. Front St. 614-670-4439; www.cravingscafe614.com
Glossy, puffy and buttery house-baked brioche rolls holding premium and locally sourced fillings propel Cravings Cafe to the upper echelon of Downtown sandwich makers. The small, upbeat and charming cafe tweaked its beloved “classic breakfast roll” recently by substituting scramblers for fried eggs, and the slightly altered sandwich was rechristened “breakfast roll 2.0” ($8.95). It could’ve been named “instant-classic breakfast roll.” The scrambled eggs join melted cheddar, rosemary aioli and bacon or a sausage patty (both quite good) in the loving embrace of griddle-toasted house brioche.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Six of the best places in Columbus to get a breakfast sandwich
