I’m back on the quest: where is the best B.E.C (Bagel Egg & Cheese) in Philadelphia and around?

There is another deli, on the other side of my apartment building, and it has, so far, been my place of choice for empty fridge mornings or worse: carb craving! What’s easier that throw on a pair of pants and a sweater and stroll down half a block. It occurred to me that I did that way too many times when the clerk actually offered my usual order before I said hi… Excellent customer service must I say, she knows my routines better than I do, it’s like she’s reading my mind. Amazing.

Now, the sandwich itself, although it’s probably the one I had the most of is not the best of all. On the positive note, it’s leaking with melted cheese. Not half melted, real runny cheese and that’s a messy bonus. On the average note, the level of greasiness can vary from one sandwich to another, but I have to say, most of the time we’re on the greasy side, simply because the eggs are fried. On the down side… the bagel could definitely improve. I’m not talking New York bagel here, but simply something a little less “cardboardy”.

★★✩✩✩

Locust Deli | 236 S. 21st Street | Philadelphia, PA 19103 | www.locustdeli.50webs.com

I’m on a quest: where is the best B.E.C (Bagel Egg & Cheese) in Philadelphia and around?

As much as Wawa are the most convenient, as much as their coffee is loved or hated, as much as their smell is the most recognizable… Their Bagel Egg & Cheese SUCKS!

First of all, there is no other option there than to pick-up something that’s in a box and has been sitting under a lamp for who knows how long. The choices are limited and none of them is meat-free. The bagel is spongy and chewy, the eggs have no taste and the cheese is burned down.

Really worth walking a few more blocks and enter a deli or a coffee-shop, where the price will only be slightly higher but the quality will be incomparable.

★✩✩✩✩

Wawa – Several locations around Mid-Atlantic states

B.E.C (Bagel Egg & Cheese), the answer to difficult mornings, slight hangovers, need for comfort food, sudden uncontrollable hunger…  I’m on a quest: where is the best Egg & Cheese on a Bagel in Philadelphia and around?

As I was hunting the web for a logo of Tuscany Cafe to illustrate that post, I realized their either don’t have a website or have a terrible (TERRIBLE) search engine optimization. Maybe I should go and talk to them… LOL!

The breakfast experience was thankfully more fulfilling that the web-search. I made Tuscany Cafe my new favorite meeting place, since I moved my office back home. It might be less trendy than La Colombe, but the sound level is more meeting appropriate and they, at least, have a decent free wi-fi connection. Their B.E.C is on the expensive side (about $5.00, if my memory is correct, no on-line menu to confirm), but it’s so far the healthier version I ever had: the egg isn’t fried, nor scrambled/omelet, you can still see the white from the yolk (not sure how they cook it, it was pre-cooked and micro-waved); and they offer a choice of 3 “toppings”: bacon, sausage or… tomato! I ordered the tomato and it gives a fresh twist to the sandwich.  The bagel is good. The only downfall for that sandwich, beside the price: not enough cheese…

★★★✩✩

Tuscany Cafe – 222 W Rittenhouse Sq

Egg & Cheese on a Bagel, the answer to difficult mornings, slight hangovers, need for comfort food, sudden uncontrollable hunger… B.E.C (Bagel Egg & Cheese) remains my go-to food whatever bad press they get. I’m on a quest: where is the best Egg & Cheese on a Bagel in Philadelphia and around?

The little corner convenience store / deli, by my apartment building, doesn’t have a logo, even less of a website. It barely has a name, I had to hunt on one of my credit card receipt to find something. But, after living in the neighborhood for over 4-year, and stopping in several times a week, Jimmy (the owner) knows me, says hello and asks how I’m doing. In 4-year, I never tried their Egg & Cheese on Bagel. The truth is, I didn’t even know they were making hot breakfast sandwiches. But for the sake of research (hahem…), I had to check and to give it a try.

For the first time since I started the quest of the best B.E.C in the city (and surroundings), someone asked me “How do you like your eggs? Runny or dry?” That’s what I call personalization and good customer service. So, the bagel might have been a little too toasted, and the cheese completely tasteless, but overall, the experience was not too bad and deserves a kudo.

★★✩✩✩

Yang’s First Food – 21st between Walnut & Sansom streets