Ah, the humble breakfast sandwich. A few simple ingredients — bread, cheese, egg and/or meat — somehow mesh into something grander than the sum of their parts, able to turn a dark and ennui-inspiring morning into something resembling joy in just a few bites.
Around the Bay Area, there’s no shortage of restaurants blending these ingredients and more into stellar breakfast sandos, full of rich, eggy fuel for the day to come. Here are some of our favorites.
Egg Happiness, Dublin
The bulgogi egg toast with avocado at the Egg Happiness breakfast restaurant in Dublin, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Egg Happiness ought to win some sort of truth-in-advertising medal. The place serves egg sandwiches pretty much exclusively, and within these ooey-gooey bundles of cheese and butter, you will definitely find happiness.
Located within the Asian-centric Dublin Ulferts Center, the eatery makes the kind of indulgent, super-calorific sandwiches you’d find on the streets of Seoul. The base is scrambled eggs – who knows how they make them, but they have the pillowy consistency of Gordon Ramsay’s famously slow-stirred eggs. Then melted American cheese is added and some kind of mayo-rich “house signature sauce.”
The whole thing is improbably squished between slices of toasted brioche and served in a cute, square-shaped box. You can get the sandwiches kitted out with avocado, bulgogi, bacon or even hash browns, but the Original Egg Toast ($7.99) is so satisfying it doesn’t really need adornment.
While the business’ decor urges you to “Eat More Breakfast” and have “More Eggs Please,” you might want to save room instead for a dalgona cold-whipped coffee – a hand-beaten style famous in South Korea, and here sometimes delivered by a robot-kitty waiter.
Details: Open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday at 4288 Dublin Blvd., Suite 113, Dublin; egghappiness.com
Hash ‘N’ Dash, San Jose, Campbell
Brandon Salmon was just looking to pay the bills when he launched this pop-up breakfast business in San Jose after a 2021 layoff. But the concept really took off, becoming a South Bay street-food standout — as evidenced by the crazy-long lines.
And when his 408 Smash went viral, even more customers were enticed to scout out his outdoor griddle. Pork from Corfini Gourmet, a chef purveyor, gets the “smash” treatment, followed by a scattering of sliced onions and a squirt of maple syrup, adding to the aromatics, and then a slice of cheese. Nearby, eggs are cooked to yolk perfection, a cross between jammy and runny, and toasted English muffins are topped with special sauce.
The 408 Smash is the cult favorite breakfast sandwich from the Hash ‘N’ Dash pop-up. (Bay Area News Group)
“It’s simple yet amazing,” declared repeat customer Bethany Esbenshade of San Jose.
“Fantastic,” said a couple from Gilroy who had driven up to Chromatic Coffee, where Hash ‘N’ Dash was situated for the day.
Besides Chromatic, you’ll find the 408 Smash ($11) outside two other local coffeehouses. The rotation includes Academic Coffee in downtown San Jose and Lookout Coffee in Campbell, along with stops at the seasonal Japantown Farmers Market.
Details: Typically 8 a.m. starts three mornings a week. Check the Instagram account for schedule specifics: www.instagram.com/hashndashsj/
Muffin Lab, San Ramon
Muffin Lab owner Janneh Merritt prepares vegan and tri-tip breakfast sandwiches for a customer at the San Ramon Farmers Market in San Ramon, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
That line at the San Ramon Farmers Market is testament to the breakfast sandwiches whipped up by Muffin Lab founder Janneh Merritt and his two teenagers who layer fillings atop freshly made, small batch English muffins to sling to hungry shoppers.
San Ramon’s Janneh Merritt created his own English muffin business after embarking on a quest to find the best breakfast sandwiches. (Courtesy Karen Merritt)
He serves up two options at the bustling market: a breakfast sandwich filled with 12-hour smoked tri-tip, egg, arugula, barbecue sauce and pickled onions, and an umami-packed vegetarian version, made with egg, slices of baked sweet potato, pickled onions, barbecue sauce and microgreens. It’s the perfect way to start an East Bay Saturday. (Psst, visitors can also pick up English muffins to take home.)
Details: Open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the market at City Center Bishop Ranch, 6000 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon; muffinlab23.com.
Lou’s Cafe, San Carlos and San Francisco
It’s a simple breakfast sandwich (eggs, cheese, meat, bread, hash browns) except for two words: Lou’s sauce. The house special sauce is an aioli-based garlicky spread that adds a tangy burst of flavor to any sandwich at Lou’s. If you’re feeling spicy, ask for the jalapeño spread instead.
This breakfast sandwich ($12) from Lou’s Cafe features egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, hash browns and Lou’s sauce on a ciabatta roll.
You might need a few bottles of water to go with this $12 sandwich — it sure is salty, but isn’t that the point? — though the fluffy hash browns and gooey cheese will help you live out your elevated McDonalds breakfast fantasy.
The customer service is always friendly and the food comes out fast at this takeout spot. (Come back for lunch and you can try their signature Dutch crunch bread.)
Details: Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday at 902 Laurel St. in San Carlos. Hours vary at the four San Francisco locations; LousCafeSF.com.
KaoKao Grill, Berkeley
When is an Egg McMuffin not an Egg McMuffin? What about when it’s made with a scallion omelet and succulent, slow-smoked Chinese barbecue?
KaoKao Grill is part of a small dynasty of East Bay Chinese restaurants – it’s connected with Huang Cheng Noodle House in Oakland’s Swan’s Market and its new sister dumpling place, Huang Cheng Potsticker. The specialty here is in-house smoked meats with an Asian flair, either yogurt-marinated chicken or char siu pork that’s brined in Sichuan spices for 24 hours then cooked over cherrywood for hours on end.
The egg sandwich with char siu pork at KaoKao Grill in Berkeley, Calif. (KaoKao Grill)
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The restaurant is minimalistic – two stories of plain tables and alcoves stacked with firewood – but the flavors are bombastic. While you can get the meats served straight up, an egg sandwich ($7.50) is a perfect bite for a person on the go. Several hunks of that intensely smoky, sweet-and-spicy meat are loaded onto an English muffin with an herby omelet and melted cheese. A hungry person can, and probably will, inhale it in four bites.
The sides are worth exploring, too, either chickpeas with tomato and house garam masala or a cold eggplant dish with earthy sesame paste. Or simply grab a glass of hot tea or sparkling fruit drink, a refreshing counterpart to the savory barbecue.
Details: Open from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (with a break from 3 to 4 p.m.) Tuesday-Sunday at 2993 College Ave., Berkeley; 510-960-0851.
Manresa Bread, Los Gatos, Campbell, Palo Alto
Manresa Bread’s Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich — and other breakfast/lunch sammies featuring freshly baked rolls or biscuits — can be found at the Campbell, Los Gatos and Palo Alto locations. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
The Manresa Bread bakeries, spawned by the three-Michelin-star restaurant, have become destination spots for owner Avery Ruzicka’s excellent kouign amann and croissants, along with the signature breads made from freshly milled grains.
But don’t sleep on the breakfast sandwiches. These cafes are also the home of the knife-and-fork Sausage, Egg and Cheese Sandwich ($15), a square creation built with a flaky buttermilk biscuit, silky-smooth souffled eggs (baked with cream at a low temperature) and a nicely browned sausage patty. Sharp cheddar and onion jam (ask for more) pull together the layers.
Variations on the menu include the Bacon, Egg (souffled!) and Cheese on a burger bun ($13) — it’s made with the famous Nueske’s applewood-smoked bacon — the Sausage with Biscuit ($11) or a Biscuit with Jam (seasonal and housemade, of course).
Word to the wise: Depending on your brunch schedule, you’ll want to order kouign amann in advance (they’ve made it easy online) or buy them as soon as you arrive. These rich caramelized pastries ($5.50) always sell out.
Details: The Campbell, Los Gatos and Palo Alto locations that offer breakfast sandwiches are open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily; www.manresabread.com.
Egghead Sando Cafe, San Jose, Santa Clara, San Ramon
Egghead Sando Cafe makes half a dozen types of hearty egg-based sandwiches, including the Scramble. (Photo courtesy of Egghead Sando Cafe)
Eggy goodness demands to be shared widely. In just a couple of years, entrepreneurs Vinh Ha and Yi Ru Chen have expanded from two Egghead Sando Cafes to five in the Bay Area.
Cage-free eggs are the stars of the menu. Fluffy ones in the Scramble, poached ones in the Eggy, over-medium ones in the Hawaiian Morning, the Chic and the Breakfast Burger. Playing a valuable supporting role is the warm brioche bun, a recipe developed by Chen and baked fresh every morning.
A bestseller is the Chic, with Taiwanese-style fried chicken served on brioche with egg, arugula and house sauce. There’s a grilled chicken version called the Side Chic, with egg, bacon, tomato, arugula and chimichurri.
Because we love scrambled eggs, we’re partial to The Scramble ($9.75), with its impossibly soft, chive-specked, cage-free eggs spilling out from the warm brioche bun. They add cheddar cheese, caramelized onions — and just a swipe of spicy mayo to make things interesting.
Details: San Jose (80 S. First St., 519 W. Capitol Expressway, 6201 Santa Teresa Blvd.); 3957 Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara; and 2475 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon; www.eggheadcafe.net
Slow G’s Eatery, Danville
Looking for a hearty breakfast sandwich that can also be made gluten-free? This Danville cafe is known for its health-focused sandwiches and deli-style fare, plus hot plates like chicken biryani and tikka quinoa.
But this breakfast sandwich – available all day – actually started out as a different dish entirely. It was inspired by a customer who asked if Slow G’s Spanish omelet could be made in sandwich form — and the four-egg avocado egg toast sandwich ($12) was born. It’s served on multigrain bread and topped with sliced tomatoes, romaine, avocado, havarti and a pesto aioli. Each bite of this tall, packed sandwich requires a stretch of the jaw muscles to fully chomp, but it’s an exercise well worth the challenge.
As the restaurant’s name suggests, it’s not the fastest take-out option, so consider calling or ordering ahead if you’re in a rush.
Details: Open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends at 440 Diablo Road, Danville; slowgeatery.com.
Sand Hill Kitchen, Menlo Park
The Bodega 2.0 breakfast sandwich at The Sand Hill Kitchen in Menlo Park places an egg, cheddar cheese, avocado, Calabrian chili mayonnaise and hot honey between two slices of griddled levain. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
Hidden in an office park off the Peninsula’s VC-famous Sand Hill Road, this restaurant offers tasty farm-to-table California fare (and some top-tier Silicon Valley overheads for dine-in eaters) from its hilly Sharon Heights perch.
The restaurant’s Bodega 2.0 sandwich ($12) is a winner, with a world of flavors captured between two slices of griddled levain: an egg sourced from Aptos’ Glaum Ranch, cheddar, avocado, Calabrian chili mayonnaise and hot honey. And if that’s not enough, you can add chicken apple sausage ($5) or bacon ($6) to the sandwich.
Pair it with the restaurant’s Vietnamese-style iced coffee to fuel up for a high-powered day of venture capitalizing or whatever else you’ve got going on.
Details: Open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays at 2400 Sand Hill Road; thesandhillkitchen.com.
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